Yesterday, as I was watching the University of Hawaii baseball game on TV, I starting thinking back of when I used to play Little League baseball.
Back in our day – unlike the 5 and 6 year old kids that play in today’s leagues – we had to wait until we were 8 years old. And then we’d have to start at the T-ball level. For those of you who may not be familiar with T-ball, a pitcher didn’t actually pitch a baseball for the batter to hit – rather the ball was placed on an adjustable tee and the batter hit the ball off the tee. And the “T” also served as home plate.
No, that’s not me…
Then after 1 year of T-ball, we graduated to the “minor” league. But instead of hitting off a tee, we were batting against a real pitcher. We didn’t get to wear metal spikes on our shoes and couldn’t take a lead off of the base until the pitched ball passed the batter. But we felt so “big time” compare to T-ball.
In fact, here’s a picture of the team I was on – the Yankees – that LostHawaiian recently sent me. (Mahalo, LostHawaiian). I won’t tell you which one he is. There is also Shoyu Burner in the picture too. And that’s my dad on the right – who was the team manager.
The Yankees – Kainalu Minor League Champions
After playing in the “Minors”, most moved up to play in the “Major” league. But I opted to stay in the Minors and spent my three eligible years playing on the Minor Yankees, then the Cubs, and my final year back on the Yankees. And my dad was the manager for all three teams. And we were first place champions all three years.
Then from Minors, when I turned 13 – I started playing in the Senior league. Now we’re talking. Metal spike shoes, taking leads, stealing bases, and especially – our uniforms were full on jersey, pants, and even leggings. Of course I had my mother cut my leggings and put elastic on the bottom so I could wear my leggings up high – as that was the trend back then. We so wanted to be like the big league players. Heck, we even tried chewing tobacco. Okay, I didn’t. But my friends did. Their face started turning red as they were chewing it. And they said it was hot – that it burned their mouth. That’s when the began spitting it out.
I played 3 years in Senior league on the “Islanders”. We were an okay team but the Red Sox was the team to beat.
As for my positions – in the Minors, I played catcher. I loved wearing all that gear and getting all dirty. Plus, that position never got boring because I’d be in on every play (or pitch). And in the Seniors, I played left field as I was second string catcher behind of Billy Cooper.
And like all little league baseball players – we had our idols. Since I was a catcher – my idol was Johnny Bench – catcher of the Cincinnati Reds. I even wore number 5.
But eventually baseball lost out to surfing and that was the end of my baseball days.
Did you or your brothers play Little League baseball? Maybe you continued on to high school baseball or even AJA baseball? What do you remember about playing little league baseball? The field? The smell of the leather glove? Getting beaned while up to bat? Share your little league baseball memories with us.
Last night while watching TV, Paula and I saw this MetLife commercial and started to name some of the characters. We could name some, but a lot of them we didn’t remember.
Think you can name them all? Here’s a still shot:
No fair using Google to look up the list of characters.
Bonus: See if you can find Waldo in at least 3 different scenes in the video.
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).
On Facebook, Michael Ige and I started talking about Top ada Shoppe. I had mentioned that I’ve never been to Top ada Shoppe. And I missed out on bands like Kalapana, Summer, C&K, etc. I mentioned that I did however go to Territorial Tavern where Booga-Booga used to play. But it was just for dinner and I didn’t actually catch their show.
Michael then mentioned that he’s never been to Rainbow Villa.
Then I commented that I’ve never been to Magic Mushroom.
Are you starting to see the pattern? I think you folks see where this is going.
What watering holes do your remember that you’ve never been to – and never will because they no longer exist?
I had to work on Sunday. But it was a good thing! (Man, I love my new job). I volunteered to help at the Pro Bowl. We had tasks assigned to us and my job was to wait for the incoming buses after the game and guide them to their proper area.
Some of the others had to report to their stations way before the game started in order to unload the passengers and make sure they knew where to report to after the game to catch their bus back – be it to Waikiki, Kapolei side, the Windward side, or the East side.
There were a few bumps, but overall – it was a success.
