Mini Mele a miracle for
By Dawn Sagario
bands hungry to play
Star-BulletinTHE space fits 30 to 35 people max. Granted, the yard outside is spacious if the doors are open, but inside, 35 is about all that'll squeeze in.
The former garage on Kauai has had a make-over, with a new coat of paint, some carpet, and a few couches and chairs. It's a cool place for people to meet and relax, sure. But it's a lot more than a makeshift club and rehearsal space to the members of the Kauai-based band Last in Line.
For bandmates Louie Wylie, Paco Lomma and Chris Taravella, the old work space, affectionately called "the barn" -- it actually looks like a barn -- costs $115 a month to rent, with utilities. And it's here, within walls decorated with pinned-up magazine pictures, old band flyers and numerous scribblings of visiting bands, that their brand of punk music has made its home.
The barn has housed the band's practices as well as a concert earlier this month. Several bands from the neighbor islands headed out to Kauai to play at the gig.
All in a room that fits 35 -- max.
Many island punk bands will go anywhere just for the chance to play. Their alternative label is a stigma, which means that finding gigs in mainstream venues is difficult.
Thanks to promoter Jason Miller and Hawaiian Express Records, musicians are getting a chance to establish more of a niche in local entertainment.
He's been promoting a series of monthly concerts featuring local bands. On Saturday, he's presenting Mini-Mele #16. Five punk bands from Oahu and the neighbor islands will be fueling up the fun for their fans at the Beach Hall on University Avenue, in the three-hour event slated to start at 5:30 p.m.
Last in Line, Oahu-based bands Unit 101 and The CAPS will be on stage, along with Standard Issue and Mr. Orange Undercover from Maui.
For several of these groups -- some together only a few months -- Saturday's gig will be added to a list of only a few other major performances. Miller says that the concerts give bands an opportunity to help them get started.
"It's to help establish a way for people to get their feet wet and get experience," Miller said. "It's also helping them to develop a stage presence. They're getting something out of it and having fun too."
Most of the Oahu groups start out playing graduation parties or community centers, where they are paid very little, if anything. Trying to book shows is even more difficult for some of the neighbor island bands.
"Especially in the club scene on Maui, punk doesn't go over real big," said Dale Nakagawa, bass player for Standard Issue. "You can't play anywhere. One of the bands here got a gig at a bar, and half way through the first song, they got kicked out," he said.
The band, which has been together since November 1998, is hoping to get some tracks recorded this summer on a friend's compilation CD.
"Jason (Miller) gives people a chance to play something out of the mainstream," Nakagawa said.
Miller, from Oahu, was interested in the punk scene on Maui and invited the band, which includes Jonathan Pool (drums) and Nick Kubica (guitar), to play here.
The small population on Maui makes it difficult to get a good percentage of people to listen, said guitarist Dan Marten of the 9-month-old band, Mr. Orange Undercover. According to Marten, the punk scene on Maui is "non-existent," and there's at least 10 times more support for punk bands on Oahu.
Despite this, bassist and lead vocalist Jamie Wardlow says that the band has a good following. The three-man group, which includes Chris Carignan on drums, has been together for just nine months. Saturday's concert will be their fifth major performance.
With new groups like Mr. Orange Undercover appearing fresh on the scene, Miller, who has worked with more than 50 bands, says that there is "absolutely no shortage of people looking for spots." The bands go through a rotation, with Miller making sure that the groups get equal opportunity in the number of gigs played.
"It's all a family aspect," he explains. "Everyone takes turns."
Some bands, like The CAPS, are making their own attempts to try and give these musicians a home.
Jay Paule (a k a. "J. CAP"), guitarist and main vocalist, says the band is working on opening an Internet cafe where children ages 5 to 18 will have free access to computer use. The shop, Hawaiinet.com/Cybercafe, will not only help with education, Paule said, but will provide a place for bands to play at low cost. The group is awaiting a grant, but hopes that they can open next month.
Yet even with the limited number of performance spaces available, competition common to larger cities such as Los Angeles, is not an issue here.
"The bands are always willing to help out each other," said Ryan Potes, guitarist for the four-member group Unit 101, which includes Patrick Potes (guitarist), Ryan Kauanui (bass) and Miles Madijanon (drums). Ryan Potes said he often helps out at the performances of another local punk band, Go Jimmy Go.
"I like to listen to the other bands play and I hope they like to listen to us," said Marten.
While the bands try to find their own unique sound, The CAPS have distinguished themselves by the simple fact that they have a rarity in the punk scene -- a female band member.
Within the ranks of the male-dominated scene, bassist Jessica Hook of The CAPS finds herself thrown into the mix as the only female musician who will be performing on Saturday. While others judge a female's presence in the band as a gimmick, Hook says her musical ability speaks for itself.
"The band's music itself is enough to draw a crowd, whether there's a girl or not," she said. Hook says that a lot of people will see her setting up prior to performances and assume that she's there just to help out. When she starts playing, though, many are curious to see if she's any good.
"Being the girl, they'll watch me more and criticize more," Hook said. "But it really doesn't bother me that much. It sort of sets me apart and I feel special."
"When she's playing, she's just one of the guys," Paule said.
Drummer Kealii Arakaki says that guys who come to hear the band play are surprised at how good Hook is. "She gets complimented after the shows a lot," he said. And girls are always happy to see another girl playing in a band.
Hook said that at a recent concert, a group of girls came up to her. "They were saying, 'You're my hero. We love your bass. You're so cool; you're a girl and you're playing in a band.' It was really flattering."
Competitive rivalry out of the way, these bands can focus on what they do best -- playing music and pleasing their fans. And even though they have no real place to call home, Lomma of Last in Line says that just being able to play is what matters. "Just for the music, we'd sleep anywhere," he said.
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What: Mini-Mele #16
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