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Makana does what
By John Berger
makes him happy,
including opening
for Sting
Special to the Star-BulletinA large black wasp was making periodic patrols of the dining area at Waoli Tea Room as Makana was having lunch. He watched it with interest, unperturbed about sharing the space with the formidable looking insect.
"He comes through here every 8 minutes," said the 21-year-old singer-guitarist, while elaborating on the perspectives that keep him centered. "Everything that's happening at every moment is equally important."
So it is that Makana -- formerly known as the Ki Ho'alu Kid -- can speak with enthusiasm of opening for reclusive Grammy Award-winning star Sting tonight, playing music for Kaaawa Elementary students next week, and ponder with relative objectivity the fact that the voting members of the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts overlooked his self-titled debut album in the 2000 Hoku Award nominations.
"Makana" was one of 1999's most impressive and original first releases by a local resident artist but didn't make the Hoku ballot in any category.
"It hasn't sold that many (copies) but I'm patient and there's no rush," he explains.
"When we made the album we realized that it was something that wouldn't be easily marketable but it comes back to what makes me happy.
"It isn't that we've sold a million copies ... but what makes me happy is when someone tells me that the music has touched them in a positive sense. That brings me immense joy. Where I'm at right now, the most important thing in playing music is the feeling they get. It's less mental and more down here," he says, tapping his chest.
Makana performs regularly late Sunday night at Duke's Canoe Club in the Outrigger Waikiki. He plays elsewhere as the opportunities arise, spending most of his time writing music, reading and "living," which he says "takes up most of my time.
"I think when you pay attention to life it brings you different teachers at different times. Sometimes it's a book, sometimes it's people, sometimes it's an intimate relationship or your job. There are so many experiences that are affecting me right now mainly because I'm aware of them, because I'm open to them."
The wasp returns for another circuit and he watches it thoughtfully.
Makana has been exploring music for most of his life. He joined the Honolulu Boy Choir at seven, began studying ukulele with Roy Sakuma two years later, and switched to guitar two years after that. He soon proved himself to be a young talent to watch.
Makana studied slack-key guitar with Sonny Chillingworth and received a grant from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts that enabled him to continue his apprenticeship. ("Song For Sonny," one of the songs on the album, is a requiem for his mentor.)
He received a scholarship from the Board of Governors of the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts in 1996, the year he graduated from Pearl City High. Four years later, he is still a student, having created an eclectic syllabus that includes "The Prophet," "The Tao of Lao Tzu," the "Lord of The Rings" trilogy and "Zen Guitar."
Makana's musical horizons are equally broad. His voice suggests a natural and uncalculated blending of Cat Stevens, Arlo Guthrie and Sting. His musical influences -- other than Chillingworth -- include Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Sting and the late Nick Drake ("Find the 'Introduction to Nick Drake' album," he says emphatically), as well as Celtic, techno and European-American folk music.
Although not a student in the tuition-paying sense, his search for greater knowledge and fresh musical horizons most recently took him to the Honolulu Academy of Arts to check out Richard Thompson and Danny Thompson, and to Hawaii Theatre for "Cool Heat Urban Beat." Tomorrow night he'll be back at the Hawaii Theatre to watch "Flamenco!"
"I can't hold fast to (only) one genre," he explains. "Too many things sound good to me!"
And about the Hoku Awards. Let's not forget that Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom's impressive debut album, "Native Child," was snubbed by HARA too.
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What: Sting, with opening act Makana
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