The 808 Life

JG Quintettes

The 808 Life — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 06:42:50 +0000

JG Syndrome Performing at The Dragon Upstairs

So when I was informed by Jason Gay (The Bentos) that he was going to be with two new musical quintettes I was, at the least to say, easily intrigued. One of the best musicians on a saxophone (or any other instrument for that matter) on the island, I could only imagine what the possibilities could be with these new groups. So when I asked what would be different as compared to, for say The Bentos, the answer immediately sparked interest. The groups, which play at the Dragon Upstairs on Nuuanu Ave in Honolulu’s Chinatown, alternate every Monday night playing from 7-10 with a $10 cover charge. So this was a great way for people to enjoy live jazz, which is what I am still under the impression of what the groups would be playing, while still getting home relatively early. Fair enough, but obviously my curiosity was directed towards the genre of music to be played. So the answer caught me a little off guard. On one Monday, you could expect to hear an array of orginal creations from Jason and the rest of the members. This group, called the “JG Syndrome”, clearly stuck with my initial thoughts. Easily enough to wet the palette, what really caught my interest was what would be played on the alternate Monday. Here, I was to find out that the second group called Souled Out, would be playing pop hits. Pop Hits!?! Different indeed and so I had to check out both of course.

Culture is displayed throughout.

The first Monday I attended, debuted the JG Syndrome. Just seeing the compilation of talent from various bands all on one stage was quite impressive. They were essentially a compilation of The Bentos throughout the years but without a vocalist. The difference though was in the music played. A few cover songs here and there but the majority of the music were all originals. It was really just an oppurtunity to close your eyes and treat your ears to a wonderful experience. You’re just not going to hear most of these songs played anywhere else. Such a delight for over two hours, I actually felt ashamed a little that there was such a small crowd to experience this. Now granted, the Dragon Upstairs is not the largest venue out there at all, so it is well worth it to get there early. Enjoy the music and for the first hour enjoy the menu selection of pizzas. Just a small sample of the night is provided.

A little knowledge about The Dragon Upstairs. It is located right above Hank’s Cafe in Chinatown and Offers live music six days a week. Take a trip up the stairs and turn around to a small bar, stage and seating for about 30 – 40 people comfortably. The focus of the layout is clearly dedicated to focusing people on the musicians. Aptly named, The Dragon, the decor displays various Chinese artifacts and the lighting provides a very comfortable viewing ambience. The bar offers a decent selection and competitively priced beverages. During first Friday it is easily packed so come early as there is normally only standing room when the evening hits.

The Dragon is Everywhere

So my second session, I was able to catch “Souled Out”. All I could was wonder about these “pop” hits that would be played. Especially at a place like this? Well, the night went on and it was explained that it would be jazz versions of pop songs. So I must have missed that part. Again though, the experience was wonderful listening to jazz renditions of songs like Nirvana’s It Smells Like Teen Spirit, RHCP’s Dani California, Enya’s White Flag and Bill Wither’s Just the Two of Us (recorded below). Okay so they weren’t all pop songs, but they were all wonderful to listen to. So either Monday is definitely worth the trip to relax and rid yourself of some Monday ungoodness. Monday Nights from 7-10 with a $10 cover charge. Enjoy Life. Oh, almost forget the second sample. Take Care.

