kainanimusic

Mahalo to these mele troopers! was magic. Kani ka leo mai ʻō a ʻō! We geev em!

Aloha Kalikimaka! Twas da night befō Xmas and all through the hale we loading the pila for visit kupuna. With goodies and mele we singing and strumming, then off to the bay front to serve the hungry. Sister fills the hot kokoleka cups, māmā folks walk the streets with love, soon the humble people thank us all, and tell us Merry Christmas, God Bless us all🥹. We deliver the kaukau until it was pau, with plenty mahalo inside our naʻau.

got da call 🙂 We jam em!!

Classic Hilo mele caroling with my beloveds. Three Hilos covered and we only scratched the surface of the huge wealth of Hilo mele we know and love. First 15 down✊🏽☔️❤️

Evaluating final exams with a mega mix of Peter Moon Band jams going. Hitsville! Great memories with every mele. Then there's the singing along part. Leads and harmonies and playing pāʻanis with my air guitar lol! Thinking of the two gents I know who can rip all the Peter Moon licks other than Peter Moon Jr. - Darryl Gonzales and Dwight Kanae:) Soooo guuuuuud!! So distinct!! Every album is a masterpiece :) Great Friyay music!!

Peter Moon Band - 09 - Cane Fire Track 9 off The Peter Moon Band's third album Cane Fire, released in 1982

I had the honor of presenting yesterday at the Edith Kanakaʻole World Oli Festival on Leo Kuʻi - chanty voicings in singing. Mahalo e Kekuhi!! Good fun with the oli-ers 🙂 but as soon as my class was pau, I had to dig out so I missed out on so many festive things of that day and night.

I was reminiscing my exposure to chanting in Hilo in a time where usually ONLY hula people were seen chanting. In our college, most of us Hawaiian students did Hawaiian kine things growing up but chanting - or US having to chant and chant in public was way-way-wayyyy beyond our radar and not in our toolkit. Hiloʻs beloved kumu duo - Kekuhi and Kaipo - were such a dynamic force with their college students bringing chanting to light with informative and applicable mele. No one could escape participation. Everyone was scared but we knew we were learning something important and totally cool. First time I see so many malihini chanting too! Chanting around AP was even more nerve-racking😳(and still is!)

You folks remember Mele Koʻihonua about the genealogy of our islands- the parents, birth order, and the drama? Kekuhi was teaching us that one back in the day. That mele seemed a mile long at the time and for only the pros! Man, no one wanted to be the solo caller. We all wanted just to be the responders (in group) and recite the births.🙂 Kekuhi would make us all stand together in a pūʻulu and walk around us “responders” listening, then pick out a solo caller for ʻO Wākea Noho Iā Papahānaumoku. Each solo caller that was chosen at each session had only 5 seconds to make it through their panic attack. Omgs!! Iʻll never forget when was my turn😳🤯That feeling stays! But I survived😉And I continue with that important mele till this day.

Tonight, I had small kine window to go check out the ʻaha oli tonight- the closing of the Oli Fest. Yay, I could drop in as a participant and enjoy the presentations from the crowd. But ummm, I went go say hi and then was asked to sit at the front table to do what people who sit at the front table do. Oh!! Ok, whatever you need 😳😬😁

The big surprise for me and my fellow front table-er was when the boss made the announcement right before that the prize of the winners of each category will be a fresh custom mele oli uluwale. No “medals.”🤯😳😬 Ahhh! In that instance, I went right back to that shocking moment of the first time being called by Kekuhi to lead Mele Koʻihonua. Quick panic attack from table to stage but with nice face- because, well, I was in the presence of those who taught me to oli and also because of my accountability as a mele practitioner. My brain was pulling resources triggering all the emergency power sources. Then had to connect em with the manaʻo, leo oli, spirit, and delivery. The congratulatory mele was heard. It lived right there in that moment. Ua ʻikea. Phew!!!

