encore |ˈänˌkôr| noun a repeated or additional performance of an item at the end of a concert, as called for by an audience.
exclamation called out by an audience at the end of a concert to request such a performance.
Hey MLCers – Valentine’s Day is right around the corner so if you’re looking for the right present for that someone special – instead of blowing $80 on some flowers that won’t last but a week – I’ve got a tip for you. Tell your significant other “Let’s go dancing!”.
On March 3rd (Girl’s day), The Beat will be at C’est Si Bon at the Pagoda hotel. How’s that for a blast from the past! Remember going to “CSB’s” to catch the Kasuals?
Okay, the Kasuals won’t be playing – but there is a new band in town: Encore
Encore is a band made up of musicians from back in the day. One of them is Mitchell Fukumoto and I ask Mitch if he could provide us with a little bio of the band. Here’s Mitch’s take:
ENCORE
Jazz, Funk, Rock, R&B, Hawaiian….Waikiki Stage Shows, Vegas Lounges, Dinner Cruises, Studio session work….
We all bring different backgrounds, history, and genres to the mix and when you combine that with an extremely high level of skill on each instrument…it is not only enjoyable but very musical.
From bands during the Seventies such as Natural High, Asian Blend, Livewire and Reach to playing jazz, funk, and top 40 around town….Encore is not your everyday, slapped-together all star band.
Encore is comprised of Rob Yamamoto (vocals and keyboards), Brian Nakashima (guitar and vocals), Dave Ogata (drums and vocals), Dayton Arima (bass and vocals), and Mitch Fukumoto (keyboards and vocals). With the musicianship in this band, we try to focus on songs that are not covered by other bands such as Love Grows by Edison Lighthouse and Josie by Steely Dan. Keep in mind…these are very difficult songs…but we are able to do justice to these great songs because of the personnel in the band. We will play some numbers that other bands play because we realize people need to hear those songs but we also feel people want to hear these other songs and have not experienced the pleasure of these tunes live.
Good music played well…really as simple as that.
Encore.
In addition to Encore, Funkshun will also be providing some funky dance music. Can’t go wrong with Funkshun as they’ve developed quite a HUGE following of MLCers around town. I just love their extended version of “Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel“. Reminds me of the Hula Hut days with Natural High.
Speaking of Natural High, it wouldn’t surprise me if Roy Yonashiro makes an appearance and performs a number or two. In fact, with Rob Yamamoto AND Roy Yonashiro there, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a small kine Natural High reunion. No promises though.
Tickets are $40 pre-sale and includes HEAVY pupus. Translated for us MLCers: Dinner!
And being that it will be on Girl’s Day, the event is themed “Ladies Night“. So that means that the first drink for all the girls is FREE!
So guys, surprise your girl with a pair of tickets to The Beat for her Valentine’s Day present.
What’s that? You girls are saying that your “old man” is living up to his moniker and isn’t interested in going? K-den, since it’s going to be on Girl’s Day – that automatically entitles you to a “pass”. Gather all your friends together and make it a Girls Night Out! Tell them about the “automatic pass” thing since it’s Girl’s Day – you know, in case their old man gives them a hard time.
btw, the last Beat was held on the Halloween weekend and was appropriately titled “Disguise”. We had a great time. Wanna see? Check it out: The Beat – Disguise
Here’s your chance to relive the old “clubbing” days. Just let me know if you’re interested and I can hook you up with tickets. And if you have a group of people planning to go, I can get a table reserved for your group.
Oh, one more thing. No need worry about “uji” guys coming around for ask you to dance. Nowadays, no need wait for someone to ask you for dance. You like dance – just get on the dance floor and cut loose.
On Monday’s post, we looked at songs with “intros” – so now I’m looking for songs with reprise. I know, it sounds weird, but maybe you’ll catch on after a few samples. And since the reprise is at the end of the song, I’ll note the time where it starts so you can skip to it if you’d like.
