“MY HAWAII (WILL ALWAYS BE HERE)”
Kamuela Kahoano (Green Light Go HI Productions)
Hawaii’s music has benefited from the contributions of several island families whose musical talents pass from one generation to another. There are the Beamers and the Fardens, the Pahinuis and the Keawe-Aikos, and the musical linage of Vickie Ii Rodrigues. More recently come the Ohtas, the De Limas, the Kamakahis and the Paulos. Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winner Kamuela Kahoano’s recently released four song EP, “My Hawaii (Will Always Be Here),” reminds us that his family also has its place on the list.
Kahoano’s father is multi-faceted Waikiki showroom entertainer/television show host Kimo Kahoano, whose 1982 single, “Aloha Friday,” remains one of the most enduring island hits of the decade. Kamuela and his older brothers, Ikaika and Haku, recorded together as a trio, Ano, in 1999. He subsequently recorded projects with other musicians in the groups Green Light Go and Analog/Analogic, and then recorded as a solo artist. He won a Na Hoku Hanohano Award (Best Rock Album) for his first solo album, “Stream Dreams,” in 2011. “My Hawaii (Will Always Be Here)” displays the breadth of his musical horizons in convincing style.
The title song is an indictment of the problems that plague Hawaii in the second decade of the 21st century — natural disasters destroying precious houses, loss of cultural knowledge, inflation, political corruption, substandard schools, bias in media, “faces glued to the phones and TV screens.” The concerns are an update of those heard in “Hawaii ‘78,” but Kahoano adds a refrain of optimism and determination: “We are children of this land, we are descendants of the voyagers. … We are strong with love and light/ We are cool but we are the warriors.”
Delivered with catchy Afro-Caribbean rhythms and a strong bass line, Kahoano’s message is a powerful anthem.
In dramatic contrast comes “Live Your Life,” a bouncy affirmation of positive living and optimistic attitudes: “Get what you give/You learn when you live.” The arrangement could come from anywhere in the country and is worthy of national radio play, while with guest artist Kalei Gamiao riffing on ‘ukulele, the song has a Hawaiian ambiance.
Parents everywhere will identify with the feelings described in “Tiny Wonder,” a song Kahoano and his wife wrote about their relationship with their infant son, Kaius. It too is a good fit for national radio play.
“Kaius” is also the title of a slack key instrumental that taps into a fourth part of Kahoano’s repertoire. Yes, the guy who can play hard rock, and write tongue-in-cheek relationship songs like “Grumpy (She’s Grumpy It’s My Fault),” plays soothing slack key as well.
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