As the first blog post of 2012, I ask you what your resolutions are because I am still unsure myself. Of course there is the traditional, “eat better,” “make more time for friends,” “drink less,” blah, blah, blah. But this year, I’m thinking much more philosophical: expanding what you have and maximizing your potential (wow, very inspirational, yah?!). I’m serious though, because ManoaDNA is at a crossroads in 2012. With no travel support from the state of Hawai’i, and changes happening internally, this is a great opportunity for us to expand what we know and do and make it a great year! This will be the first time we coordinate our own tours, fight for our path, and try to create a true ManoaDNA experience for each and everyone (including us)! It’s very exciting.

However, I will admit, this does come with some trepidation. There are a lot more unknowns, and there is a lot more responsibility and liability placed on our shoulders. Hopefully, the relationships we have built over the years are genuine, and the work we put in was not a waste. I am a planner by nature, but even I cannot predict what will happen.

So, after 201 words, what is my point, right? I really just want to wish everyone good luck with whatever your resolutions are in 2012. I know we’re all ready for prosperity, wealth, health, and a clean soul, but just remember, that it’s going to take work.

Hey, the Mayans said the world is supposed to end this year anyway, right? Why not make it worth it!

5. Weekly Shows at Lulus & Kani Ka Pila
I know it may not seem special since we do these two shows every week, but Lulus & Kani Ka Pila are still our homes. It gives our fans a chance to come and visit us, and helps us keeps our chops up. From the Japan fans taking pictures with us to our family supporting us each and every week, both of these venues will always be a part of us.

4. Alumni Lu’au
This year, I celebrated my 10-year high school reunion from Punahou, and ManoaDNA was asked to be the featured performer. In front of all my classmates, and hundreds of other alumni, we performed our music and it ended up being one of the best highlights of 2011.

3. Our 3rd Annual Toy Drive
Even though Mother Nature had it out for us again, we still put on a very successful and charitable toy drive this year down at Gordon Biersch! Raising well over $5,000 in toy donations that night and almost $1,200 in raffle donations, we beat our goals and look forward to the fourth annual drive next year!

2. Final HTJ Tour
2011 also marked our final year working as the touring group for Hawaii Tourism Japan. Working with them for the past 4 years has been the most rewarding thing that we have ever done. It has taught us to be professional, hard-working, and (most importantly) spreading Aloha wherever we go. Thank you to Ichikura-san and his staff, we will miss you dearly.

1. Kokua For Japan/Aloha For Japan/Project Aloha/Rainbow for Japan Kids/Aloha Heaven/Feel The Light
Of course worldwide, 2011 will be remembered for the tragedy that struck Japan. But for me, I will always remember the experiences we had in supporting the relief efforts. From our first goodwill tour with HTJ, to the last one with Project Aloha, we met and experienced so many different things that it will be my top memory from 2011. We hope to keep supporting those who supported us, and look forward to continuing the goodwill through 2012.

Happy New Year Everyone! Like I said, it was tough for me to pick five favorites, since we had so many wonderful experiences with so many great people. It was support from people like you who made our 2011, and we hope that you continue to support ManoaDNA through 2012 and beyond!

From the bottom of my hear, happy new year everyone. Be peaceful, be with the ones you love, and share your Aloha.

Nick

Anyway this is a quick post announcing that we have our Toy Drive date for this year! Mark your calendars for Saturday, December 10th to join us and help out Hawai’i families! I know a lot of our Japanese friends will be in town for the marathon, so it should be a rocking party!

Keep an eye out for more updates!

As a treat, here are the three videos we showed throughout the tour! The first is a slideshow put together highlighting our adventure so far! It’s a little long, but shows a lot of great memories from our past five years.

Second video is our introduction to our “Feel The Light” video, interviewing ManoaDNA, guest artist Jake Shimabukuro, and recording engineer Milan Bertosa.

Finally, the third video is our “Feel The Light” music video showing highlights from our May trip up to the Tohoku area.

Thanks for taking the time to watch, we hope you enjoyed it!

ManoaDNA is heading back to Japan for another tour with Hawaii Tourism Japan. On two of our stops in Tokyo & Yokohama, we will be also be holding two private concerts! It will be our fourth time performing at Stoveʻs ThumbsUp in Yokohama and our second time performing at MOON ROMANTIC in Tokyo! If you wanna come check us out live in concert Japan-style, definitely catch one of these two shows!

Get your tickets for our two private shows:

Sorry, ManoaDNA has no upcoming shows.

Donʻt forget to pickup your “Feel The Light – Endless Aloha Tour 2011″ limited edition charity bracelets! Proceeds from the sale of this bracelet along with our single, “Feel The Light” will benefit the Tohoku University Hospital System in Japan!

We will also be doing several shows with Hawaii Tourism Japan during this tour:

Sorry, ManoaDNA has no upcoming shows.

It was really nice to get back on stage and performing after my two weeks off. We saw a lot of our good friends in the audience, and performed some of our usual favorites. Afterwards, we didn’t have time to stop and sign CDs as we had to head straight upstairs for a quick interview at Fm yokohama.

Now, it’s off to the Landmark stage for our final show of the day and close Aloha Yokohama day number one!

Enjoy this week’s episode where we answer more questions from the audience, and show a clip from the Sendai halau that came into IOLANI!

Get your questions in by leaving a comment below or visiting our Facebook Page or our Twitter Page.

“At Home With ManoaDNA” is a weekly web show featuring the band. Tune in weekly as Dad, Nick & Alex talk about their week, take questions from the audience, and even sing! It’s a good time, so stay tuned!

If you want to have your questions answered on the show, submit your questions via facebook, twitter or comment below!

If you want to have your questions answered on the show, submit your questions via facebook, twitter or comment below!