Grammy Winning Hawaiian Musician Daniel Ho To Headline Spirit of Japantown Festival in San Jose

UPDATE:  Daniel Ho is back in the Bay Area on Saturday, November 1, at Stanford University's Campbell Recital Hall. Show starts at 8 p.m. Admission is $20 general and $5 student.

"Three-time Grammy winner Daniel Ho joined by lead members of the award-winning smooth jazz band Kilauea (Randy Drake [drums] and Steve Billman [bass]). Daniel shares his dynamic fusion of Hawaiian aesthetic, smooth jazz, and alternative folk." http://music.stanford.edu/Events/calendar.html

My first experience with Daniel Ho's musical talents was in April when I was in the audience at the taping of the AZN Asian Excellence Awards at UCLA.

Tia Carrere was among the performers at the awards show, singing "He Aloha Mele" off the Grammy-nominated album Hawaiiana. Sharing the stage with Tia was this Asian brother playing a mean acoustic guitar. I only realized when I interviewed Daniel for this article that he was the guitarist that night.

It's not that I didn't know who Daniel was. I knew his name from when he was with the Top 10 Billboard jazz group Kilauea in the '90s. But I learned through prepping for this column what a versatile and accomplished artist and entrepreneur he was: winner of three Grammys as a producer and featured slack key guitarist in the Best Hawaiian Music Album category and a singer/songwriter, arranger, composer, engineer and record company owner in addition to his many other hats. 

I spoke with Daniel by phone a few hours before he was set to play with the legendary group Makaha Sons in Stratham, New Hampshire. We talked about his local background, living in Los Angeles, his success in the unforgiving music industry and the role the Internet plays in his creative enterprises.

But like most local folks, we started the conversation with hometowns and high schools.

Chinese American Daniel Ho grew up in Kaimuki, a neighborhood of Honolulu. "I lived on 3rd Avenue, right by St. Louis Drive Inn," he said, referencing one of the best bento joints on the island. "And I went to St. Louis and St. Patricks." (The all-boy St. Louis School is best known for their powerhouse football team.)

It was during their high school years that Daniel and Tia Carrere met and developed their first musical partnership.  "We performed at Brown Bags to Stardom back then and sort of stayed in touch throughout the years." Brown Bags is the largest high school talent competition in Hawai'i.

Tia and Daniel reconnected after many years to work on Hawaiiana, an album of classic Hawaiian music produced under Daniel's record label, Daniel Ho Creations.

"We recorded Hawaiiana together, creating a very simple personal album," said Daniel. "There was definitely musical chemistry (between us) when we recorded this album."

Artistic chemistry and positive reviews of Hawaiiana led Daniel and Tia to second album, 'Ikena, a new album that The Honolulu Advertiser's Wayne Harada already called a likely Grammy contender.

"It's neat that Tia and I went our separate ways and then came back together. What she's learned as an actress has given her an ability to present songs more deeply in a sense," said Daniel. "We both bring different things to the table now after all these years."

Joining Tia and Daniel on 'Ikena is poet/lyricist Amy Ku'uleialoha Stillman, who wrote the Hawaiian lyrics for Daniel's original music.

"Daniel had a sudden desire to create new songs that might make their way into the hands of musicians and hula dancers," wrote Amy in the album's liner notes. "For all three of us, our challenge was not only how we might do right by Hawaiian music, but indeed how we might contribute to its continued growth."

'Ikena reminds me of Kalapana's Many Classic Moments, a contemporary Hawaiian music album I played so often that the cassette tape got warped.  It's not that the albums are musically similar (they're very different), but it's one of those albums that you can listen to over and over, making it a good addition to your road trip music library.

Several tracks stood out for me.  The excellent rendition of the classic "Ku'u Ipo My Darling," the bluesy "Na 'Ikena Like 'Ole," and "The Spam Song," which was inspired by a visit by Amy to the Spam Museum in Austin, Minn.

'Ikena and two other Daniel Ho Creations albums, The Spirit of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar and Honehone i ka Poli, have been presented for consideration for Grammy nominations in the Best Hawaiian Music Album category.

You don't have to wait long to hear Daniel Ho perform tracks from 'Ikena. He'll be headlining the Spirit of Japantown Festival (spiritofjapantownfestival.com) in San Jose on Sat., Oct. 4, at 5 p.m. The festival runs in San Jose Japantown, 5th Street and Jackson Street, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Daniel will be joined by former Kilauea bandmates Randy Drake on drums and Steve Billman on bass.

