Well, after a nice restful week it’s back to the rat race again … MDNA has 4 performances this week starting with a corporate event tomorrow night and ending with Kani Ka Pila Grille on Saturday.  After that we’ll be taking a week or two off (I think) while we go on the road.  ‘IOLANI continues to be busy with various projects that need to be completed, but at least we’re making good progress in that department.  Not having to go on the road a lot this year has been a real blessing for us all … especially me!  And even though we go back on the road after summer, most of our projects should be completed by then … I hope!

Did I also tell you that the newly renovated Honolulu Club reopened on June 1st?  Although the renovations aren’t completed yet, it’s really looking good … and the squash courts are back!  Yay!

So while Alex travels back and forth to LA to write and record and Nick is busy with HI-SESSIONS, Carla & I continue to push ‘IOLANI forward.  Obviously, there’s never a dull moment in the Kawakami household!

Have a wonderful week, my friends!

Aloha, “D”

And so we begin another week … let’s see what’s going on.  Oh yeah, Alex & Mark will be at the SWIM tonight – MDNA is taking the night off.  If your in the area, come on down to the Hyatt and check this duo out .. they’re good!  We’ll be back at Lulu’s on Friday, but will not be at Kani Ka Pila this Saturday due to a schedule snafu.  This is turning out to be one of those rare weeks when I can actually stop and take a breath … sort of like the calm before the storm!  Better take full advantage of it because it looks like the craziness returns next week!  Bring it on, suckah!!

Aloha, “D”

First, a little congratulatory “pat” on the back! For those that follow me on Instagram and Twitter, you saw my friends and I participate in the first-annual “Challenge Nation” scavenger hunt. It’s a nationwide competition that stops in each major city, allowing teams to compete against each other to solve clues the fastest. The Honolulu version featured 190 teams from various walks of life, including my team, “Team Red Rod.” After an hour and a half solving the clues from Chinatown to Blaisdell (on foot no less), we ended up in 22nd place! Not only that, we qualified as on of the top 25 teams for the national competition in Las Vegas in November!

During the “Challenge Nation” race, our team took 22nd place and qualified for nationals!

I also want to remind you guys that our latest compilation release, “Pineapple Express” is now available at the Dole Plantation in Wahiawa! It features 9 re-released songs from various other albums and one brand-new song called “Pineapple Express.” It is the theme song for the train tour up at the Dole Plantation and was written by Alx! Unfortunately, since it is a promotion for the Dole Plantation, we cannot offer it here on our website, but hopefully they will offer it online soon! Or…you could just head out to Wahiawa and pick one up yourself!

The Pineapple Express album is now available at the Dole Plantation!

The next story comes from Waikiki! Last week, we were asked to perform for a HUGE Japanese fashion show at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel called “Hawaiian May.” It featured all of the latest fashion from Japan and was a really high-class event! Unfortunately for us, the soundcheck that day happened to be right as the sun was the hottest! Even though we were only on stage for a short 10 minute soundcheck, it felt like an eternity and I swear Mark (our bass player) was melting! Lucky for us, the actual event was later in the evening and so we were able to avoid the heat for the actual show!

During the “Hawaiian May” concert, it was extremely hot during our soundcheck!

Finally, I want to share a story from our night at Hyatt last week. It was a VERY slow Wednesday down at the SWIM bar, and we were already kind of bummed at the size of the crowd. Then, during our second set, a lady came up and started talking to Dad. She was middle-aged, from Australia, and looked like she and her friend might have had one too many Fosters in celebration of her birthday. Well, thanks to some liquid courage and feeling “in the moment” she started dancing on stage with us (not in front of us, behind us)! At first, I thought “harmless fun,” just let it go and she’ll leave the stage with some good pictures… Well, that didn’t happen. She started going into this trance, grinding on Alex during his solo, and really distracting us from what we were trying to do. I understand she was having fun, but I think it’s very disrespectful to distract the band, embarrass Alex by grinding on him, and take away from the rest of the audience, just for your enjoyment. I told her to stop grinding Alex, and she ended up leaving the bar after that song. What do you guys think? Should I have just bit my tongue and let her enjoy herself, regardless of how it affected the performance?

It was one of those nights in Waikiki! Nick’s face describes it all!

