Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

[dick]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

I watched that silly IZ infomercial on TeeVee tonight. Disguised as some tribute/doc-mockumentary to "his memory."

Poorly done, and incredibly badly written. Thus, I had to keep watching the train wreck. A wiggly Ken Burns Effect diorama done with out-of-focus photos and whack interviews with a plethora of "old friends" and contemporary musicians, many of whom couldn't speak coherent English.

But whatever.

Then I realized, "oh yeah, it's a subtle infomercial for that reissue, who cares?"

I was struck by the lack of commentary on how or why "Over the Rainbow/What A Wonderful World" came to fruition. The track that pretty much made him the "international star" that he is. Nothing from Milan Bertosa.

And then I thought, why add bad strings and weird arrangements to already good music. (Yeah, I know why...)

I'd much rather hear basement tapes and unissued tracks from the guy.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Not sure about who owns the music rights...his wife I guess.

It's a split between Mountain Apple and the family, though I don't know the percentage. IZ owned the "Big Boy" record company that he and DeMello set up, though manufacturing and distribution is handled by Mountain Apple. The story is that it was configured that way because IZ knew he would not live long, and wanted a support structure for his family after he passed on. It's unfortunate that Marlene & Wehi are estranged at present; I don't know who controls what parts of the estate.

[1stwahine]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Mahalo for sharing your story Craig.

LikaNui, you are right!

Bruddah Iz sang from his heart and didn't need any fancy whateva's. Enhancing his music with today's technology doesn't make it better. It destroys the essence of what he wanted to convey. Yes, the promoters is Greedy and all they think is making moa Kala for their pockets.

Sad.

Hawaii 78' comes to mind dis morning...

If just for a day our king and queen
would visit all these islands and saw everything
How would they 'bout the changing of our land
Could you just imagine if they were around
and saw highways on their sacred grounds
How would they feel if they 'bout this modern city life

Tears would come from each others eyes as
they would stop to realize
that our people are in great, great danger now

How would they feel
would their smiles be content
rather then cry
cry for the gods, cry for the people
cry for the lands that were taken away
and in it you'll find Hawaii

Could you just imagine if they came back
and saw traffic lights and railroad tracks
How would they feel about this modern city life
Tears would come from each others eyes as
they would stop to realize
that our land is in great, great danger now

All of the fighting that the king had done
to conquer all these islands
now there's condominiums
How would he feel if saw Hawaii now

How would he feel
would his smiles be content
rather then cry
cry for the gods, cry for the people
cry for the lands that were taken away
and in it you'll find Hawaii

UA MAU KE EA O KA ‘AINA I KA PONO O HAWAI’I

Lyrics > I > Israel Kamakawiwo Ole' Lyrics > Hawaii 78 Song Lyrics

Auntie Lynn

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

What I do smell is that Jon de Mello and Mountain Apple are hoping to reap a financial windfall. That's what I think this is all about.

the profits from his success after his death makes me sick.

Yes, the promoters is Greedy and all they think is making moa Kala for their pockets.

Let me ask some questions then:
Leaving DeMello & Mountain Apple out of it (since we agree that they are certainly not doing this with completely altruistic motives - they are a for-profit company, after all, and even Island-based ones want - nay, deserve - to be successful), how would you feel if you knew that Marlene and Wehi get some kala in their pockets? Would you consider his widow, his daughter and his grandchildren (who he never got to meet) to be greedy? Would it make you sick to learn that they profit from posthumous marketing of this talented man's music and image? Do you think Marlene would participate in the promotion of this album if she felt she were being ripped off? Why wouldn't she be honest with her husband's fans, ten years on, if she felt there was something unfair or criminal going on? If she's fearful of losing out on the little money she gets from a poor deal, surely she knows the "court of public opinion" would be overwhelmingly on her side?

I'm sure Mountain Apple is no cathedral full of saints, but perhaps some are forgetting that IZ's family is being helped financially by ongoing marketing of his music, and maybe, just maybe, IZ was aware of the deals he was striking before he left this plane of existence. We'll never know if he would approve of everything being done in his name today (and some folks seem to be able to presume this knowledge), but the man was not a bumpkin being tricked out of everything by some slick corporate haole either (despite how well that scenario fits into some people's mindsets.)

It's fun to put it in simple black-and-white terms (big bad corporation versus humble talented braddah) - but that's not how reality works; there are far more shades of grey in this business.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

I'm sure Mountain Apple is no cathedral full of saints, but perhaps some are forgetting that IZ's family is being helped financially by ongoing marketing of his music, and maybe, just maybe, IZ was aware of the deals he was striking before he left this plane of existence.

