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It’s bottoms up at the
Hoku awards podium

BEER AND OTHER HOKU BUMMERS: It may be legal to promote alcoholic beverages on television, but we've been hearing from folks who feel that Makani of Island 98.5, and Heineken rep Dave Lokar, took the annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards show to a new low on Friday by drinking two Heinekens at the podium before announcing the "Reggae Album" winner. OK, so Tiny Nitro Tadani brought his kid on stage to help with a similarly shameless plug for a product before he named the "Song of the Year," too. The producers of the show should have nixed that stunt, but at least Tadani wasn't pushing alcohol ... The producers of the show also did a disservice by presenting the scholarships and announcing the winners in seven categories before the live broadcast. Winners in most of the 107 categories at the Grammys are announced before televised coverage starts, but there are only 22 Hoku categories, and anyway, the Hokus aren't the Grammys. There would have been plenty of time to show all the winners if the 12 musical numbers been held to a reasonable length, and if the lengthy video biographies from a separate Lifetime Achievements Awards show not been recycled in their entirety. People who want to see the bio clips should support HARA by going to the other show. The priority for HARA should be presenting every award during the televised broadcast ...

HOKU HIGHS: Frank De Lima, the most entertaining presenter by far, announcing "Group of the Year" while costumed as "Slipper Bob" ... Brittni Paiva, 16, playing with Bill Tapia, 97 ... Roland Cazimero beating his brother Robert Cazimero to the podium to "accept" his brother's Hoku for "Song of the Year" ... The after-show party with Aaron Sala, Keao Costa and Kuana Torres as the "house band," with Genoa Keawe and Eddie Kamae among those sitting in. Who knew that National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences exec Jovino Santos-Neto could play Hawaiian music? ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To Malani Bilyeu, who is celebrating today ... also to Sam The Man (Friday), Athena Espania, Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom, Michael Ng and Jimi Wheeler (Saturday), Mahina Souza (Sunday), Shilynne Cole and Yuki "Alani" Yamauchi (Monday), and Jeff Apaka and I. Mihana Aluli Souza (Wednesday) ...