THE NIGHT STUFF
Tripping 'Lights' fantastic repertoire of surprises

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Joseph Bell and Lauren Muneoka, center, both from Kane'ohe, listen to the band Soundwaves at September's Trip The Lights. Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Rather than clinging to a permanent theme or concept that if not guided carefully could grow quickly stale, TTL retains its freshness each month by keeping its mix of hip-hop themed art and artistry a consistently morphing entity of surprises. Think of it as a hip-hop science lab full of experiments.

One month might feature an emcee topic battle, where competitors are given a random topic to rhyme on. Another — like the TTL I dropped by last month — offered a showcase of turntable artistry where competitors, rather than the audience or a panel of judges, were asked to choose a final winner among themselves.

Next month's TTL hosts an open mike free-for-all jam session welcoming instrumentally inclined patrons (fluent in oboe, kazoo, buckets or whatever) to take the stage with a core hip-hop band featuring drums, bass, turntables and samplers.

Live free-form musicians, a bit of mixed-media art and a constant display of scratching, beat matching and beat juggling from Honolulu's most-promising and already-great turntablists round out the rest of the evening.

Under TTL founder/organizer/DJ Kavet Omo's guidance, even big audience pleasers like last month's turntable showcase are immediately taken out of rotation to avoid milking a concept into the staleness of routine. If one idea is a success, it might be back for a future TTL. Then again, it might not.

"I don't like to overkill an idea," said Omo. "A lot of people have their favorites, but I like waiting until ... I run out of ideas before I recycle."

Omo knows a thing or two about what his audience can handle.

Working the KTUH-FM tables under the alias Kavet the Catalyst, Omo's Thursday evening alternative hip-hop show LightSleepers was one of the most popular programs on the student-run radio station during its 1997-2002 run. The plug was pulled on the show when University of Hawai'i powers that be finally caught up with enough of their paperwork to find that Omo had already graduated ... in 2000.

Omo launched Trip The Lights — the phrase is hip-hop slang meaning "not of the norm" — in February at Coffee Factory. The monthly moved to Studio 1 in June, where it has attracted an even larger following.

"With Trip The Lights, I wanted to play off hip-hop and explore the different elements of hip-hop culture from art to DJs to different kinds of emceeing and dance," said Omo.

He's succeeded, and then some.

Got a night spot, night event or club event we should check out? Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.

Oliver Seguin of Waikiki videotapes the onstage activities 'round midnight. The party explores different aspects of hip-hop art, DJing, emceeing and dance with events that change monthly.

Nabahe "Intaleck the Reject" Benally sings with the band Soundwave at the September edition of Trip The Lights at Studio 1.

Where: Studio 1, 1 N. King St., 550-8701.

When: 10 p.m.-2 a.m. monthly, on designated Fridays. Take another Trip Nov. 21 at "Trip The Lights: Give Thanks!"; and again Dec. 19.

Our arrival/departure: 11:30 p.m./1:30 a.m.

Cover: $5.

Younger than 21 OK? Yes.

Age of crowd: 20s-30s.

What to wear: Dress casually and comfortably for a warm night. The AC works overtime with all the warm bodies and DJ equipment.

Peak crowd while there: About 200.

Queue?: No.

The KTUH-FM New-Music Top 10: Kavet's "Livicated to EP" mix album spent 10 weeks at No. 1, from May through August 2003.

Keeping up with Trip: www.lightsleepers.net.

Night notes ...

An international menu of music and dance will be offered at tonight's Small World, Big Noise! at Studio 1. Microscopic Syllables, Mundo Muzak and DJs A2Z and Daniel Warner provide the entertainment. At 10 p.m. Entry is $7 ($5 for students).

"The Circle" has been chilling near Billboard's Reggae Album Top 10 for several weeks. But Natural Vibrations finally throws the CD's release bash tonight at The Beach House. Curious as I am to see how The Beach House pulls off three stages of live bands without creating a sonic Cuisinart on Pier 7? Show up at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6) with 10 bucks, and proof that you're 21. The music goes on till 2 a.m.

420 Funkshun and 12-2-12 Entertainment kick off the monthly Enter The Dragon Room party Saturday with the lure of a year's worth of free pho — the Vietnamese noodle soup that eats like a meal — from Pho Minh restaurant. 10 p.m.-2 a.m., Meritage Restaurant in Restaurant Row. 21 and older only. Entry is $5.

And finally, Wave Waikiki is looking for Cruise-and-Brown-in-"Cocktail"-level talent for its second annual Ultimate Bartending Competition in November. Know a drink mixer with the stuff for a bar brawl on the level of a Bride vs. O-Ren Ishii & Go Go Yubari showdown? Contact Flash Hansen at 941-0424, ext. 12, or promo@wavewaikiki.com.