Halloweekend

This year, my Halloween weekend started on Wednesday. Well, actually it started on what I thought was Wednesday, but it was actually a Thursday.

So this year, my Halloween weekend started on Thursday.

Now that that's out of the way, on THURSDAY, I was bestowed the honor of delivering my guitar to one of my favorite bands, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros.

They needed an acoustic guitar for an acoustic show. I was thrilled to deliver. But being that I was a day behind schedule (thank you, parenthood), I nearly messed it all up by being in the back of Manoa Valley at the exact time I should have been walking through the doors of the music hall with guitar. I frantically dialed my contact, then sped like a bat out of hell towards Dillingham, and made it there to find Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros mid-soundcheck, and happy to recieve the guitar, albeit a half hour behind schedule.

ES & The Magnetic Zeros (and Nico playing my guitar!)

Whew. Thankfully my Mom and Sister were able to keep Sebastien in Manoa so I could break the speed limit laws and roll through the 10 thousand stop signs in Manoa without endangering him.

Friday I was pumped to see Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros again, this time at the Waterfront at Aloha Tower. I was extra excited since I hadn't had a real night out with live music included. My Sister and I got there early to check out the 2 supporting bands, The Throwdowns & The Budos Band. In betwen sets we counted beards and Lady Gaga costumes. She had whiskey. I had a (single) vodka tonic.

After we met up with several other good friends, Edward Sharpe started playing and I soon found myself smashed up against some girl's fairy wings on one side and some white guy's fake dreads on the other. There was a dangerous and muggy looking armpit to my left, and Alex Ebert, a.k.a. Edward Sharpe, was pretty much dripping sweat on my nose. I had to duck every couple if minutes to avoid getting kicked in the head by falling crowd surfers.

At times the music became the mood. But mostly, the drunk and aggressive (mostly) guys trying their damndest to rush the stage by trampling all who stood in thier way made it hard to really let the music set it. There were several of them who could have taken one up the pooper, but I just shut my mouth instead to avoid becoming one of them.

Regardless, the show was a whole lot of much-needed reckless fun. My only wish was that the on stage monitors were more to the artists' liking, if only to relieve them of the awkward looks shooting across the stage. Oh well.

Home was patiently waiting for me, and I greeted it like a limp noodle at around 2 AM. I think Sebastien's spidey sense was on high alert because he woke up just to lecture me shortly after I walked in. I shmacked him with the boob and he fell back asleep pretty quickly...but he got up extra early Saturday to finish filing his complaints.

Saturday afternoon I found myself committed to helping set up a stage and sound downtown for the Hallowbaloo Art & Music Festival. Let me start by saying, live sound is a beast. It's overly stressful for me...me being someone who prefers the meticulous and controlled chaos of studio tracking over the masochistic task of doing live sound for 3 full bands. But I said yes. It was for a good friend. And there were no major heart attacks during set up. I helped out for about 3 hours, but Sebastien's babysitter (a.k.a. my Sis) gave me a good excuse to leave as she could only watch him until 6 PM.

I finished the night watching her and her friends get festive before heading Downtown for the freak show. Then headed home to Daddy with Sebastien.

On Sunday, Sebastien wore his Yoda hat (which he had been practicing doing for the last 3 days) to brunch at the Cream Pot. There were plenty of other babies in the house, but Sebastien was by far the loudest and hungriest.

Later on, I met up with my Mom and Sister, and we took him to Kahala Mall, where Sebastien promtly passed out, and missed the parade of costumes.

We then headed for UH Manoa to check out an Edward Gorey exhibit, but arrived too late.

Alas, Sebastien & I ended our Halloween eating spaghetti in Manoa before heading home to Papakolea.
Peace.

Music Motherhood Misc

This kid is going to have an interesting life.

Anti-Gravity

After The Girlas opened for him at Pipeline Cafe in 2008, we took Justin Nozuka for a surf/swim off Diamond Head. I snuck up on him sneakily and got this shot. By the way, he stood up on his first wave...what a guy!

Date Nuit Extended

I thought date night was for old people. I thought it was for people who's relationships needed rescuing. I thought having to schedule time to be together was a sign that someone's priorities were a bit...off. I was wrong. Date night is awesome. Pencil me in!

We started off by killing time at the book store before our dinner reservation, where we picked up the latest issue of Dwell (haha...good thing I no longer take my uber cool design mag reading self seriously). Then it was off to Assagio Bistro, which was...ummm...a nice place to sit.

