THE NIGHT STUFF
Kaua'i rock trio gaining momentum

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Kaua'i indie rock band Chandelle — from left, Jessica Penner, Mandee Duyanen and Kevin Penner — makes its Honolulu debut Saturday at the Hard Rock Cafe. Chandelle with Harrison, Linus, Second String Heroes 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturday Hard Rock Cafe $10 for those under 21; $8 for 21 and older 358-4386

The Kaua'i-based indie rock trio plays its first-ever Honolulu show this weekend at the Hard Rock Cafe after more than four years together. This arrives after three years Chandelle spent identifying its sound, sharpening its songwriting and studio skills, and only occasionally venturing outdoors to play a handful of self-promoted Garden Isle gigs. It also comes a full year after the release of the band's self-titled debut CD of lyrically and melodically accomplished pop-rock.

Patience, you see, has always served Chandelle quite well.

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Jessica Penner, drummer Kevin Penner and bassist Mandee Duyanen began playing together seriously in 2000. Jessica and Kevin, now married, were finishing up the last of a five-year residency in Spooky Tuesday, a Kaua'i-based acoustically-embellished Christian alt-rock band with three independently released CDs under its belt and some national notoriety from touring. Jessica and Mandee had been friends since the guitar-playing Kapa'a High School senior with a band promised the freshman saxophone player noodling with electric bass a spot in her own yet-to-materialize group.

"I told her, 'If you learn how to play bass, then when I come back in a year you can be in my band,' " recalled Jessica, 24, of her initial advice to Mandee, 21, before leaving on an extended tour. "(That was) kind of scary because I didn't know if she was going to be good or not."

The band's name — a French aeronautical term referring to an abrupt climbing turn in which momentum is used to attain a higher rate of climb — was agreed upon after the three scanned a dictionary in search of "something that had a little bit of meaning behind it, and sounded feminine to go with the image," said Kevin. Rather than immediately pursue or organize gigs on Kaua'i, Chandelle holed up in a makeshift garage studio — self-financed with $900 of construction material and leftover equipment from the Spooky Tuesday years — and experimented with recording, writing and finding a sound.

"We took those years to find out what we actually wanted to do," said Kevin, 25. "We've actually recorded a whole other album and then some, but never released it. It was cool, but it wasn't quite where we wanted to be. We wanted to release something that we could listen to three or four months later, still like everything on it, and feel was a musical direction we could continue in."

Chandelle finally felt comfortable enough with its sound and Jessica's growing collection of songs to begin work on its first CD in mid-2002. The band managed and financed every aspect of the CD's production and release — from recording and engineering to manufacturing and distribution — on its own.

Released last June, "Chandelle" is an accomplished collection of alt-rock musings running the gamut from moody introspective power ballads to bittersweet propulsive rockers and dreamy pop. Blessed with a voice capable of gorgeously soaring highs and hauntingly hushed lows, Jessica Penner also reveals a confident lyricist more comfortable with eloquent real-life takes on love's labors lost and found than drippy romantic hoo-ha.

"Alaska," a sweetly melodic hook-filled power ballad from "Chandelle," impressed a panel of judges (including Lisa Loeb, Lamont Dozier and Jesse Harris) at last year's Kaua'i Music Festival BMI-sponsored songwriting competition and was awarded the grand prize. The win secured Chandelle a spot on a BMI live showcase in New York City last October, where it played for executives from record labels Atlantic, RCA and Arista. "Alaska" also won placement on a BMI compilation CD of unsigned artists released in January.

Currently working hard to perfect its live chops, Chandelle hopes to spend much of 2004 touring the

Mainland and Canada before beginning a second disc by year's end.

"There's been a lot of interest," said Jessica, discussing requests from labels for copies of the band's debut CD. "(But) I think the main problem right now that we're having is that we're just not accessible because we're out here. It's a big investment for (labels) to come see us or for us to go to them. So it's looking like we'll probably end up moving to L.A."

The band didn't want to proffer any guesses on when it might sign with a label or move to California, but its signature patience seemed to be guiding any future plans.

"There's always room for good music," said Kevin. "And if you persevere, I believe the good music will always rise to the surface. A lot of bands (including) Maroon 5, or No Doubt or Dave Matthews Band, have been around for a while. They were playing together for years before they got signed. They stuck to it long enough to where eventually they got good and people caught on."

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

Night notes:

Help Wave Waikiki and KPOI-FM help Leilani Emosi and her family. Leilani is a 14- year-old rock 'n' roll fan (yep, she loves KPOI) who recently suffered a relapse of leukemia after beating back the disease five years ago. Tonight's Sweet Leilani Fund-raiser at The Wave will feature Amplified, Nethermind, Eleven, Last In Line and Intrepid donating their time and talent. Manning the turntables will be DJs KSM, G-dog, Jrama and others. KPOI's morning drive team Double D and Blunt (Leilani's favorite deejays) host. Leilani is planning on making a brief appearance to thank everyone. More than $5,000 in prize giveaways are promised, but the main reason to show is to show your support. A minimum $10 donation gets you in, and the event is for ages 21 and older. But feel free to stop by the Wave and drop a donation even if you can't attend. From 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. today. Call 941-0424, ext. 12, for more information. Find out more about Leilani and her family at www.oursweetleilani.com. Rock on, Leilani!

Unity Crayons' Punk Rock Explosion hosts two evenings of amplified thrashing tonight and Saturday at Club Pauahi. Entry is $5 each night; $8 gets you into both nights for all 16 bands. Friday rockers include Dork, Upstanding Youth, Chainshot and Pet Johnny. Saturday's lineup includes The 86 List, Extra Stout, Suspicious Minds and HellCaminos. From 7 p.m. both nights.