Headlining the 70′s Nightclub Reunion X (Encore) will be The Kasuals!
Here’s a bio on The Kasuals that I got from Robin Kimura of Greenwood:
“KASUALS” OFFICIAL HAWAII BIO (by Danny Perez)
“Guam and Hawaii’s Own-The Kasuals” was a band formed on Guam by founding members, Frank Mendiola, Danny Perez and Bob Owen, in the summer of 1971, when Frank had just gotten out of the Army after serving honorably in the Vietnam War and Danny had just graduated from high school. The band’s name was derived from two of the top bands on Guam during the 1960s: the “Kaskels”, a band that Danny and his brothers, Joe & Tony Perez had played in; and the “Casuals”, a band that featured Frank Mendiola & Bob Owen.
During their fifteen (15) year run, from 1971 to 1986, Frank and Danny had kept the “Kasuals” musical aspirations alive, recruiting and featuring some of the finest musicians from Guam, the Philippines, Hawaii, and the U.S. mainland, including (from 1971 to 1974): Dave (Tabi/Koho) Taitano; Jesse (Te) Leon Guerrero; the late Joe (Bela) Borja; Ray (Dúng) Baza; the late Charles Jackson; Monte Pladevega; Joe (Uncle Tote) Cunningham; Bobby Laigo; and Patrick Palomo. From 1975 (the year the band moved to Hawaii) to 1986, the “Kasuals” line-up included: Jesse Bais; Roger Jereza; Zachary Flores; Pat Palomo; brothers, Mike and Sal Diamore; Victor Maratas (from California); Mark Demello and Jack Martin (both from Hawaii); and Linda Guerrero.
The “Kasuals” were a full-time, hard-working band, and had performed at nightclubs, hotels, restaurants, and concerts in Guam, Saipan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Palau, Chuuk, Pohnpei, the Marshalls, the Hawaiian Islands, California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Georgia, Chicago, and Alaska.
From the time they moved from Guam to live and work in Hawaii in 1975, and up to 1986, the “Kasuals” had performed at many venues, such as:
(on Oahu)
Foxy Lady Disco (Beachcomber Hotel)
Point After (Regency Hotel)
Beef & Grog (the Spencecliff Restaurant on Kalakaua, where the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center is now located)
C’est Si Bon (Pagoda Hotel)
Jazz Cellar (Imperial Hawaii Hotel)
Infinity (Sheraton Hotel)
Hawaiian Hut (Ala Moana Hotel)
Oceania Floating Restaurant
Garden Bar at the Hilton Hawaiian Hotel
Cock’s Roost at the International Marketplace
Canoe House (Ilikai Hotel)
Captain’s Table (Holiday Inn Waikiki)
Hickam AFB Officers’ Club
Waikiki Marina Hotel
Fort Shafter NCO Club
Black Angus/Stuart Anderson’s Cattle Co. in Pearl City
(on the Big Island)
My Place Disco
Kea’ahou Beach Hotel
Kona SurfHotel in Kona
Naniloa SurfHotel in Hilo
(on Maui)
Maui Surf Hotel
Kahului BeachHotel
(on Kauai)
Waialua Beach Hotel
Kauai Beach BoysHotel
In 1983, the “Kasuals” recorded an album on Tom Moffatt’s Paradise Records label, with “Songs About Love” and “Ebony Eyes” (and other cuts) making it onto the charts and getting extensive airplay on radio stations in Hawaii and Guam. For their recording endeavors, the “Kasuals” received a Na Hoku Hanohano Award for “Most Promising Artists”.
Some of the highlights of the “Kasuals” musical career includes: being the opening act for the “Elvin Bishop” Concert on Guam; opening for “The Beach Boys” Concert at the Blaisdell Arena; performing at the annual “Brown Bags to Stardom” concerts at the Waikiki Shell; and entering a song at the Hawaii Music Festival, where they performed with the Honolulu Symphony. As well, some of their most memorable performances were the ones where they gave back to the community for charitable causes, such as: playing a concert for “Operation New Life” on Guam in 1975, when they donated their services to entertain and help lift the morale of the thousands of Vietnamese refugees who were housed at Camp Asan after the fall of Saigon. In 1976, they helped to raise funds through their performances to assist the people of Guam with typhoon relief in the aftermath of Supertyphoon Pamela. They also volunteered their time and musical performances to help out at the annual Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon; the annual Carole Kai Bed Race; and they had also donated their performances to raise funds for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawaii, among others.