That’s all for now, let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Have a happy Kamehameha Day on Tuesday! ALOHA!
Nick

We’ll be at the SWIM this Wednesday, and then Alex and the Leftys will be at Lulu’s on Friday (I’ll be golfing with my high school classmates!).  Then on Saturday, MDNA will be performing at the Punahou Alumni Luau – yay!!

Aloha, “D”

Follow ManoaDNA for more photos like this!
ManoaDNA on Instagram
ManoaDNA on Twitter
ManoaDNA on Facebook

Follow ManoaDNA for more photos like this!
ManoaDNA on Instagram
ManoaDNA on Twitter
ManoaDNA on Facebook

Memorial Day is also the unofficial start of summer … and if the weather’s any indication, it’s gonna be another hot one!  We started the weekend off with another awesome Friday pau hana at Lulu’s.  Many of our friends and family were there, including many visitors from Japan and Australia.  But the party always goes up (or down!) a notch whenever Scott, Denise, and the Hawai’i Kai gang come in (can you say “shots”, boys & girls?).  Talk about another epic night … good thing I didn’t have to get up early the next morning!  Earlier in the day, we were at the Princess Kaiulani to do a taping for a TV anniversary special for our good friend, Kimiko-san.  She’s the owner of a well-known club in Tokyo called Birdland and heads an all-women Hawaiian music group that comes to perform at the Na Hoku celebration every year.  They’re celebrating their 700th TV show by taping a special segment here in Hawai’i … mahalo for including us!  On Saturday, we performed at the 1st annual Waterfront Jam, a fundraiser for the Kamehameha Lions Club over at the Aloha Tower Marketplace.  We were honored to share the stage with Jake Shimabukuro and Brother Noland in what turned out to be a totally AWESOME event!!   I gotta tell you .. we’ve performed in many of these events with different musicians and bands before, but this past Saturday night was truly exceptional … the synergy on stage that evening was INCREDIBLE – a feeling I can’t even begin to describe!  Then at the very end of the evening, the Lions surprised Brother Noland, Jake, and myself by making us honorary members of the Kamehameha Lions!  Wow .. we were all speechless, not to mention very honored!  I’d like to send a very grateful mahalo out to Amy, Daryl, Kata, Janet, and all of the Kamehameha Lions that worked so hard to put this wonderful event together … you guys are the real stars!

Finally, I joined my Selohssa golf gang yesterday out at the Royal Kunia golf course … and struggled yet again.  I don’t know what’s going on with my game – started of with two pars and then proceeded to make 4 double bogeys in a row.  I was hitting the ball pretty decent but just stunk around the greens – chunking or skulling easy sand shots and chips, and 3-putting like crazy – stupid stuff like that.  Did manage to hack my way to an 88 which on that course is like shooting 100 at Waialae … oh well, it is what it is.  At least it was a beautiful day …

Aloha, “D”

Follow ManoaDNA for more photos like this!
ManoaDNA on Instagram
ManoaDNA on Twitter
ManoaDNA on Facebook

2000 Likes! Thank you for the continuous support!

I can’t believe we hit 2,000 likes on our Facebook page, and it’s still growing! What an amazing milestone that is for us, and we thank EVERYONE for spreading the word about ManoaDNA! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Other than that, there’s only one piece of news I want to share for today. On Wednesday, IOLANI on Kona Street hosted the gang from Birdland for an exclusive shopping experience…

The gang from Birdland enjoyed an exclusive shopping experience with IOLANI on Kona Street and ManoaDNA!

About 75 of them stopped by the store, shopped a little, then were treated to a couple of songs by us. It was really great because during a couple of our songs, several of their hula dancers got up and danced! It was definitely a memorable experience, and we hope they had a great time!

That’s all for now, a short post but hopefully just sweet enough.
ALOHA!
Nick

Went and picked up Nick from the airport this morning after he flew in from Japan.  He and his friends had a great time eating and sightseeing their way through Fukuoka, Kyoto, Kobe, and Hiroshima.  Now it’s back to work …

We had some big clients in this past week which is why it was a pretty stressful one for all of us … and it looks like we’ll have more of the same this week.  I’ve also been trying to spend more time with my mom … she’s been having some health issues recently and now requires more assistance.  Never a dull moment …

Aloha, “D”