Hawaii's Underground: Local Music | Art | Tattoos | Independent Businesses

interview by Katie Whitman, cameraman Shawn Davenport [transcript]

We’re here at the Waikiki Shell with Rock Kills Kid.  We have Jeff and Shawn with us today.  Jeff’s the lead singer and Shawn plays bass and they’re going to talk to Hawaii for us.  So you guys just got here, just hours ago.  Are you going to get a chance to hang out at all and has your whole tour been like this?

[Shawn]  It’s been really busy.  A lot of coming in, playing right away, and leaving, but we’re actually going to spend four days here without playing, you know hang out, go to the beach, get some rest.  We have an eleven week tour after this with Head Automatica, so I’m plugging the tour right now.  The tour goes to every major city in the United States twice over, so everyone should come… except for Hawaii.  It doesn’t come to Hawaii.

You guys should come back.

[Shawn] You should fly us in. [laughter]  It was a busy schedule though.  We got here at, what?  1:30 and we got over here by 2:30, sound checked, there was doors, then we played.  As you can see, we look amazing.  We look great.  [to Jeff] What do you have to say about it?

[Jeff] Yeah.

[Shawn]  Yeah, apparently what I said was true. 

[Jeff] You’re not lying.

[Shawn] He ain’t lying.

So how do you think it went?  Personally, I thought you guys were doing great and had a lot of energy.  I do not envy that sunlight on you.  That was not cool.  But yeah, you guys feeling Hawaii?  Hawaii feeling you?

[Jeff] Yeah, I like Hawaii.  I like the vibe here.

[Shawn] I wanna like go in some waterfalls and run around naked and stuff.  Stuff like that.  It’ll be a good time.

[Jeff] I’m not going to be joining him. 

What are you going to do?

[Jeff]  I don’t know.  I’m probably going to lock myself in my hotel room and do nothing.

[Shawn]  I plan on eating.  A lot of steak.  A lot of seafood. Drinks.  It’s the last break we get for three months.

You [I point to Jeff] actually spent some time studying how to perform on stage.  You sort of did a little research on how to be a performer.

[Jeff]  No I… I guess you’d could kinda call it studying.  I guess I kinda watched some videos of U2 and Bruce  Springstein and kind of studied why they do so well with crowds and all that…  You have to find the point in you that makes you enjoy it.  Once you find that, it’s like a switch, you can just turn it on and off.

So you guys have had to be pretty persistent in your… I don’t know about struggle… but to get a big record label [deal] and stuff like that.  I read that you were turned down nineteen times.

[Shawn]  A lot of labels were really interested, but then it would go to meet and they were like, “We’ll pay any amount of money for you,” it’s great.  Then it was like, maybe we should do this record on and indie and then come back.  And it was like, well, no, you wanted to do it.  And it’s not an indie record, it’s a radio record – it’s kinda pop.

            We finally went and the right guys came along, Perry from Warner Bros. came along and he’s been really awesome.  He was like, “Why would you stay on an independent label?  You’re not an indie band.”  So, it did take a while.  We were very persistent.  Not to the point of desperation, but kept the record on the shelf for a while. 

[Jeff]  It got to the point that we were doing it [visiting labels] so many times and we were so close so many times that it was like we couldn’t stop.  It got to the point where it was our tenth time and we almost had a deal and at the last minute they said no, so, you know, why give up there when you’re so close?

[Shawn] And the whole time we were doing it, the one person that kept coming up was Perry at Warner.  This guy wants to meet you.  We were so focused on these people that were promising us all these things that never came through, we were like, he’s not promising us anything.  But when it came down to it, he was the one who actually came through and supported us.  He’s been amazing and so, it was the right move.

[Reed, keyboardist, causes a raucus in the room next door.  We turn the camera on him and he comes out, gets a lighter from the camera man and tries to light a cigarette as we all huddle around trying to block the wind.  He then takes over the mic…]

[Reed] I’m in Hawaii, and that’s really all I care about right now.  I mean, we’re in Hawaii.  This is ridiculous.  Why are you trying to be all serious in Hawaii?