Spoke In

The 808 Life — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:50:44 +0000

What is here is not what may be considered an everyday ministry. Walking in you might not think you’re in any type of ministry at all. The warehouse in which this event is located does not have pews, organs or choirs. You walk in and you might find yourself in the middle of a poetic speech, acoustic musical set, or even a b-boy dance session. Again, there is nothing normal about this ministry, which may very be the most intriguing and captivating thing about it. Spoke In uses alternative methods to reach to an audience often missed by conventional means of worship. The evening begins with a social period where participants are able to dine from caterers providing everything from bentos and pasta dishes to drinks and acai granola bowls. There are also several vendors offering merchandise such as Afresh Clothing and CDs from some of the performing artists. Then, the show begins. The emcee for the event this night, titled “Renew”, was Darryl Sakamoto and he did an excellent job in covering the nights performances and keeping the crowd hyped. The first performance of the night was a cipher session featuring two lyricists exchanging line for lines which served as a great ice breaker and helped the crowd ease any tension though I couldn’t see how there could be. This was followed by the first spoken word performance (see video 1) by Andy Austin on a conversation piece touching to the questions of light and darkness. The first musical performance was next featuring an acoustic and bass duo by Jayvell & Sky playing their song “Why”. It didn’t take long to realize that you were in for a special night. An additional spoken word performance was given by Gina Ginelle, author of “Naked – One woman’s passage to attain knowledge and understanding of love, life, religion and a real God”, was followed by an array of musical performances including Christian rap group Bridging the Gap who began their “We Won’t Back Down” island tour at this venue. They entertained the crowd through dance, music and messages surely reaching everyone in the audience. With fellow lyricist “Sound Doctrine”, they uplifted the crowd to the peak of the night. After another spoken word performance, the night was capped with B-Boy/Dance demonstrations. From the younger to wiser, there was something there that night to capture each individual. Spoke In events go beyond the traditional to reach out beyond traditionalists. This ministry also goes beyond its doors as well as they have teamed up with others to protest domestic violence and sex trafficking throughout the state. For more information regarding their works, contact SpokeIn@mail.com. Their next event, “Book of Poetry”, takes place Sunday, February 27 at Olanui (next to Logos Bookstore) on Halekuwila Street starting at 6:30. You can also find them on Facebook Take care andEnjoyLife.

The Deadbeats

The 808 Life — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:33:14 +0000

It’s been a busy couple of days for the Deadbeats. The previous owners of Wednesday Nights at Jazz Minds Art & Cafe completed their final show last and turned the reigns over to Hip-Hop newcomer’s R-U-N. After taking a little time to themselves though for the Holiday Season, they came back into the New Year with a presence for 2011. Starting off, they made their debut at The Venue in Chinatown with a few special guests, including K-Luv and Big Mox of the Prolific Unknowns and Creed Chameleon, for Common Concert Pre-Party. Their was an electric atmosphere throughout the night as many of the Jazz Minds faithful came out to help the Deadbeats ring in the New Year. To add to the excitement, their were tickets to the Common Concert being given out as prizes for Deadbeat Trivia and the crowd was entertained to here a local rendition of “Open Your Eyes/The Light”.

All of this of course was just a precursor to the Main Event which was the Common Concert being held at the Neal Blaisdell Center. The Deadbeats, their special guests now including Tasho Pearce, put on a show for the near capacity crowd and served as a perfect introduction to the Grammy Award Winning Rapper and Actor himself. If all of this wasn’t enough, the Deadbeats were right back at it as part of NextDoor HNL’s BROADCAST, featuring live music every Wednesday Night. This night’s theme was titled Deadbeats vs. GRLFRNDS and all present were beneficiaries of a great show.

The year is still early and there should be much more to see from the Deadbeats including their anticipated second album. Keep up with the them at TheDeadbeats.com

K-Luv CD Release Party

The 808 Life — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 02:47:56 +0000

Anticipation was fulfilled at Manifest this past Friday Night with the Release of the “You Don’t Look Like You Rap” MixTape from Kealoha Mahone, better known as K-Luv. The event, which was sponsored by In4mation Clothing & Apparel, had a HI State energy that was felt from start to finish as Manifest was filled to such capacity at one point, people were not allowed to enter. Mocha & Lilikoi Cupcakes were provided for the event by Aloha Catering. Hip-Hop was at its finest as live music and DJ’s combined with some of the HI state’s finest emcees to keep the crowd entertained throughout the night with no letdown. Featured Bands Lost at Sea and The Deadbeats collaborated with Juan Reyes of Tempo Valley and Jason Gay & Mark Lindberg of The Bentos to set the live music foundation ala Roots style. Lyrical overlays were provided in both written, but majority, freestyle from guests Kwalified Emcee of the Ill Hill Society, Brian “B-Cap” Capobianchi and Alex Beguin of The Press Project, Taisei Lee of the Kalo Patch Kidz and but of course, host lyricists K-Luv & Big Mox of the Prolific Unknowns. The crowd was never left hanging as DJ Jah of the Prolific Unknowns and OSNA of Osna Proudly Presents Productions kept the 1′s and 2′s spinning to close out the night .

