Hawaiianology

Phase 7 was the top Disco Band of the 1970’s. The Birth of Phase VII 1975, the group “Breaking Point” had decided to disband, so, while one door closed another would open with thoughts already under way for another group. Van de Guzman and Hemingway Jasmin would go on to form Phase VII. The two would go out and start planning for how they wanted the band to sound, plans on setting out to complete the lineup, and see how they could create the ultimate “dream” band.   Band Room Refuge Clark Silva (12) and Jim Ng (14) would ask the music teacher Roy Shoji Yanagida (1938-2022) if they could hang out in the band room and they were both trumpet players at that time. This was at central intermediate school honolulu (Ke'elikōlani Middle School) where the kids were pretty rough and people were picking fights all the time, so the band room was a sort of refuge.  The Deltones “Direct from Waikiki” 1971-1974, Willy Martin, Clark Silva, and Billy Hallam were part of the group “The Del...

Greenwood is a Hawaii band whose music spans the genres of soul, jazz, rock, latin, funk, pop, disco, and City-pop. They are among the most legendary Hawaii bands of the Hawaii-disco era with a name meaning a forest in foliage, wood, or forest when green. It was the band that took disco and went into rock and then could cover whatever you could imagine. They were a band that would bring the shows to Hawaii’s entertainment venues and took the sound that people were listening to and made it live for the local crowds and drew in the tourists as well. The legacy of their unleashing Hawaii citypop before anywhere else in the United States would be something later on seen as unimaginable, but it happened.  Robin Kimura was born March 8th, 19--, local band, bass player, band-leader, and entertainment coordinator from Honolulu Hawaii. He had grown up townside where Honolulu was relatively rural and the high rises were just starting to come and tourism was changing. Old Hawaii was in full b...

White Light is a funk, disco, rock band that was a stage-group that formed on Oahu in Hawaii and the school of Roosevelt really pumped out a lot of rock bands in the day. All the stuff they were doing was all natural for the enjoyment of the music and growing up on the islands there was this feeling that was mutual about the music and that would have them starting a band back in Highschool.  The group was formed in 1971 where they would play and were part of the Roosevelt Stage Band and Concert Band and were a pretty tight band where they would start having people asking who's that and it was the start of getting recognized by the music they played. All the time they would be playing and that music was funky music and rock with some of those being: Tower of Power, Cold Blood, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Chicago, and Earth, Wind and Fire. The group played together to explore all sorts of genres to search for their sound and start the gears going for being in that sort of music mood and...

Power Point  Etymology: The name these days gets confused with the Microsoft Program for presentations "Power Point", but it was not a computer application back then. Power Point started with seven members: (1) Jason Nagashima (Vocalist/Keyboard), (2) Bryan Aoyagi (Guitar), (3) Jack, (4) Grant Young (Drummer), (5), (6), (7).  Maiden Voyage, Jason Nagashima and Bryan Aoyagi played pop music and were interested in Jazz as well as some Acoustic as they experimented. At Kailua High School they would play music from the Tower of Power, The Trammps, Commodores and other dance music as they were thinking of forming a group to play gigs and that was when there were discussions to make the band Maiden Voyage. So by the time the two went to University of Hawaii the group would be formed and it was a college band with almost a rotating door for members.

Sunbums Hawaii "Your Guide to Summer Fun Hawaii" (Music and Entertainment News) was a bi-weekly newspaper in the 1970s and that means it came out twice a week. Looking back at it the quality would be like comparing it to Rolling Stones Magazine, but the the Pacific variation. 

"It was the Hawaii version of Woodstock... man...I went to woodstock years ago... and man... Sunshine was so much better man. You had to see it to believe it. All the chicks man, all the sounds, it was psychedelic. You had to have been there! you wouldn't understand cool guy, because it was so long ago."

Intro: Kalapana II from the group Kalapana was released almost 50 years ago with standout tracks like "Moon and Stars" that would be a must have album in the history of Hawaiian music. It became an important part of Hawaii's culture and taking a look at the legacy that Mackey Feary has left with us will set the stage to find out the level of musical exploration and significance of what can only be described as powerful as a burning star in the sky. The people would always be coming out to hear his messages about communication and it really connected with people. It wasn't really a thing to convey feelings in Hawaii back at that time and standing up to that expectation of Hawaii society meant being more independent and just doing it, even if it was difficult he knew holding it all inside. It was about being in the silent night sky and being a moon that shines their light, that light is personal experiences, and the thing the moon is shining on is the other sides unders...