Plus, I know there aren’t many songs with a reprise so I’ll allow songs that are blended into other songs. WTH is Rodney talking about? Just follow along. LOL
Half Penny, Two Penny/A.D. 1958 from Paradise Theater (5:57):
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five from Band On The Run (5:10)
Dreamboat Annie Reprise (2:50)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise):
All You Need is Love/She Loves You (3:25):
Like A Virgin with some Billy Jean thrown in (2:35):
That’s all I have for “reprise” songs. Can you name any?
I’ve been wanting to create a playlist of songs with intros. So I need to enlist your help.
Here’s what I have so far:
I’m sure a lot of you remember this one from “socials”:
The Chicago Bulls used this intro – but did you know it was tied to a popular song?
Here’s one from the 80′s:
This one from the late 70′s (I used to air-guitar to this number):
Off the Big Bam Boom album:
This one sounds like an old familiar hit, but it’s just an intro:
This one is cute – the intro, that is:
* Did you catch the swear word in the song?
Sometimes the “intro” isn’t a different song, it’s just a part of the song that sounds different than the tune itself.
Like this one for example:
And this one:
And this one:
Or sometimes, the intro can be just sound effects:
Now for this one, you have to skip to the 4:15 mark to hear the intro song.
Or you can just listen to the whole thing. The first song is pretty cool:
And finally, I have a funny story that goes with this one. The intro is more like an extended version of the song. When I first got the tape, my friend asked to borrow it. After he put it in his in-dash cassette player and thought it was malfunctioning because he didn’t know about the intro. Had him worrying little bit:
Okay, so lay it on me. What songs do you know that have an “intro” tied to it. I want to extend my playlist. On Thursday, we’ll take a look a songs that have a “ending” to them – so put your thinking caps on and hunt You Tube (but save the “ending” ones for Thursday).
Since we’re on a high from JindoMaster808‘s excellent guest blog post (Big MLC Mahalo once again, JM808), I thought we’d do a Thursday 3 about Makin’ Music.
Copy and paste the 3 questions and answer them or just answer them by number, order, whatever. And don’t forget to leave any comments, stories, memories, etc. relating to the topic. So, with a one, and a two, and a three…
If you woke up one morning and had the magical ability to play, I mean really jam, any musical instrument – what instrument would you choose? And why?
If you used to or still do play a musical instrument, what made you choose that specific musical instrument?
What’s your take on music?
Here’s my replies:
If you woke up one morning and had the magical ability to play, I mean really jam, any musical instrument – what instrument would you choose? And why? In my younger days, I would’ve liked to play the electric guitar – like Eddie van Halen. But now, in my MLC age, I’d choose the saxophone. To me, the sound of the sax is both sexy and soulful. The way the notes have the ability to blend together. How you can almost feel your passion through the music that you play – like it’s an extension of your soul. Now that’s Makin’ Music.
If you used to or still do play a musical instrument, what made you choose that specific musical instrument? Since my brother had a guitar, I tried to learn how to play it. Didn’t happen. I think with my short and stubby Okinawan fingers – it just wasn’t meant to be. In high school, I tried taking a few slack-key guitar lessons. Nope. Nada. Nuttin’. I even tried the harmonica. No go. Then it dawned on me – even if I knew how to play something, if I’m simply not musically inclined – it wouldn’t sound good anyway (which leads me to question #3).
What’s your take on music? Since Makin’ Music was so hard for me, I gained an appreciation for music. It’s so amazing to me that individual instruments making all different sounds can come together and produce something so beautiful in harmony. And when I’m tired, stressed, or just need to relax – music calms me down. And one of my biggest loves for music is how it can transport me back in time and trigger my memories to when I used to hear that song. In fact, it still does that to me today. For example, a couple of times when we were playing at the Main Street casino, this song was playing in the background. I heard it although I wasn’t really listening to it – I’m guessing that my subconscious was soaking it all in – and the song was suddenly burned into my memory. So of course whenever I hear this song now, I remember sitting at the poker machine at the Main Street casino, relaxed and having fun.