Manifest was filled to capacity for the CD Release Party

CD’s were distributed on a donation basis and quickly were cleared from the selling table, but is available in a downloadable version from our Music Vault. Again on a donation basis, use the donation button to contribute to supporting local music. The below video is only able to give you a sample of energy felt. Make sure to follow us on Twitter @The808Lifecom. For all of our featured events, we will let you exactly what is going there as we tape so you’ll know when the lines are building and when the entertainment begins. Mahalo and Take Care. Congratulations to K-Luv and Hawaii Hip-Hop.

Higher Love

The 808 Life — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:51:32 +0000

Native Roots Performs

Higher Love is a non for profit organizition whose purpose is to share about God’s love through music, art and poetry. To come together as the church, as one body, and give love to Him who first loved us. Recently, they put on an event at the Kaka’ako Park. With an objective to distribute school supplies to children for the upcoming school season, they also brought to the people, various demonstrations of music, art and poetry. The event was free to the public and also provided free food while supplies lasted. Musical performances included artists such as Native Roots & Bridging the Gap. Throughout the day, there were various paintings and murals on display and in progress. Many of the children there took to the hills in sliding the slope on cardboard sleds. The was the first event of its kind for Higher Love, but certainly doesn’t appear to be the last. Below are just some of the highlights from the day. For more information on Higher Love, you can check out their Facebook Page by clicking here.

Murals in creation throughout the day

Children taking to the hills

Insanity

The 808 Life — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:37:17 +0000

So there was definitely a little wariness going into this past Saturday’s events. Now we knew that the Lyricist Lounge would close out the night. That wasn’t a problem. The problem lied in what we had to get past to get to the Lyricist Lounge. Hopefully in somewhat of a decent physical condition. You see, there have been many methods throughout the past couple of years where lots of diets and exercise plans have been developed to help people get in shape fast.

Coach Isma Demonstrates the next Movement

Through research and development, trial and error, many boundaries have been overcome and success has been seen by many of those who are willing to put in the time and effort. Honestly, this is normally the case for anyone who is able to stick with an exercise regimen. The results will come, but not always as fast as desired. That’s where things get a little trickier. From the Team Beach Body Building company came two exercise programs which offerred to deliver substantial results over traditional programs. Better yet, they told you exactly how long it would take to get those results. P-90X in well . . . 90 days and Insanity in 60 days. So the hype was there, but we wanted to get a more personal view of what exactly was involved in the process. This is where the Insane Fitness Hawaii group comes in. With a purpose of giving you a trial experience of the Team BeachBodyBuilding Products, InsaneHawaiiFitness has been giving free workout sessions at the Manoa Valley District Park Gym on Saturdays around 5:00.

Group Sessions are carefully observed by trained instructors

Each Saturday, you can do a P90X session and if you didn’t feel that was enough, the next do an Insanity session (which some people did, phew!!). It helps to promote active lifestyles and see how the fun the programs are. Simply put, their mission is to reverse the trend of obesity. Even those who already have previously purchased the products, come by to renew their motivation. There are no purchasing requirements, so you can participate without worry. The sessions are guided by instructors who demonstrate the moves as seen on the videos. They also take the time to analyze and correct any form deficiencies you may have while performing, to ensure that you get the maximum benefit from the workouts.

P90 X and Insanity are two different programs but both have a common goal of getting you into great shape. P90X is design around the muscle confusion principle of Bodybuilding, which in general states that if a muscle is continuously stimulated in the same way, it will eventually adapt to this type of simulation and cease to continue to develop from it. So by varying the types of stimulation at pre-determined frequencies, you are able to keep the muscle “confused” and it continues to develop. Insanity uses the principal of Maximum interval training.

Maximum Air Time through Max Interval Training

Again, in general, it’s working at a high rate of intensity for long periods with short rests in between. It can really squeeze the sweat out of you. One of The 808 Life’s own, participated in this day’s P90X core session and her quote was “The best core workout I have ever experienced”. I’m sure a lot of people would agree. There are a couple of sessions around the island, so feel free to stop by and try it out. Prepare yourself mentally and physically though, cause you’re in for an experience. Thank you to Hitomi, Jason, Isma and all the participants from today’s session. Check out there website at InsaneHawaiiFitness.com or contact Hitomi at goldenlife@beachbodycoach.com. Mahalo and Enjoy Life.

