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  • Local Rock Bands Past and Present

    I want to start a thread to compile a list of active and inactive rock bands around Hawaii. This would especially be great for a reference for music aficionados to look into. Not much has been really said on this forum about Hawaii's rock (punk, metal, etc.) from both the past and present - and I fear it would become a lost history for our state's musical landscape.

    If you have any anecdotes, stories, events, etc. to share about bands around, you can post on this thread! Mahalo!

    G

  • #2
    Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

    Funny you should mention it. Someone just reminded me of The Catalogues, from the 90s:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoCFnP-XFJc

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

      Nice! It's good to know about bands like that originally from Hawaii. I'm relatively young and this is good for me to learn about the unsung heroes from the scene in both past and present.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

        Shnazz from the late 70's. Somewhere I have photos of the July 4th 1978 concert in Kailua Park.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

          Oh man I gotta dig up my old "Battle of the Bands" record album. The original Home Grown/Brown Bags to Stardom production from the 60's recorded at the Civic Auditorium.
          Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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          • #6
            Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

            From the early 1970s, The Sweet Marie had a few hit records in Hawaii

            A group that I liked from the early 1990s was The Love Gods

            As someone also mentioned earlier, Shnazz. Who doesn't have their LP? I have the 45 "I Think We're Alone Now" (Tommy James & the Shondells cover) with "Bad Boys" on the flipside. Saw them live years ago at King's Alley in Waikiki I believe. They were good.

            From the mid 1980s Hat Makes the Man.
            One of the members, Frank Orrall went on to form Poi Dog Pondering who have had a string of album releases over the years.

            My friend's son was in 2 bands. One was I believe called Vega and the other one was Explore. Both bands are long gone. Were active in the mid 2000s. Vega put out 1 CD, Explore another CD and several songs posted on their dormant myspace.com site. They played several gigs in Honolulu and elsewhere.


            Amity Street - saw them last year at Ala Moana Centerstage. They have one album out which I got through iTunes.
            I also liked The Beatles' cover band Rubber Soul. Seen them about 3 times at different places over the years. Their website. Don't know if they are still active or not.

            The Throwdowns are from Maui and they are still current.

            A few years back I caught the Greg Hammer Band. They did a lot of cover tunes. Was fun.


            Greg Hammer Band by macprohawaii, on Flickr
            Last edited by mel; August 5, 2011, 05:18 AM. Reason: fix text; added another band
            I'm still here. Are you?

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            • #7
              Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

              The Mopp Topps of the mid-'60s had Michael Nakasone, Pearl City High and Royal Hawaiian Bandmaster, as one of its "founding fathers." Among their local instrumental hits were "Mopp Topp" and "Flipper."

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

                Originally posted by oceanpacific View Post
                The Mopp Topps of the mid-'60s had Michael Nakasone, Pearl City High and Royal Hawaiian Bandmaster, as one of its "founding fathers." Among their local instrumental hits were "Mopp Topp" and "Flipper."
                And their music along with several other local bands from the 1960s are on a CD compilation called "Hawaii's Rock n Roll - Vol.2 - The 60s". Those two tracks are featured on the CD.

                In addition there are songs from the following groups and artists:
                • Val Richards V
                • The Spirits
                • The Undertakers
                • The Casuals
                • Telstars
                • Joey & the Classics
                • Linda Green & the Tempos


                Of those bands the one I remember most is Linda Green & the Tempos for "My Little Japanese Boy" which also appeared on another Tom Moffatt compilation, "Best of Paradise Vol. 2".

