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Ladies Night at It's any journeyman musician's dream assignment: You're given the two best nights of the week at a well-established premium nightclub, and told to put a band together. Oh yes, and play whatever you enjoy and think will fit.
the Hanohano Room
An alternating lineup of vocal
stars keeps audiences guessingBy John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.comJohn Valentine is the lucky musician with the dream gig. The Hanohano Room atop the Sheraton Waikiki is where it's happening.
"The management has put its trust in me and we can pretty much do what we want, which is great," Valentine said. "I think it's probably the best gig in town."
Valentine gets the room on weekends, taking a room known primarily for excellent service and a superb view of the city, and is featuring a constellation of talented singers and veteran musicians. He's named his new band Ladies Night.
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The hook is two-fold. First, Valentine is boosting the volume just a little and featuring a repertoire unlike anything that's been featured there in recent history. He and the band play a mix of oldies, light rock, blues, Hawaiian and pop, that includes the hits of Stevie Wonder, Journey, and Loggins & Messina, and songs ranging from "Chain of Fools" and "Since I Fell For You" to "Hi'ilawe."Whereas the standard for entertainment at the Hanohano Room in recent years has been an unobtrusive trio -- Brian Robertshaw (piano/synthesizer), Valentine (guitar/vocals), and a string of interchangeable female vocalists -- Valentine' new group prominently features three women up front on vocals. It's a concept that works well.
"We want to cater to everybody," Valentine said. "Retro music is back and we want to add that to what people expect to hear -- whatever's danceable. From the hotel guests alone we get people from different age groups and lots of requests. Now we want the local people too."
When: 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays Ladies Night
Where: Hanohano Room, Sheraton Waikiki
Admission: None (no cover; no minimum); validated parking
Call: 922-4422
The weekend clientele has been growing in recent weekends as island residents share the secret that there's something new happening weekends at the Hanohano Room.
"It's something that's been a long time coming," said vocalist Jennifer Lehua Barber. Barber, who was one of Robertshaw's singers in years past, is the foundation of Ladies Night. She shares the stage most often with Traci Toguchi and Kristina "Kay" Babaran, although with Maila Gibson and Sunway as the alternate vocalists on certain nights, there are several possible combinations.
It's Barber's first time working as a member of a female vocal group. With the success of Hawaii's Local Divas as an example of solo singers coming together as a group, she describes the Hanohano Room sorority as "Divas -- The Next Generation."
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"I think we all pretty much add a certain something to the group. We all have certain strengths and we all get an opportunity to shine and do our thing. Traci is very energetic and Kristina's a crooner."Valentine gives all five room to do whatever reflects their interests and experiences. Barber has been featuring "Loving You," off her new urban/pop album, "Fly Away," and the others will eventually be adding songs from their individual projects. Although Babaran is known best for her work with Forté, Gibson, Toguchi and Sunway (who uses the single name) have lengthy credits as solo artists either here or in Japan.
Gibson, a former member of the Paradise Sisters, also performs at Dave & Buster's and at the Sheraton Kauai, and is working on a solo album. Born and raised in Missouri to an expatriate island family, she shares Barber's interest in country music.
Toguchi is the most energetic of the five on stage. She started singing at 5, began her classical voice training at 9, and was a member of the touring cast of "Miss Saigon" from 1997-98. She is also a prolific songwriter and currently sings in six languages (Japanese, Okinawan, English, Hawaiian, Italian and French). She is also working on an album that should be out be the end of the year.
Sunway made her debut as a recording artist when Johnny J. Jamm included her on one of his projects more than 10 years ago. Few of her subsequent recordings were promoted well locally so she has been better known in Japan than here. A new Sunway album is in the planning stages.
Babaran is recognized as the strongest vocalist in the quartet Forté, and could easily go solo.
The mix-and-match groupings keeps performances fresh for everyone. On one night recently Toguchi was featured on "Ring My Bell" and Babaran took the lead on "We Are Family." Another night saw Gibson showcased on an imaginative slow-jam arrangement of "I Only Want to Be With You" just before Barber took the lead for "Honolulu City Lights."
Barber and Valentine share the vocal spotlight on "That's the Way of the World." Valentine also sings a solo number or two during the evening.
"Little Albert" Maligmat plays bass some weekends; on other nights it'll be Valentine on bass or drums and Ben Vegas on guitar. They, too, are veteran recording artists -- Maligmat as a member of the Rocky Fellers and Society of Seven, Vegas as a member of the original Krush, then 5:05, and as a solo artist. Hal Mita (keyboards) and Stacy Tangonan (drums) complete the group.
Waikiki old-timers will remember Valentine from his days with Pat Miguel as Nite Splendor at the Captain's Galley in the Moana, or with Dick Jensen at the Hula Hut, and also as a longtime member of the doo-wop group The Love Notes. Valentine had already recorded as a solo artist by the time he and Miguel joined The Love Notes. He eventually portrayed Elvis, with his nephew, Bruno Hernandez as Little Elvis, when the group was headlining the Sheraton Waikiki's beachfront Esprit Nightclub.
Valentine has also been busy in recent years producing albums for other artists.
He joined Robertshaw and Stardust at the Hanohano Room eight years ago. Now he getting the chance to show what he can do as the leader of his own band.
"If you're at the Esprit Lounge downstairs and see Tino & The Rhythm Klub it's all guys," Toguchi said. "John's concept is that if you come up here the first thing you see is it's all women. It sends out a different kind of energy"
The making of a 'lady': Forté's Kay Babaran
Kay Babaran has been best known in recent years as a member of local female quartet Forté. She's still with Forté, but the pert and personable singer with the powerful voice is enjoying the opportunities that come with also being a member of Ladies Night."Most of the songs that I do there are ballads and it's a lot of fun to be able to do different things. I love anything to do with music," the petite, soft-spoken singer said.
Being a member of two groups might seem risky but so far it's been "kind of perfect," she said, because Forté doesn't usually take on late-night gigs.
Babaran sees other advantages as well. Forte performs as a "tracks act" singing karaoke-style to recorded music. She's finally getting the opportunity to work live with some of Waikiki's best musicians while picking up tips from singers with more club and concert experience.
"I'm comfortable singing with a group. I still have the same amount of fun but (with musicians) you can put the song in any order that you want to -- you can sing the bridge twice, elongate it, or end it whenever you want. It's fun."
When Babaran takes the lead on "We Are Family" she could be singing about her relationship with her older "sisters" in Ladies Night.
She credits Brian Robertshaw with discovering her and inviting her to become part of the Hanohano Room ohana after he heard her sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at her high school graduation. Since membership in Robertshaw's group, Stardust, continues to be flexible with several alternate vocalists, she's been free to stretch out as singer and explore other types of music.
"This is what I want to do so I hope I can keep on doing it."
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