Kalapana video
tunes into era but
misses many
classic moments'Kalapana 25th Anniversary' By Kalapana (KGMB), video
Kalapana celebrated its 25th anniversary this year with a concert at the Waikiki Shell and a KGMB "Island Music Island Hearts" special. This is the video of that special with a "bonus track" performance of "I Need Your Love" that was not seen in the broadcast.
The guys play several of their all-time biggest hits in a television studio, others on the beach. The closeup view of the guys makes this a great addition to their discography and compliments the experience of seeing them in concert.
Although most of the songs are classics from the '70s, the emphasis is on the present. Kalapana has been a quintet -- Malani Bilyeu, Mackey Feary, Gaylord Holomalia, D.J. Pratt and Kenji Sano -- since 1982. All five talk about their experiences in brief but engaging interview segments. (Former member Michael Paulo is shown playing with them in several segments but isn't interviewed.) Fans will likely enjoy a clip from one of the group's Captain Santa Japanese television commercials.
What's missing is any acknowledgement of founding member Kirk Thompson, or of the other members in the '70s (Alvin Fejerang, Randy Aloya and Kimo Cornwell). There is also very little sense of how greatly Kalapana defined the sound and style of contemporary local music for a generation of younger local musicians.
Replacing 60-seconds of an overlong "home video" segment with a well-edited collage of vintage group photos, concert posters and press clippings would have made this landmark video release complete.
John Berger, special to Star-Bulletin
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