Cecelio & Kapono in harmony for a reunion tour

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Rumor: Cecilio and Kapono need bucks again, hence another "reunion" concert series.

Despite their personal differences, when Cecilio Rodriguez, right, and Henry Kapono Ka'aihue perform together, they bring something to each other: musical synergy. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser • • • Cecilio & Kapono Reunion • Honolulu: From 6 p.m. today and Saturday, at Kapono's, Aloha Tower Marketplace; with Ike Pono at 6 p.m., Reign at 7:45 p.m., C&K at 9 p.m., Jook Joint at midnight (Guy Cruz at midnight on Saturday) • Big Island: 8:30 p.m. Sept. 28, Hilton Waikoloa Village • Maui: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4, Maui Arts & Cultural Center • Kaua'i: Nov. 2, Hyatt Regency Kaua'i; time to be announced Tickets: • Honolulu: $15 in advance, at Kapono's; $20 at the door; advance sales will be limited to 1,000 per night, with door sales subject to capacity; call 536-2161 • Big Island: $45, includes two drinks; call (808) 886-1234, ext. 54 • Maui: $10, $28, $35; pre-show events include arts and crafts, food booths and hula; call (808) 242-7469. • Kaua'i: To be announced

Rumor: When they're not working together, C&K don't speak to each other.

Fact: When they're maintaining their solo careers, they infrequently connect, they seldom socialize. But occasionally one will drop in on a performance of another, and a mini "reunion" is established.

Rumor: C&K are enemies.

Fact: Years ago, they realized that the partnering thing, like some marriages, became stifling. Different strokes, different folks, different goals — the split became inevitable.

Cecilio and Kapono are arguably the most revered contemporary Hawaiian music duo in the state, emerging in 1973 and still going strong ... with another reunion starting this weekend at Kapono's at Aloha Tower Marketplace. Over the next few months, Cecilio Rodriguez, 57, and Henry Kapono Ka'aihue, 53, will tour Maui, the Big Island and Kaua'i, sharing their good times again.

To some, this may seem hypocritical. How many reunions can a group have? In C&K's 29-year history, there must have been at least six reunions, big and small. The larger ones were at the Waikiki Shell, one of the smaller ones at Honolulu Zoo. And now this modest undertaking.

Perhaps fewer senior proms pick "Friends" as a theme song these days, but memories enveloping C&K music abound. Haven't we all been moved by "Sailin'," "Night Music," "Sunshine Love," "About You," "Goodnight and Good Morning," "Lifetime Party," "Gotta Get Away" and "Here With You"?

Amid the reflection, the rumors have persisted.

"When we split up, people interpreted it as if we did not like each other," Kapono said. "The truth is, we had become different people, with different ideas. I wanted to do something else, Cec wanted to do something else."

So they took separate paths. The first time was in 1980-81.

"At its worse," Cecilio said, "the talk was that we don't communicate. The fact is, when something happens, I'll call Henry, or he'll call me."

In a candid conversation, C&K strolled down memory lane, remembering the past and pondering its future. And clarifying all that buzz and talk about their professional and personal relationships.

Listen up:

Cecilio: "This continued response (by fans) is amazing, self-perpetuating. It's going to be a little more intimate, and maybe more special, by choice — we wanted to do a show where we could really see the audience."

Kapono: "When we performed at Diego Garcia, we were both doing our own thing, but it turned out so well, we decided it was time to do something together again. It had been a while. And the crowds — Navy, Army, Marines, including Hawai'i people — really welcomed us."

C: "It set up the united C&K front. The amazing thing is that it's self-perpetuating. It's always nice to get back together. Especially since we have a whole new generation of listeners, including 18-year-olds who weren't even born when we started singing together."

K: "When we're apart, we're apart. But when we're together, we have something to bring to each other. And that's the music. We have different lives now, different friends now."

C: "When I have a free Wednesday, I might pop in on Henry at Kapono's. But I never bring my guitar."

K: "It's difficult not to get Cec up to play. People expect it, when C&K are in the same room together."

