Another month speeding by … it’s already the 3rd week of July! Just as I was bragging about our nice Spring-like weather – wham! – we get hit by some of the hot, sticky stuff ! I could tell today was going to be another scorcher after I stepped outside to get the newspaper around 6am and it was already heating up. Still not as bad as Japan, though, according to many of our friends who came here to escape some of that heat and humidity. Even the U.S. mainland is getting baked … the USA Today weather map shows only red and orange across the country, which signifies only the hottest temperatures. It’s going to be a rough summer, folks ….
So this past week was pretty normal .. we returned to the SWIM last Wednesday where many of our fans from Japan dropped by to see us. On Friday, we skipped Lulu’s because we had a wedding reception up in Pupukea on the North Shore. I always love the North Shore because it’s so laid back and the scenery is always beautiful … but the traffic SUCKS!! This time, we left extra early to avoid the rush-hour traffic in town but ended up getting stuck in gridlock right after Haleiwa. Apparently, some Hawaiian monk seals at Sunset Beach were creating a traffic nightmare because everyone was trying to stop and get a glimpse of them. We barely made it to the wedding in time to set up … in fact I think we set a new land speed record for set up and sound check! :-) And except for the occasional peacock screech and the blood-thirsty mosquitoes that ate me alive, it turned out to be a great evening! On Saturday, we were back home at Kani Ka Pila Grille … man, I love that place! Once again we had another great crowd including the Japan ukulele/guitar duo, Fulare Pad and their manager Kouketsu-san, who were here for Sunday’s Ukulele Festival. I love these guys … really nice and boy, can they jam! Want to say mahalo to Mami, Manoa (yes, that’s really her name) and family from Japan, the Hetheringtons from Victoria, BC, the Vegas from Kaua’i, the “old fut” gang, and all the rest for coming down to enjoy our music! I especially want to thank that wonderful couple from Sapporo (can’t remember their names – sumimasen!) who hand-carried our favorite Sapporo Classic beeru all the way from Hokkaido for us to enjoy! That’s why we treasure our fans so much … they’re so special! Mahalo! After our gig at KKPG, we headed over to the Corner Kitchen to catch Alex’s first solo performance there. This was the first time I had been there and it was interesting .. the food was great but we had to bring our own booze because their liquor license had expired. Anyway, Alex did a good job and is scheduled to perform their again on Aug. 16th – 10pm to 12am. If you guys are looking for a great place for some late grinds and awesome music, go check out the Corner Kitchen on Aug. 16th ….
Aloha, “D”