But what amazed me was how many mainlanders were at the Pro Bowl. It was almost like 5 to 1 mainlanders compared to the locals. I guess I was just shocked at how many people would save up for a Hawaii vacation just to attend the Pro Bowl. Something we locals take for granted, I guess.
I suppose the cold weather on the mainland has a lot to do with it. And I also suppose that if you were going to schedule a vacation in Hawaii – why not take in the Pro Bowl at the same time!
As we entered the stadium, there was this one girl with her beer in her hand – already ripped and talking in a slurred speech. I wonder if she saw the game or just slept through it.
Then there were these 2 guys walking out a third guy who was sick from too much partying – this before the game even started! Man, talk about a waste of money paying for the ticket. Gotta pace yourself, dude.
And then there were those who didn’t even enter the game! They were tailgating the whole time. Maybe it’s a way to bar-b-que and drink legally and not have to worry about getting busted for drinking in public – like when you chance ‘um at the beach.
But it’s still up in the air whether future Pro Bowls will be continue to be held in Hawaii or not. We like hosting it here. The tourist industry loves it. The tourists love it. And especially the players themselves love it. It’s a no-brainer, right? Hopefully the NFL sees it that way too.
The Pro Bowl was held for 30 consecutive seasons in Hawaii from 1980 to 2009. In 2010, the NFL played it in Florida, but returned back to Hawaii in 2011 and 2012. I say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
Let’s hope that the Pro Bowl will continue to be held in Hawaii.
Have you even attended a Pro Bowl? This was my first time checking it out although I didn’t actually sit and watch the game. But I would love to attend it someday – just to see the superstars in action. Would you?
And Sunday is the Super Bowl. New York Giants versus the New England Patriots. The Patriots are giving 3. What’s your take on Sunday’s game?
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.
I remember when I was in the 4th or 5th grade, I ripped my pants. I don’t mean ripped like by the knees or at the bottom of my pants leg – I mean ripped right at the seam that starts from the inseam and UP towards the back. And big enough for the tighty-whities to show – to really stand out against the dark colored pants.
See, all this hand-me-down clothes I had to wear. By the time the pants got to me, the double stitched seams were single stitched seams. And I grew faster than my older brothers so it was always snug on me – and not to mention “high-waters”.
So during first recess playing chase-master or something rough – I ripped my pants. Of course I quickly quit playing and spent the rest of the recess leaning with my back to the wall.
Then I remember my friend, Stanley, had a red parka that was long enough to cover the puka pants. I told Stanley about the predicament I was in and asked him if I could wear his parka for the rest of the day. And I told him to keep it a secret. Stanley was cool and maybe since I confided in him only, he let me wear his parka for the rest of the day.
Luckily, no one asked why I was wearing a jacket on a hot school day, but it served it’s purpose and concealed my ripped pants. In fact, I think I wore his jacket home and returned it to him the following day.
Sorry, Losthawaiian – but you didn’t have a jacket with you on that day…
Then there was the time in college when I was wearing a velour hoodie jacket – the kind with the drawstring around the bottom of the jacket. Well, the drawstring somehow got mixed in with a bodily function – but let’s not go there.
A friend at work was sharing a story with me about the time her club was at a social and during the games, one of her club member had to run and sit quickly – probably the “doo-doo, shi-shi, fut” game – and as she quickly sat on the floor, her dress got caught in her foot and resulted in the top part of her Otaheite dress being pulled down! I think they changed the name of the game to “doo-doo, chi-chi, fut”. LOL
That reminded me of this one time when we used to play volleyball every Sunday at Ala Mo’s “keyhole” area of the park. There were a few girls playing on the other team when one of the girls lifted both her arms up over her head to hit the ball and… you guess it, her boob popped out of her bikini top. She hit the ball over the net but wondered why nobody tried to return the volley – as the ball just dropped to the ground – with all us guys standing still, mouths (and eyes) wide open, staring through the net.
Do you remember any wardrobe malfunctions stories that happened to you? Maybe a broken zipper for the guys? Or a bikini top lost in the surf for the girls? Or how about glasses when the screw comes loose and the arm falls off – and you would rather wear the glasses with the missing arm rather than put tape to hold them together and look like a nerd? Remember ripping the “fruit-loop” on guy’s shirts? Share your memories with us.