Mahalo Kekuhi and company for the continued life lessons, all the reverberation, spirit, and ola of oli!

Mahalo e for inviting us to fill the shop with mele. Twas a real good fun jam with .bab0 & with plenty bonuses of seeing many loved ones. I sang mele to acknowledge and pair up with gorgeous classic mele from the previous band King Kevin Kealoha🤩 and … Mahalo iā ʻoukou a pau!!

One of the highlights of the weekend was getting to rehearse and perform my harmony (that I have been singing along since “tape” days) in Lei ʻŌlaʻa - one of my favorite mele by this guy. Even better that it suited the parts sung by Kupu and ʻEkolu. Fangirling fo shō!

I lead two and a half mele, a kaʻi here, and a hoʻi there but for the rest of the choke mele we did, harmony was my kuleana. Thrilling👍🏾❤️

One of the highlights of the weekend was getting to rehearse and perform my harmony (that I have been singing along since “tape” days) in Lei ʻŌlaʻa - one of my favorite mele by this guy. Even better that it suited the parts sung by Kupu and ʻEkolu. Fangirling fo shō!

I lead two and a half mele, a kaʻi her, and a hoʻi there but for the rest of the choke mele we did, harmony was my kuleana. Thrilling👍🏾❤️

A three generation hui. is one up from me and and are one down from me. We made great mele today at the Iā ʻOe E Ka Lā hula and mele competition in Kaleponi nei. Mahalo to Kumu Hula for inviting me to the team. One more day of beautiful mele and hula tomorrow.

A three generation hui. Manu Boyd is one up from me and Kupu Dalire-Na'auao and ʻEkolu Chang are one down from me. We made great mele today at the Iā ʻOe E Ka Lā hula and mele competition in Kaleponi nei. Mahalo to Kumu Hula Kaui Dalire for inviting me to the team. One more day of beautiful mele and hula tomorrow.

.bab0 gets to jam with the busiest ladies in the Hawaiian world🤣✊🏽❤️. Singing today to honor our Aunty one of the main inspirations for my mele Kīholo. Aloha to the Hind ʻohana✨✨

Fun jam in Makawao on a brand spankin’ new stage at Oskie Rice Arena. 🍒

Brought plenty love and mele from home to Maui. Wish we could have stayed for the rodeo kine tings! Mahalo to the Anahola paniolo turned Makawao paniolo for bringing our gang together today!

& Wilson Kanakaʻole. Planny pāʻanis today! Just da way I like it! Hehehe I no can pāʻani fo nuttin so I just direct😉😁

When you show them the brilliance in the first three verses and what to look for, how, and why…. Boom - they goinʻ all in on the rest. Yeah, put on that scuba gear and get to it!! Eighteen supple and power packed verses to learn from. We go!!

Mahalo, Mom and Kaniaulono❤️✊🏽 Yay! We got 1 good pic of us! What a power packed set of our kuleana in music. Bring honor and creativity to our musical legacy.

.bab0

We jam em! Maliʻo❤️Mahalo for the chance to make music together at the prestigious with so many incredible Hawaiian ladies of Hawaiian music. Three generations! ✊🏽 Twas an epic lineup of spunky kupuna in their eighties to the youngest of the cast who is a tender 16. My ʻohana - mom Lady Ipo and daughter Kaniaulono .bab0 shared our original mele and ended with a Kauaʻi classic. Hammah Coloma was the hardest working wahine on stage✊🏽🎶 Mahalo Hawaiian Music Perpetuation Society for inviting us to share our ʻohana legacy. Love you all! Hoʻomau ʻia lā!

Join us this weekend as we bring our music legacies to the prestigious Hawaiʻi Theatre stage! My mom, daughter, and I will be part of the Friday cast. Looking forward to all the mele and moʻolelo that will be shared! Mahalo e ka Hawaiian Music Perpetuation Society for inviting us!