All in all, throughout their musical career, the “Kasuals” were all about striving for musical excellence; and fame and fortune had never been their motivation in working on their craft. Up to the present time, most of the former members of the “Kasuals” are still performing and/or recording in one way or another, whether as soloists, duets, or as members of various groups, and they have never let up in the contributions of their musical legacy; and their love of music and the performance arts has not wavered.
It’s going to be another packed-dance-floor event! Tickets for the main ballroom are pretty much sold out but there are singles and pairs of tickets available – spread out around the main ballroom. And there are tickets and tables available in the overflow ballroom (where there is a live feed from the main ballroom and another dance floor). Call all your friends for a night out, then call Candy to get your tickets! It’s going to be another all-star line up!
Speaking of The Kasuals – do you remember The Kasuals from the 70′s nightclub scene? I recall seeing them at C’est Si Bon because I remember seeing on the curtain behind the band “HAFA ADAI”. And I remember asking “what does ‘hah fah a dye’ mean”. And I was corrected that it’s pronounced like “Half a Day” and it means “Hello” in Chamorro.
How about that list of clubs that they played. Do you remember those places? How many of those places have you been to? Do you remember other live bands that played the nightclub circuit?
The yellow Pee Chee All Season Portfolio was a common American stationery item in the second half of the 20th century, commonly used by students for storing school papers. It was first produced in 1943 by the Western Tablet and Stationery Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Pee Chees were later produced by the Mead Corporation.
These relatively inexpensive folders were made of card stock and had two internal pockets for the storage of loose leaf paper. The pockets were printed with a variety of reference information including factors for converting between Imperial and metric measurement units, and a multiplication table. The folders had fallen out of general use by the 2000s, but are available from Mead as of 2010.
The illustrations on Pee Chee folders changed occasionally over the years, but usually depicted high school age students engaged in sports or other activities. The major difference between Pee Chees and other paper folders were the inside pockets. Pee Chees had pockets located at the sides, not the bottom, which prevented the contents from falling out if the folder was inadvertently stored upside down.
The Pee-Chee portfolio was given its name because the folders were initially only available in peach.
Remember these portfolios? I wanted one so badly in intermediate school, especially for this:
Yup, the multiplication table! It was from this table that I memorized that 12 x 12 = 144.
There were even earlier versions of the Pee Chee portfolio that I had never seen until now:
I had shown the picture of the Pee Chee portfolio to some of the younger folks at work and they had never seen it before. Imagine that.
But for the ones who did recognize them – it immediately brought a smile to their face. And then they would share their stories of how they used to fold it in half so it was smaller and easier to spin on their fingertip. Or how they used to used report covers and tape to customize their portfolio with their favorite pictures.
And then there were the purists – who would leave it as is and instead doodle on it throughout the school year.
Did you used to carry around a Pee Chee portfolio? Did you customize yours or just draw on it? Or maybe you went with the Peter Max portfolios instead?
I was feeling lousy yesterday at work so I went to the doctor to get some meds – and took off the rest of the day to get some rest. Then I started thinking about when I used to get sick as a little kid.
You know what used to be weird? When I was too sick to go to school, I’d have to stay home while my mom took my older brothers to school – and I’d feel bad. I mean I felt like I was breaking the law. I felt like I was playing hooky or something. And I used to get a little scared.
But when mom returned home – it was all good again.
When I’d get sick and was laying in bed with a fever – my mom would fill the tall plastic Tupperware cup with ice and 7Up that I would sip between naps. That was the only time we drank 7Up. We used to have the tall bottle of 7Up stored under the kitchen sink and it had a Tupperware cap on it that kept it fresh. And the only time that the 7Up was touched was when someone was sick.
After all, wasn’t 7Up initially invented as a medicine?
And the other thing that I remember as a sick kid was the St. Joseph Children’s Aspirin. It was kept in the cupboard next to the stove on the middle shelf – next to the candy sprinkles. It was orange flavored. The aspirin, not the sprinkles. And I remember my mom giving me one of the tiny aspirin tablets and telling me to suck on it until it dissolved – just make believe that it’s candy. And I didn’t mind the taste either. In fact, I probably sneaked an aspirin more than once because I was jonesing for candy (and the sprinkles was already down to the bottom of the bottle).