Oh, I’m not.
[Shawn] Let’s go to the beach.

I guess we’re probably good.  Oh, no.  One more thing!  The big deal for the publication that I make is about trying to help out bands in Hawaii, help them get somewhere, accomplish something.  It’s hard to do over here on an island.  Do you guys have any advice for them on how to make it in the industry?

[Shawn] Bands from here?

Yeah, band’s in Hawaii.  How do they make it in the industry?

[Shawn]  Move to L.A. [laughs, kinda]  No, ah, find a good manager.  That’s what we did.  It doesn’t matter where you are, as long as you have a good manager who’s working for you in L.A.  Barely any of us live in L.A. proper.  So you can be in Hawaii as long as you’re a good band you just gotta find the right manager, a team.  That is the key.  The right management.

[Jeff] First, make some good music.  Concentrate on the music and really get into it. And then find a manger.

[Shawn]  Even if you don’t make good music and you have a good manager, you can still do it.  [laughs]

[Jeff]  Yeah yeah yeah, that’s true.

[Shawn]  It’s the people that work for you that really help you.  If they’re in the right places talking to the right people, you can be an artist in Hawaii or Alaska doing music, like he said, making good music.  That’s it – making good music and find a good team to do the B.S. end of it.  That’s my advice for Hawaii bands.

Thank you, Rock Kills Kid, Jeff and Shawn.  Thank you for talking to us.

Interview with Jake the Snake - Host of genuineHI, Hawaii's Only All Local Hip Hop Radio Show

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interview by Katie Whitman

So I hear there’s another Jake the Snake?

Jake: The whole Jake the snake is...Jake the Snake was a wrestler, like WWF or something like that back when I was a little kid. I didn’t really watch WWF very much but I remember hearing his name and his gimmick was that he would always have this huge boa constrictor on him or something like that. When I started at KTUH, I didn’t have a DJ name. I would just introduce myself as Jake on the training shows and I couldn’t think of a name. So some other DJS at KTUH like Million Billion from the Nod Factor and one of my other trainee DJ's just started calling me Jake The Snake on the air. So the just like made a nickname for me. I guess they thought of that when they heard "Jake.” I’d be coming up next after them and they’d be like "keep it locked for" and look at me and smile and say "Jake the Snake" and I’d be like "whaaat?" So that’s kinda how I got the name. It was just given to me that way and I figured that if even if I chose something else, people would call me Jake the Snake anyways. I might as well go with what people call me...yeah so that’s the thing with the name. So it’s this wrestler dude and I’m nothing like him probably. But that’s the name I got, er, I was given...so that’s the story behind the name

So how long have you been DJing?

Jake: I started training at KTUH at the very end of January.

Just this year? wow.

