ISLAND VOICES
A time of great music, humor

By Ron Sambrano

Music is definitely universal; we can hear a song, a beat, and we can all get along because of it. Our bodies move to the sounds. We remember certain events because of music.

In the '70s, here in Hawai'i, there were some very exceptional musicians. The group Kalapana, led by the late Mackey Feary, had two solid albums that I think were their best, their first and second ones. Instrumentals like "Black Sand," a rock/fusion classic that, when heard today, still shows that Kalapana was ahead of its time.

Kalapana could blaze a piece of music. If one wore headphones watching the surf and sunsets, Kalapana's music made the scenery a living painting.

Cecilio and Kapono were two very hot musicians. They surrounded themselves in the beginning with some of the world's greatest studio players. Their first album had Russ Kunkel on drums. Russ played for the likes of James Taylor and Stevie Nicks, to name two, and was heard on a gazillion records, performing for many great musicians. Celilio and Kapono's two greatest albums were their first.

During the '70s, groups like Kalapana and C&K played their live concerts with so much energy, you could sink your teeth into it. I remember Cecilio and Kapono exchanging guitar solos at a concert at the Royal Lahaina Tennis Stadium, and maybe it was the pakalolo smoke filling the air, but the energy these guys put out in those days was something you can't get with some of the bands now. I guess it's a different time, totally.

Country Comfort was a laid-back band, and another legend passed on from that group, Billy Kaui. Country Comfort was the reason many of my friends picked up an Ovation guitar, playing mellow acoustic licks and imitating Billy singing "Pretty Girl." It was a time we makule folks will cherish.

And comedy was at its best. It really was.

Andy Bumatai's first album was a classic. When a friend of mine put on the bit about a Caucasian man imitating a local guy, Andy had me on the floor gagging for air. It went like this: A local guy supposedly says, "Shoot brah I like go your house and kau kau," or to that effect. Andy's version of the Caucasian guy was like, "Sure me like stay your house go kau kau."

Andy was the best at that time. No one could touch him, no one. His video, "All In the 'Ohana," will stand the test of time.

Frank DeLima's career was derailed because of people who had thin skin — the politically correct people who couldn't take Frank's true observations and reflections of the different ethnic people.

I say let Frank tell it like it is. Yeah, the truth hurts, but the truth also sets us free, and Frank was the best at poking fun, in a good way, at the different races. He was the best at what he did, and we need a younger version of him to come out soon. Da Bruddahs are new, and they are definitely going in the right direction; they do need to tune it up and they'll be really great. Augie T. is keeping things local, and that's great.

But the ultimate in local humor was the trio of Rap Reiplinger, James Grant Benton and Ed Ka'ahea, or Booga Booga. I thought those guys in their prime were the best as a group, kind of like our version of Cheech and Chong. Booga Booga ruled the school; they set the standard in group comedy because they were more like thespians mixed in with a little mentalness; they definitely made the mold and then broke it into pieces and tossed it into the Ala Wai Canal.

There's a heaven, and the late Mackey Feary, Billy Kaui, Loyal Garner, Rap, James Grant Benton, Myra English and many more of the great entertainers from Hawai'i who passed on are partying with God, looking down and smiling because the new breed is moving music and laughter forward.

Be original, write your own songs, write your own material, make your own mold and then break it.

Ron Sambrano, a resident of Lahaina, is a shuttle driver for Kapalua Land Co.