STAR-BULLETIN / 1998
Kapono style
Henry Kapono shared a secret last Friday when he responded to a comment that he has a knack for taking songs by other writers and making them his own. For instance, his 1990 album "Song For Someone" consists almost entirely of other artists' songs, and each one sounds like it could be one of his.
'Lifetime Party'
Cecilio & Kapono's 30th Anniversary ConcertWhere: Kapono's, Aloha Tower Marketplace
When: 7 p.m. today through Sunday
Tickets: $18 advance, $20 at the door; 21 and over
Call: 536-2161
Also: Kalapana will also be on the bill today and tomorrow.
"I think my strong point is that if I believe in a song, and I love the lyrics and the music, I try to make it my song because it's more fun for me to be singing it (that way) than just copying it note for note," he said as we talked about music in general and this weekend's big Cecilio & Kapono concerts.
"I think some people get caught up trying to be like somebody else. When I was growing up, I wanted to be like certain people, but I got to a point where I realized that I wasn't them, and I would interpret (their music) the way it made me feel, and so I developed my own style."
Few local artists have a more distinctive and instantly recognizable voice than Henry Kapono. He can be performing a solo acoustic set, as he had done earlier on the KITV morning news show that day, playing with a band, or teamed up with Cecilio Rodriguez as one-half of Cecilio & Kapono.
But as soon as he starts to sing, you know it's him.
Kapono, who had performed solo before he was introduced to Rodriguez in 1973, reintroduced himself as a solo artist in 1981 with the release of his first solo album "Kapono." But even after all these years, he is still best known as one-half of the popular local duo.
The lyric phrase "... like a harmony's perfect blending ..." could have been written specifically to describe the musical magic created when Cecilio & Kapono are performing together, and that magic likely will be cast again this weekend. C&K are celebrating their 30th anniversary with three nights of concerts at Kapono's open-air club at the Aloha Tower Marketplace, starting tonight and through Sunday.
The concerts, titled "Lifetime Party -- 30 Years of Friends," will be recorded for release later this year as C&K's first live album since promoter Tom Moffatt brokered their first reunion concert at the Waikiki Shell in 1982 and commemorated the event with the aptly-titled album "Together Live."
THE THREE concerts this weekend will also be the basis of the duo's first-ever DVD. Special features with archival photos, clippings and performance footage will cover the entire story of C&K, from their landmark debut at the Rainbow Villa in 1973 to the present.
Their close friends in Kalapana will be their opening act tonight and tomorrow in a double-bill that should hearken back to the time when the two acts performed a historic concert at Aloha Stadium in 1976. No concert with local headliners drew a bigger crowd in the '70s than that one.
"When we realized it was going to be 30 years, we thought 'Why not celebrate it?' We've been so fortunate to be who we are and to have the talent that we have. That our music has been able to last for 30 years is amazing to me, too," Kapono said. "We were just having fun, making music, and we happened to have what it took to make the sound. It was a good time, and people remember it."
The three concerts at Kapono's this weekend will be followed by several more on the mainland, Kapono said. Working with Rodriguez, playing at his own club and working with other musicians as the namesake and owner of a nightclub allows him to enjoy different aspects of the music business.
The key, he says, is balance.
"That's the biggest part of life -- not only in music, but in everything. If you can find that balance, you should be a happy person. The music industry has been a great experience for me. Now I'm at the point where I want to learn more. I want to consume a lot of world music, try to see where they come from, what they're trying to say, and interpret it somehow. I'm constantly looking for something new."
Kapono explored musical theater earlier this year when he performed as the musical voice of the Earth in Honolulu Theatre for Youth's production of "The Last Paving Stone." He'd like to see a local theater group present a stage production of "Dreamer Boy," a children's story original written for his daughters that he recorded with Rap Reiplinger in 1982.
His long-term goal is simple: Keep sharing his music.
"My main goal is to keep singing for the rest of my life, and if my music makes people happy, then that's like a bonus for me. ... It's great to see people singing and dancing and having a good time, and to know that you're responsible for some of that."
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