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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, September 5, 2003

THE NIGHT STUFF
Stone's grooves draw attention wherever it plays

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Joe Lichota, left, Sam Richey, center, and Cisco Kay make up the group Stone. They are childhood friends and Kalaheo High grads.

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Night notes ...

Former Maze Nightclub anchor party Juicy makes its Waterfront Café debut tonight with two rooms of DJ'ed bliss. Breakbeat, house and drum-n-bass in one; hip-hop, R&B and soul in the other. 10 p.m.-4 a.m. More information at 591-3500, 585-8488.

The Mai Tai Rumble enters its second of 11 weeks of local band battles at 9 p.m. Thursday. Ala Moana's Mai Tai Bar fills fast, so show early if you want to watch. Wanna enter? Check out www.maitairumble.com. More information at 735-0292, ext. 206.

Scenes from a typical Thursday evening, just before sunset, near Kailua Beach Park:

Surfers are securing boards onto roof racks on their Jeeps, Toyotas and Mercedeses. A way-too-serious "guys vs. girls" volleyball game is devolving into gender-biased catcalling. Joggers are pounding pavement on Kawailoa Road on their way to and from Lanikai.

And a handful of passers-by is gathered in the street-front parking lot of Stone bass player Cisco Kay's home, grooving to a laid-back, surf-and-sand reworking of the Steve Miller Band classic "The Joker."

As always, Stone rehearses in Cisco's bedroom. All of the window jalousies are open (hence the crowd), but the smallish space quickly fills with the funky-smelling heat of several small amps and four adult males (three band members, one writer).

The band's music has a surf-skanky vibe comfortably blending elements of ska, reggae and punk into hard-edged and mellow offerings. Cisco provides authoritative thumps of bass that complement guitarist/vocalist Joe Lichota's decisive, occasionally psychedelic, surf guitar. Drummer Sam Richey launches precision attacks on his kit like a more-than-casual admirer of Police-era Stewart Copeland.

Stone sails through what its members call "six solid originals" (titles include "Barfly," "New Dub" and "Million Man Dub") and covers of Bob Marley, Half Pint, Sublime and Jack Johnson.

The music fans outside applaud politely at the end of each song.

The guys continue practicing long after the sun goes down, while Cisco's mom makes them dinner — meatloaf and mashed potatoes — in the kitchen. A 10 p.m. gig at nearby Jaron's is only two hours away.

"The cops come here ... any time we play later than 7:30," Cisco says. "But they don't do anything. They just walk up to the window and go, 'Turn it off!' Cisco takes a deep swig from a bottle of San Miguel, and shrugs. "They've been here so many times already."

Since forming in July 2002, Stone has scored opening gigs with bands such as Natural Vibrations, Hellbound Hounds, Pepper and Slightly Stoopid while working Kailua's small bar and nightclub scene. A few house and grad parties in the area have also drawn visits from Honolulu's Finest, thanks to loud 'n live Stone sets.

The band's members — ranging in age from 20 to 22 — are childhood friends and Kalaheo High School grads. Joe and Cisco found occasional gigs as a duo for about three years after graduating. Sam — who had been sitting in on bongos at rehearsals — joined last year when the three friends finally found an inexpensive used drum kit for sale.

The trio won its first gig the day the drums were delivered when a crowd of revelers at Kailua Beach Park for Independence Day fireworks gathered outside Cisco's room, moved by a first rehearsal. A bartender from Jaron's — where Joe was then employed and had occasionally played — noticed the crowd and told the club's manager, who just happened to need a band ... that same night.

"So we became a band the day we bought our drum set," Cisco says. "We've played every weekend since, practically."

Stone will play its first-ever off-island gigs tonight and Saturday at The Landing Pad in Hanalei, Kaua'i, at 9 p.m. The band will then take a long-anticipated month off to finish writing some original compositions before committing to more live gigs in October. Amid all of this are full-time jobs and college studies.

"We just want to keep playing and take this wherever it goes ... to keep making our music and get something recorded," says Cisco, gazing out his bedroom window. "Even if it didn't go anywhere, we'd still probably be in here every Tuesday and Thursday."

Curious? Rehearsals start at 5 p.m. near Kailua Beach Park. Just follow the music.

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.