The September 11th attack
'Aloha from Hawai'i' show will benefit disaster relief
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer
Some of Hawai'i's best-known musical acts have volunteered for a hastily arranged concert Saturday at the Waikiki Shell to benefit terror victims.
The entertainers' appeal spans several generations. Some, including Henry Kapono, Kalapana, Kapena, Barry Flanagan and Willie K, have been mainstays on the Island-music scene for years, if not decades. Ten Feet and Colon, relative newcomers, have been packing venues with young audiences.
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Tickets for Saturday's "Aloha From Hawai'i" concert at the Waikiki Shell are $15 for lawn, $30 upper terrace, $50 lower terrace and $100 for pool VIP seating. Available at the Neal Blaisdell box office and at all Ticket Plus outlets; charge by phone at 526-4400. Call 566-0644.
Island-music specialists Mana'o Company and Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom are also giving their talent to "Aloha From Hawai'i," 2-10 p.m. Saturday.
Profits go to the Uniformed Firefighters Association Widows and Children's Fund/World Trade Center.
The event is the brainchild of Honolulu entertainment attorney Bill Meyer.
"As much as anything, the concert is an outlet for the people of Hawai'i," Meyer said, "an event that they can all rally around and hopefully have their spirits lifted by the music. It's basically to send a message of love and aloha from the people of Hawai'i to the folks that have been directly touched by this event."
Meyer said every artist he called said "yes," though a few were unable to get out of earlier commitments.
By the end of last week, Meyer had a tentative list of artists lined up and began soliciting help from concert promoter Mass Appeal to handle production details; nonprofit organization Unity House to underwrite concert costs; and a number of local media outlets to run concert promos. Outrigger Hotels agreed to house Neighbor Island artists. Honolulu-based Pixelworld and Santa Clara-based Speedera are supplying staffing and broadband connections for broadcasting the event worldwide over the Internet.
"Aloha From Hawai'i" will be broadcast live for free on pixelworld.net/aloha, with donations accepted via secured server.
Aaron Rutledge of lead sponsor Unity House noted that an event like this usually takes six weeks to two months to launch, not just a few days. Despite the hurdles, Meyer said more than 80 percent of the costs involved in putting on the concert have been waived so far. Unity House has agreed to underwrite most of the remaining expenses.