And lunch would be none other that Campbell’s chicken noodle soup. Maybe with a couple of crackers. Depending on how sick I was – it usually involved less than 10 spoonfuls of soup and a half a cracker.
But being sick also meant not going outside to play when everyone else came home from school and was playing outside. In fact, it meant taking a bath early – before the 5:00 required time, even if the calendar said that it wasn’t your turn to bocha first. That part sucked.
As an adult, getting sick is not quite the same. There’s no one waiting on me anymore. I have to make my own soup, pour my own soda, but yet I still choose to bocha early! And the strangest part is – I still feel guilty about not going to work.
What do you remember about getting sick when you were small? Did you mom rub Vicks Vapor Rub on your chest? Or maybe on your throat when you had a sore throat? I hated ear-aches as they always came in the middle of the night. Did you suffer from ear-aches? What were some of the remedies your mom or dad had for you when you were little?
But Dick Clark? He never left. With his toothpaste-ad smile and a microphone always ready, Clark was a fixture in our pop culture for decades.
Maybe you hear his name and think New Year’s Eve stalwart, or American Bandstand host, or “the oldest living teenager,” a nickname he picked up years ago, but Clark was much more than any of those single images.
With teen dance shows, prime-time programming, specials, game shows, made-for-TV movies and even feature films and restaurants, the ambitious Clark made Dick Clark Productions into a thriving business that touched the worlds of music, television and film.
And from Bandstand in the 1950s to his three decades of New Year’s Rockin’ Eves, Clark was particularly adept in the melding of music and TV, long before MTV and American Idol.
“Music is the soundtrack of your life,” he was quoted as saying, and yet, he wasn’t ever the one shimmying on the dance floor.
And his favorite music? “Disco,” he said in more than one interview.
Clark was all about the smooth running of the production, not so much the joy of music. “I don’t make culture,” he once said. “I sell it.”
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Rest in Peace, Dick Clark.
What are you memories of Dick Clark? I bet a lot of the MLCers watched American Bandstand and probably got up and danced to the music. Share your memories of Dick Clark and American Bandstand. Or even the New York New Year’s Eve Parties. Maybe you were fortunate enough to be there in person to watch the ball drop at the stroke of midnight. Don’t we all wish we could be teenagers for life?
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Don’t forget – THIS SATURDAY @ Dot’s in Wahiawa: LS 34
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And tickets for the 70′s Nightclub Reunion X – Encore, are now on sale! Call Candy to get your tickets before they sell out!
Thanks to Rob Kimura of Greenwood, here’s the inside scoops about Anita Hall who’ll be featured with Nueva Vida:
Whether singing with a symphony orchestra, headlining an international convention abroad or rocking a major charity event, audiences attest to the great popularity and talent of Indianapolis-based songstress Anita Hall.
Before moving to Indianapolis, Hall called Hawaii home for over 20 years and was one of the most sought-after performers on the Island scene. Seamlessly changing gears from country to jazz, rock to Broadway, Anita has proven herself to be a well-rounded entertainer who sings each song as if it were written for her alone.
As the only child of parents both born with Cerebral Palsy, Anita learned the meaning of the word “Handi-capable” and her sense of compassion made her future involvement with many non-profits a natural fit.
Anita played the role of Angela in Manoa Valley Theater’s Honky Tonk Angels and Miss Mona in Diamond Head Theater’s Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. She also hosted KITV’s award winning “ Ohana Road ” Series ( Hawaii ’s Premier Automotive TV magazine) for 4 years. Hall also is a recording artist, who has written and recorded with Grammy Award-winning producer Narada Michael Walden. In 2009 Anita’s debut CD Send Love received two Na Hoku Hanohano nominations and made it to the first Grammy ballot.
Anita’s most recent performances with Maestro Catingub were with the Harford Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis and Omaha Pops Orchestras.
Anita has been a member of the Nueva Vida band for over a decade and couldn’t be more excited to be reunited for the 70′s Night Club Reunion.
Anita’s CD Send Love is now available on iTunes.
For more information about Anita Hall, please visit her websitewww.Anitahall.com
@Mark’75- lol, haven’t heard ” make A” in a long, long time!! Hey Rod- maybe we should do slang words of back in the day??
Good idea, Volleymom2! Although it might result in some brain strain trying to recall the slang words and popular phrases we used to use back in the day.
