Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

(oops - bad editing here) Move along - see the next post instead...

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

LN - you know your stuff. Thanks for the tales; good to know the lessons.

You are not like the scoundrels being talked about here, so don't include yourself in that group.

Kind of you to say - but as for industry folks who don't yet know me --- I know that I may not always be taken at my word, and have to prove my intentions by my actions. I have no problem with that.

On that front - thanks again for the introductions you provided a while back. That bass player, particularly - we made a very heartfelt connection that I will not soon forget.

[LikaNui]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Well done!! Bravo!! LikaNui!! Bravo!!!

Thanks, Auntie, but sadly that is a true story. And the point is that if that kind of thing happens to major players like "TMS", imagine what young or not-as-famous musicians here go through.
Which is exactly why TutuSue's young friend left the business, pretty much. I'm 99% sure I know who she meant. He's changed his name and still plays music, but stays the hell away from recording and the politics, games and snakes. And that's a huge loss for Hawaiian music.

[1stwahine]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

So Sad wen our talented ones have to endure pilikia stuffs.

I have a story to share too. A happy one.

In September 1974, MAMA opened Anna's Ballroom on Bethel Street. Above Aloha Grill. Aunty Genoa used to sing there. Anyway's, for our Grand Opening, the entertainment was an unknown group. Four men. Amongst their instruments wuz a large tin bucket dat had a pole with strings attached to use as a base. Yep! It wuz Bruddah IZ and the Makaha Sons!!

I danced Beautiful Kauai. I remember their beautiful voices.

Auntie Lynn

[LikaNui]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

LN - you know your stuff.

Yeah? Then why aren't I rich? ... ...

On that front - thanks again for the introductions you provided a while back. That bass player, particularly - we made a very heartfelt connection that I will not soon forget.

You're certainly welcome! And mentioning Ana was a clever way of bringing the thread-drift back onto the topic of IZ. It would be very interesting to hear what his bassist Analu Aina (and guitarist Mel Amina too) think of this new IZ recording.
Matter of fact, same goes for Gaylord Holomalia and for Milan Bertosa. Both are high-tech recording engineers as well as musicians, and both worked extensively with IZ.

(Names and descriptions included for those mainland folks who are reading the thread but may not be familiar with the players.)

[Fat Jeff]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

A family friend asked me to find out something and I figured I could get a answer from the HT Ohana.

He will be playing Iz's medley of Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World at his Grandmother's service this Monday, and needs the lyrics as Iz sang them and the "key" he performed it in. I got the lyrics from the Advertiser's insert this past weekend, but I need the "key".

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[DKP]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

It's been so long since I played the song...but, I think it's in C maj. My uke may have been tuned higher or lower than standard at the time I was playing along, though. Shoot, no instruments around to try it.

[Fat Jeff]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

It's been so long since I played the song...but, I think it's in C maj. My uke may have been tuned higher or lower than standard at the time I was playing along, though. Shoot, no instruments around to try it.

Mahalo to you and Tikiyaki for answering my question. Grandma is "going home" today with her wish.

[zff]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

My sister-in-law is a nurse, and Braddah Iz used to be one of the patients on her floor. She said he'd always be sitting in the doorway to his room singing and playing his ukulele to pass the time -- much to the delight of the patients and staff on the floor.

How awesome is that?

[Wanderlust]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

brudda iz had some good sales this week.

from billboard.com -

...late Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole debuts at No. 44 (on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart) with "Wonderful World," selling 17,000 units. It's his biggest sales week ever, helping him garner his second No. 1 on Billboard's Top World Music chart.

[ItsGoTime!]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

I feel like I should put in my two cents. I first saw Iz on my first trip to Waikiki. It was at the International Market, and I saw the CD cover to "Alone in Iz World" and thought, "Man, that's a big dude, but a cool album cover." I never gave it much thought after until I saw "Finding Forrester" and heard "Over the Rainbow/What a wonderful world" playing as the credits were rolling. I was so mesmerized by the song that I 'watched' the whole credits, and I never do that, except to Jackie Chan movies. I looked up the credits, and promptly downloaded "Facing Future" from some guy named Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (a name I dare not say in public). I put it in my mp3 player that's only big enough to hold one album, intending to give it a listen, and rotate it out after a week or two like I do with all my albums. That was 1 year ago, and it's still on my mp3 player. It was only after a month or two of listening, and a little help from google that I realized that Israel was Bruddah Iz. His voice is so haunting, yet melodic, sometimes I get lost in thought whenever I hear his music. It stirs so many feelings and emotions, and memories, which is weird cuz I'm not from Hawai'i.

As for the 'music biz,' stories like those that everyone have been sharing here are common everywhere. I have second, or third hand knoledge of the music industry here in Vancouver, and there a million stories of poor, starving artists making their rich producers and managers even richer. It's the same way with most other things. The NCAA punishes their student-athletes for accepting a voucher for a Happy Meal, but collect millions, billions as a result of the things that these student-athletes do. For every talent, there are people waiting to exploit them. It sucks that it is that way, it doesn't have to be that way, but that's just the way it is. If you want to be happy being a musician, don't try to make money. Just play locally, make good music, and share your talents.

[LikaNui]

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. Why is it that Jon buys a brand new Ferrari every single year and has mansions in Black Point and on Tantalus and elsewhere... and when Iz passed away, he was living in a tiny studio apartment near Ala Moana Center. What's wrong with that picture?
Yes, the reasoning behind this new album troubles me.

Well, I wrote that about a month ago. And if anyone wondered about the veracity of those claims, look at what John Heckathorn wrote at this link in today's Star Bulletin:

"Free Parking: Usually when you valet park in Waikiki, you're out at least a few dollars plus tip. Not Jon de Mello, who handed off his new silver Ferrari F430 to the valet at the Royal Hawaiian.
"The valet left it out front. When de Mello returned after dinner, the valet said that Japanese tourists had all wanted to pose with it for pictures. He'd made $200. "Split it with you," he said -- and handed de Mello $100."

According to this website, prices for a 2007 Ferrari F430 range from $173,000 for the barebones base model up to almost $235,000. And that's without including shipping and the ever-present "paradise penalty" markup.
So I was correct in saying JDM gets a brand new Ferrari every year, and this year he seems to have spent at least a quarter of a million dollars on his latest one.
As it relates to the earlier Iz financial discussion, you can interpret this any way you want.
I'm just saying.

[Pomai]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Well, I wrote that about a month ago. And if anyone wondered about the veracity of those claims, look at what John Heckathorn wrote at this link in today's Star Bulletin:

"Free Parking: Usually when you valet park in Waikiki, you're out at least a few dollars plus tip. Not Jon de Mello, who handed off his new silver Ferrari F430 to the valet at the Royal Hawaiian.
"The valet left it out front. When de Mello returned after dinner, the valet said that Japanese tourists had all wanted to pose with it for pictures. He'd made $200. "Split it with you," he said -- and handed de Mello $100."

Did the valet offer JDM to split the $200 car picture money, or did JDM tell the valet to split it with him? You'd think JDM would be kind enough (or is he?) to tell the hard-working valet to keep that money. Perhaps with a final comment like, "Make sure you go out and buy several copies Iz's new album."

I hope Iz's wife is at least driving a new Mercedes.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

As it relates to the earlier Iz financial discussion, you can interpret this any way you want.

Does he buy or lease? Lease makes more sense if he only keeps it a year. And what is the deprecation of a car like that like? I'm just pointing out it may not take $250,000 a year to keep him in new cars.

[LikaNui]

Re: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Maybe he takes the Ferrari(s) as a tax writeoff, as a business expense?