One of the things I wonder about is just how else can IZ provide for his family? All they've got is the tapes made before his death. His original releases will only go so far. When should they try to do something, and what should they do?

Yes, I'm sure that this release is motivated by money. But is it greed or is it providing for the family? That's a hugely gray area that few would have the information to judge. I won't even try.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

But is it greed or is it providing for the family?

How about a combination of a likely-to-be-profitable move for his record company as well as providing for the family?

It strikes me as odd that so many people assume "greed" is the motivation for the Mountain Apple Company's actions. It's a modern-day company, not a non-profit agency. Companies are designed to make money. The money they make off their more successful products (be they Windows or IZ) is what a company uses to support their less successful products (be they Zune or Ried Kapo Ku.)

I doubt that Jon de Mello spends his day worrying "what would IZ do?" with every concept he has, or even the need to consult with Marlene on each step - nor do I believe he is a two-horned devil, trying to suck every drop of milk from this particular teat. He's a successful and professional businessman (which is, of course, a natural crime - especially in the Islands, because we all know he built his success entirely on the backs of poor unsuspecting and ignorant kanaka, right?)

It's a no-brainer that this will be a huge seller, Island-wide, domestically, internationally. Two additional purposes it could serve: wider exposure to Hawaiian music in general, and additional profits to invest in less-established artists, like another Lopaka Kanaka`ole.

[1stwahine]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Leo, I agree dat Promoters aka whatevas are out to make $$$. Das why dey in business. However, sometimes you just gotta leave "Is" as "IZ!!"

Auntie Lynn

[LikaNui]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Hell, what about "Over The Rainbow"? He called Milan Bertosa in the middle of the night to meet him in the studio and recorded the song in one take. One.

That story is fairly common knowledge, but a day after I wrote that I finally had time to read that 48-page IZ insert from last Sunday's Advertiser. Pages 30 and 31 have that same story, but with a very interesting -- and very telling -- addition:
Milan was not working for Jon de Mello/Mountain Apple Records when the song was recorded, so only he (Milan) had the tape of the song. According to Milan's own words, "I told Jon, I got something you have to hear, but you have to promise that Israel gets it all (the rights)."
Milan making Jon promise that IZ would get all the rights to the recording is very clearly a message and an answer to some of the questions and comments posted here recently.

Israel...we know the truth about the band and no matter what, you was right.
Likanui, there's more than what you've hinted on that hides behind Israel's legacy, and the profits from his success after his death makes me sick.
That's all I got to say.

Amen, brother. You and I and some others know much more, and it's mostly not for public consumption, for instance how much money Marlene is getting. That is nobody's business except hers. Ditto for some of the business arrangements between IZ and MAR etc.

(...) it wasn't his family where the problems occured, remember when he and his brothers formed Makaha Sons of Niihau the music stylings the band wanted to go was different than Israel's idea of modern Hawaiian music. Israel left the group frustrated to go out on his own (...)

Yes, that's part of the reason. A bigger part of the reason for the split comes down to the Sons former manager Kata Maduli. (And in time it was proven that IZ was right about Kata, as the remaining Sons learned the hard (financial) way and which is why they are now self-managed.)
I was fortunate enough to be at the Hoku Awards show in 1996. IZ was on stage singing "Kaleohana", and Moon, John and Jerome spontaneously ran up to sing it with him. A chickenskin moment of the highest order. They were all hugging and crying after the song was pau. Watch the tape of that show and you'll see that all 800+ people in the audience were standing and sobbing as well... except for one single person who remained seated and scowling the entire time. Kata Maduli.
'Nuff said.

IZ owned the "Big Boy" record company that he and DeMello set up, though manufacturing and distribution is handled by Mountain Apple. The story is that it was configured that way because IZ knew he would not live long, and wanted a support structure for his family after he passed on.

I'm sure you know that that's not uncommon at all, brah. Almost every Hawaiian musician/band has set up their own "record company" label, even if 99% of the time that "company" is nothing more than one drawer in their desk at home or just a shoebox full of receipts. Setting up their own companies is just simple economics, based on lessons learned the hard way (as Craig and others here can easily confirm).

It's unfortunate that Marlene & Wehi are estranged at present; I don't know who controls what parts of the estate.

That's a good thing, as I'm sure you'll agree that no one should know either of those two things except Marlene and Wehi themselves.

Let me ask some questions then: how would you feel if you knew that Marlene and Wehi get some kala in their pockets? Would you consider his widow, his daughter and his grandchildren (who he never got to meet) to be greedy? Would it make you sick to learn that they profit from posthumous marketing of this talented man's music and image?