How about we list the phrase or slang – give the definition – and use it in a sentence. Wow, sounds like a spelling bee contest. Let’s see if I can get it started:
“No Can Handle” – Cant’ keep up - “What brah, no can handle?” Actually, I hear my daughter using this term. But they follow it with “Randall” - “What? No can handle Randall”.
“I going bag” – What you said when you were about to leave – “Eh you guys, I going bag”.
“Going steady” – To be an exclusive couple – “Yeah, we stay going steady”.
“Just trippin’” – The phase before going steady – “Nah, we just trippin”.
“Bad rep” – A bad reputation – “That club get one bad rep”.
“Rippa” – A good looking surfer guy – “Ho, check out da rippa”.
“Fast” – Guys who are smooth with the moves – “I don’t like that kine ‘fast’ guys”.
“Townie” – If your zip code begins with 968 – “I like townie chicks”.
“Ahanakukulele” – What you say to someone when they did something bad – “Ahanakukulele, I going tell dad!”.
“Crimany sakes” – The phrase our dads said before giving us lickins – “Crimany sake boy, whatsamatta you?”
“Lickins” – Parental discipline – “Get me the belt, cuz you going get lickins”
“You going get it” – Sibling threat – “Wait until dad gets home, you going get it”
Okay, that should get you thinking about phrases and slang words from the olden days. (“olden days” is one). So share with us your words. Remember to list a definition and use it in a sentence. And have fun with it!
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ALERT: Tickets for the Encore 70′s Nightclub Reunion dance goes on sale on Tuesday, April 17th. Call Candy Au at the Ala Moana Hotel to buy your tickets. Here’s the line up:
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Also, this Saturday at Dot’s in Wahiawa – LS 34! Check out the blog post about the LS 34 band at:
Remember in the early 80′s and radio station 98 Rock? On Tuesdays, KPOI 97.5 or 98 Rock FM used to play 2-fer-Tuesday: 2 back to back songs from the same artist.
And now, KUMU 94.7 has Back-In-Da-Day-Double-Play: 2 back to back songs from the same artist.
So, I thought we’d play our version of MLC 2Fer/Double-Play.
- Think of a favorite artist and list your 2 favorite songs from that Artist (so much for the one-hit wonders).
- And just for this, I changed the settings to allow 2 links in one post – so your post won’t go into moderation – just in case you wanted to include YouTube links.
Here’s a couple of 2Fers to get us started:
James Gang:
Three Dog Night (THEN):
Three Dog Night (NOW):
America:
Bread:
Okay, you get the idea. List your favorite 2 songs from your 2Fer/Double-Play artist.
My dear friend, Sandy Ordonez Tsujimura would like to extend an invitation to all of you to come out to Dot’s in Wahiawa on Saturday, April 21 to enjoy the sounds of LS 34.
You’re probably wondering like me, how they came up with a band name like LS 34, right? Well, I’m going to tell you. Actually, I’m going to tell you what Sandy shared with me.
‘LS’ stands for ‘Lovin’ Sounds‘, a dance band that did the High School and Military circuit back the late 1960s through 1970. They were also a Battle of Bands winner in 1969.
In the Summer of 2004, 34 years after the Band graduated from High School (1970) to pursue college/careers/families, they got back together just for fun but decided to do a few gigs from time to time to keep motivated and challenged. Hence the ’34′ in LS 34.
Their first public gig was at Kapi’olani Park for the Annual American Heart Association Oahu Heart Walk in 2006 for a crowd of 2,000+, and have been the spotlight band for the last 6 years. The band primarily plays for Community Fundraisers, High School Class Reunions, and private parties. Rehearsals are usually held monthly. Performing and playing Classic Rock from the 60s and 70s is a Labor of Love.
The band has never charged a dime for their services!
This April 21st Rock & Roll night will be their 1st paying Gig. What will they do with their earnings? They plan to have a Band dinner with their spouses and families to celebrate their love for music and everlasting friendship!
How could you not want to support them? Yeah, Wahiawa is little bit far for us townies – but it’s a nice drive out to the country. And the air is so clean and crisp in Wahiawa.
I understand that a couple of members of LS 34 used to play with Natural High back in the days of Hula Hut. Jensen Tamanaha (Kaimuki 1972) was former Natural High band member, as well as Kenneth Uyeno (Farrington 1970) who also sang for a short period for Natural High and also the Lasting Sounds.
