"I am Hawaiian, I'm all that's left / I am the son of the sea and the surf This land was my land, I shared with friends / Now it is their land, and I pay rent..."
Vic Malo's politically-charged "Ode to Waiahole & Waikane Valley" is filled with clever criticism, taking stabs at so-called "progress" and alluding to the Woody Guthrie track, "This Land is Your Land".
"I pay to see a waterfall But there's no water—none at all They're gonna tax the sun I hear them say You know what that means—I'm gonna pay"
It was tough to find information about Vic Malo (also known as Victor Mataele), but Google makes a few things certain: 1. He's Tongan, which confuses me because he's also part Hawaiian, according to the lyrics above.
He's related to King Tauha'afau Tupou IV (an interesting bit of info found in a book that mentions Vic was a fencing instructor and taught lessons in Honolulu during the 1970s). 2.He had a role on Hawaii 5-O in a few episodes: "A Death in the Family" and "Number One with a Bullet, Parts 1 & 2". The episodes aired in 1978. I have yet to find a relevant video link. 3.
He invented a "Method and system for music notation", which uses "notes and other musical representations using symbols, such as numbers, letters and color".
In March 2010, he received a US Patent (#7674965 B2) for his invention. Nice work!!
Vic—if you're reading this, please get in touch. We'd love to hear from you!
