Stories — Interviews
Interviews with 1970s disco bands from Hawaii: Power Point, Odyssey, and Peter Rivera of Rare Earth
This has been a long time coming: audio interviews with local artists. I've been interviewing artists since this blog's inception, but never took the extra step to create podcast-like interviews for people to listen to. And as my pal Jon Kirby of Numero Group told me via email, "People love some dang podcasts." The idea sparked when Ted de Oliveira and I sat down in the Central Pacific Time studio to do an impromptu interview on the evening of his 7" release, July 10, 2018. That interview (which you can listen to here) was so much fun, I wanted to...
"It's not where you're from, it's where you're at" — Interview: Ted de Oliveira (FRNT BZNZZ)
We've got something special up for you. Today we dive into an enriching conversation with Ted de Oliveira, the multi-instrumentalist / producer behind the FRNT BZNZZ moniker. Oddly enough, this is probably the first interview of this kind for the blog: a radio-style discussion between myself and the artist. It felt really good to pick Ted's brain about his process, the music he's been making lately, and just talk story and get to know him better. Several years ago, Ted had the Honolulu music scene's attention not only with his improvisational acoustic guitar-slash-beatboxing performances, but with his "side project" called...
Interview: Rob Mehl talks "House On The Rock", "Taste And See" and Waikiki
Even though Waikiki isn't what it was like when Rob Mehl was growing up, it was the perfect backdrop to the beginnings of a new project for Aloha Got Soul, and a new friendship between two people who love music and stories.
Interview: ʻĀina's Howard Shapiro Leads Us to "Your Light", Spirituality, and Life In Hawaii
"There is only one world and one race upon this earth. We all are children of the light knowing within our hearts that love will bring us all together again. To all of you who are sharing with us and seeking the light, I send you all the love in my heart and spirit." This is an excerpt of Howard Shapiro's introduction to the liner notes printed on the inner sleeve of the 1980 LP, Lead Me To The Garden, by the group known as ʻĀina. "Aloha ʻĀina, love the land Aloha ʻĀina, your fellow man Aloha ʻĀina, share as...
Interview: The Story of Aura, with Beverly Orbello and Vince Mendoza
Aura has for a long time remained a mystery to me. I first heard their music on the oft-referenced "Hawaiian Breaks" mix that DJ Muro released in 2009. At that time I had no idea who the band was. Thankfully, with the help of a handful of dedicated individuals, I was able to identify the mix's complete tracklist and learn for the first time the name of this incredible band. But I still had much to learn about Aura. After identifying the mix's tracklist, I linked up with local music collector and blogger Kym Miller, who's been living in the...