This Is Book’s Music

Edan is about to put up a brand new website, but until then, he is putting together an online radio show that he hopes to do on a weekly basis. Here are the first two installments:

Show #1
Show #2

If you are familiar with reggae from the Pacific Rim, you will have no doubt heard of the name Natural Vibrations. They have been conquering Hawai’i Nei and the rest of the islands of the Pacific with their brand of reggae and Jawaiian music, and they’ve made enough music to create The Best Of Natural Vibrations: Ultimate Vibes (self-released).

What you have on their album are 15 classic Natural Vibrations jawns, including “Balls Rolling”, “Into Me”, “Mary Jane”, “Okana Road”, “One On One”, “Green Harvest”, and “Freedom Fighter”. Fans will want to buy this for the two previously unreleased tracks, “Man Down” and “Shawty”, both of which are sure to be fan favorites.

Having a “best of” doesn’t mean the end of the group, but it will provide a chance for new fans to catch up (their discography is eleven albums strong) and old fans to impatiently await new music. Just inhale big kine and hol’ ‘em.

Island style reggae lef a bingbung o salang!

RJ Kaneao is a reggae artist who talks about “the roots of my soul” through a very passionate album called Toru (Motu), and he shows he could become the next Ziggy Marley if he puts his 10,000 hours into it.

With tracks like “Warrior”, “Answer My Plea”, “Why Do You”, and Back In My Arms” he celebrates Hawaiian pride along with love and romance. In other words, he is not afraid to share his strength as a man and as a lover, so the ladies will dig this immediately. As a vocalist/guitarist you get to hear him go at it in songs that are well played, written, and arranged. The album is split between fantastic roots reggae and heavily formulaic Jawaiian songs, but he has to pay the bills, right? In the songs that are Jawaiian, he provides the same island stylee that Sean Na’auao has done over the years, and it feels good. Yeah, perhaps puppy love died 30 years ago but not in Hawai’i, where manners are still an issue and even though it may be asking for something more enticing, it’s still nice to hear.

He definitely has the makings to become a star outside of Hawai’i and the Pacific Rim, although more at rock/jam band festivals than in the traditional reggae market. Then again, someone prove me wrong. While he doesn’t show it too much here, he could easily do pop and soul, and perhaps he’ll experiment with that in the future. As is, if this guy isn’t getting airplay throughout the islands, SHAME ON YOU!!!

When David Kamakahi recorded Shine, he obviously had no idea that one of the artists he covered would end up passing away. The artist is Michael Jackson, and before MJ died, I had viewed Kamakahi’s cover of “Man In The Mirror” as being simply a respectful cover version done in a pop fashion, Hawaiian style. I still say that, but now one is able to listen to the song from a different perspective.

Shine is an album that shows Kamahaki’s talent and lineage, for he is of course the son of legendary musician Dennis Kamakahi. Shine is an album that shows how well this man plays and how comfortable he is on his instrument of choice, the ‘ukulele, but also takes on the instrument his father is known for, the 6-string acoustic guitar. These days, the one ‘ukulele player that gets the most attention is Jake Shimabukuro, which has allowed him to take Hawai’i around the world while at the same time making a decent amount of money along the way. Kamakahi wants that same level of success too, so it’s no surprise that his album balances Hawaiian music and a few carefully selected pop songs. On the pop side, he covers Sting‘s “Fields Of Gold”, John Cafferty‘s “Boardwalk Angel”, and James Taylor‘s “Your Smiling Face”. The latter is an all-too-familiar song that still sounds welcoming, and anyone who can’t stand the earworm Taylor has made will find it a bit refreshing to hear through Kamahaki.

On the Hawaiian side, you’ll hear updated takes of Kalapana‘s “Nightbird”, Country Comfort‘s “Waimanalo Blues”, and a John Almeida standard, “‘A’oia”. I love the fluidity of his playing, this is not someone who plays just because the world discovered Israel Kamakawiwo’ole doing it, this is someone who has music in his blood and you hear it. His playing here is not as complex as Shimabukuro but not as laid back as Herb Ohta Jr., although one can easily hear him trying out some easy listening/MOR-styled sounds and being a success at it. The Hawaiian songs will definitely work at home, while the pop songs will make it possible for people to hear him on smooth jazz, NPR, and other adult contemporary stations that cater to these smooth sounds. It would be nice to be here on the mainland and hear “Nightbird” in a supermarket, but I’ll take this CD so I can “tell her (to) wait for me”.

It’s not just David who is on this disc, but father Dennis too, along with one of my favorite drummers right now, Abe Lagrimas Jr.. If you love Hawaiian music with a contemporary pop touch without the Jawaiian-isms, Shine is perfect for your listening adventures. I would love to hear Kamakahi get more adventurous in his playing,but perhaps that’s a signal for me to spruce up my playing so I can record my own album. Another day, another time, right?

If you’re a fan of soul music, then the title Keep Rising (House Of Shem/Ohana) should be familiar to you through the Keni Burke song “Rising To The Top”. If it’s hip-hop, then perhaps Doug E. Fresh is what you hear with the song “Keep Rising To The Top” or Pete Rock & CL Smooth‘s “Take You There” among many songs.