In fact, you know what? Check this site out for more inside scoops on LS 34: LS34.blogspot.com
I know you MLCers enjoy looking at pictures from back in the day, right? Check out this video produced by JontMedia that I borrowed from their web site. This video is so MLC!
And here’s a write up of the original LS band – also borrowed from their web site:
The Lovin’ Sounds by Wes Nakashima
Playing in the Lovin’ Sounds in High School was a lot fun, but also very hard work. We played every Friday, Saturday and practiced every Sunday. We enjoyed talking story with the other bands we played with. Harold and I liked to dance if we had a chance. Being a paying band, we were very responsible in showing up at the job on time and played very well every weekend. We hardly made any mistakes. There were nights that we played two places in one night.
There were a lot of bands: The Koachmen from Pearl City (Waipahu High School), Calientes and Insights from Roosevelt High School, The Lasting Sounds from Farrington High School, Pinky’s Rose Garden from McKinley High School were some of the bands we played with every weekend. Some of places we played at: High Schools – Punahou, Iolani, St. Louis, Mid-Pac, St. Francis, Kalani, University High, Marynoll, McKinley, Roosevelt, etc. Don’t you think that we were a town band. University of Hawaii – Hemming Way Hall and Klum Gym Waikiki Shell – Guest Band at a Battle of the Bands sponsored by KGMB, Won 1st place at another Battle of the Bands on August 25 and 26 competing with 17 bands. Proms- Farrington High School Junior Prom and St. Anthony High School Senior Prom in Maui.
1970 Lovin’ Sounds Band consist of 7 members: Ronald Ishikawa – Lead Guitar Harold Kageura – Rhythm Guitar George Furukawa – Bass Guitar Wes Nakashima – Organ Bryce Freeman – Drums John Kikuchi – Lead Singer Ken Uyeno – Lead Singer
Music in the video performed by LS 34 Song Title: Get Together by Jesse Colin Young
There’s more pictures and videos on their web site so do take a moment to check it out.
A few MLCers asked me about Diamond head crater festivals, also known as Sunshine Festivals.
Actually, I’ve never been to a crater festival. But that doesn’t stop me from starting a blog post about the event and having all of you share your memories of attending the Crater Festivals.
To jog your memories and “put you there”, here’s a few pictures:
Do you remember attending the crater festivals? Maybe you attended them, but just don’t remember being there? Share you memories with us.
In the last post, Seawalker suggested a blog post about wedding songs.
Do you remember what your wedding song was?
For Paula and me, this was our wedding song:
I remember attending a wedding and this song played during their slideshow. I thought this was a perfect wedding song:
This song is actually titled: The Wedding Song. It was written for Karen Capenter’s wedding in 1980. Such a beautiful song.
And speaking of the Carpenters – the ultimate MLC wedding song:
So, do you recall your wedding song? Or if you’ve never been married, what song would you choose for your wedding song? Or if you were to do it all over again – what song would you choose? Or maybe if someone asked you to help them choose a wedding song, what song(s) would you suggest?
Here’s another MLC topic suggested by volleymom2 – Your First Concert
Boy, I can’t be 100% sure on this one. Been to a lot of concerts and some I don’t remember. IYKWIM
I’d have to guess that my first concert was a Moody Blues concert at the H.I.C. I was in the 9th grade. It was a school night and out of the blue, my second oldest brother asks me if I’d like to go to a concert with him. Of course!
I remember we had seats on the loges. I didn’t realize it at the time, but those were prime seats! When buying tickets for future concerts, I always tried to get the loges but they always seemed to be sold out.
I don’t recall too much of the concert. But I do remember when they played Nights in White Satin. It’s as though I was floating around the arena. The 70′s were such mystical times….
Do you remember your first concert? Maybe it wasn’t at the H.I.C. Maybe it was at Andrew’s outdoor amphitheater. Or at the Honolulu Stadium. If you can’t remember your first concert, then tell us about one that really sticks out in your memory.
Thanks once again to volleymom2 for the topic idea!
Rodney Lee is a Baby Boomer - and proud of it. Rodney started the Midlife Crisis blog back in the days of The Honolulu Advertiser and ran it for about 3 years. After The Honolulu Advertiser shut down, Rodney decided to continue his blog here at Midlife Crisis Hawaii. New blog entries are added every Monday and Thursday.
So join Rodney as he reminisces about the good ol' days.
Midlife Crisis Hawaii - where the memories live on.
Share you memories with us.