Jake: Yeah 2006. Just since January, so it’s kind of a really new thing for me and it’s funny how I got into it because I never thought of myself as doing radio DJ stuff. I got into because I was working on the activities council at UH and we would help plan all the concerts on Friday nights at the Campus Center. I wanted to do a hip hop show because you know we always did hawaiian, jawaiian, reggae, and ska shows at UH. I was like "we never have any hip-hop shows, we should have a hip-hop show!" I kept advocating to the rest of the council like "Hey, I wanna do a hip-hop show, I wanna do a hip-hop show!" and they were always like "whatever Jake, be quiet." I kept asking and then they were finally like "OK Jake. Here is your chance. You can do a hip hop show." They gave me a date - it was last November, 11th or something like that. I was so stoked! I was like "Yes! I can do a hip hop show!" Then I was like, "Oh crap. I don’t know any of the local hip hop guys! Who am I gonna have perform at UH?" Then it was just searching online and asking people that I knew that might be down with hip hop goups to look for and to contact. Anyways, I had that first hop hop show that I did in November and then I had a smaller one in January as I started training to DJ at KTUH. After that first event, I met Million Billion at this over night cram jam. (It’s like this all-nighter in the campus center and you get free coffee and stuff during finals.) So Million Billion was finishing up a paper over there and I was working on the activities council, so I was there. He was like "Yo, you’re that guy that put on that hip hop show last month in campus center." I’m like "yeah" and he says "Oh, I’m Million Billion." I say "Oh I know who you are!" I had heard him on the radio but I had never met him. Then we got to talking about hip hop and local hip hop and he said "You know, you should apply to be a radio DJ at KTUH." I was like "What? me? No way! I don’t know anything about hip hop like you guys do and I never thought of doing that." He says "No man, you should really apply, if you apply now you probably won’t get on for another year because of the waiting list." Either before or after that, I had spoken with Nabahe and I had just met him and he’s like "You go to UH? You should apply to be a KTUH DJ." So two guys tell me to do that so I figure "what the heck, I’ll put in an application." At the end of last fall’s semester in 2005, I put in the application thinking "ahh I’m not gonna hear back from them for a year." KTUH called me in two weeks and they were like "Oh, were ready to train you." I was like "Oh No! This wasn’t supposed to happen! I was just gonna apply and then like whatever, you know?" Once spring started up, I was training at KTUH from the end of January. It was kinda interesting that the way I started doing that was actually through the hip hop event, meeting the groups that way, and yeah I kinda didn’t know a lot about hip hop and the local hip hop, so I kinda just dove in head first. I hit up people for music and I bought whatever CDs I could find that were local and then I just started doing my show. Slowly, I started getting more music and whatnot and more people heard about it.

Do you like it?

Jake: YEAH. I have a lot of fun doing it, actually... It’s been cool because I’m right after Million Billion’s show for right now at least...Friday nights from 3 to 6 and he was midnight to 3 so I would sit in on his hip hop show and just kinda hang out and watch how he worked the controls and meet some of the local guys that would always come down to the show. That was cool for me. He helped me out in a big way. I’ve been doing it since jan and it’s been a big learning thing for me. I wasn’t really into the whole hip hop thing until only lately...like maybe when I was 19 - I’m 20 now. I think when I was 19, I just turned off the radio because it had just gotten too bad. It got to the point where I couldn’t listen to radio. I’d be like "Wow, this is trash!...this is totally terrible and I cannot listen to it anymore." So I just stopped listening to the radio and I had to find my own music that way. I would try to find hip hop that I really liked. I found A Tribe Called Quest that was the light for me – “Wow! This is REAL hip hop right here!” It’s been around, but I never knew about it because I was never around hip hop heads...never around people that were really into it. From there, it was just like trying to find hip hop that I liked. Then I met local hip hop guys that I like. It’s all recently, all within the last year that I’ve been into what I am doing right now. KTUH has been so awesome, I think it’s such a nice opportunity. I’m just a normal student, I am not a communications major or anything like that. You can just sign up as long as you’re a student. It’s a volunteer job - you don’t get paid, but its super cool because you meet all the DJs and you really learn a lot about music and radio stuff in general. And production. It’s been one huge learning experience for me. I love it so far and I thought it was such a good opportunity to be on the air. Potentially reach a good amount of people so I might as use it to help out the local guys who don’t get air play. Just like DJ Catwings does...she does local bands and indie bands and I do the hip hop, so it was cool meeting her because we are kinda on the same wavelength with the same outlook. I’ve been trying to use it as much as I can to help the local hip hop scene. I’ve been in touch with a lot of local hip hop guys that send me music - burned CDs, mp3s attatched to emails. Then I see them at shows and I will burn a CD and put it together and put it on the show. So the local guys have been real enthusiastic and everyone has been really supportive. I really like how things are working out. People call me up and they ask "what is this stuff?" and I tell them it’s all local. They are really surprised when they find out it’s local artists...I think the scene is really growing right now and it’s great. It shows through the 808 Scene Zine.

Do you have any master plan for the year?

