KEN IGE / STAR-BULLETIN
Freestylin' at Big City Diner in Kaimuki,
Mike Nash strikes a pose.

He sparks a fire
under island talent

Jamal Mamalias builds
a music culture

By Charlene Anne Rico
Star-Bulletin

Jamal Mamalias never wanted to be a concert promoter. "I'm an artist," he said. But somehow, he's found himself on the forefront of one of the fastest-growing industries in Hawaii. He's not only the promoter of one of the most popular "weeklies," Tuesday nights' "Roots Juice" at Big City Diner, but Mamalias is a self-proclaimed "motivator of potential."

"Everybody has talent," he said. "What I do is spot those people. I unify with people who want to come up. I help them to understand and to direct them to the point when they're in charge of their own."

Born and reared on Oahu's North Shore, Mamalias was born into a family of musicians and artists.

"It was just natural for me to turn into one," he said. Mamalias was just a kid when break dancing was on the rise, but it would forever change his outlook on life and on music.

"That was the brand-new musical phenomenon," he said. "Everything was going on at that time; the whole youth thing and Generation X began back then. It created a lot of different influences for kids."

KEN IGE / STAR-BULLETIN
Dan Terawaki bends over backward, freestylin' at
Tuesday's "Roots Juice" event at Big City Diner
in Kaimuki.

In 1992, Mamalias moved to Japan, where he worked as an entertainer.

"I didn't want to stay in Hawaii with the music scene and stuff, so when I had the opportunity to move, I did," he said.

It was there that he met promoters from Los Angeles, and after living in Japan for 10 months, he was persuaded to move to L.A. To survive the big city, Mamalias worked in clothing stores and at numerous clubs.

"I hooked up with the promoters who were doing a lot of the big parties in L.A., so I started passing flyers out for these guys, and that was kind of my initial starting in promoting," he said. "I was starting to understand the network and the public relations of it all."

During that time, Mamalias traveled back and forth between Hawaii and L.A., and he noticed that "Hawaii has a lot of talent.

"(Hawaii) has a lot of people that have musical backgrounds, and they always like to jump on and do music. They like to do new, creative stuff, but there's no industry for it. They excel at it so quickly, and then all of a sudden they just quit because there's no dream, there's nothing to pursue, there's nothing here."

Mamalias wanted to change that, so in 1996 he moved back to Oahu to "direct some of these people who have a fire inside of them." He realized that coming home meant less money and fewer opportunities, but, he says, "I'm doing something where I can hold my head up high and see that I'm doing something positive."

At first he had a hard time finding work, saying, "The promoting out here just concentrates on one idea: the way they understand the music or any kind of performance."

However, he did his first promotional show at Café Valentino and has gone on to promote Tuesday nights' "Roots Juice" at Big City Diner, and partners with Lucas Sero of Universal Joint on Thursday nights' "Island Builders" at Wave Waikiki.

"I think this is the time that there's so much originality in art, music, everything, and because of these key elements and people in the scene that have been pushing that envelope for originality in Hawaii, it has also influenced others who were on only one kind of level," he said. "It just goes to show that a little spark does create a big fire. The fire isn't as big as it really should be, but Hawaii's artists will be able to have a recognition on a worldwide level one day."

Mamalias sticks to the strong belief that music is "a culture based upon people stepping forward and claiming themselves." He doesn't discriminate between his audiences at the shows he promotes, but rather prides himself on the diversity of the crowd.

"The music culture that I promote is everything and everyone. It doesn't just work with one type," he said.

"I'm trying to perpetuate a culture. To keep the people on a level as well as take younger people and expose them to a social scene. My future is to keep developing masses of people coming together for a basic common purpose. Once that is really settled, then I can jump back on stage and do my thing again."

DJ Jamal Where: "Roots Juice" at Big City Diner, 3569 Waialae Ave. When: 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesdays Cover: $5 Call: 738-8855

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