KUPA'AINA STUFF 7-20-06

ALOHA 'OE....UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

Aloha Auntie Petra Tibayan. Wife of member Uncle Stanley Tibayan. She
passed away on the morning of July 16, 2006. Loving wife, mother,
grandmother and daughter. Auntie Petra will be missed she was a mother of
the band and rarely missed a moment to support us. Few were the moments
when she was not nearby our performances in her chair watching with her
sweet smile, encouragement and loving words.

GIGS:

Sunday July 30, 2006 instead of our usual practice we will be doing two kokua
concerts:

La Ho’iho’i Ea at Thomas Square across from the Blaisdell Center at 10:30
am. La Ho’iho’i Ea is a day recognizing Admiral Thomas of Britain and the
day he restored the Nation of Hawai’i. The park is across from Neil
Blaisdell Concert hall. Good stuff: John Osorio, Ernie Cruz Jr., Paula
Fuga, Liko Martin and Skippy Ioane.

Save Kaka’ako Park Ho’olaulea 3:00 pm if you want you can drive down and
follow us after the festivities at Thomas Square to Kaka’ako Park. The
community successfully defeated current attempts to develop the waterfront
area near Kewalo and is wanting thank all of its supporters.

The Girlas (www.thegirlas.com), Inner Session
(www.myspace.com/innersession) and the Nono Boys (thenonoboys.com) are
doing a special gig on July 22d at Anna Bananas (flyer is attached top
this e-mail) 2240 Beretania St starting at 9 pm. Please come and check out
a different kind of music scene.

IF YOU ARE IN LOS ANGELES PLEASE BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY LITTLE SISTERS CD
RELEASE PARTY (WWW.ELINAMUSIC.COM) AT THE PLUSH CAFÉ THURSDAY JULY 27,
2006, 207 NORTH HARBOR, FULLERTON CA. STARTS AT 7:30 PM WITH MY BROTHER IN
LAW TYRONE WELLS AND SPECIAL GUESTS.

I have my usual solo gig with WSUP (whoever shows up) on every third
Thursday. That would be the July 20, 2006 at Diamond Head Cove 3045
Monsarrat Ave. I usually get there at 8:30pm and start at 9 pm. Please
stop by and enjoy the food…..very good food…healthy too.

I also play every fourth Tuesday of the month at O’Tooles Irish Pub at 902
Nu’uanu Avenue on July 25, 2006. I usually go from 9pm to 10pm doing my
basic yelling and ukulele thrashing. Every now and then I have a special
guest and the occasional enthusiastic drunk or crackhead will come in and
join me for a tune.

STUDENT STORY

DJ Bam of San Francisco was recently visiting as a member of the Asian
American Journalist Association Conference committee. He introduced to too
student journalist who have become good friends. Belinda Yu (superb
violinist and Stanford journalism school student) and Mengly Taing
(intense philosopher and rising critical fashion guru) did a fly by the
cuffs story about our music. I think they did a good job especially given
they that they really could not get outside of Waikiki. The story
essentially is a journey into trying to figure out what the hell I am
talking about. Given the subject its amazing that they came up with
something.

http://www.aajalink.com/2006/news.php?news_id=85

CYCLES OF LIFE AND DEATH

The past two months have been an interesting one for me in the ceremony of
life. Music often accompanies our universal rights of passage in many
ways. As much as I sometimes get burnt out on it I know it is also a
privilege that I have been given.

I have played music at the birthing of two baby girls in the past month. I
got to play music once in the afternoon for the mother of Gabriella
Virardi with her “deer in head lights” father about an hour before she
entered the world. Two days later I played music for the mother of Ko’iahi
Punua through great intensity up until about 4 am. Both baby girls easily
fall asleep on my shoulder.

Music has also brought the ability to memorialize someone, comfort the
living and to reach out and connect to people I know or may never know.

One of our friends Teri Waimarie Maxwell a young woman whom we all met
while playing music on Moloka’i died in a car crash in June. She was an
exchange student from New Zealand and a member of the immersion program at
Moloka’i High School that we did a fundraiser for.
(www.molokaitimes.com/articles/667162350.asp). Last time we saw her she
was dancing to our music.

The murder trial of our friend Percy “Pomaika’i” Kipapa was concluded
finding the defendant guilty of second degree murder with life with the
possibility of parole. Sitting through the trial was intensely emotional.
Percy’s grandmother sat next to me weeping often. The courtroom was packed
with former sumotori and family members. I am honored to say that Percy
lives on with many through our song: Pomaika’i.

For some reason along with birth there was an abundance of funerals and
the loss of lives of very kind hearted and giving people. Ferd Borsch the
Baseball guru of the Honolulu Advertiser and my childhood friends father
passed away. He will be interred close to Alexander Cartwright (the father
of modern day baseball and advisor to the Hawaiian Kingdom). My Uncle
Solomon Cornelio also left unexpectedly. Uncle Sol though I have recently
only gotten to know him would show up mysteriously at some of our gigs and
wave at me onstage. He was a very quiet, tough and humble man…a great
surfer too.

Finally Uncle Eddie Ka’anana. I did not know Uncle Eddie well but knew he
had a great heart. He was always very kind to me. Uncle Eddie is most know
as a Kupuna who is a fountain of wisdom and teachings in the Hawaiian
language and culture that many young people have taken upon themselves to
learn.

For music with soul I would recommend this month that you pick up Johnny
Cash’s posthumous album “Cash V: A Hundred Highways.” I like track 4 now
“If You Could Read My Mind.” Art is in many ways the articulation of
strife and pain, love and happiness and the confused bundle we struggle to
put our finger on. You can hear the his soul pressed into each track in
the rasp, waxing and waning of his deep well like voice.

MY LOVE LIFE

Recently I have been trying out new pick up lines and the latest one I got
was taken from a Japanese stationary a short poem entitled “Happy Days of
Young Sheep.” When I meet a woman I start off with this:

“I’m a sheep, young handsome sheep. They say every sheep looks like me
very much. But look at them carefully. Their faces are a little bit
difference. So I’m lonesome sheep. Would you date me?”

You think that one will work?

FINALLY

If you haven’t checked the new and updated website please do. We will
continually be adding new material as it is created. Mark Lutwak our
keyboardist/accordian player has been updating it. Please let us know what
you think.

WWW.KUPAAINA.COM

Aloha

Mr Chang