It’s Sunday morning here in the valley and there’s excitement in the air as everyone prepares for final football game of the season – the NFL’s Super Bowl!  Although my two favorite teams didn’t make it (Broncos and the 49ers), I’m still going to root for the NY Giants just because Carla is a staunch Patriots fan!  But the best part about the Super Bowl are the commercials because for some reason, they always air the funniest, most creative commercials during the Super Bowl.  My favorites are the Bud Light and E*Trade ones, especially that E*Trade baby … he’s hilarious!  Just goes to show you that you don’t have to be a football fan to enjoy the Super Bowl!

Last night was another very fun evening at the Kani Ka Pila Grille.  Many of our friends came down to see us including Wayne and his wife, Susan, along with Jesse Kuhaulua and his group who had flown in from Japan earlier that morning.  Jesse, a local boy from Happy Valley, Maui, was the first foreigner to be accepted into the ranks of sumo, Japan’s most revered sport.  We had the privilege of traveling with him last September up to the Tohoku region of Japan as part of a goodwill delegation where he attracted large crowds wherever we went.  It was great to see him again and I want to thank everyone who came down to party with us last night!  Mahalo to Pat and Kamalei for their lovely hula, and also to the many visitors both from the mainland and Japan who were there to enjoy our music last night!  Aloha!

Friday night’s performance at the Punahou Carnival’s Hawaiian Plate was a real blast.  The boys & I played before a packed house and the energy that night was awesome!  With Mark on bass, Seann on drums, and AK on his Strat, we took off at warp speed and never looked back … we had so much fun!  I was happy to see our buddy Pal Eldridge there … he really helped the boys when they were students at Punahou and gave them their first real performance experience during the school’s annual May Day shows.  Also ran into our pal Kama Hopkins of the group Holunape who stopped in to say hi … great to see him again!  But I was amazed at how many of our fans from Japan came to the carnival just to see us perform … mahalo for coming – we are truly grateful for all your support!

Have a great Super Bowl Sunday, my friends!

Aloha, “D”

It’s Thursday which means an afternoon round of golf with my fellow degenerates.  And why I’m bragging about this to you guys is because it’s the first thing that I’m actually looking forward to this week!  Things should start picking up tomorrow with the Punahou Carnival, KKPG on Saturday, and the Super Bowl on Sunday.  I’ll be rooting for the Giants to beat the Patriots.  Why, you ask?  Just ‘cuz … plus the fact that I bet an IOLANI shirt vs. a bottle of wine with my buddy Rob in L.A.!

As I said before, this week has been a weird one for me … not really boring but with lots of little things going on – both good and bad.  I’ve had weeks like this before, but for some reason this one really stands out and I’ve been in a mild funk for the last couple of days (as you can tell from my blogs).  No worries, though … you gotta go through this once in a while in order to appreciate the good times.  I did receive a bit of good news – my friend and fellow degenerate, Les, made it through his heart surgery yesterday.  It was touch & go for awhile and there were doubts as to whether he would survive the operation – but he did and he’s now recovering nicely!  Heal quickly, brah … we need you back on the Thursdays!

We had a nice visit at IOLANI from hula sensei, Yoshiko, and several of her haumana who are here visiting from Osaka.  We had met her several years ago when ManoaDNA started over at the E&O Trading Co. in the Ward Centre … man, that seems like such a long time ago!  Anyway, it was great to see her and I hope we see them all again soon …

We had a surprise dinner last night – Alex came over and made us his special fish tacos!  He grilled corn tortillas and added sauteed mahimahi, his own homemade coleslaw, and liberal amounts of Cholula hot sauce.  Along with one of Side Street’s farmers salad with shrimp & avocado, it was just what the doctor ordered!  And as always, I ended up eating way too much (burp!) …

Aloha, “D”

Now I have a question for you guys – the portion of Kona St. where IOLANI is located, between Pensacola & Piikoi Sts. across from Ala Moana Shopping Center is a disaster waiting to happen with no streetlights, no sidewalks, and frequent floodings that create huge potholes too numerous to count.  At night I see more and more pedestrians walking along the poorly lit street (the only lights are from the buildings in the area) and it’s only a matter of time before there’s an accident.  So my question is, who’s responsible for the public’s safety?  Is it the city or the landowner … and who in fact IS the landowner??  Every time there’s a pothole problem I call the City & County hotline which then sends a crew out to repair them.  So if I let them know about the safety issue, will they put up street lights and install some sidewalks too?  Probably not … and it’ll probably take some poor sap getting hit by a car to get any kind of action.  Sad, but true …

I had lunch with my pals from KoAloha yesterday over at Ryan’s Grill at the Ward Centre.  I haven’t been there in a while and was shocked at all the empty space on the 2nd floor restaurant level … Ryan’s looked like it was the only one still open!  I remember when ManoaDNA first started back in 2005 at the E&O Trading Co., who along with Ryan’s, Compadres, and Brew Moon filled that place to capacity with people who came to enjoy the food & music!  Now it’s a ghost town except for Ryan’s … another sign of the times, I guess.