                I have a copy of both these CDs.
                Last edited by mel; August 5, 2011, 09:26 PM. Reason: fix fonts, fix typo
                I'm still here. Are you?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

                  Originally posted by mel View Post
                  From the mid 1980s Hat Makes the Man.
                  HMTM played at The Wave Waikiki. Preceded by Sonya and Revolucion in the early 80s (Sonya Mendez)

                  Shnazz played at the 23rd Step in Kailua before doing the booze cruises. A girl I was pursuing was one of their groupies... so yeah I didn't get the girl.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

                    Ever heard of the Laughing Kahunas? A nifty audio collection documenting this early 1970s band (as well as other recordings involving individual Laughing Kahuna members) can be found at:

                    http://www.davehineman.com/TheLaughingKahunas.html

                    They were quite the crowd-pleasers in the Waikiki nightclub circuit and as the uploaded recordings show, very versatile musicians.
                    This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

                      Originally posted by mel View Post
                      From the early 1970s, The Sweet Marie had a few hit records in Hawaii

                      A group that I liked from the early 1990s was The Love Gods

                      As someone also mentioned earlier, Shnazz. Who doesn't have their LP? I have the 45 "I Think We're Alone Now" (Tommy James & the Shondells cover) with "Bad Boys" on the flipside. Saw them live years ago at King's Alley in Waikiki I believe. They were good.

                      From the mid 1980s Hat Makes the Man.
                      One of the members, Frank Orrall went on to form Poi Dog Pondering who have had a string of album releases over the years.

                      My friend's son was in 2 bands. One was I believe called Vega and the other one was Explore. Both bands are long gone. Were active in the mid 2000s. Vega put out 1 CD, Explore another CD and several songs posted on their dormant myspace.com site. They played several gigs in Honolulu and elsewhere.


                      Amity Street - saw them last year at Ala Moana Centerstage. They have one album out which I got through iTunes.
                      I also liked The Beatles' cover band Rubber Soul. Seen them about 3 times at different places over the years. Their website. Don't know if they are still active or not.

                      The Throwdowns are from Maui and they are still current.

                      A few years back I caught the Greg Hammer Band. They did a lot of cover tunes. Was fun.


                      Greg Hammer Band by macprohawaii, on Flickr
                      I have Shnazz's Lp and also converted it to a CD. The tunes are in now in my iPod. The guitarist for Greg Hammer is my friend Kevin Brown and he used play in the rock circuit back in the 70's and 80's with Rock-n-Roll Roadshow and Joe Dagger.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

                        Originally posted by OceanWolf808 View Post
                        I want to start a thread to compile a list of active and inactive rock bands around Hawaii. This would especially be great for a reference for music aficionados to look into. Not much has been really said on this forum about Hawaii's rock (punk, metal, etc.) from both the past and present - and I fear it would become a lost history for our state's musical landscape.

                        If you have any anecdotes, stories, events, etc. to share about bands around, you can post on this thread! Mahalo!

                        G
                        I currently play in a rock cover band called Velvet Mantis. Three of my members played back in the day during the 70's and 80's. My lead guitarist Rich Nakasone used to play with Joe Dagger, Tytus Canby and Broken Glass at the Jazz Cellar in Waikiki. My drummer Wes Oda was in The Honolulu Blues Band and my bassist Elwood Soueira was in a metal band during the 80's called Optimum Fury and X-Chaser.

                        During the 70's and 80's clubs that had live bands that I frequented was Little Orphan Annies/O'Phers, Jazz Cellar, Lucky Pierre's, Dominic's Rock and Roll Cellar, Gussie Lamours, Pirate Bully Hayes, 23rd Step, Red Lion Waikiki, Dragon Lady, The Wave, Rock and Roll Booze Cruise.

