On the Scene with Dave Tucciarone

Dave Tucciarone first experimented with recording techniques when he was a teenager, using a reel-to-reel tape recorder in Long Island, N.Y. He moved to Hawaii and revived his band from high school, Cooper’s Still, with two friends from New York in 1975. They recorded an original song, “Big Island,” and won a place on Ron Jacobs’ first KKUA “Homegrown” album in 1976.

Recording the song in Herb Ono’s Sounds of Hawaii studio whetted Tucciarone’s interest in the technical side of recording. In 1986 he opened Fortunate Sun Studio and five years later received his first Na Hoku Hanohano Award. As of this year he has earned 14 of the trophies for his work as an engineer and record producer.

In February, Tucciarone, 62, won his first Grammy Award, in the regional roots category, which includes Cajun, zydeco and other genres, for his work as the producer of Kalani Pe‘a’s album “E Walea.”

JOHN BERGER: “E Walea” was the first Hawaiian music album to win a Grammy since the Hawaiian music album category was eliminated in 2011. Did you have any expectation it would end the drought?

DAVE TUCCIARONE: No, I didn’t, because there is a large voting bloc down in Louisiana and there aren’t a lot of Grammy members in Hawaii, but Kalani Pe‘a really did his homework. He and his partner joined the Academy and communicated with members and put out some of his videos that he made of hula dancers dancing to some of his songs. He got his music heard and he was able to get enough votes to win the category.

JB: This wasn’t the first time you’ve been a finalist for a Grammy, was it?

DT: I was up for two or three back when there was a Hawaiian category. Since they put Hawaiian music into best regional roots, I’ve been up four times in the last five years. It was a nice surprise to finally win.

JB: You’ve worked on more than 300 recording projects since 1986 as an engineer, a producer or both. When do you think you became “the guy” so many people want to work with?

DT: There was some really high-profile stuff like Kapena, and “Drop Baby Drop,” and the stuff with the Hawaiian Style Band (in the early 1990s) that started getting my sound out, and people became more interested in working with me.

JB: What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the recording industry since Cooper’s Still recorded at Sounds of Hawaii?

JT: Back then — and even when I opened Fortunate Sun 10 years later — you had to go into a big studio to get pro-quality sound. Last year I recorded and produced Kalani’s album in a back bedroom in my condo.

“On the Scene” appears weekly in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Sunday Magazine. Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.