The Mana'o Company is back — again — and is eager to spread a little aloha.

TMC marks its re-entry into the musical mainstream as one of the performing acts in Saturday's slate of the KCCN FM 100 Birthday Bash at the Waikiki Shell. The two-night event launches today.

The turnstile of change has repeatedly hit the band in the past and likely will again in the future, but there is stabilizing evidence that the popular award-winning act — with three regulars returning — is working on a new single disc with every intention of getting out another CD.

When it all comes together, however, is the question, considering the tenuous marketplace and the group's history of stalls and restarts.

"We came together this past January, with KCCN as the presenting station for a Winterfest show, and we were approached to do some casual gigs again as The Mana'o Company," said Danny Kennedy, singer, guitarist and bassist, and founding member of TMC. "Then the Bash came about."

Also tapped for the comeback: Salaam Tillman, vocalist, drummer and percussionist; and Kaulana Pakele, vocalist-guitarist.

New guys in TMC are Frank Sua, vocalist and keyboarder; and Eric Ho, bassist.

There also are sometimers aboard: Jan Luna, who runs an 'ukulele school, has only limited time available; and Sean Na'auao, an original Mana'o member from the first go-round, has moved to Maui but is eager to play whenever he can.

"So we're really back together," Kennedy said.

Kennedy said TMC, like other bands, faces the challenge of the ever-evolving musical landscape and logistical problems.

"It takes a lot of coordinating on our part, even to book one date," Kennedy said.

"Acts have a hard time getting airplay. It's tough to get an album done. And the way the industry has gone, with CD sales way down, you suffer. People download your music."

He sighed in frustration: "Kill fight to invest, when this happens."

TMC recently opened up a show for Fiji in Anaheim, which gave the group some impetus to get the ball rolling in Honolulu once again.

"We have been in the studio over the last few weeks," Kennedy said. "An album, with airplay, keeps you a little more involved."

It's been six years since "Spread a Little Aloha," TMC's second album, was released. That venture — sparked by five Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (including Album of the Year, Contemporary Album of the Year and Single of the Year) had ended a nine-year dry spell.

With the shift in personnel and the changing times, Kennedy said, the group's repertoire also has been tweaked.

"We do Island contemporary music," he said. "We're doing a little less synthesizer stuff and yes, we have to do the classics."

In an earlier life, TMC had climbed aboard the Jawaiian bandwagon, but fans have endeared themselves to non-Jawaiian hit tracks such as "Drop Baby Drop" and "96 Degrees in the Shade."

The group also can pump out Hawaiian tunes and a bigger, bolder sound enhanced by a horn section.

"It all depends on the gig," Kennedy said. Smaller venues mean a more acoustic posture; party-hearty jams lend themselves to the add-on brass.

"For the Shell, we need to make a big and louder impact," he said. "But we have as much fun playing at family lu'au where we bring it down a notch or two; we know when we have kupuna and kids, we have to do a little of everything and not be so reggae and loud."

Music, alas, is mostly a part-time endeavor for TMC.

"I've been pretty much a full-time longshoreman over the last year," Kennedy said. "When you have a family ..."

Only Tillman is fully committed to music — he plays with a variety of other bands and is the lone Mana'o member without family ties.

Pakele works at Hawaiian Airlines, Sua at Paradise Beverage, and Ho with the state.

On Maui, Na'auao is employed full-time at the Hilton Grand Wailea, and Luna has uke classes on his radar.

But part time is better than nothing, Kennedy said.

In addition to a slot on the Saturday program, TMC will face off with Na Wai Ho'olu'u O Ke Anuenue in a Battle of the Sexes stint, the winner to be decided by audience response. The competition is a live version of KCCN FM 100's morning show feature with Lina Girl and Pipi.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.