Visit www.DanielHo.com to hear track samples from 'Ikena and his other albums. You can also find his music on iTunes and Rhapsody.

-- Keith Kamisugi

An extended version of this article is still in the works: Daniel talks about life in LA as a local boy and Hawaiian music artist, his August marriage to Lydia Miyashiro and how the Internet has helped fuel his success. Keith Kamisugi and Kyle Tatsumoto are the Two Japanee Bruddahs.

Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i to Honor Former First Lady Jean Ariyoshi

The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i (JCCH) is honoring three esteemed individuals and a corporate honoree at its Celebration of Leadership and Achievement Dinner on Saturday, September 27, 2008, at 5 p.m. in the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom.

This year, the JCCH will be recognizing Jean Ariyoshi, Dr. George Suzuki, Matsuo Takabuki and corporate honoree Armstrong Produce with the Leadership and Achievement Award for their contributions to Hawai'i's community.

Jean Ariyoshi, the first Asian American gubernatorial First Lady in the United States. Ariyoshi served as a gracious First Lady, and the official hostess for Hawai'i, entertaining dignitaries from all over the world. One of Ariyoshi's many volunteer projects includes restoring and redecorating Washington Place.

Dr. George Suzuki, a pioneer in gastroscopy techniques that provide early detection of stomach cancer in the United States. Dr. Suzuki also helps doctors in Hiroshima with research of atomic bomb survivors by coordinating and conducting medical examinations of study participants living in Hawai'i.

Mr. Matsuo Takabuki, a financial and political leader in the community. Takabuki served as a war veteran, a confidant of Governor John Burns, a member of the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of Honolulu, a business associate of developer and financier Chinn Ho, and a Bishop Estate trustee.

Armstrong Produce (Corporate Honoree), a locally-owned, family run, full-service wholesale produce company. Armstrong Produce's Teruya family first started buying and selling fruits and vegetables to feed their family of nine children in the 1940's. Today, Armstrong Produce has a state-of-the-art warehouse in Mapunapuna and more than 300 employees on O'ahu, Maui and Kona.

The JCCH's Leadership and Achievement Award is presented to a select group of honorees each year in recognition of their contributions to the community in preserving and sharing the culture, history and heritage of the Japanese in Hawai'i. Other past recipients of this award have included: former Hawai'i Gov. George Ariyoshi, Albert C. Kobayashi, U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, Dr. Ruth M. Ono and most recently: Island Insurance Ltd., Jane O. Komeiji, Dennis Ogawa, Ph.D., Les Murakami and Wally Yonamine.

The Celebration of Leadership and Achievement Dinner will also feature a silent auction and dinner program. Individual seats cost $150 each. Table sponsorships are available. A portion of the sponsorship is tax-deductible. Proceeds from the event will benefit the JCCH's education programs that share the history, heritage and culture of the evolving Japanese American experience in Hawai'i.

HCCNC's 'Talk Story with the Akakas'

The Hawai'i Chamber of Commerce of Northern California presents on Sept. 21 "Talk Story with the Akakas" at Michael's Restaurant at Shoreline Golf Course, Mountain View.

Come Talk Story with Danny “Kaniela” and Anna Akaka as they share treasured stories to give us a Spirit of Place. Reconnect with those Hawaiian values that are the source of life and nature. Travel with them as they share their experiences of the Hokule’a voyage that sailed into San Francisco Bay in 1995 – Danny was Protocol Officer. 

Learn the significance of the names of places, how names honor specific locations, Hawaiian protocol and ceremony.  Journey through stories from sacred ground on the island of Hawai’i to our own place here in Kaleponi. Danny is a cultural historian, wayfinder, kahu, and musician. He and Anna will bring their very popular "Twilight at Kalahuipua'a" here to us. 

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Program: 9:00-3:00

Registration: 8:30 

Cost: $10 students / $40 others

Visit HCCNC.com for ticket info & more.

The event offers a chance to hear two cultural historians take you on a "journey through stories from sacred ground on the island of Hawai'i to our own place here in Kaleponi." 

It's a great opportunity to support Hawaiian culture and arts and learn from a real expert on Hawaiiana. In addition, you'll have a chance to meet people from the Hawai'i community in the Bay Area, including prominent members such as ex-Judge Bill Fernandez, HCCNC board member and an officer of the Kamehameha Schools Alumni Chapter of Northern California, and Laureen Kim, president of the KS Alumni Chapter.