DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Jeff Said No! performs Fridays at O'Toole's Pub and will be one of the blues marathon bands.

13 bluesy hours
at the tower

By Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.com

The second annual KIPO Blues Marathon begins at noon Saturday at Kapono's in the shadow of Aloha Tower, and will run past the midnight hour with 13 bands ready to rock the house.

The event has grown since KIPO Production Director Jeff Ilardi had a bug put into his ear by former Sly and the Family Stone saxophonist Jerry Martini to create "blues nights" featuring local artists, which was quickly endorsed by General Manager Michael Titterton.

"We saw the Eric Petersen Band out at Sand Island R&B and thought they were fabulous," said Ilardi. "And so we asked them to play our beer-tasting festival, and it was a big hit. We started doing Blues Nights once a month, moving it around, and then tried a marathon with several bands. We held it at Anna Bannana's, and more than 400 people showed up -- the line went down the block -- and that's when I realized we were on to something popular. Now we're doing 13 bands in 13 hours, and more are coming out of the woodwork!"

Ilardi generally finds the bands when members sit in with bands he knows. "Just a few years ago, there were maybe four or five bands in town that played blues, now there are more than a dozen, and what's more, they're gigging regularly. There are a lot more now than there have been at any time. And you know what I've noticed? The level of musicianship is higher with blues bands than rock 'n' roll bands. The blues is simple to play but difficult to shine in. The buzz for blues has been good."

Eric Petersen, the musician whose chops got the ball rolling, agrees.

"The blues -- or blues structure -- is what got us into music in the first place. That and soda-pop commercials. It's the roots of modern pop music, and it's basic," he said. "Playing it, though, is how you feel, rather than what you play.

"A lot of what passed for blues here just sucks, man. But if you ask 100 blues fans what the blues is, you'll get 105 different answers. B.B. King said it's a good man feeling bad. I tend to agree with him. There are many shades of blues.

"The main thing is that it's grown-up music. What's Jonny Lang got the blues about? Oh, 'I got a C on my report card'? Give me a break! Blues is a big fat guy with no teeth who knows what it's like to be hounded by the IRS."

Petersen agrees also that there are more gigging opportunities for blues musicians in Honolulu these days. "If I really pursued it, I could probably play two gigs a day, every day. But I'd be one tired guy. And Rule No. 1 for every musician is, Don't quit your day job."

KIPO Blues Marathon Where: Kapono's, Aloha Tower Marketplace When: Noon to 1 a.m. tomorrow Admission: $15, $12.50 HPR members Call: 955-8821 Schedule of performing bands (Henry Kapono will appear with one or more bands during the marathon): >> Noon -- Shotglass >> 1 p.m. -- Bud Cerio & the Now >> 2 p.m. -- Chris Vandercook's Wise Fools >> 3 p.m. -- Jeff Said No! >> 4 p.m. -- Bla Pahinui >> 5 p.m. -- Night Train >> 6 p.m. -- Slim Mango >> 7 p.m. -- The Eric Petersen Band >> 8 p.m. -- Keahi Conjugacion >> 9 p.m. -- Third Degree >> 10 p.m. -- Bob Jones and Hard Drive >> 11 p.m. -- Bluzilla >> Midnight -- KIPO Blues Night All-Star Band

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