Aloha, everyone!
Hope you all had a nice restful weekend! I’m still trying to recover from mine … it seems like my weekends are always so much busier than the regular work week! I started off yesterday by having a nice brunch with my buddy Guy and his family from San Luis Obispo and then came home to give the puppies a much-needed bath. After a little downtime, the boys & I headed over to the Bishop Museum to perform for the Taste of the Nation fundraiser along with Jody Kamisato & his students and Jake Shimabukuro. On Saturday night, we were the closing act at the SPAM Jam down in Waikiki and boy, was it packed! They closed off a part of Kalakaua Ave. for this annual block party which featured all kinds of food including dishes made with – what else – SPAM!! We performed on the Outrigger stage sponsored by FM105 KINE with Bruddah Wade as the MC, and really had a great time. Mahalo to Toby for inviting us … I’m glad we were finally able to make it this time!
I also want to send a big congratulations to Moanilei and Nik who got married on Saturday in a beautiful ceremony over at the Bishop Museum. I’ve known “Mo” since she was a baby so it was a very special day for me and my family. Congratulations also to her parents, Neil & Marianne!
And finally, it’s Golden Week in Japan! For the past 5+ years, MDNA has always been there to represent Hawaii Tourism Japan during this major holiday period, but this is the first year that we won’t be there. I know many of our fans are disappointed, but please don’t worry … we are planning to come and perform for you later this year. Meanwhile, we are also planning a short trip at the end of May to perform in Hiroshima for the 15th anniversary celebration of the Hawai’i – Hiroshima Sister-State relationship and then go to Yokohama for a live stage at Thumbs Up on 6/2, along with a “meet & greet” event with our fans on 6/3, before returning to Hawai’i that same evening. So don’t worry … we’ll be back!
Aloha, “D”