Ron Jacobs, Jerry Santos
MAYBE you can always get what you want -- if enough people make their voices heard. When word got out that promoter Tom Moffatt wanted to present the Rolling Stones in concert at Aloha Stadium on Jan. 21, the stadium custodians said it simply couldn't possibly happen because it would conflict with the Pro Bowl that'll be played there -- 10 days later! Logos needed to be painted on the field and there was no way a huge stage like the one the Stones would require could be removed and the field painted in time for the teams to begin practice there Jan. 26, a date the stadium's Les Keiter said was "etched in stone." But not a Rolling Stone, necessarily. Gov. Ben Cayetano's phone started ringing with people who questioned what appeared to be incompetence at the stadium in not getting the field ready for a game in 10 days. The governor understands how hundreds of telephone calls translate into thousands of votes, and leaped into action, meeting with promoter Moffatt and his partner, Shep Gordon. He also got in touch with NFL officials and now the Stones concert will take place after all. Politicians here thrive on watching paint dry, don't they? The idea of a paint job nixing the lucrative concert brought forth one brilliant question, 'What are they painting, Astroturf or the Sistine Chapel?" ... Governor hears
Stones fansONE person who knows something about readying a stadium for football following a concert is Ron Jacobs. He was flabbergasted at the original thumbs down for reasons of time. When Jacobs was program director of KGB in San Diego, he fought with officials to get approval, and finally prevailed. They held a rock concert to benefit the United Way in what is now Jack Murphy Stadium. This wasn't 10 days before a game, but on the very afternoon of a regular season Monday Night game between the Chargers and Cleveland Browns. Over 52,000 fans attended to watch the J. Geils Band and five other hot '70s groups. Even though the concert ran until 5:45 p.m., the fans helped clean up and when the Browns came running out of the tunnel at the stroke of 6 p.m., all was in readiness. This was 25 years ago and a 15-minute turn-around. Surely we can do it, paint job and all, in 10 days! ...
IT was a veritable Battle of the Bulge at the Aloha United Way pacesetter campaign when GE Capital Hawaii's business units competed for cash and pride at their sixth annual pau hana ice cream extravaganza. The residential and business financing group blended Oreo cookie milk shakes; the commercial real estate financing folks made brownie hot fudge sundaes; and the commercial financing and leasing team claims its banana concoction won a "split decision." Who had the final say? Why, the quality manager, Brad Drevno, of course, who urged the teams apply their financial skills to ice cream creations. The event raised $3,700 for AUW ... Frozen assets
SITTING in the Olomana audience at the Hilton Hawaiian Village the other night was Barry Flanagan of Hapa. Olomana's Jerry Santos told him that "Manoa in the Rain" was his favorite song from Hapa's new album, "In the Name of Love." Flanagan smiled, knowing the song was inspired by Santos' writing. He's described it as "sort of James Taylor meets Jerry Santos." ...
LAST week we mentioned "Dance Your Pants Off," the dance jam with several outstanding dance groups slated to perform Friday. Since we itemed about it, the venue has been changed from Aloha Tower Marketplace to Restaurant Row on the mall by the clock. Apparently the folks at the Pier Bar were concerned about over-crowding, since Henry Kapono is having an album release party that same night. Isn't this where we came in with our first item -- management fears that too much business might be a bad thing? ... Dancing around
Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.