Today we have a Guest Blogger: Our very own JindoMaster808. I’ve been keeping in touch with JM808 via Facebook after we parted ways from the break up of The Honolulu Advertiser and I saw that he had picked up an old passion – playing music. I wouldn’t call it a Midlife Crisis – but rather a passion that he’s put aside for more important things in life – like family, career, health, etc.
And now, like many of us MLCers – we’re finding more time for ourselves as our children have grown up and our careers are more stable. In other words, we got our lives back to do the things we loved – like JindoMaster808′s love for playing music. So I asked him if he’d be willing to share his story with us – which he graciously has done. So without further ado, I present to you:
JindoMaster’s Magical Musical Rediscovery
I sit here writing and reflecting upon tonight’s rehearsal with the Honolulu Community Concert Band. We’re preparing for a big concert next week and we’ve been covering a lot of material during rehearsals. I’ve only played with this band since January 2011. I didn’t know what to expect back then. Fortunately I’ve fit in with the group and I’ve made many new friends in the band. Best of all, I’m having a blast performing in a band once again.
The story of how I came to this point in my musical experience started in the early 70’s. During my first concert band class at Moanalua Intermediate School, I decided to choose clarinet as my instrument. I guess my dad thought it was a good fit for me. Playing a musical instrument gave me great joy and a sense that of accomplishment. I continued playing at Moanalua High School where I also played saxophone and piano. At the start of my senior year, I even entertained the idea of majoring in music. However once I started attending UH, I decided to pursue a career in Management Information Systems. Due to the time commitment with my studies, I stopped playing in my freshman year.
Fast forward 35 years to June 2010. As many of you fellow MLC’ers know, I worked at The Honolulu Advertiser with Rodney. During that month, hundreds of us were laid off due to the sale of The Advertiser. At first I found it enjoyable to not have the pressures of the job. But after a few months I only received a few invitations to interview for jobs. Things got quite boring and very depressing.
Then one day, while surfing YouTube, I discovered a young Japanese saxophonist named Kaori Kobayashi. I was impressed at how this demure young lady could play the saxophone so well. It started me thinking… I used to play, I wonder if I could eventually play like that.
That how it started again. I was hooked. I purchased a used student model Yamaha alto saxophone on eBay. I started taking lessons. Finally I had something to do while I was unemployed, something that I really enjoyed. I was so obsessed that, during my morning walks around Windward Mall with the retired folks, I’d be moving my fingers to the most recent sax exercises that my teacher assigned to me.
But something was still missing. What fun is playing music if there’s no venue to play at? So I asked my teacher about performing with bands. He mentioned the Honolulu Community Band and also the Thursday Night Jazz Band. To make a long story short, I made a few calls and I now play with both bands.
Which brings me to today. I am fortunate to be employed now and I still make time to practice and attend rehearsals and concerts. I recently purchased a used clarinet, too. Playing music again gives me great joy. When I play, I forget the stresses of work. Depending on the music, performing transports me to a different world – the old west, an Irish countryside, the Far East. When I play with the Jazz Band, I’m transported to the 40′s playing those big band hits. Best of all, I like being with my new friends who are as passionate as I am to make wonderful music and to entertain the audiences that we perform for.
If there’s one regret I have, it’s that I didn’t start playing again sooner. My parting words to you, dear MLC readers, is to seize the opportunity to do what you’ve always wanted to do. Don’t put it off because that opportunity may not come again.
* * * * *
Note: JindoMaster will be performing with the Honolulu Community Concert Band in a joint concert with Omiya Community Band at 2:00 pm on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at Pearl City Cultural Center. He will also perform with a saxophone quartet on KZOO radio at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, January 24 to promote the concert.
A lot happened in 2011. But the one thing that really stands out in my mind was the 9.0 Japan earthquake and the subsequent tsunami.
I remember I was having dinner when daughter #2 came out from her room and said that she just read on Facebook that Japan was hit with a 9.0 earthquake. I went to the back and turned on the TV just in time to see the first wave washing across the Japan farmlands. It was so surreal. Watching it on TV made it just seem like I was watching a NatGeo program or something. I had to remind myself that this was live TV and it was all unwrapping right at that moment.