On a brighter note, we’ll be performing at the Punahou Carnival’s Hawaiian Plate this Friday from 7 to 8pm so come on down and enjoy some great food & music!  The boys & I do this every year as our way of giving back to our alma mater … it’s always a lot of fun and we get to see a lot of our former classmates.  And don’t forget to pick up some malasadas too … they’re pretty awesome!  Then on Saturday we’re back at the beautiful Kani Ka Pila Grille, so all in all, another great weekend of music!

Aloha, “D”

It’s Tuesday morning and another beautiful day in paradise!  Not much happening this week except work, work, and more work … pretty boring, huh?  Yesterday was pretty quiet – just lots of meetings and no workout.  Gotta restart my workout regimen again even though I still can’t play squash … it’s been over 8 months since I last played and my shoulder is still not 100%.  Although I’ve been lifting some weights and trying to keep up with my cardio workouts, I have to become more consistent.  Like that Nike slogan says … “Just Do It.”

I stopped in at Side Street last night to have a beer with my friend Cal and as always, we ordered the crispy skin pork as a pupu.  This stuff is so delicious but definitely at the very bottom of the health food list.  And to make matters worse, we ask them to deep fry it too!  Served with a dip of soy sauce and mustard, this stuff is THE BOMB!!  After we were done, I dropped by Tsukuneya to meet up with the boys and ended up ordering a bowl of their spicy shoyu ramen – and spicy it was!  I knew I was in trouble when the waiter brought the dish and I saw all these tiny slices of red chili peppers floating around in the soup!  It was really good though, and a great way to end the evening …

Aloha, “Pops”

I’m back!  We spent Saturday & Sunday in Napa, Monday in San Francisco, and are now getting ready to head back home to Hawai’i.  This has been an awesome trip and I have much to share with you guys, but it’ll probably have to wait since I still need to pack for our flight this morning.  We had dinner last night with our SF ohana and it was great to see Diane, Paul, Bret, Kristi, Lori, Donna, and Jennifer again!  We had a great time and the food was awesome … edamame rice, yakisoba, katsu, salmon, chicken, papaya and pasta salads, and of course, desserts!  Lori & Kristie brought these great cookies and cupcakes to die for … and of course, I had to try them all!  What a perfect way to end a truly wonderful trip ….

Oh, by way … hey Donna, don’t forget to send us the video of your band!  I heard you rock on the ‘keys!!   Yeehaaa!!!

I’ll be posting more stuff on our trip tomorrow along with pictures … gotta run now.

Aloha, “D”

Boy, was last night’s college BCS championship game junk!  It was totally one-sided as #2 Alabama humiliated #1 ranked LSU 21-0 …  Alabama’s defense was so dominating that LSU’s offense couldn’t move the ball past the 50-yard line until midway through the 4th quarter!  It was a great victory for the soon-to-be #1-ranked Crimson Tide and an awful ending to an otherwise great season for LSU.  But worst of all, this was the final college football game of season … WAAAAH!!!  All that remains now are the NFL playoffs and then it’s over – no more football till next fall!  Damn …

Have you guys ever been to Panya in the Ala Moana Shopping Center?  It’s located across the parking lot next to Long’s on the mall level and is a great place for breakfast.  I’ve gone there many times for early morning meetings since it’s close to IOLANI and the food & service are always very good.  And since they’re primarily a bakery, the pastries are to die for!

The boys & I will be traveling to Vegas and San Francisco with some friends for our final week of R&R before we begin ManoaDNA’s 2012 season.  We’re especially looking forward to meeting up with our SF “ohana” (I’d really love to see their rendition of the “Nijiwo” hula again – especially Bret and Paul!  hahaha!).  I hope I have a different SF experience than the one I had “back in the day” when we partied so hard the first night that the ensuing hangover kept me in my hotel room for the next two days!  The only sites of San Francisco that I saw on that trip was on the ride in from the airport and on the ride back out.  Luckily, I’m older and wiser now … well, at least older.  We also tried to get tickets to the 49er’s playoff game with New Orleans on Saturday, but at $250 a ticket (cheapest!) I’d rather spend the day in Napa!

