DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Daniel Warner peering through the center of an old 45.
Thanks to Daniel Warner and Kimo Nichols, the sounds of rootsy reggae will never fade away. Reggae room
By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.comThe two old-school reggae enthusiasts hold court in the spacious back room of Auntie Pasto's in Kapahulu every Friday as part of the popular "Club Dubwize." It's mostly a labor of love for these two; they say all the money made goes right back into the sound equipment and music that loads down their handcart.
They maneuver the cart through the tightly spaced parked cars and through a glass door that leads into their own dubbed "roots room." There, as Warner, Nichols and the rest of the Dubwize crew wait to set up as the staff stacks tables and chairs and late patrons finish their meals and small talk, the two men talk about how much they enjoy this now 2-month-old gig.
"We try to play mostly 7-inch singles from Jamaica that we get from the Internet," Warner says, refusing to divulge their ultrasecret resources. "That's what makes us unique," Nichols adds. "We may not be the most brilliant of deejays, but we got the best records!"
Mixed in with older 12-inch vinyl albums and singles (their next purchase is supposed to be a deejay-industrial CD player), the 7-inch singles they've collected are actually newer pressings with old "riddims" updated, called "digital roots." Warner says he has a renewed appreciation for reggae, with his own personal collection bulging with rare African and Cuban recordings as well.
Address: Auntie Pasto's, 559 Kapahulu Ave. 'Club Dubwize'
Hours: 10:30 p.m. Fridays
Admission: $5 cover, 18 and over
Call: 739-2426
The two trade off half-hour sets through the night and have learned -- on the job, so to speak -- the art of "juggling," mixing different singles with songs that may contain the same "riddim" but with different vocalists and rhymes.
Meanwhile, the guys in the front room, DJ Loriel and promoter El Niño, use it as a starting point, later spinning some "lovers rock" and then to more contemporary "ragga" and dancehall reggae.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kimo Nichols, left, and Daniel Warner assembled their tools last week for a night's work at "Club Dubwize" at Auntie Pasto's.
"The people that come here make for a nice mix," Nichols said. "There's quite a few military guys from Jamaica, plus the local college and haole surfer crowd." The reggae fans freely circulate between the two rooms during the evening, between the darkened room of Warner and Nichols to the front with the bar and mirrored disco ball a-spinning.
DJ Loriel enjoys the vibe the two older guys bring to the gig. His own popular "Reggae on the Roof" Sunday afternoon gig at a local Waikiki hotel was halted by management due to some unexplained "bad connotations." (He's since moved to Grumpy's Bar & Grill on Saturday nights.)
Promoter El Niño said: "I wanted their experience; they know the discography, they're both collectors, and I wanted to give them the experience of playing in a club atmosphere. There's around a decade's worth of knowledge in each of them, and I just knew they would be able to hold the beats together."
El Niño said he remembered hearing about Warner's old KTUH radio show, "Daniel in the Lion's Den," when he was in California. Warner's show ran from late 1979 to early 1986. Nichols is also a KTUH alumnus, from 1990 to '93.
"And we also take requests," said Warner, "within reason!"
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