What a nice, mellow Friday morning!  Even the puppies aren’t going nuts like they usually do, although they did run away from Carla when she unleashed them after their walk!  We have a break this weekend before going back into the studio next week to finish up our new CD.  We have our usual performances at Lulu’s and Kani Ka Pila tonight and tomorrow night, and then on Sunday we have Zach’s (Mark’s son) 1st birthday party.

Hey did you guys hear that Hawaiian Air has applied for a Hawaii-Japan route?  That would be awesome and it would certainly help boost our tourism!  They’re gonna really have to “up their game” because the international airlines are really good .. they make most of our domestic carriers look like Third World cattle cars!  Good luck, Hawaiian!!

Aloha, “D”

Our dog, Peanut, is so huge … especially when he jumps on your stomach while you are in a deep sleep!  He actually only weighs about 30 lbs., but is large compared with papa Buster and sister Jazz.  We had another late night at the recording studio last night so I was planning on sleeping in a little later this morning (7am instead of 6am!).  All of a sudden, my peaceful slumbering bliss is jolted by a sudden and violent blow to my mid-section – Peanut!  Frick!!  He decided it was time to wake everyone up so he could go pee and eat!  It’s hard to stay mad at him, though, ‘cuz he’s so cute!

We stopped in at Zippy’s for a late dinner last night after our recording session, and I had their chili moco.  It’s like the loco moco that a lot of you are familiar with, but with chili instead of gravy.  It was soooo ono!  They also add a coating of their special mayonnaise to it that gives it a weird taste … I always make sure I order the dish without all that stuff on it!

Thursday!  Golf!  Yippee!

Aloha, “D”

Peanut - beware of the sleep crasher!

Howzit everybody!  It’s another gorgeous but windy Wednesday here in Hawai’i-nei and I hope all of you are doing fine!  We had another productive recording session last night, and I have to say that this new CD will be pretty awesome!  Studio work is quite demanding and time consuming, especially since you have to be a lot more precise instrumentally and vocally than when you’re playing live.  I also notice that we’re a lot sharper during our live performances whenever we’re in the recording mode.  The only bad thing is that we don’t get to eat regular meals – dinner usually consists of fast food (as you can see by the photo).

I have another lunch meeting today and then it’s back into the studio tonight!  Let the good times roll!!

Aloha, “D”

Our reward ... dessert!!

Engineer Milan - one of Hawai'i's best!

"Fine dining" at a recording session!

Good morning!  It’s still real cold here in Manoa and the tradewinds are gusting through the valley.  We have a meeting this morning for our new CD with our co-producer Herb Ohta Jr. who’s finally home for a while after being on the road for the last few months.  We hope to finalize our song list along with all the licensing issues that need to be addressed … lots of details to take care of!  We go back into the studio tonight to record more tracks for the CD so it’ll probably be another late night.  Hmmm … maybe I’ll go across the street to Murphy’s for a late snack!

Aloha, “D”

Alex in his element ...

Well, vacation’s over … time to go back to work!  We go back into the studio this week to continue work on our new CD which we hope to have ready by the time we leave for Japan at the end of April.  We also have to start preparing for our Golden Week tour which is from late April to mid-May.  So far, it looks like we’ll be in Tokyo, Yokohama, Hiroshima, and Osaka, but we’ll know more as our trip draws nearer.

Alex and I are going to Dan’s Guitars to pick up some supplies.  I’m also going to have Dan take a look at my 12-string guitar since it may need some neck work.  He also told me that the guitar company CA (Composite Acoustic) may have gone out of business!  That’s too bad .. they made the best composite guitars in my opinion and I even bought a 6-string model last year.  Great sound …

I’ve got to go shower and get ready to hit the road, sooo … mata, ne?

