Roots run deep for Vika, Local Culture
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| Vika and Local Culture are, from left, Roy Pua, vocals; John Leilua, bass and vocals; Lole Pua, keyboards and lead vocals; David "Vika" Patakai, lead vocals; Leo Pua, keyboards and vocals; Shawn "Crushy" Canete, guitar; Ben Cadenhead, horns. Robert Alo, drums, is not pictured. The California-based group will perform tonight only at the KCCN FM 100 Birthday Bash at the Waikiki Shell.
KCCN FM 100 BIRTHDAY BASH Doors open at 4:30 p.m. today, 4 p.m. Saturday; shows start at 5:30 p.m. Waikiki Shell One-day tickets: $18.50 for lawn, $19.50 for terrace, $26 for pool Two-day tickets: $27 for lawn, $29 for terrace (no two-day pool tickets) (877) 750-4400, www.ticketmaster.com Tonight: Natural Vibrations, Vika and Local Culture, Ho'onu'a, Sudden Rush, Pau Hana, 'Ekolu, Ke Kai Boys, Opihi Pickers Saturday: Kapena, Natural Vibrations, Kon Tiki, Three Plus, Na Palapalai with Keali'i Reichel, Oshen, Keahiwai, B.E.T. and The Next Generation |
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
For Vika and Local Culture, a California-based group making its premiere appearance at this weekend's KCCN FM 100 Birthday Bash at the Waikiki Shell, it's all about connections.
"We don't forget our island roots," said leader David "Vika" Patakai. In his case, the islands are Samoa.
"We do Samoan songs, and I even sing Hawaiian," said Vika, in a phone conversation from his Long Beach, Calif., base. "We make sure we don't leave out our different island nationalities."
Vika and Local Culture is one of three out-of-town acts in the hot summer musical bill. The others are Kon Tiki and Pau Hana. Their presence makes sense because their music is heard in rotation on KCCN FM 100.
Local Culture is a family band, including four Samoan brothers and three Maori cousins, who specialize in a sound that draws heavily from reggae and incorporates what Vika calls "world music." It's a genre well exposed and explored by a myriad of Hawai'i groups that record and perform in the Islands and have journeyed to the growing Mainland markets that thirst for the sound.
" 'Hawaiian style' music is catching on in California," said Mark Groff of GMG Management, who steers Vika's career. Local Culture, said Groff, earlier performed at a venue he (Groff) operated called Live Bait in Long Beach, sharing the limelight with Natural Vibrations, and "local" music clearly has expanded well beyond the boundaries of the Islands.
"We call it 'world music,' not Jawaiian," Vika said about the lingering and hypnotic hybrid that includes covers and originals with that Jamaican reggae feel.
"We like to incorporate new flavors, if you will," said Vika. "Some sounds are mainstream, others have that Polynesian element. It's all about connections we share with everyone."
Vika said he grew up with music. "My father and mother have played guitars; I played 'ukulele since I was a kid. My uncle was a Hawaiian singer for many years, and I think I inherited his voice," he said.
The prospect of playing on a bill of popular Island attractions — including Natural Vibrations, Ho'onu'a, Sudden Rush, Opihi Pickers, Kapena, Na Palapalai with Keali'i Reichel, B.E.T., Oshen and more — astounds Vika. (Vika and Local Culture perform tonight only).
Vika and Local Culture love the venue; the group performed in the Jammin' Hawaiians show earlier this year at the Shell, so it has experienced the public response.
"We had a great time then — and I'm getting a little anxious about this one," he said of the bash.
Vika and Local Culture epitomize the typical Polynesian group, with strong ties to culture and religion.
"We're very Polynesian in that respect; we've been on a straight and narrow path. We know better (than to misbehave); our upbringing is positive, and we like to share this positive feeling with young audiences, with the message that anything's possible if you believe. If you stick to your roots."
Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.