I'm not sure who you were asking, but anyway it's apples and oranges. Obviously nobody begrudges their receiving income. What we are saying is that we believe Marlene and Wehi may be getting less than their fair share, as did IZ himself.

Do you think Marlene would participate in the promotion of this album if she felt she were being ripped off?

Perhaps because something is better than nothing.

Why wouldn't she be honest with her husband's fans, ten years on, if she felt there was something unfair or criminal going on?

I don't believe that anyone here has said anything was "criminal". Immoral, perhaps. But a contract is a contract and, therefore, not criminal.

If she's fearful of losing out on the little money she gets from a poor deal, surely she knows the "court of public opinion" would be overwhelmingly on her side?

A court of law could care less about the "court of public opinion".

It's fun to put it in simple black-and-white terms (big bad corporation versus humble talented braddah) - but that's not how reality works; there are far more shades of grey in this business.

And there are far more of those music biz grey areas here in Hawai`i than most other places. Nobody likes to air dirty laundry, and our musicians typically wear their face of Aloha in public. But it's a small community, and in private the dirt comes out. Usually strongly. The musicians talk to each other and share their war stories and warnings. Much like politics here, graft, corruption, payola and intimidation are not at all unknown in the music biz here.
A couple of the biggest record companies are well known for going into record stores and buying their own products in order to artificially inflate sales figures and sales rankings.
Contracts are created that force musicians to "defer" receiving any income until certain unreasonable and/or excessive "expenses" are reimbursed to the record company first.
A certain radio station demands multi-thousand dollars (and "other considerations") under the table in order to get a song onto their playlist.
Many of our musicians are forced to play along with some or all of these games, or else they fade into immediate obscurity.
Yes, there's a lot of dirty business, behind the scenes of the happy Aloha faces.

He's a successful and professional businessman (which is, of course, a natural crime - especially in the Islands, because we all know he built his success entirely on the backs of poor unsuspecting and ignorant kanaka, right? )

See my comments above. Whether any or all of those things apply to the "he" you're referring to is not for me to say. But there very definitely have been a whole lot of Hawaiian musicians who have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous businessmen (plural).
And as my signature line below says...

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

LN, I've got no desire to pick at points in your post, because you are absolutely right on so many levels. I may have a partial disagreement with you on one or two things, but no matter; and I most emphatically agree with your last comment:

But there very definitely have been a whole lot of Hawaiian musicians who have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous businessmen (plural).

That's a fact of life that makes it challenging for mainland folks (yes, I am including myself) to make inroads into the Hawaiian music industry - why should local musicians trust me, when they've been burnt/hurt/ripped off/damaged/f***ed over by others just like me?

I know where you come from, too (thank you for that) - and I have some other direct links that I won't discuss here - and all of you continue to give me insight and knowledge that I appreciate. What I'd like to do now is shift the tenor of my posts to the album itself. In the few hours since last posting, I've heard the whole thing, front to back, a couple of times.

I like it. I like it a lot. But let's start with the "flaws."

Yes, having heard most of the original source recordings, I can tell where some of the time-stretching takes place, and in a couple of spots, it's disconcerting. There are also tracks that are weak enough that I don't think they fit the overall album as well ("Ka Huila Wai" - where the uke is slightly out-of-tune; that's cool when he's in a solo or smaller setting, but not here), and the synthesized enhancements to the opening brass lines on "Ke Alo O Iesu" hurt to hear.

But where the album shines is in the arrangements. Listen to "What A Wonderful World" at full volume, or on headphones. (Listen to the whole album that way, in fact.) The warmth, the lush richness of that arrangement - chicken skin. IZ's vocals throughout the disc are strong, powerful, clear - the way he was at his best; and the vocals are right up front on every track, never lost in the mix. It's clear that they wanted to keep him sounding as if he were being supported by the orchestra, rather than just a featured player.

In the tracks where his `ukulele playing is featured, that's also right up there, and you can tell that the arrangements were written to accompany all his stylistic flourishes (especially notable in "Henehene Kou Aka.") The ballads are where the arrangements are most touching: "White Sandy Beach," "E Ku`u Morning Dew" and "`Opae E" being some of the best examples. There's life in these charts (not the syrupy Muzak sound Ryan alluded to - and trust me, I knows me some Muzak!)

What I don't understand is that the arrangers aren't identified - well, maybe they are. Jon de Mello and his father, Jack (who did those beautiful "Music of Polynesia" albums decades ago), are credited as "Orchestration Consultants." I think there's more to that story.