                        Local rock bands back in the day were. I'm sure I missed a few bands.
                        Conspiracy
                        Rex Havok
                        High Command
                        Sonya & Revolucion
                        Hat Makes The Man
                        The Squids
                        Fallen Angel
                        The Lifters
                        Black Widow
                        Sythe
                        Joe Dagger & The Rhythm Slaves
                        Tightrope
                        Piranha Bros
                        Syanide
                        Aarons Rod
                        Rogue
                        Zontrazio
                        Higher Ground
                        Steepcliff
                        Golden Ace
                        Giggolo
                        Boxer
                        Mike Furlong & the Condos
                        The Solution
                        Passion
                        Person L
                        Signal
                        Eddie Zany Band
                        Stagefrite
                        X-Chaser - Barry Lasit
                        Slak Alice
                        Calamity Jane
                        Broken Glass
                        Stephanie Borges and Body Heat -
                        Brain Child
                        Presence
                        Smaug
                        One Five One
                        Sabotage
                        Tytus Canby
                        Teazer
                        Shnazz
                        Naggs Head
                        Crippler
                        Blitzkrieg
                        Sacred Rite
                        Five-O
                        Rock and Roll Roadshow
                        Zuproc
                        Allison Flyer
                        Richie Walker Band

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

                          Anybody remember Bill Wray? I watched an episode of Midnight Special tonight where host Linda Clifford said he was popular in clubs in New Orleans and Hawaii, circa 1979.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

                            Originally posted by na alii View Post
                            I currently play in a rock cover band called Velvet Mantis. Three of my members played back in the day during the 70's and 80's. My lead guitarist Rich Nakasone used to play with Joe Dagger, Tytus Canby and Broken Glass at the Jazz Cellar in Waikiki. My drummer Wes Oda was in The Honolulu Blues Band and my bassist Elwood Soueira was in a metal band during the 80's called Optimum Fury and X-Chaser.

                            During the 70's and 80's clubs that had live bands that I frequented was Little Orphan Annies/O'Phers, Jazz Cellar, Lucky Pierre's, Dominic's Rock and Roll Cellar, Gussie Lamours, Pirate Bully Hayes, 23rd Step, Red Lion Waikiki, Dragon Lady, The Wave, Rock and Roll Booze Cruise.

                            Local rock bands back in the day were. I'm sure I missed a few bands.
                            Conspiracy
                            Rex Havok
                            High Command
                            Sonya & Revolucion
                            Hat Makes The Man
                            The Squids
                            Fallen Angel
                            The Lifters
                            Black Widow
                            Sythe
                            Joe Dagger & The Rhythm Slaves
                            Tightrope
                            Piranha Bros
                            Syanide
                            Aarons Rod
                            Rogue
                            Zontrazio
                            Higher Ground
                            Steepcliff
                            Golden Ace
                            Giggolo
                            Boxer
                            Mike Furlong & the Condos
                            The Solution
                            Passion
                            Person L
                            Signal
                            Eddie Zany Band
                            Stagefrite
                            X-Chaser - Barry Lasit
                            Slak Alice
                            Calamity Jane
                            Broken Glass
                            Stephanie Borges and Body Heat -
                            Brain Child
                            Presence
                            Smaug
                            One Five One
                            Sabotage
                            Tytus Canby
                            Teazer
                            Shnazz
                            Naggs Head
                            Crippler
                            Blitzkrieg
                            Sacred Rite
                            Five-O
                            Rock and Roll Roadshow
                            Zuproc
                            Allison Flyer
                            Richie Walker Band
                            Wow, those are mainly bands and venues I've never heard of (with exception to Red Lion Waikiki and The Wave). I was actually born in the mid-1980s, considered a newbie at most. But it is really interesting to see that the rock community in Hawaii was (and still continues to be) active in that sense.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Local Rock Bands Past and Present

                              That's STAJEFRIGHT. My friend Bobby Ingano was lead guitar, they took second in an early BBTStardom, and my Kaaawa buds ZONTRAZIO took the prize. The former TWIN SIN's Scott Carter is the best guitar rocker Hawaii has ever produced, hands down, and his acoustic stuff today is just as great. Twin brother Mark also does guitar and percussion now instead of drums, he's got his own sound that compliment's his brother well. ZONTRAZIO/TWIN SIN rocked like few others, even the majors.
                              Bobby Ingano has 40 years with Tamashiro Mkt's produce, and is a top call steel guitarist in the Hawaiian music scene.
                              https://www.facebook.com/Bobby-Ingan...5875444640256/

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