Jake: [laughs] No master plan....my master goal is to just get on a regular time slot. The plan for the show is to keep it real local. It is hard sometimes to make a 3 hour show every week and keep it fresh with local hip hop. I don’t have THAT MUCH material and it’s not easy to come by, so people are sometimes like "you should mix in other underground hip hop, not only Hawaii hip hop." But I think that I need to create a space for it to grow...and I think the whole 100% Hawaii hip hop is what I want. I think it’s strong. So I’m tring to build it that way. I want to have guests on shows as much as possible. Local guys a lot of times will bring their beats and do a live set, or we will have DJs do a live set. Then we get to interview the groups and we get to find out more about them - how they got together and got into music, what their plans are, album releases and shows coming up. I want it to be really community oriented. I want it to everybody’s show. Definitely want to continue doing shows I have a show coming up on Sept 29 (Friday) and it’s 7 to 9:30pm. It’s right outside of Baile, right outside KTUH. Its called “On the One, Special Delivery.” It should be a really fresh show. It’ll be outdoors in the courtyard area. I’m working on shows like that at UH and then the radio show. The web site helps a lot, too, because I record the shows and people can listen to them on genuinehi.com. That’s a lot of where my awareness has come from because a lot of people are not awake during my show... I have ice heads call me up. I get some interesting calls from 3 to 6 am. You get weird calls.
Being able to record the show and post it online so people can download it has helped a lot in getting exposure for the show. I think I’ll continue to do that. Although the switch to midnight to 3am should help for the live audience. So that’s the master plan. No world domination [laughs].

Whats your major?

My major is mechanical engineering. I’ve always been really into math science stuff but I’ve also always been into art and music. It’s kinda funny because people always ask "What are you doing here?" I think I’m the only engineer here at KTUH, and the activities council also. At Kaleo, I sell ads in the newspaper...only engineer there too. People always ask if I’m a marketing major and I guess I have an interest in it, but it’s not my major. So people don’t know what to think. They’re like “Wait, you’re supposed to be doing engineering stuff.”

A Tryst with Temporary Lovers

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Dave used to be into choir and acapella choir and barbershop quartet and musicals and he really liked acting and singing, so it seemed like the logical jump was to be a rock star “Which has pretty much panned out.”

interview by Katie Whitman [transcript]

Wanna say your names?

This is:

The Talent (Kai, bass player) [TT]

Big Muff (guitar) – standing backwards guitar, facing the drummer  [BM]

Do you not like to look at the crowd?

[BM] I don’t like to have my picture taken. 

Truffles is the drummer. [TR]

I’m Melba Toast – singer and smart man, vocals and harmonica. [MB]

Harmonica?  I don’t believe I’ve seen the harmonica.

[MB] Well, you gotta come to a show.

I’ve been to shows!

[MB] Well, it’s a new song.

Ohhhhh… Is it just one song on harmonica?

[MB] We haven’t gotten Bob Dylanish yet. 

Is that the plan?

[MB] Eventually.  [laughs]

You gonna go from punk to Bob Dylan?

[MB] We’re NOT punk!

So what are you?

[MB] We don’t allow moshing, so it’s not punk.

Well, if you have rules, you’re not punk.  But, you’re falling over on the stage… you don’t allow moshing?  What do you do?  Do you tell them to stop?

[MB] We immediately stop the song and tell them that we do not like people who partake in that violent behavior.

And people are okay with that, I guess?

[MB] Yes, people pretty much listen to us.  We’ve been threatened a few times.  Pretty much now, most of the regulars know to stop the other people from doing it before we even stop.

So how long have you guys been playing?

[Melba Toast addresses Truffles] How long have you been playing?

[TR] A month and a half.

[BM] Truffles has been with the band for a month and a half. 

[Melba Toast is called away to move his car as we are at Vibe Asylum and we have to pack them into the parking spots.]

Oh yeah. Because Numero Bruno moved away.  So you’re the new guy.

[BM] He’s a Greek fisherman in the Bay Area.

