THE NIGHT STUFF
Blues blast bids farewell to Third Degree front man

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Guitarist/vocalist Chris Planas of Third Degree is moving to the Mainland. A send-off blues bash is planned in his honor Saturday night. Advertiser library photo

But no matter what side of that fence you look at the other lawn from, know that sometimes even Night Stuff reporters sing the blues. Or at least judge blues competitions.

I did the latter last weekend for Hawai'i Public Radio's Battle of the Blues Bands at the American Brews, Blues and BBQs downtown block party. After spending a long night casting judgment upon others far more talented and blues-informed than me, The Night Stuff notepad stayed at home while I roamed Nu'uanu Avenue unchecked by my editors (two of whom were also on the scene).

Since my blues band of choice didn't win — David Lamar, know that your guitar work was nothing short of amazing, but by slim margin my overall vote went to the Biker Blues Band — I decided planning my next working weekend, surrounded by many plastic cups emptied of tasty Märzen (not all of them mine), was what I needed to do.

Here are a few things to check out if you're on the town this week.

First, let's broadcast more blues. I'm sad to hear that longtime Honolulu blues band Third Degree is breaking up, and gifted and all-around-nice-guy lead guitarist/vocalist Chris Planas (my first Advertiser interview subject) is moving to the Mainland.

Planas, harpist/vocalist James Ronstadt, bassist Milan Bertosa and drummer James Ganeko will offer one final live Honolulu blues marathon at Saturday night's Third Degree Farewell Bash at Anna Bannanas.

A handful of old friends, including Bailey Matsuda, Beano Shots, Vernon Sakata and Sean Thibadeaux, will sit in with the band. Bertosa's and Ganeko's funky surf-music band Tiki Taboo will open, and Planas and members of Pagan Babies offshoot The Wild Edna Blues Band will regroup for the night. Good luck, Chris. We'll miss ya. The show runs from 8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Entry is $7 ($5 for Hawai'i Public Radio and Hawaii Blues Society members). 955-8821, 926-1783, 946-5190.

I knew Flash Hansen and Neil Diamond had something in common. The Pussycat Lounge kicks off the first of four potentially hot August nights Tuesday with a CD release party for Honolulu DJ Scottie Soul's "Tokyo 606," a mix of breaks, funky house and techno. Summer Jam 3 follows the following Tuesday with live local hip-hop from 4 Elements, MC Trace and Kimo James, and Sub-Zero's Strong Arm Crew.

Start boning up on "King of the Hill" reruns for Aug. 19's sure-to-be-twisted Glitter & Glamour Experience White Trash '80s party, and bust out the Digital Underground and De La Soul cassette singles for Old Skool Bizarro on Aug. 26. Call Wave Waikiki at 941-0424 for details.

Host Kealoha will be in Chicago to compete solo at the 2003 National Poetry Slam, but his First Thursdays competition goes on at Studio 1, 8 p.m. Thursday. Should be the best place to get the inside scoop on whether Kealoha wins a place in the Aug. 9 NPS finals. Information at www.hawaiislam.com.

Some other stuff to look for in August includes:

An Aug. 10 show by underground hip-hop artist Common at Pipeline Café. Tickets are $15 presale. Doors open at 9 p.m. Call 589-1999.

Speakeasy Speakout, a benefit for The Safe Zone Foundation and the organizers of Girl Fest 2004, 8 p.m. Aug. 31. The full evening of mixed-media art at Studio 1 will include spoken word (Selah Geissler, Rebel Girl, Kealoha), film (Women Make Movies, Wendy Fong), visual art (Kim Kinard, Nobuko Oyabu), music and DJs (Sisters In Sound, Missing Dave) and dance (House of Chandelier, Sequoia).

More information is at www.girlfesthawaii.org and 945-0996.