Aloha, “D”

The strong winds are finally subsiding a bit, but there’s still a bit of rain in the valley.  I slept in late this morning, which is unusual for me since I’m an early riser … must’ve been all that iced tea that I drank after we were done at KKPG last night!  It was another fun night at KKPG last night … really nice crowd!  There were quite a few people sitting in the lobby behind us listening to our music, so we actually had two audiences!  We’re starting to see a lot of repeat customers in the crowd, so I guess people must be enjoying our music enough to want to return to KKPG!  It was nice to see all of our friends again, especially Yuriko who we haven’t seen since we were in Yokohama last July 2009!  It was her birthday, so we sang “Happy Birthday” to her … she also danced hula for us to “Hanalei Moon” and then accompanied our buddy, Yutaka, to a fun rendition of “Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai”!

Any of you guys on Facebook?  Check us out …

Allllooooha!  “D”

Saturday .. my favorite day of the week although Golf Thursdays is a close second!  I like Saturdays because it’s the start of the weekend and the mornings are so laid back … except when our puppies go nuts on us!  I think I’m going to play some squash this morning to work off some of that dinner that I ate last night at DK’s Steakhouse (see yesterday’s blog).  Then it’s off to Kani Ka Pila Grille for a fun evening of music and entertainment!  I really enjoy performing with the boys .. it’s great for my soul, especially when everyone else is having a blast too!

Aloha, “D”

Hey .. wassup peeps!  It’s Friday evening and my day was filled with meetings for our IOLANI store which we’re building in our factory here on Kona St.  We’re targeting a June 1st grand opening, so if any of you are in the Ala Moana area at that time, come on by.  I didn’t get to play squash today since I went to have lunch with friends at the Surf Bar in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel … and what a gorgeous day it was!  The beach was packed and there were lots of swimmers and surfers in the water.  Tonight we had dinner at DK’s Steakhouse in the Waikiki Marriott and it was a little disappointing.  For an expensive restaurant, the food was pretty mediocre and the night ended with the valet forgetting to give me my change for the $12 valet parking charge!  And then we all wonder why tourism is having a hard time …..

Aloha, “D”

Yup … it’s THURSDAY!  And Thursday means it’s time for golf!  I know a lot of you are wondering, what’s so great about hitting a small, white ball around a field for 4+ hours.  Good question … however, I like to think of it as spending an afternoon with a great group of guys, getting some sun and a little exercise, and then topping off the day “re-hydrating” at the 19th hole!

I’m really starting to enjoy our little radio show on 79.5 Radio-I in Nagoya every Sunday morning … I think we’re definitely getting a lot better at it (although the radio guys may disagree!:-)).  We will be very busy for the next few Sundays producing more shows since we’ll be traveling to Japan from late April to mid-May.  We’ll also start recording our 3rd CD hopefully

Isn't this awesome?!

sometime early next week, if we can find the available studio and engineering time.

Oh, oh … here come the puppies – must be time for their walk.  And it’s cold and rainy this morning too (sigh!) …

P.S. – Check out this awesome rainbow I saw as I was driving downtown this morning … lucky we live Hawai’i!! (sorry, but I had to take

DJ "AK" on the radio!

this pic while in the car)

Aloha, “D”

Nick "the N" broadcasting on the ManoaDNA - Discover Aloha! radio show

Good evening!  I just got home after spending a few hours with Reiko and her gang from Studio Rim radio at Imanas Tei, one of my favorite izakaya restaurants here in Honolulu!  We had hamachi nigiri, natto maki, katsu, soft-shelled crab karaage, and gobo tempura … interesting!  Of course, we washed it all down with great Japanese beer and sake!  The most interesting thing, though, occurred when one of our friends, Sarah, decided to go shopping at nearby Nigiya Market right in the middle of our meal.  Now … people usually leave the table to use the bathroom or answer a cell phone call, but shopping???!  That definitely is a FIRST!

I spent today answering emails and attending a couple of meetings at IOLANI, and even had time for a game of squash at lunchtime.  We also recorded another radio show this afternoon which featured an interview with my old friend, Palani Vaughn.

Well, see you tomorrow …

Aloha, “D”