Coming soon to Hawai’i Theatre-Mali’o! Two nights full of beautiful Mana Wahine musicians gathering together to celebrate and honor the rich history of women in Hawaiian Music. All together over both nights, there will be over twenty women, representing our islands across Hawai’i, from three different generations on this stage, and we cannot wait to share with you!!!!

At Waipā Foundation’s Eat The Invasives gala. Everything was festive! The meaʻai was so ʻono- kao, puaʻa, kia, taʻape, apple snails, kiawe and more. We took care the native mele and hula🤙

Choke ʻāina org rockstars were in. da. house! Mahalo for all the work they are doing for our ʻāina aloha. Great to see so many friends and families on stage and off. Celebrate!

He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauā ke kanaka.

Mele nerds unite!

Mahalo iā a me for our jam! We geev em! What a pleasure to serenade the Waiʻanae moku community and those came from all over Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi to support Maui’s mā. Incredible music and hula from 4pm-10pm with plenty haku mele and established Hawaiʻi music makers. Mahalo iā mā for organizing and uplifting our lāhui aloha! Hoʻomau ʻia lā!

One of the coolest things for me living in Hilo all these years was meeting Bruddah Waltah Aipolani, becoming friends, and then musical colleagues!

How influential Bruddah Waltah and Island Afternoon was for our era! When theyʻd come Kauaʻi, we went to every show. What a great band name too😍

Hit after hit, unique leo, style, and a good and loving bruddah, uncle, makua, Papa, and friend.

When I made it past “Eh Sista” to “Kainani, I sing with you anytime!” - yup, I was 🤩🤩🤩

We would walawalaʻau about our history, moʻokūʻauhau, Kauaʻi connections, and of course music from every angle.

One of my dreams was to be his back up singer singing the parts of Aunty Watty and Aunty Kanani like on the recording. I got to do it that one day unofficially 😊- from the first row in Panaʻewa!

Aloha nō e Bruddah Waltah! Ke Akua pū a hui hou!

E nā hoa, which mele of his was you favorite jam? So many, yeah?

Filling Waikoloa and ʻAnehoʻomalu with lots of mele from Haʻehaʻe to Lehua. Maui mele sent over the ʻAlenuihāhā with plenty aloha❤️

The crowd didn’t let off stage without some Borinki music! Got to cut da rug little bit with my ʻohana and nieces😍. Mahalo e and crew for making us sound mo bettah🤙

Nani Waikīkī ka uluhala, kai hoʻopulu ʻelo i ka ʻili o ka malihini. Hoʻoipo ana me Makee ʻAilana, hoʻopē ʻia e ke ʻala lipoa❤️

Mahalo to .bab0 for a beautiful evening of mele at the Mahalo to my ʻohana and friendsf joining us and for our gorgeous lei kalaunu and lāʻī kalakoa! For all the efforts of the staff and coordinators of the Wildest Show, mahalo nui loā

Nani Waikīkī ka uluhala, kai hoʻopulu ʻelo i ka ʻili o ka malihini. Hoʻoipo ana me Makee ʻAilana, hoʻopē ʻia e ke ʻala lipoa❤️

Mahalo to .bab0 for a beautiful evening of mele at the Mahalo to my ʻohana and friends joining us and for our gorgeous lei kalaunu and lāʻī kalakoa! For all the efforts of the staff and coordinators of the Wildest Show!!

Glimpses of a rad summer from Hilo to Hanalei and more. Mele was a major part of all our adventures. Time is flying by🥹

Glimpses of a rad summer from Hilo to Hanalei and more. Mele was a major part of all our adventures. Nui ka pōmaikaʻi.

Join us in February for Pūlama Mauli Ola, the annual FREE hoʻolauleʻa supporting Pūnana Leo o Hilo and Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu...it will also be the debut of Lei ʻUla (in honor of my hero Keʻelikōlani) - my Hawaiian Music In Action class from UHH...gotta "hoʻo-gig" them, lol!