Stories
Ernie Cruz Jr. "Together Now"
"Together Now" by Ernie Cruz Jr. In 2011, I attended the Na Hoku Hanohano Festival workshops and had the pleasure of hearing stories and insights from some of Hawaii's best musicians. Ernie Cruz Jr. was one of them. Ernie talked about rhythm at the workshop. The tempo, the beat—this is what brings the soul of a song together. It's the heart of the music. When Kalapana introduced a fresh sound to the islands in the late 1970s and 1980s, the people of Hawaii immediately connected with this "contemporary style" Hawaiian music. Songwriters throughout the islands started composing music and playing...
The Home Grown Series, Volume I (1976)
"Inspiration is where you find it," wrote Wayne Harada in the Home Grown I liner notes, a Hawaiian music compilation released on KKUA Records in 1976. Me? I find my inspiration in music (of course), and I know I'm not alone (hence: this). In 1976, prolific radio DJ Ron Jacobs released Hawaii's first volume in the Home Grown series. Ron had moved back home to Hawaii from San Diego and immediately fell in love with the music of the islands. While living and working in San Diego, Ron Jacobs produced the California city's own Home Grown LPs. But he dreamed...
The Home Grown Series, Volume II (1977)
Each person experiences Hawaii in a unique way. Home Grown II helped manifest individual perspectives into something marvelous and tangible. Learn more about the Home Grown series by disc jockey Ron Jacobs and how his Hawaiian compilations told different stories of the land.
Free Mixtape: 1x10x100 (Harry's Music Store)
One store, ten dollars, one hundred records. That's what this free mixtape is all about. It's called 1x10x100, an ode to Harry's Music Store in Honolulu and the soulful vinyl records that populated its record bins. Over the course of one weekend, I spent $10 and scored 100 records—soul, funk, disco, pop, jazz, fusion. I walked away enlightened, and I want you to hear what I found.
Hal Bradbury "Call Me"
"Call Me" by Hal Bradbury One of my favorites from This Is Love by Hal Bradbury, singer for Hawaiian group The Krush, is the song "Call Me". Hal's brewed a soothing blend of Hawaiian modern soul, pop and funk with this cut, which is actually the B-Side to the rare "This Is Love" 7" single on FAN records. Dig it! Listen to more Hal Bradbury: You Win, I Lose