The Santino Revolution

The 808 Life — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:23:06 +0000

Santino

On this night there was a gathering. A gathering to celebrate the joy of music, of friendship, of wonderful memories and of life. Santino Sgambelluri more simply known as “Santino” has been sharing his musical talents with the many ears fortunate to listen for over 6 years. Regularly performing at The Dragon Upstairs and at Jazz Minds Art & Cafe, he has also be seen at numerous venues across the island and collaborated with many guests from the Mainland. On this night though, there was another collaboration. A collaboration of friends, musicians, family and loved ones who helped make what was already a special night, a magical one. Indeed it was a perfect send off to Santino who will soon be departing the island due to military obligations.

Group Photo

The event hosted by his good friend Ikaika and wife Elle, featured a buffet of delights, musical entertainment from jazz to hip-hop, latin to Beat-Box, reggae to classic rock and a roast and remembrance of some great Santino times. Though we were not able to capture and display to you the whole night (especially since some things were not made to be recorded), we did want to share with you some of the performances of that evening. There was such a gathering of wonderful musicians which just helped make the night that much more memorable. Pianists such as Ikaika and Ethan Capone of The Deadbeats; bassist Chris Roth and drummers Mark Lindberg of The Bentos, Konrad Kendrick of QuadPod and Salvatore Di Amore set the foundation for musical brilliance while Juan Anthony Reyes of thee Knights of Tempo Valley on the trumpet and Reggie Padilla of Family Dinner on the Sax helped to bring the personal touch to everyone in the audience. All of this to supplement the vocalistic talents of Starr Kalahiki, Brian “B-Cap” Capobianchi, Hank Terlaje and of course the man himself, Santino. Additional performers included performing group trio, The Nagai Sisters; the roots rock connection of Ms. Lubei Cavin and Maccho; and Hawaii’s own Beat-Box Master, Jason Tom. Truly a night to remember. Feel free to comment on the night or add your own pictures or videos. A big Mahalo to Hiko Arasaki for the wonderful pictures throughout this article and videos.

We hope that always, you Enjoy Life.

The First Featured Video is Gravity by John Mayer as Sung by Santino. Featuring Juan Anthony Reyes of thee Knights of Tempo Valley on the Trumpet and Reggie Padilla of Family Dinner on the Sax

Our next featured video includes Brian “B-Cap” Capobianchi in I Don’t Wanna be a Playa by Big Pun. See B-Cap with his group Family Dinner this Thursday Night 9:30 pm with Knights of the Tempo Valley at Next Door Chinatown.

Hawaii’s own Beat Box Master, Jason Tom

The majestic vocals of Starr Kalahiki on Gingi by Antonio Carlos Jobim

Henry C. Roberson III

The 808 Life — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 05:26:14 +0000

If you took the time to walk by Jazz Minds Art & Cafe on a Thursday Night, no doubt you would have heard a musical delight to your ears. Listen a little deeper, beyond the tingling sensation of tenor sax. Past the enchanting melodies of the ebony and ivory keys. Between the beats that just forces your foot to do a little rhythmic tap and you will find at the heart of it all, bass grooves deep enough to soothe the soul or funky enough to bring the soul back to life. This is beyond average bass playing. This is music the way it was supposed to be. As a member of The Bentos Henry C. Roberson III and his six string bass guitar a.k.a Junior, brought sound which upon which any genre could be played upon. Every Thursday night with The Bentos magic was made as with the touch of each fret and pluck of each string, you knew that it was the perfect note at the perfect time. Henry’s grooves went beyond the Jazz scene at Jazz Minds as he was often found playing with other Bentos behind the Prolific Unknowns, The Deadbeats and as part of the Lyricist Lounge Crew. A man of many trades, we wish you best on your travels to San Antonio. For those there, keep an ear out for him. You’ll fall in love with what you hear.

The Diversity was always evident as in this collaboration with the Prolific Unknowns. Just feel the baselines.

Beat Fresh!!

