Promising promoter
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Dance artist Kaila Yu, left, is a model-turned-singer born in Taiwan and reared in California. Talib Kweli, lower-right, is a socially conscious hip-hop lyricist who has appeared on HBO's "Reverb." Co-managed by Marumoto, pop vocalist Sarina Paris, upper-right lives in British Columbia and Italy. |
"I knew early on that I wanted to be as stable and secure as I could," said Marumoto, now 21. "My goal was always to try to get as much as I could done before I got out of high school, so I wouldn't have to worry about what I was going to do."
Handed a career-shadowing assignment during his sophomore year at Kalaheo High School, Marumoto phoned Tom Moffatt Productions, hoping for an internship and the added bonus of scoring choice concert tickets free of charge. He instead found his life's calling. Well, at least so far.
As a collection of words, "A Shiane Marumoto Production" probably doesn't yet carry the same kind of instantly recognizable swoosh as, say, "A Tom Moffatt Production," but Marumoto's day is coming. Now a six-year veteran of the local concert promotion business, Marumoto has gained a solid reputation among teens and young adults for providing a menu of youth-attracting concerts (Blaque, Fastball) and weekly and one-time-only DJ/live events (Mind Blowin' Mondays and Little Tokyo Thursdays at Venus Nightclub, Bay Fest 2000 at Marine Corps Base Hawaii).
Marumoto's increasingly busy schedule includes a Clash of the Titans DJ battle between Holland-based turntablists DJ Jean and DJ Jurgen, tomorrow at All Star Hawaii. His latest weekly DJ party, The Lipstick Lounge (with a live concert appearance by dance club fave Sarina Paris), opens up at Garden of Saigon on Saturday.
Next weekend, Marumoto brings socially conscious hip-hop lyricist Talib Kweli to All Star Hawaii on March 29-30. On April 6, he's bringing vocalist/model Kaila Yu to a Lipstick Lounge party at Garden of Saigon.
| • | Entertainment acts Shiane Marumoto has set for Hawai'i
Clash of the Titans DJ Jean vs. DJ Jurgen 9 p.m., tomorrow All Star Hawaii, 2080 Kalakaua Ave. $15, 955-8326 Sarina Paris and Aiko Tanaka At The Lipstick Lounge grand opening 9 p.m., Saturday Garden of Saigon, 1041E Nu'uanu Ave. $10, 537-6971 Talib Kweli 9 p.m., March 29 & 30 •Garden of Saigon, 1041E Nu'uanu Ave. $15, 955-8326, 537-6971 Kaila Yu At The Lipstick Lounge 9 p.m., April 6 Garden of Saigon, 1041E Nu'uanu Ave. $10, 537-6971 |
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Marumoto gained swift insight into the good, the bad and the ugly side of the promotion business from his first gig as a Moffatt assistant: a pair of sold-out Aloha Stadium Michael Jackson concerts in 1997.
"I did everything — answer phones, get papers, run things back and forth backstage," remembered Marumoto. "It was a lot of work. Not all of it glamorous. But everybody who worked for Uncle Tom would do this stuff, not just me. And there was no book that said, 'This is what you do.' Stuff could happen at any moment that you didn't understand or didn't expect. It was an awesome learning experience."
Marumoto kept the internship for a year and a half, assisting on Moffatt concerts with Whitney Houston and Gloria Estefan before exiting during his senior year to concentrate on high school, where he was student government vice president.
Near graduation, Marumoto's already impressive resume landed him a job as promotions director for the teen-oriented local cable show MyTV Jamms.
At MyTV Jamms, Marumoto set up the program's interviews with visiting celebrities (Faith Evans, Mya and 98 Degrees among them) and secured critical sponsorships for the organization's many events. But after two years of working behind the scenes, Marumoto decided to sacrifice the security of a full-time gig for something riskier but closer to his dreams: his own promotion company.
Taking a cue from mentor Moffatt, Marumoto called his company Shiane Marumoto Productions "so that everything I did would carry my name and get it out there as much as possible."
The name was also an attempt at assuring that the then-19-year-old would be taken seriously by industry types who would likely be much older than he is.
Marumoto's first big solo event was a 1999 concert by then-emerging R&B act Blacque at the Kane'ohe Marine base E-Club. The success of the date led to a two-years-and-counting promotions relationship with the base that also included Bay Fest 2000, which featured concerts by Fastball, 112, and Fiji.
Marumoto admitted that while the events and acts he promotes generally are targeted toward young adult audiences, "I will try to bring in whatever show that I think people want to see. I don't want to narrow myself to younger people, but I do more of that stuff because I know the market and what they want. I do more of the fresher, younger acts that I'd also like to see."
One of those acts is the 27-year-old Paris, who recently signed Marumoto on as her co-manager. Marumoto brought her to Hawai'i for a series of shows last year, promoting her Top 40 radio hit "Look At Us," and the two became close friends.
"We had always talked about it," said Marumoto, somewhat shyly. "She told me the main reasons she wanted me to manage her were because she trusted me and she trusted my decisions."
Marumoto will put a large part of his promotion business on hold this summer (though weekly events will continue) to accompany Paris on a tour that includes opening several concerts for Destiny's Child.
Asked whether his goals included a move away from promotion and into management, or a move away from bringing in niche acts into courting bigger acts, Marumoto shrugged.
"I just want to keep enjoying all of this," he said. "I guess I would love to bring in somebody like Janet Jackson someday. Janet Jackson is like ... JANET! I love her! To spend your whole life doing something you don't want to do is just not worth it."