C: "It's always fun to play together."

K: "It wouldn't look good ... if we don't sing together.

C: "People would say, 'How come he never asked you to sing?' "

K: "That's the thing; they'd say, 'Oh, you must hate him.' "

C: "Henry knows, I go to have a good time."

K: "We've never done a show hating each other. Never happened. The music always brings us together, even with our different personalities."

C: "We learned some hard lessons over the years. In the beginning, when I was living the life of the entertainer, the ladies' man, I was doing the whole nine yards, and it took me a while to figure it out — that I needed friends, not the ones that blow smoke up your butt to feel important."

C: "Certainly my life has been enriched with good friends. Certainly not financial. We've had some tough times."

K: "Yeah, friends — and family — are the riches that have come to me through the C&K music."

C: "Friends got us together."

K: "It happened on the North Shore, and it happened instantly. I mean, I had just come back from the Far East, and Cec was playing with a band called Poverty Train, and a friend, John Isara, the caricaturist, asked me if I ever worked with this guy Cecilio. A guitar player, too. We clicked as soon as we met, pretty much because we both knew the same songs and liked the same artists."

C: "Lezlee (Henry's wife) is pretty instrumental in our return together. She saw the value in our togetherness."

K: "Lezlee has been supportive, honest; she's my best friend, my manager, my wife. She does all the business, so we can spend time on the music. She's been an asset in my life, not only as a wife, but as a manager. Now, I can sit and enjoy some of the artists at Kapono's and lighten up at business meetings, since she takes charge."

C: "We've learned, as we've gotten older, that there's always positive energy when we get back together."

K: "I'm happy to be doing the concerts at the club (Kapono's). Won't be as crazy as the shell; and though we can accommodate 2,000, we've limited the crowd to 1,000 each night, so it will be intimate — and without the restrictions at the shell."

C: "The club has been good for (young) acts. For us, as writers, it's appalling to see that over the years, there's very little good writing going on. The ones that compose have no mentors; some songs don't have the same sense. As Henry has said before, kids learn three chords and they think they have it to score."

K: "Some concerts are like Battle of the Bands. You get six or eight acts on a show, but no one can play more than half-hour, 'cause that's all they know."

C: "Yeah, 30 minutes of music. Kinda degrades the industry, sometimes. Shows the power of a radio station, though — they play the music for the sound."

K: "The business is so different now. Record companies want an act to have a look and a sound. Once this dries out, they move on to something else. The life span of an act is pretty short these days."

C: "I have a few students; I try to teach them a few things. I tell my students forget formulas; be your own thing, be your own person. Discover who you are, not try to be somebody from a formula."

K: "Everything goes around, once you're in the business. I know I've grown as a human being."

C: "I hope I've matured. The things I used to feel hard about ... I've mellowed. And it's easier now for me to acknowledge I made a mistake ... and say I'm sorry."

K: "With this reunion, it's about friends getting together. Having a good time. Not about money."

C: "You never know when the next reunion might be. Next year is our 30th anniversary. A blowout, maybe?"

K: "Never say never."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, phone 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.

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Cecilio & Kapono Reunion • Honolulu: From 6 p.m. today and Saturday, at Kapono's, Aloha Tower Marketplace; with Ike Pono at 6 p.m., Reign at 7:45 p.m., C&K at 9 p.m., Jook Joint at midnight (Guy Cruz at midnight on Saturday) • Big Island: 8:30 p.m. Sept. 28, Hilton Waikoloa Village • Maui: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4, Maui Arts & Cultural Center • Kaua'i: Nov. 2, Hyatt Regency Kaua'i; time to be announced Tickets: • Honolulu: $15 in advance, at Kapono's; $20 at the door; advance sales will be limited to 1,000 per night, with door sales subject to capacity; call 536-2161 • Big Island: $45, includes two drinks; call (808) 886-1234, ext. 54 • Maui: $10, $28, $35; pre-show events include arts and crafts, food booths and hula; call (808) 242-7469. • Kaua'i: To be announced