But the Japanese people are resilient and in less than a year, they’ve already started to rebuild their cities.
But what really touched me was how the WORLD pulled together to help Japan. Especially here in Hawaii where we are like the sister country to Japan. So I just wanted to share this special video from the Japan.
More on a personal note, 2011 was quite a turbulent year. I started off the year working at Kamehameha Schools and ended the year work at Oahu Transit Services. And there was an 8 month stint working at Kuakini Health System tucked in between those 2 jobs. And the waves of emotions that went with the moving around. There was excitement, anticipation, and disappointment. But best of all – there were a lot of great people I’ve made friends with. I guess it’s a sign that we’re all getting older…
During 2011, I had to say good-bye to a number of people as they’ve left this Earth to our heavens above. One of them was my old girlfriend that I knew since the 9th grade. I also had to pay my respects to a good friend’s father and a co-worker from the Advertiser. And just last month I lost my aunty and my cousin.
2011 brought us the last 70′s Nightclub Reunion with Greenwood, Aura, Nueva Vida, Powerpoint, and Phase VII (but word has it that a Hana Hou 70′s NCR is in the works). If you’ve never been to one, this is a sample of what you missed.
btw, that video was just a sample of the 70′s Nightclub Reunion IX DVD which is still available. If you’re interested in getting one, just email me and I can hook you up.
As you look back on 2011, what memories stand out in your mind? Whether triumph or tragedy, tasty or yucky, elating or disappointing. Share your thoughts and memories of 2011.
It’s time for the obligatory MLC Christmas Music post.
But before we get started, some of you might know that I’m a big Gail Mack (George Street) fan. I just love her “Karen Carpenter” like voice and how her emotions are heard in the songs she sings. This is to me what separates the good singers from the great singers.
It was over 20 years ago that Gail Mack introduced us to a classic Hawaii Christmas song. And it’s just not Christmas in Hawaii Nei until I hear this song played on the radio.
Christmas Once More In Hawaii Nei
Here is a fun Christmas song from Gail. Volleymom2 will be able to relate to this one. And Braddah Lance too.
Korean Christmas
And this is a beautiful Hawaii Christmas song. It’s sung as a dialog between a dad, daughter, and mom. I’m sure you’ll recognize the voice of the dad in this song. And the daughter’s part is actually sung by Gail’s daughter. Take a listen.
A Christmas Lei of Wildflowers
A few years ago when Gail’s “Christmas Once More In Hawaii Nei” celebrated 20 years playing on Hawaii’s air waves, she produced a full blown Christmas album. These are just 3 of the songs on the album. But there are many other beautiful Christmas songs on the album. If you have a chance to buy the album – ok, CD – I would highly recommend it. And it is available on Amazon.
No, I don’t get a cut from helping out on the sales of this. It’s just something that I want to share with all you MLCers. Maybe one day we can get Gail Mack to perform at one of our parties.
So, that was to kick off the annual MLC Christmas Music blog entry. But before we start listing all kinds of songs, tell us something about the song. Whether it’s one of your favorites. Or one that you HATE. Or one that has a special meaning to you. Maybe it was the song that you chose at your social club’s “Individual” Christmas social, or it was a song that was popular while you were dating that someone special. Or maybe there’s just something about the song that you like.
Remember, if you’re going to include a link, only 1 link per post otherwise your post will go into moderation. Plus, it helps my hit count.
I’ll start off with a few.
Last Christmas – Wham. I just love the different drum beats in this song.
Last Christmas – Glee Cast. Auuuggg! This version makes my ears bleed.
Santa Baby – Madonna. My favorite remake. The arrangement is so cute. This song is so Madonna.
The Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth – Bing Crosby & David Bowie. My favorite remix.
Same Old Lang Syne – Dan Fogelberg. One that all of us can probably relate to…
Your turn. Share your Christmas songs. Love it, hate it, has a special meaning, hear it too much, reminds me of small kid time, whatever – but tell us something about the song.
So on Saturday night, me, Paula, and Sally went to the Shinshu Kyokai bon dance. There we met up with Rodney Kaneshiro (from the band Wasabi) and his girl, CT.