What?  Greek Fisherman?  So what happened to Bruno?  He went to San Fran?

[TT] San Mateo.

Does he actually fish?

[BM and TT] No, he works on cell phones.  He designs the games on cell phones.

[BM] He’s the one that made that Arnold Palmer golf game. 

[TR] Oh he made that?

[BM] Yeah, well, not Arnold Palmer

[TT] But the one kind of like that.

[BM] I wish he had given me his cell phone before he left…

Did you get all the hookups?

[BM] I had to pay for them.

[Melba Toast returns.]

We were talking about Bruno making cell phone games.

[MB] Oh yeah yeah.

The plan is to upload this so people can listen.  That’s the plan, but I always sound like such a tool that I never want to put it online.

[MB]  Well, we’ll all sound like tools together.  Speaking of Tool, this Friday man..

You going?

[MB] We got a show.  I don’t have $80 to spend on Tool.

I think they sold out.  I tried to get in as press, but they weren’t having it.

[MB] They didn’t buy your photocopied zine…

Hey!  Hey! I …

[MB] I did a zine..

You did one, too?

[MB] Yeah, I did a zine.  Four of them. 

You did four zines? Oh, four issues…

[laughter] [MB] Four issues.

I understand.  These things are freaking hard.  I’m just terrified of failure, so..

[MB] I never had sponsors though.  I just went to Kinko’s and stole… Back in the day..

I wanted to do it at my work, but the photocopier kept breaking and I felt guilty…

[someone comes in and leaves again, followed by some entertaining comments by Temporary Lovers and our laughter]

So what were we talking about? 

[MB] I did the “Wet Noodle” zine.

Hence you are Dave Noodle…

[MB] Yeah.

“Wet Noodle”?  So what was…?

[MB] It was neo-political with a mix of.. hmm does anyone remember that?

[TT] I remember it.

[BM] I remember it.  I mean I remember you made it. I don’t know if I remember the content..  [laughter]

[MB] Yeah, there wasn’t anything jaw dropping about it.

Why did you..?

[MB] Actually, to be honest with you, I did it to get free records.  I used to have a radio show and that went off the air and I stopped getting free records.  So I was like “man, I’ll make a zine!” So I wrote all these record labels and said “I’ll give you free ads..”  So like, free ads for free music.

[We get on to the Band Camp show…]

[TT] I wanted to try and finagle my way in and hang out.

[BM] With the Hot Hot Heat dudes?

[MB] They didn’t hook you up?

[TT] Well I lost contact with them.

You knew the Hot Hot Heat people?

[TT] Yeah.

[BM] Kai brought the Hot Hot Heat people out here.

Oooh!  Yeah, they played at Pink Cadillac they said.  They mentioned it.

[TT] Oh really?

They said “We were here a couple of years ago at Pink Cadillac!”

[TT] No one fucking knew about it.

No, no there were people shouting like “yeah, we were there!”

[then we discuss Converse shoes]

[MB] Anyways, so what were we talking about?  Oh, we’ve been playing for look two years.  Okay, we’re back on track. 

But you all have a long history in the scene?

[MB] Brian ([BM]) was part of Das Muchachos.  Genius.  And Tannerboyle Quartet.  And Kai ([TT]) was part of Deep 13 and Browanson.

[BM] and Roswell and Clock Tower.

[MB] and then Eli was in Dagra and he’s in The Miltons.  Then I was in a band… The Sticklers.  That’s why we’re famous now.  Because of my band. [laughter]  I have clout.  Yeah.  No.

What do you get [with your clout]?

[MB] I get into shows for free.  But I never go to them. 

So you’re not punk… you don’t want to define your music?

[MB] I would say, if we’re going to define our music

[TT] Like a mix of Chuck Barry… and Dennis Rodman…

[MB] yeah… yeah… like Chuck Barry and Dennis Rodman.  I dunno, I guess people would say we’re kinda rock ‘n’ roll, garagey rock. 

[MB] Labels are for, like, food.  We’re not food.

