Island Mele
Friday, September 21, 2001
The term "garage band" describes a group with a basic entry-level sound. 45 Dash is a Jawaiian garage band. The arrangements are simple and the lyrics sometimes verge on stream-of-consciousness stuff. All the songs are original. Eight are by Vinson "Vinny" Gerona II; most speak of his love of home and family. 45-Dasher Shawna D adds a long a doleful musical apology for a failed relationship, a friend of the band named Smooth Flow Chadeo works solo on "V Boy Productions," and there's an unlisted track where Gerona ad libs thanks to friends and families as the others riff behind him. "Brown 2 Da Bone"
45 Dash
Onipa'a (ORCD 003)45 Dash lacks polish but don't dismiss them as crude. Gerona gets into serious topics. "Aunty V, Uncle E" addresses the emotional aftermath of domestic violence. "Hy" is his cautionary statement about the seductive nature of substance abuse. All in all, "Brown 2 Da Bone" is a no-frills debut by an honest grass-roots Jawaiian band.
MP3 Audio Clips:
Cane Fire
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The title tells the story: Tony Soller had to turn down a national record deal in 1967 and return to Hawaii after tragedy struck his family. He found work here, got his family settled, eventually married and started a family of his own, wondering what might have been. "A Dream Fulfilled"
Tony Soller
MTM Productions (MTM 091045)As retirement approached Soller decided to record an album if only to say that he'd done it. This is the result.
Kawika Gapero signed on as producer/arranger of a 19-song collection of Soller's favorite American pop standards, Hot 100 oldies, and Hawaiian and hapa-haole tunes. Gapero had to use synth tracks for much of the orchestration but Soller budgeted for a few studio musicians as well and the music overall has more substance than karaoke tracks.
This album will be of interest primarily to the Soller ohana and their friends but it should certainly encourage other singers to fulfill their dreams as well.
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This is probably the least remembered of the four albums recorded by the original Krush. It's the one they did with veteran producer Irv Pinensky between their deals with Tom Moffatt. None of these songs ever appear on Krush "greatest hits" albums even though the group's remake of "Sealed With A Kiss" was one of their biggest hits. This is also the only album by the original Krush available in its entirety on CD. "Never Felt So Right"
The Krush
Hana Ola (HOCD 14000)The Krush were nine strong when they recorded this in 1982. Ben Vegas, Bobby Gonzales and Darrell Alvarico were the primary vocalists. Vegas got the lead spot on the title track and "Silence" and proved that the Krush could do rock as well as soft pop.
Even without girl magnet Freddy Von Paraz, who left the band after several years, the Krush reigned as Hawaii's top "boy band" of the '80s. Krush fans who remember those days will welcome the second release of this album on CD.
MP3 Audio Clips:
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See Record Reviews for some past reviews.
See Aloha Worldwide for locals living away.John Berger, who has covered the local
entertainment scene since 1972, writes reviews of recordings
produced by Hawaii artists. See the Star-Bulletin's Today
section on Fridays for the latest reviews.