Sally and Paula were dancing around the yagura in the drizzling rain. But during a break while we were all standing around together talking story, Rodney K. says “Hey, that girl standing over there looks like Judy Yogi from the Sounds of Innocence band. Sally quickly agreed and said “Yeah, no?”.
So eventually, as the suspense was just killing Rodney K. – he slides up next to her and says “Excuse me, is your name Judy?” And she replies “Yes! How did you know?”. Rodney K. told her that he recognized her from the Sounds of Innocence. She felt a little embarrassed in front of her family. But hey! She was one of the top female singers back then!
Quickly, Sally introduces me and says “Rodney writes a blog called Midlife Crisis and he always tells his story of how his first ever slow dance was at a Nuuanu Y dance – dancing the the Sounds of Innocence playing “If I Could Reach You”. Judy said that she remembers that she used to sing that song!
I introduce Sally and the rest of the people as Judy calls over her husband, Les and introduces him. She said that he was the bass player for Sounds of Innocence.
Now the conversation was really taking off and we asked if they still played music. They both replied that they don’t play anymore although Judy was asked a few times if she’d like to start singing again. But she said that it would take up too much of her time as she wants to spend her time with her family.
We talked of how a lot of musicians from the old bands are coming back together again and forming new bands to play all the golden hits that we remember. Like Wasabi for instance. And we talked about the 70′s Nightclub Reunion gigs and bands like Powerhouse and Funkshun. And of course, I had to pitch this blog where old memories and music live on.
We encouraged them to come out and see this resurgence of musicians from yesteryear living their passion for music once again. And maybe one day – Les and Judy too will again be sharing the stage.
But before Les and Judy were about to leave, we had to take pictures – in case nobody believed my story.
Les, Judy, and me
Les, Judy, and Sally – notice the bon dance towel around Sally’s neck
Rodney Kaneshiro, Les, and Judy
After Les, Judy and their family left, I mentioned to Rodney K. that we’re so glad that he had the courage to approach Judy and ask if that was her. He said that he would’ve regretted not asking as he would’ve kept wondering.
Oh how I would love to see the Sounds of Innocence get back together once again. Or at least listen to Judy sing “If I could Reach You” as I slow dance with Paula…
So with that – it’s music time once again. I’m looking for songs that you remember from the early to mid-seventies. Doesn’t have to be dance songs – just ones that really stick out in your memory. I’ll start off with one:
I got nothing. I guess I’m in holiday mode. So, it’s Music Time! I’m looking for Instrumental songs. Any kine – as long as it’s without lyrics. Post the title and artist if you can. And add a link if you’d like. But remember, only 1 link per post or your post will go into moderation. If someone already posted your song, no worries.
Volleymom2 emailed me with a MLC topic suggestion and in explaining it to me, I asked her if she’d like to do a guest blog entry – as it was already half written in her email to me. See folks, it’s that easy!
So, without further ado – here’s Volleymom2′s MLC guest entry:
I was having lunch at K Mart the other day and found myself starring at 9 gumball/ toy vending machines.
It’s been a long time since I have looked at one of those machines and I started to think back of the good old days when haumoni (grandma) or dad gave me 25 cents to spend on anything that I wanted. You guessed it- straight to the gumball/ toy vending machine.
I was always hoping to get the blue gumball, not only for its taste but it also turned my tongue blue! I would also look for my favorite gumball machine- the spiral! I was fascinated as the gumball spiraled to the door of my waiting hands.
Remember those giant jawbreakers? It was fun getting to the center of the jawbreaker just to get to the “gum”!
But I also spent my quarter on toy vending machines. Why? There was always something that I wanted- rings! I’d wear them on all my fingers. The batman rings were my favorite! However, I did have my share of disappointment when I received a little book or sticker.
What do you remember about gumball/toy vending machines? Were you one of those gumball junkies? Did you have a favorite machine and/or toy that you wanted? Or was it just the surprise of getting “something”?
Thanks for giving me a break Volleymom2! Great topic!