[BM] Labels are for food!!

[MB] That’s our next song title right there.

Do your title necessarily have anything to do with your songs?

[MB] No, our titles have nothing to do with our songs. 

Always?

[MB] Always.  Never.

Never and always.  What are your guys songs about?

[MB]  Beer.  Hot girls.

[TT] Computers with one kind of font.

[laughter]

[MB]  That’s true.  Hollywood starlets.

[a bit more laughter about the font thing]

[MB] Yeah, that was one of our first songs.  I dunno.  Okay, I write the lyrics, but I don’t write about anything in particular.  And I was actually just asked by somebody, somebody named my wife, “Who’s that girl you’re writing about?”  Well, no one.  She was like, “Okay, cool.”   I write about girls because it’s easy to write about girls.  And I like them.  Brian writes the riffs usually, when we tune, and he gets motivated.

[BM] Best fucking riffs ever!

[MB] Then I just write whatever fits in there and usually it has to do with nothing – beer or computers with one font.  Or girls.  They’re hot.

[another diversion leading to the Gilmore Girls and some dude from Skid Row]

So what do you guys want to do with your music?  Do you want to become rock stars or get signed?

[BM]  I’ll let you in on a little secret here?  This is Hawaii.  No one’s getting signed!

Hey.  We’re trying to change that.

 [MB] Somebody else will get signed, but we won’t.  We don’t have the motivation to do that.  Half the time we don’t even play shows.  It’s kinda hard to get signed if you don’t play..   I spent a lot of money on my instruments so I have to make it worth it.  If I quit now, they’ll just collect dust.  I dunno, it’s fun.  I mean, we’re just having fun, right?

[BM] We get beer.

[MB] We’re having a good time just playing and running around.  We talked about putting a CD out, but we don’t have any money, so…  But Truffles has got a 16 track, so we can record…

What’s the stuff on your myspace?

[MB] We recorded that with Dimitri at Low Brow Studios, greatest studio on the island next to Truffles.  No… Dimitri from Low Brow recorded us.  That was like a year and a half ago.  We recorded 5 songs.  Then we recorded the other “Less Yap Yap, More Slap Slap.”  We recorded that – we’re gonna be on Dance Dance Revolution for X Box 360.

For real?

[MB] For real.  Coming out in October.

How did that happen?

[MB] Because of Steve and his sweet connections with Kunami.  This guy named Stillwind does sound for Kunami and he wanted to get a local band on there so Steve used to work for Kunami, so hey, does your band want to be on Dance Dance Revolution?  And we thought we were going to get lots of money, so we said yes, but we didn’t get a lot.

What happened?  Did you get any money?

[MB] We got some.  Enough to pay for some practices.  It was kinda like, okay, cool.  So that song is going to be on Dance Dance Revolution for Xbox 360.

[BM] We get games.

[MB] We do.  We get two copies of the game. 

[BM] So I’ve never played Dance Dance Revolution, but we’re going to be on it.  Apparently the Clash is going to be on it, too?

[TT] [Uni?] told me The Clash is going to be on there.

[MB] So basically we’re sharing time with The Clash.  [laughter]  and we might get signed.  [more laughter]  Yeah, so that’s our big break right there.

BRINGING THE NOISE TO ROCK THE ROCK

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interview by Kodia Rae

The story of Sick Nick Productions is one of a lot of sweat, a little blood, a few tears, heaps of Ramen noodles and megatons of determination. Some say nothing comes easy and the same is true of promoting heavy metal and hard rock in the Hawaiian Islands. Still the twenty eight year old San Diego transplant keeps his nose to the grinding stone and his efforts have allowed Oahu to play host to a variety of veteran and upcoming bands that otherwise might not have graced “ the Rock ” with their presence.

The local scene has benefited from his efforts as well. Opening acts are ninety – five percent of the time hand picked from the local pool of musicians. Truly you would be hard pressed to attend a show at The Pipeline Café, Anna Banana ’s or any venue supporting the islands local rock and roll scene without some one (or everyone ) knowing who Sick Nick is. Perhaps you might catch a glimpse of him some where in the club enjoying the fruits of his labor or just “ cruising ” an event. One thing is for certain – Sick Nick supports the local scene.