Aloha, “D”

Well, the Broncos did it … they won their first playoff game with Tim Tebow as their quarterback, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 on the very first play in overtime!  It was pretty exciting as Denver jumped ahead early, only to see the Steelers mount a great comeback in the 4th quarter sending the game into overtime.  The Broncos will now travel to New England to take on the top-seeded Patriots in what will be a huge challenge for Tebow & Co.  But the big game right now is this afternoon’s BCS Championship game between the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide, the #1 and #2 ranked college teams in the nation.  We all plan to be at Side Street Inn to watch the game and enjoy a few brewskies …

Not much else to tell you guys … probably because all I did this weekend was relax and do absolutely nothing!  Yawn!

Aloha, “D”

Hope you’re all having a great Sunday morning!  I’m going to spend the day at home watching the NFL playoff games and doing some chores … pretty boring stuff.  I’ve been really enjoying this downtime since ManoaDNA is still on its holiday break and I pretty much kept my calendar clear of any commitments.  I’ve also been able to help Carla a little more with IOLANI now that I have more time on my hands.

I stopped at Hank’s Haute (Hot) Dogs yesterday to pick up some lunch – Portuguese, chicken, and original Chicago ‘dogs – along with a large order of their special fries cooked in duck fat … all great stuff, but a cardiologist’s nightmare!  I got home in time to watch the New Orleans Saints beat the Detroit Lions … damn, I wanted the Lions to win since their last playoff game win was back in 1957!  For today, I think the Giants and the Steelers will win their respective games although I’m hoping that Denver can somehow pull it off … but I think the Tebow magic has run its course.

I’ll be taking the boys on their birthday trip next week so my vacation will soon be over … oh well, it was nice while it lasted.  I’m looking forward to it, though, since we’ll be hooking up with our San Francisco “ohana” who we traveled with to Japan for Project Aloha back in October.  It’ll be great to see those guys again …

Aloha, “D”

For all you football fans out there, this weekend is the start of the NFL playoffs with two wild-card games slated for today and two tomorrow.  But the one I’m really waiting for is on Monday – it’s the college BCS national championship game between #1 ranked LSU and #2 ranked Alabama!  When the two teams met earlier in the season, LSU squeaked out an exciting 9-3 overtime victory but I think this time around it’ll be different, at least score-wise.  We all plan to go down to the original Side Street Inn to watch the game, so see you all there!

Speaking of Side Street, I stopped in to pick up some take-out and the place was absolutely packed!  I mean there were people in the aisles and a big crowd outside all waiting for tables … unbelievable!  I grabbed my fried rice, farmer’s salad, pork chops, and grilled steak, and got out of there … after having a quick draft, of course!

I can tell I’m starting to get the urge to play again … I actually picked up my guitar for the first time in several weeks!  Taking this break has done wonders for my health and spirit … I never realized how tired and burned out I was.  By the time February rolls around I’ll be back to full speed … so watch out, 2012 … the ManoaDNA train is gettin’ ready to roll!!!

Aloha, “D”

Just got back from dropping Nick off at the airport this morning and as usual, traffic was backed up on the airport viaduct coming into town.  There are always a few reckless NASCAR wannabees speeding in and out of the traffic, only to be stuck with the rest of us when the freeway ends.  So they save a minute or two … is that worth the wasted gas and the risk of a serious accident?  Why don’t they try leaving five minutes earlier instead …

I met some friends at the Yard House on the Waikiki Beachwalk last night.  This was my second visit there and the place was packed, mostly with tourists.  I had heard some bad things about how they treated the locals, so I wanted to check it out for myself.  We sat at the bar, ordered some drinks and pupus, and talked shop while we watched the crowd come and go.  The food and service were pretty good and the place is nicely laid out, but it certainly has the feel of a mainland chain restaurant including the usual “my s–t doesn’t stink” attitude that some of the employees try to throw at you.  All in all, it’s a good place for tourists to go in Waikiki … but I’ll take the original Side Street Inn any day!

Have a great Aloha Friday, everyone!

Aloha, “D”