It is this that inspired New Zealand’s House Of Shem to create an album titled Keep Rising, with the title track talking about having pride towards home:

Masses of the people moving
movement in a position vibration
working and learning together
Aotearoa New Zealand

These reggae heads are also into playing smoothed out yet tasteful R&B and like many bands of the Pacific Rim, they show a love for pop that can’t be denied. They sound like a lot of great reggae bands from the late 70′s/early 80′s, and in fact at times it seems many Pacific Rim reggae bands can’t get out of that vibe but it’s roots reggae, it is true to the music that rocked the world in a Third World fashion and what a place to be locked in. Vocalist Carl Perkins (not the rock’n'roll legend of “Blue Suede Shoes” fame) has the kind of voice that sounds laid back, warm, and humble, but the one you’ll want to hear on this is Francis Harawira, whose bass work will make your system rumble and rupture if you don’t watch him. Harawira and drummer Kaya Webster get deep and make you want to pluck bananas, breadfruit, and plantains in rhythm.

Jokes aside, these guys are on a position and spiritual vibe, celebrating the gifts of Jah and Maori pride. There’s nothing bad about this at all, and even when you might get sick of another toast break, they go right back into what they do best and rip it. I would love to hear more established solos during the break than another toast.

All I will say is, this music will have a lot of people saying “hey, you like make baby?” and if there are a generation of children in New Zealand and Australia named Shem, you’ll know why.

I had read an interivew with these guys in Skyscraper magazine, and caUSE co-MOTION! seemed like a good band to check out. I’m glad I did.

These guys take their rock seriously, and I mean in a lo-fi punk, garage-like manner. Because Because Because (Slumberland) is an EP full of raunchy ass RAWK! that is sure to burn any venue they play in, and what I like about the songs is that they’re short and sweet. Okay, maybe sweet is not the right word but it brings to mind bands such as The Dwarves, The Stooges, The Cramps, and even The Mummies but without the Mantrax. In tracks like “You Lose” (, “Leave It All”, and the title track they play with the kind of cliched reckless abandon that makes you want to salute and pump your fist in the air, regardless of how old you are. This is how good rock’n'roll should be done. Not (butt) rock, but rock’n'roll. These guys are not so much in a class all to themselves, but they are part of a group of bands who do their deeds with a passion. Cheap, perhaps, but at a valued price.

There are times when I wish I could have all of the jazz albums released in any particular year, just to listen. I get my share of crap, and I get my share of the good stuff. This, in the words of Queen Latifah, is the good stuff.

Soul and funk fans may know of Bill Banfield for releasing some great music years ago, and he’s still doing his thing now, but in jazz mode. Spring Forward (Innova) has The Bill Banfield Band (Banfield on guitar, plus Stokley Williams on drums, Wallace Hill on conga, Serge Aquo on bass, Terry Burns on bass, and Keith McCutchen on keyboards) just doing their thing in the kind of motif that will make the jaded jazz fan blush with delight. Banfield is an incredible guitarist, definitely shows his influences in each of the tracks and he shows his respect for Wes Montgomery in “The Thumb”. Hearing John Coltrane‘s “Equinox” taken in this fashion makes it sound as if Banfield composed the song himself. Coltrane fans may be upset at this, but listen for yourself and see/hear if you don’t agree.

The rest of the album are original pieces, and this isn’t a small time thing, jazz and musicianship is in their blood and one wants a transfusion now. “She Made It Crystal Clear”, “Follow The Melody Of Your Soul”, and “”Free Us” are pieces that show the power of jazz in the 21st century, and again if there was more jazz like this, I’d be a happy man. It’s laid back, almost as if they recorded this for themselves without the concept of an audience in mind. But they did, and the world will be forever grateful because of this. Whether you are a jazz guitar enthusiasts or just love well executed jazz, get caught up in the music featured here.

When this arrived in my mailbox, I didn’t realize Six Finger Satellite were still around. They had been one of my favorite bands in the early 1990′s when they came through the Sub Pop empire, and I was excited to hear this.

It’s not new music, but rather music recorded in 2001. It wasn’t released until this year, and Half Control shows why these guys rocked then. The recordings here are explosive and yet still show their love and craft for combining pop and aggressive heaviness, without being weak about it. Why this was not released in 2001 I don’t know, but these guys deserved more recognition than they received, and I hope their longtime fans will support this by buying it and telling everyone why they meant so much to people. Of course, you can catch them live now or wait until their new album is finished. Until then…

Go.

Buy it.

Mon David is a jazz/pop vocalist of Filipino heritage, and his first American album has been released through FreeHam Records. Is it good? If you are into jazz-flavored pop or pop flavored jazz, definitely, and as the CD cover indicates, he has his guitar and suitcase ready to go.

Even just by listening you can tell he is a showman. In tracks like “Inivitation”, “Only Once” (the latter a duet with the awesome Charmaine Clamor he shows his passion for not only jazz but for singing, and he never goes over the edge with it either. He is someone who could easily fit in with any style of music, I’m curious to hear what he could be like if he did a bit of country or blues. In other words he sounds like a versatile singer, and I hope he continues on this path to find new avenues.

Also, for fans of solid drumming, pick this CD up to hear the work of Abe Lagrimas. Nuff said.