Posted on

Small Kid Time….

“I remember days when we were younger….”

Singing the song, “Ku’u Home ‘O Kahalu’u” this past weekend at Kualoa Beach Park made me reflect. Growing up in McCully was special. Those were the good ol’ days. Those were my “hanabata days.”

I remember….

• going to the Islanders’ baseball games at the old Honolulu Stadium. The S&S saimin on a cold, rainy night hit the spot.

• eating shave ice at Alice’s Market (the current Waiola Shave Ice Store.) They had pickled mango, baseball cards, cone sushi, and slingshots.

• riding bike through people’s yards. I had a yellow Schwinn Stingray with a banana seat.

• catching crayfish & guppies at “Duck Pond” (the stream on Date Street.)

• mom’s fried kamaboko & mayonnaise sandwiches. So ono….

• dad driving us to school in the morning, listening to “Aku” on the radio. (Remember the “Coconut Wireless?”)

• me & my friends playing Kikaida and roller derby against my sister & her friends.

• Obaachan picking pikake flowers in the backyard for her tea.

• walking our dog Sparky around the block and getting dragged on the sidewalk.

• picnics and parties with the relatives and cousins. My job was to fan the hibachi and fetch Primo beers.

• “Jeremiah was a bullfrog….”

• Checkers & Pogo, Flintstones, and Gilligan’s Island. Must see TV….

• getting stuck in the elevator at Wigwam Store (the current Longs Drugs on King Street.)

• the only phrase I learned at Japanese School, “Sensei, osokunatte sumimasen.” (Sorry I’m late.)

• going to Keiki Land at the Ala Moana Shopping Center.

• eating at the Flamingo Restaurant, Cha-cha Tei & Edo Shokudo Restaurants, Golden Duck Chop Suey, and Chunky’s Drive In.

“I remember days when we were smiling
When we laughed and sang the whole night long….”

Posted on

Glory Days….

“Glory days well they’ll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl’s eye
Glory days, glory days”
– Bruce Springsteen

Those were the good ol’ days. Derek Tatsuno, Deitre Collins, and Bob Nash of the “Fabulous five.” I remember Niko Noga, Yuval Katz, Mario Monico, Natasha Kai, and Pono Ma’a.

And of course, Colt….

Posted on

Cool Story, Bro….

While strumming the guitar tonight, I reminisced about the good ol’ days. And then I thought about the “curse.” Yup. Every establishment that I ever played at closed down. Literally.

My “world premiere” took place at the old Monterey Bay Canners at the Ward Centre. My friend Garrett had a gig there. One quiet evening, he let me play. There were about five people in the audience. One week later, they went bankrupt. Swear to God.

Garrett’s next gig was at Randy’s in Kahala Mall. The place was actually crowded. He called me up. I had enough “liquid courage” to stink-up the place. Randy’s went bankrupt in two weeks.

I was teaching at Kapolei Elementary when I had the opportunity to back up our children’s choir at the Aloha Tower’s Pier Bar. It was Christmas. They went bankrupt in a month and later became Kapono’s.

Years later, I played at the Tropiccino’s coffee shop in the Kapolei Marketplace. Nothing happened. A year later, I played there again. Soon after, they went bankrupt. Shucks….

A short time after that, my friend Garrett asked me to play at the Mai Tai Bar at Ala Moana. This time I refused. Til this day, the Mai Tai Bar is one of the most popular spots in town.

So…. if you’re open for business, don’t ask. True story, bro….

Posted on

Nonstop Kaka’ako….

Attended the first Nonstop Kaka’ako event, “an urban food, retail, and entertainment experience.” It’s a pop-up block party. It was fun, and the weather was perfect. It’s a really neat concept, and I hope they do more events like this. I guess the goal is to promote Kaka’ako as the “hub” of Honolulu.

The variety of food was impressive. It was like an Eat the Street event on steroids. I had my first Chicago Dog at Hank’s Haute Dogs. There were shopping tents filled with fashion items from some of the hottest boutiques in town. There was even a cigar bar, a beer garden, and the UH football game on a large inflatable screen. They even had free wi-fi set up for this event.

The highlight for me was running into former students at the Anuhea concert at the main stage. It was a fun night….

Posted on

Hawai’i Five-O 2.0

Attended the Hawaii Five-O World Premiere / “Sunset on the Beach” event tonight in Waikiki.

It was a spectacular afternoon at Waikiki Beach. Gorgeous weather, nice breeze, good waves. It made for the perfect backdrop for this event.

There were concerts, food tents, and just too many people. It was way too crowded. They estimated that there were more than 10,000 here. I thought to myself, “Wow, look at all these crazy people….” Then I realized that I was one of them. As the celebrities arrived onto the red carpet, there was an incredible energy in the air. People were screaming and holding up their iPhones & iPads to capture the moment. I was not able to take any photos of them since I was 5 rows deep behind the barricade.

Luckily, the Red Bull girls wanted to be on my blog…. ahem.

The event actually started a little after 7pm. It opened with fire dancers & Tahitian dancers. Then there were speeches by local dignitaries. When the stars were finally introduced, the crowd erupted. It had that rock concert atmosphere.

But my true adventure of the day was actually catching the Bus. The last time I rode the bus was in 1986. I just didn’t want to fight the traffic and fight for parking. I had to call the operator to make sure that I would be catching the right bus on the right street. Riding the Bus in Waikiki at night is truly an experience.

But here’s the crazy part. I stayed for all of the festivities, but left right before the actual premiering of the episode. I was off to the side and had a poor view of the screen. So until Monday, “Be there, Aloha….”