And sit we did. Two bleary-eyed first-timers having a slow conversation about travel, about food, about the future...re-discovering the vocabulary we had abandoned not so long ago in the blur of labor, delivery, and parenthood. It felt new and old. Remembered. Forgotten. The same and so very different.

On a whim, we ended our night at Anna Banana's, on a last-minute mission to reconnect with our friend, Jesse Savio at his weekly open mic. We said hello, and caught the first song of his set. I touched the bar top, and then my eye. My eye then started to itch. Eew.

On our way to pick up Sebastien I silently stressed about the long nights and days ahead, and tried not to provoke my sleepiness by thinking too hard about it.

Well Played

Congratulations Anuhea, One Hawaii, and Warren Wyatt for setting up the sickest tour ever!


Smack dab in the middle of the Right Love Tour, Anuhea and The Green are taking the stage at the grand daddy of all music and film industry showcases, SXSW. If you're in the Austin area, pat yourself on the back, then go see them and other Hawaiian flag toting artistes at Roy's in Austin, Texas on March 20.

Anuhea also plays a handful of other dates at SXSW before heading east to finish off the Right Love tour, which ends up at the legendary Bowery Electric, New York City. How sweet is THAT!!!

For full Right Love Tour info, go here.

For more on Hawaii's presence at SXSW 2010, go here.


See you when you get back!

Human Cheese?

So last night I (we...Dave, Sebastien, Rufus, and Kelli) actually went out. As in got in the car, drove on the street, and ended up somewhere other than a doctor's office. Not that doctors offices are less than entertaining...it was kind of funny when Sebastien gave the nurse a golden shower last month...It's just that when most 'outings' take us to either Kuakini or Castle Medical Center, the view can get a little narrow. For instance, the highlight of my morning was when Dave chased the chickens out of the yard with the water hose. He doesn't know I saw him do it. That's why it was so funny.

I'm exaggerating. I went to Bookends the other week (but it was after a doctor's appointment!). 

But still, do you know how exciting this was for me? To be out, AFTER DARK, listening to LIVE music, talking to ADULTS, drinking `awa!!! Holy shit. I felt what it was like to be me, exactly 1 year ago. Thank you Diamond Head Cove for saving me from my computer screen for a couple hours.

In other news (Dave told me about this one), a Manhattan chef has been banned from serving cheese made from his wife's breastmilk. PAUSE. Maybe last year, when it had been a quarter of a century since my last encounter with breastmilk, my radar would have stayed asleep for this one. But now...it's up. Way up. OK, un-pause.

It's not that breastmilk is gross or anything. It's the only thing I want to feed my baby. But consuming the stuff that looks (and probably smells) like the stuff that comes back up if I don't burp him enough...yeeccchhh. My favorite part of the story was that the chef served the human cheese to his wife without telling where it came from! WHAT! How sneaky. I'm starting to like this guy more and more.

But don't get any ideas Honey. I like cheese. Let's keep it that way.

Ear Candy

Tonight and every Sunday at Fresh Cafe, Candy Diaz hosts an Open Mic from 7-10p. Candy is the first (and as of right now, the only) follower of Echo & Heighten. Visit her tonight at 831 Queen Street or see what she's up to on Facebook.

I'd go, but I have a date with my son.

One-Handed

MUSIC: I grew up on piano lessons and Leonard Cohen cassettes. I learned to play guitar because it's easier than piano. I tried to write songs because my insides wanted out. I recorded other people's records because I got sick of my music. I joined a band because I like people. I quit the band so I could keep liking people. I stopped everything because I got pregnant. I am back because I find myself wanting more.

MOTHERHOOD: I recently joined the Mommy club with the birth of my son, Sebastien. Hello diapers and sore nips. Goodbye independence (for now). I had 9 months to prepare to be a Mama, so I got a dog and spent most of it preparing to give birth. The birth was fabulous. No more Mama scrimmage - game time *tsua*!!!

MISC: I have many loves besides music and my family; some of which I may or may not write about in this here blog, and may or may not include the following subjects: photography, sewing, furniture, books, love itself, your mom... You get the idea.

From here on out I will do my best to keep myself entertained while my son falls asleep in my arms, causing my whole left arm and right butt cheek to fall asleep as well. Why a blog? Well, my imaginary friend/reader, it's easier to type than it is to play my guitar with one hand. Mustn't wake the little beast.

Music makes me think. Thinking makes me write. Echo. Heighten. Echo. Heighten.