Island Mele

By John Berger

"Kona Town"

Pepper Volcom Entertainment

There's no shortage of originality, energy or passion in this impressive debut album by Pepper, a trio of Big Island expatriates based in Southern California. Most of their originals blend reggae rhythms and rock in ways that suggest the influence of Big Mountain and the Red Hot Chili Peppers without being clones of either. The trio -- Bret Bollinger (bass, vocals), Kaleo Wassman (guitar, vocals) and Yesod Williams (drums) -- also score with basic high-energy mosh pit rock. They shred social snobs with cutting SoCal post-punk disdain and address social issues and personal problems as well.

There are touches of Hawaii, too. "Give It Up" combines a driving mosh pit beat with two tales of teen trauma. One guy begs a girl for "dirty hot sex," and another discovers that his girlfriend, Honey Girl, is cheating on him -- with his father! The trio also appropriates the well-known jingle of a local television station.

Pepper returns to Hawaii for several shows starting May 17 before starting the Warped Tour.

www.pepperlive.com

Mpeg Audio Clips: The Good Thing Stone Love Give It Up Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info

"Tiny CD2"

Various artists
Score

No one outside Hawaii's "island music" radio stations is a more enthusiastic and indiscriminate promoter of remakes than Tiny Nitro Tadani. This is his second annual compilation of remakes by his favorite artists of the moment. It's a collaboration with producer-engineer Dave Tucciarone, who created almost all the music tracks. The duo's most imaginative work is bigger and better than last year. The clunkers and misfires are bigger as well.

The selections most worthy of respect approach familiar songs from fresh directions. Redoing the Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere" as a duet by Tani Lynn Fujimoto and Jason Lent of DisGuyz is a fresh idea, at least. "Bruddah Sam" Longi and Vaihi slow the Tymes' "So Much in Love" almost to a crawl, but with Longi vocalizing "beat box" effects, and no synth tracks cluttering the arrangement, that song can be considered praiseworthy.

The worst remakes recycle hit songs in the tradition of Pat Boone redoing Little Richard's original versions of "Long Tall Sally" and "Tutti Frutti." There's an emotionless trashing of the 4 Seasons' "December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" in a soulless local pop medley, and a flaccid cloning of "Father Figure" that lacks all sense of George Michael's subtlety and intensity. A celebrity-impersonator assault on "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" begs the question, What were they thinking?

One clone job works, however. "Unforgettable" is recycled almost note for note behind Robert and Tiera Kekaula, but the obvious love shared by the father-and-daughter duo transcends the copybook arrangement with its unnecessary synth-track string section.

Robi Kahakalau ("Kiss Me"), Sean Na'auao ("Patience") and Ernie Cruz Jr. ("Love Song") are other assets.

www.tinytvhawaii.com

Due to copy protection on the CD we are unable to provide music samples.

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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.