If you are a fan of IZ, and curious as to how this concept will work for you, try looking at this album as a ten-years-on tribute to one of the most influential voices ever to come out of Hawaiian music, rather than an attempt to improve upon or otherwise change the material that's already out there - besides, nothing here takes those sounds away from you, does it? If this is truly what IZ meant long ago when he told de Mello, "put shoes on me," then MAC did a respectable job with the footwear - and we still get him barefoot or in slippahs the rest of the time.

No wish to stop all the other discussion here, but I'd certainly like to hear perspectives from others who have actually heard the whole album, and can judge its merits, rather than the circumstances of its birth. (And now that I've said my piece - I can comfortably go read Berger's review, as well as all of the Adv insert.)

[tutusue]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Reading this thread about the music industry in Hawaii continues to break my heart. Almost a decade ago I cast a young musician, whose name was in the forefront at that time, in an indie film. He needed a ride to location so I picked him up. He poured his heart out during the drive and told me he was getting out of the business because of everything already mentioned in this thread. His values and the music industry's values were polar opposites and he was disgusted by the whole thing. He honored his values over his passion for music. I will always admire him for that.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

That's a real shame, Sue. It's a tough business (as is anything artistic and creative), you know that, but it's tougher when you have a close-knit group of people whose instinct is to trust each other - that's the only way to survive - and there are always snakes who will prey on that. Makes me wonder what incredible music we've missed out on, because of the decisions of that young man and talents like him.

[LikaNui]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

I most emphatically agree with your last comment:That's a fact of life that makes it challenging for mainland folks (yes, I am including myself) to make inroads into the Hawaiian music industry - why should local musicians trust me, when they've been burnt/hurt/ripped off/damaged/f***ed over by others just like me?

You're abso-freakin-lutely wrong, LL... but in the best possible way. I know you and I know your heart, so don't say they've been screwed "by others just like me". You're one of the people who would look out for the musicians best interests. You are not like the scoundrels being talked about here, so don't include yourself in that group.
Other than that... nice post!

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

One of the sides that the public doesn't know was the rift between Israel's close-knit blood relatives like my former co-worker who was his first cousin and Israel's marital situation. She told me after Israel's death and subsequent rise to fame after the fact, that her and her family was outraged at the sudden change in attitude from estrangement to loss.

The separation represented a tough time for Israel and his frustrations was felt by many in his bloodline family outside the band when time after time his music was ressurected from death to launch this man's legacy for the benefit of those who despised him.

But even in death his values rose above the contempt of those who felt indifferent to him. Like the shirt off his back to help me, Israel put his own wants aside for the needs of those who needed it more. Let's face it, you can't take your materialistic wealth to Heaven, so give it to those who need it.

Israel's core moral values helped mold me as I grew up. And to think he taught me that lesson as teenagers.

[LikaNui]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

It's a tough business (as is anything artistic and creative), you know that, but it's tougher when you have a close-knit group of people whose instinct is to trust each other - that's the only way to survive - and there are always snakes who will prey on that.

Once upon a time, in a land far away (well, about 2,200 miles from CONUS), there was a famous trio I'll call, oh, TMS, who were managed by a person named, oh, KM.
Now, KM handled all the finances for TMS. KM or his wife JM were at every TMS performance, public or private, and KM or JM collected the performance fees and then paid the three members of TMS.
Well, one day TMS had been playing at a wedding reception in Lanikai, just a one-hour gig. For some reason, KM had to leave early, and the person in charge of the wedding reception walked up to one of the members of TMS and handed them the check directly.
It was the first time TMS had actually seen one of their checks.
But wait. What's this? The check was for $5,000 for the hour-long performance. Why, that can't be right. KM told TMS the gig would get them $1,500, to be split three ways among the trio. So KM himself got $3,500 just for answering a phone call, checking the TMS schedule, and saying that yes, they were available!
Naughty, naughty KM.
Fired KM.
These days, TMS manage themselves. By doing so, they were able to all quit their day jobs and make a living purely from their music.
Instead of making a living for an unscrupulous snake of a manager.
(Who, by the way, after he was fired, took legal action against TMS to keep them from using the much loved name of one of their annual concerts.)

The story is true. Any resemblance to a trio previously discussed in this thread is purely coincidental. [/cough] The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Or to keep me from getting sued by the snake. Or something.

[1stwahine]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Once upon a time, in a land far away (well, about 2,200 miles from CONUS), there was a famous trio I'll call, oh, TMS, who were managed by a person named, oh, KM......

The story is true. Any resemblance to a trio previously discussed in this thread is purely coincidental. [/cough] The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Or to keep me from getting sued by the snake. Or something.

heheheh....

Well done!!

Bravo!! LikaNui!! Bravo!!!

Auntie Lynn