“Aloha Keauhou”, with music by Kenneth Makuakāne and lyrics by yours truly, is on the preliminary ballot for the 2013 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards in the Single of the Year Category and Song of the Year. We originally composed it for the Kamehameha Schools Song Contest in 2012, and Kenneth re-recorded it for the CD “Ho‘ōla Lāhui, Ho‘oulu Pae‘āina”, released last year. The senior girls won the women’s division of the competition with their performance, and tied for first with their language use. You can listen to the recording on my page for “Aloha Keauhou”, which includes a lot of…
Memories Of Kamehameha Schools’ Song Contest, 2012
On the evening of March 16, 2012, my wife and I traveled to Honolulu to attend the 92nd annual Kamehameha Schools Song Contest which was held that evening at the Neil Blaisdell Center. It was a night that Kenneth Makuakāne and I and our families had looked forward to for over four months. Back in the fall of last year, we had been asked to contribute a composition for this year’s song contest. This year marks the 125th anniversary of the founding of Kamehameha Schools. The theme of this year’s contest was “Ho‘ōla Lāhui, Ho‘oulu Pae ‘Āina — Vibrant People,…
Setting The Record Straight Regarding The Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards
Aloha kākou. My esteemed colleague and friend Dr. Amy Ku‘uleialoha Stillman writes eloquently and passionately about Hawaiian music on her blog “Hawaiian Music for Listening Pleasure”, and I encourage artists, labels, producers, engineers, other industry professionals and fans to check it regularly. I owe much to Amy in my development as an ethomusicologist and budding academic, and for adding clarity to my thinking regarding many issues that surround the culture of music, but this does not mean we agree on everything. While we differ on many of the issues surrounding the Grammy Awards, their legitimacy when it comes to recognizing…
My Post on Grammy365.com
For those who are not members of The Recording Academy, you may not know about the Academy’s social networking system, Grammy365.com. It’s an interesting tool, kind of a Facebook for Academy members. While there is great potential for good things out of it, there are also issues. Some may argue that it can potentially level the playing field for lesser-known members and releases, it also facilitates back-door shenanigans such as vote swapping–an activity that the Academy forbids, but is difficult to prove. Over the past month or so I’ve received a number of connection requests, many in fields that I…
New Journal Publication
I was happy that my first peer-reviewed journal article (and first article of any type in several years) was published in Language Documentation and Conservation. I’ve had interactions with the National Foreign Language Resource Center at UH-Mānoa for many years, presented at their conferences, and have had a strong admiration for their work. The paper is entitled “Puana ‘Ia me ka ‘Oko‘a: A Comparative Analysis of Hawaiian Language Pronunciation as Spoken and Sung”, and it is a translation, distillation, and revision of my MA thesis, which was originally written in Hawaiian. It is a comparative analysis that uses recordings and…
My Letter To Recording Academy President Neil Portnow
Several weeks ago, representatives from the Recording Academy visited Hawai‘i and conducted several meetings with members of the Hawai‘i recording industry. While the discussions were wide-ranging, the topic of the “consolidation” of the Grammy Award for Best Hawaiian Album was brought up. I did share my thoughts on the matter, and this past week composed and sent this follow up letter. I am looking forward to working with the Academy on issues that will benefit our local industry, both as an individual member as well as a member of the Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts. 8/17/11 Neil Portnow President, The…
Enter Your Release For The Grammys
The period for entering CD releases for the Grammy Awards has opened. For people who are not Recording Academy members but want to enter their releases, the Board of Governors of the Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts can help! Check the HARA website for details. This is not just for Hawaiian releases. If you put out a reggae, rock, pop, jazz, Christian, hip-hop, rap, blues, whatever, we can help!
Our Mele On “After The Catch”!
Back in 2009, I helped Mailani Makainai write two mele which appeared on her debut solo CD, Mailani. She subsequently won the 2010 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award for Female Vocalist of the Year for that release. Today Mailani was featured on an episode of “After The Catch”, a sit down discussion among captains and crew members from the Discovery TV show Deadliest Catch. Mailani played both of those songs-“Penei Iho, Penei A‘e, Penei Nō” and “He Mele No Kahalu‘u”–live on the show, leading into and coming back from commercial breaks. Her TV time was far too short, but Mike Rowe…
Kontakt 4/Steve Slate Drums Loading Issues Resolved!
Perhaps one or two people who follow this blog will know what I’m even talking about, but I’d documenting it for the benefit of those who have or will lose hair over this issue. I’ve been using Steve Slate Drums and the Kontakt player for about a year now in my recording. It was great for a long time, but about 7-8 months ago I started having issues with incredibly long load times – sometimes it would take a half-hour or more to load Logic Express projects that contained Kontakt instruments. I crawled the discussion boards, searched Google, deleted .plist…
Redefining Ethnomusicology?
There has be a very vigorous discussion on the email list of the Society of Ethnomusicology during the past week. Some are feeling that the name of the field–ethnomusicology–is no longer valid. It’s come to stand for a diverse set of practices and foci which are clearly difficult to identify as being from the same discipline. A number of names, both serious and humerous, have been offered. Given the “all-over-the-map” nature of the discussion, and the nature of my own interests, I’ve decided to go with this for my next business card: I think this will keep people from asking…