I caught up with the elusive Sick Nick recently, and over a couple of cold ones and some burgers I picked his brain little to see what makes him tick and discuss all things metal…

Kodia Rae: What’s up, Nick? How are you?

Sick Nick : Everything is good. How about you?

K.R : Just right . (pause). So, what got you started in promoting? Where did you start?

S.N : I started doing it for the girls (laughs). Nah, I started promoting for my friends bans in San Diego but not on any serious level. When I moved to Hawaii six years ago, I moved thinking that there could be a rock scene already established but what I found were a lot of bands that played rock and metal who had no one to promote for them. For me promoting bands on Oahu started from being in a band and trying to put shows together for ourselves. Eventually I realized that I needed to be on the other side of things. The promoting side instead of the musician side. I made up my mind to make a serious effort to help out the bands I was coming into contact with and make something happen here.

K.R : Describe a little bit some of the things you do as a promoter.

S.N : Eating a lot of Ramen noodles, I’ve had to do that (laughs). I had to sacrifice a lot in the beginning. Giving up many things for the sake of one, so-to-speak. Really, it’s more about Sponsors, Bands, Venues and audiences. Inside all of that there’s proposals, marketing, media, ticket sales, radio spots, sound and lighting, stage management, vendors, making sure the band is taken care of and that fans know about the show. There’s a lot to pull together for one point. In the end I just cross my fingers and hope people show up. (laughing).

K.R : With whom have you been involved with bringing to the islands?

S.N : Band wise I’ve done stuff like Powerman 5000, Manntis, Testament, Hatebreed and Point Defiance and I do some the local shows too like Cemetary Gates and Metallurgy. The local shows are a lot of fun. There’s a lot of bands the cover charge is just right and it’s a chance to get to see the newer kids coming up in Hawaii playing rock and metal.

K.R : Where do you want to take your promoting?

S.N : Short term I’m just trying to get incorporated. Getting more investors to invest in more shows and keeping a momentum. Long term, I’d love to be booking bigger acts at bigger venues, and ultimately my own music festival here on Oahu.

K.R : Sounds like you’ve got your work cut out for you.

S.N : Yeah but here (Hawaii) is cool in the fact that everyone pulls together to make things happen. The more I keep at it the more likeminded people will help make it happen with any luck. (pause). Excuse me. (leaves for a moment… returns with two 40 oz beers). Here you go.

K.R : Thank you. Cheers.

S.N : Cheers.

K.R : What bands do you like locally?

S.N : Man, a bunch. Crucible and 8mm Overdose have been really good to me. Analog, Missing Dave and Dagra I like, and Primal Tribe and Amplified when they were around. There are a lot of good bands here like The Miltons, The Hellcaminoes, Tapped… the list goes on. All together it would make for one helluva rock and roll show. There would be Volcanoes erupting in the back ground and shit! I’d go see it! (laughs).

K.R : (laughs) Who do like on the world stage.

S.N : That ’ s hard to pin point. Cannibal Corpse just put out a “ killer ” album called Kill. (no pun intended). Sepultura just released some good music. Lacuna Coil rocks. There are so many…

K.R : So many bands, so little time…

S.N : True indeed. I’m just going to keep on keeping on and work towards the best, you know. I’ll do what I can.

K.R : Anything interesting coming, that you are a part of?

S.N : ( pause ) Killswitch Engage comes to mind and Anthrax. I’m working with a Seattle based company called Rock Minds on a couple of other things. I don’t want to say too much, but it’s looking good for rockers young and old.

K.R : So what! Hook a brother up with some tickets!

S.N : Hell no! This interview is over! Get the hell out of my house!

 K.R : Peace (laughs)

S.N : Fuck peace. (laughs) I’ll see you later. THE END