Call's out for more Grammy voters

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainement Writer

Raiatea Helm's "Sweet & Lovely" qualifies for it. So do Brittni Paiva's "Brittni x 3" and 'Ale'a's "Kaulupono" discs. Keahiwai's "Dangerous," however, does not.

Submissions are being considered for next year's second Best Hawaiian Music Album Grammy award. And still included in the category's controversial, open-to-much-interpretation official nomination requirements are calls for "recordings of a more traditional nature, but containing substantial traditional elements" and "Hawaiian language ... in a predominance of the vocal tracks."

Grammy officials have said the category's survival depends on the number of annually qualified submissions and support from a growing base of Hawai'i Grammy voters. Local music-industry professionals have said a way to make sure nominees and winners are decided by a more informed (i.e., non-Mainland-dominated) voting base is for more local musicians to sign up for Recording Academy memberships, which cost upward of $100 a year.

But won't the latter be difficult to achieve when a large number of local musicians work in musical styles and genres that, under current Grammy guidelines, can't qualify for a Best Hawaiian Music Album nod?

The musicians we spoke with didn't think so.

"I don't think it will be a problem because (musicians) always have the option of putting out a project that would meet qualifications," said 'Ale'a's Ryan Gonzalez, a voting Recording Academy member. "And if this initial category shows strong support, more categories may be added that eventually cover the types of music they're native to.

"Getting those initial voters is the most important thing regardless of whether or not they make the qualifications ... because it could lead to something greater."

Keahiwai's Lei Melket — also a Grammy voter — agreed.

"It's about supporting Hawai'i and Hawaiian music, in general. ... It shouldn't be about whether or not you can win a Grammy," said Melket. "It's about getting the music out there and having people really understand what it's all about. That's why you join. That's why you pay that yearly membership.

"You do it so you can vote and have more attention brought to Hawaiian music. ... As musicians, I think it's kind of a duty for us to support it in any way possible."