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What'll it be, kids??," guitarist Jamie Winpenny eagerly asks his bandmates in the Junk Studio rehearsal space early Tuesday night. Earlier, there were hugs and fond greetings all around as they filed in one-by-one. The thing is, they hadn't played together in three years. Local fans to get another
taste of Red SessionBy Gary C. W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.comCollectively deciding to start jamming on an "easy one," drummer Shon Gregory counts off "Tree." The band's easy reggae groove meshes with the light dual vocals of Selika Drake and Patrick Harrison. Even though the musicians work through the sound mix during the song, everyone in the band -- including trombonist Chad Tamashiro, guitarist Angel Mowbray and bassist Chris Maas -- locks in together with confidence.
Afterward, Gregory confidently says, "We'll be OK. Give it an hour," while Harrison adds, "It's just like riding a bike!"
Red Session is back in the house.
Following the popularity of bands like Mr. Simon and the Tantra Monsters, and preceding the full-force arrival of Go Jimmy Go, Red Session was THE locally based reggae/ska band fans flocked to through much of the '90s at island house parties and club gigs at the then-Pink's Garage, Wave Waikiki and Hard Rock Cafe.
Fans know the rest of the story. In 1995, the band spread its aloha on the mainland by touring west of the Rockies. In '97 they left Honolulu for the Bay Area, sometimes touring with national act Reel Big Fish and called it quits in '99 to pursue other musical interests.
With the Phenomenauts and Hellbound Hounds RED SESSION
Where: Anna Bannana's, 2444 S. Beretania St.
When: 9 p.m. today
Admission: $7
Call: 946-5190
Also: 10 p.m. tomorrow at the Hawaiian Hut, Ala Moana Hotel, 410 Atkinson St. Admission $8 for 21 and over, and $10 for ages 18 to 20. Call 941-5205.
Mowbray and Maas hooked up with a couple of guys to play as a street band, the Phenomenauts. "We'd do crazy '80s new wave songs in a country/rockabilly style," Mowbray said. "Powered by a car battery hooked up to a converter, we'd play unusual instruments like a standup mandolin bass, accordion, ukulele and a couple of our own inventions like the 'guitanjo,' with our drummer Jimmy Boom playing a cardboard box with various percussion attached to it. We'd sing through headphone mics, dressed up in karate helmets and white jumpsuits!"
The Phenomenauts have since taken its popular act into the Bay Area's clubs and lounges, and the band makes its Honolulu debut this weekend, coinciding with the release of its independent album debut, "Rockets and Robots," due to hit stores Tuesday.
The CD release party is in addition to celebrating the return of Red Session. The band continues to work through its set list, recreating the high-steppin' ska of "Spider Monkey," with Gregory kicking up the tempo at Drake's insistence for a run-through of "Jungle." As the band members work through the instrumental "Maconium," the swinging "Not Even" and the funky punk rock of "Bad Chicken," layers of dust and cobwebs are cleared as the old chemistry kicks in.
"At the time of the band's split-up, we were doing really well," Winpenny said. "We toured with Reel Big Fish, played the Fillmore in San Francisco and tried to get away from the ska tag, even though we always loved the music."
"But there was bitter hatred and long-held, tenuous grudges!" joked Mowbray.
"We're hoping the fans this weekend will be as excited as we are in getting back together to play," said Winpenny.
"In a sexual way!" quipped Mowbray one more time.
And, who could forget hits like "Ed" and the infamous "Tyke," Red Session's tribute to the circus elephant that went amok in August of '94, killing her handler during a Blaisdell Arena performance and running through the streets of Kakaako, pursued by police before she was gunned down.
Besides the Phenomenauts project, most of the other Red Session members are involved with other bands -- Harrison and Gregory are members of Kamakazi Kong (Gregory is also the drummer for Go Jimmy Go) and Winpenny and Drake are in the self-described "germinal stages" of something currently called Stubborn Boogie that they plan to debut by summer's end.
Today, success may be measured in personal electronics, as Drake recalled Red Session's early, days when "we shared one pager among us, compared to now, where everyone's got a cellphone!"
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