The 808 Life — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:56:15 +0000

Harumi the Hymn of The Deadbeats

Friday night we traveled to Fresh Cafe located off Ward Ave, but opposite of the theater and shopping centers. Fresh Cafe has a lot to offer both day and night. You can treat yourself to a tasty pesto, turkey and cheese bagel sandwich during the day or listen to classical, jazz, hip-hop music, or maybe even take in a poetry slam session in their event warehouse. Quickly becoming a preferred choice for Hawaii’s premiere underground events, the warehouse provides a pleasing setting both acoustically and visually for all types of performances. Catering service is available from the cafe and there is an entry level bar for adult beverages. The decor changes from a wide dance floor for the more upbeat events to a a very nice lounge setting for the poetry and jazz sessions. The staff was very courteous and definitely show concerned for those in attendance. Some of the more recent events that occurred was the open birthday party for teen professional surfer Carissa Moore as well as the most recent Hawaii Poetry Slam. On this night, The Deadbeats were performing as well as DJ Packo spinning the wheels of steel. Throughout the night, there were a lot of collaborations between the two which added a special touch to some already body moving songs. The video below will try to bring you a little into this night at Fresh Cafe. Just use any of links included in this article for more information. If you end up going to Fresh Cafe during an evening event, ask Paul behind the bar to hook you up with a “Cloudy Skies” and enjoy. So in case you didn’t know already, we are a group of hobbyists who record and compose these movies for the purpose of self training on the job experience and any promotional benefits that it could provide to those whom we record. We are always looking for new things to tape (especially with different types of environments) so we can get better at our craft.

So the notes on this video. It was recorded using two different cameras. Majority of the video was recorded using a Canon HG20 series HD personal camcorder and a small portion was recorded using the movie feature of a Canon T1i SLR digital camera. Since we have previously covered the deadbeats in other locations, we were allowed to get a little more experimental on our photography and videography. This video was slightly edited and converted using iMovie with the installed Quicktime convertor. Finally after uploading, it is being displayed here on the JW player. Got something to add or a question to ask, just let us know.

What is the Lyricist’s Lounge – NOTE: Video has EXPLICIT LYRICS!!

The 808 Life — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 10:44:32 +0000

One question that pops up every now is then is “What is the Lyricist Lounge?” At first, I’m thinking, “Are you kidding me?”, but then I realize that word hasn’t gotten around fully yet. Hopefully this helps. A little history lesson if you don’t mind. Every Wednesday at Jazz Minds Art & Cafe, a group by the name of The Deadbeats (see the link on the right sidebar), packs the house with fans to hear the fusion of funk, hip-hop and jazz. During the holiday season last year, some of the band members left the island to be with family and something was needed to fill the void. Jackson Helmox a.k.a. BigMOX and K-Luv both of the talented lyricist group, the Prolific Unknowns (check that sidebar again), had on various occasions, performed with The Deadbeats and were part of the originating group who envisioned the Lyricist Lounge. During those two Wednesdays of that Holiday Season, Jazz Minds Art & Cafe was packed as some of Hawaii’s Best Emcees freestyle rapped to topics provided by the crowd and chosen by “The Cup of Conflicts”. The Lyrics alone would be more than enough to satisfy most, but when combined with the musical talents of various members of The Deadbeats and Contemporary Jazz Group, The Bentos (Sidebar), the evening was filled with musical entertainment so overwhelming that it has now become a staple event at Jazz Minds every Third Saturday Night. Throughout the Lyricist Lounge, many more Emcees have tried and either made it or faded away when faced with the Cup of Conflicts. Hip-Hop is universal and the Lounge serves as a place for it’s Artists to demonstrate. Guests such as JAMROQ and THE ILL HILL SOCIETY (Sidebar) have performed and something new is always bound to happen. Check out the link to see some of the past performances. The featured video below is just some of the highlights from the Lounge’s inaugural two weeks (which was about the same time Tiger Woods started having some personal problems). Participants included the Prolific Unknowns (BigMOX, K-Luv & DJah); Kwalified Emcee of The ILL HILL SOCIETY; Harumi the Hymn, Micah McLaughin and Matty Wong of The Deadbeats; Mark Lindberg, Jason Gay and Henry C. Roberson III of The Bentos; Creed Chameleon and Devon W. Williams. Cup of Conflicts includes: Jack in the Box, Amaretto Sours and yes, Tiger Woods!!