HAWAI'IAN CONNECTION
I'm told my life began in Hawaii when my parents honeymooned at the Halekulani hotel in Waikiki… pretty sure a native spirit was part of my genesis. My dad loved the islands and lived many years on Maui, and I fell in love with Hawai'i the very first time we played the Big Island with Glen Campbell. Many short tour stops later, I knew that was where I wanted to be as often as possible, and in 2007 I did my first two week stay on Oahu. That led to about 25 visits there, playing gigs on four of the islands, making island friends who welcomed me into the ‘Ohana and named me Lokomaika’i.
I'm grateful and proud to be part of a multi-award winning group there, called A'ea'e. Members Kenneth Makuakane, Keola Donaghy, Tarvin Makia and Mapuana Makia and I cut our first EP in what's called Haku Mele, the language of the people. That record won us the Hawaiian EP of the Year at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in 2023 and we also took the top prize for Group Of The Year. You can find the music at https://www.aeaemusichawaii.com.
