FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM George Street is Gordon Kim, Gail Mack Nowecki and Steve Min.

George Street back
in harmony again

The trio does not take
for granted the unique talents
that have made them a success

---

By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com

Gail Mack Nowecki relies primarily on e-mail instead of postcards to keep friends of George Street updated on the trio's activities, and she and the guys -- Gordon Kim and Steve Min -- are all married and raising families. Other than that, they're all pretty much the same three friends who founded the group almost by accident more than 20 years ago.

George Street Where: Ship's Tavern, Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel, 2365 Kalakaua Ave. When: 9-11 p.m. tomorrow, no cover charge Call: 922-3111 Note: The trio will also be performing 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday at 3660 on the Rise, 3660 Waialae Ave. Call 737-1177.

Min, who first surfaced as a member of Breezin', which was on Ron Jacobs' first KKUA "Homegrown" album, also knew Kim and had formed a couple of short-lived groups with him. Kim also knew the then-Mack and was teaching her how to play guitar, and for a while they were all working at the Kaimuki YMCA. Then they spent three months together backpacking in Europe, and out of that camaraderie came the decision to form a group.

They lucked into a once-in-a-life opportunity here in Honolulu and became full-time musicians and recording artists for nine consecutive years. While it's been years since they played together on a regular basis, the threesome says they've always considered themselves an active group.

George Street will be performing again for a pair of rare weekend gigs.

"We've never not been together," Nowecki said. "The occasional jobs have (always) come up, and so we've actually been together since 1980, but I think this is a new phase. We went through that young phase before we were all married, and just like everybody else our age for the last 10 years, we've been raising our families and now our kids are old enough to baby-sit themselves."

Excuse me, but it's HER kids who can take care of themselves, the guys interject -- after all, she was the one who started a family a little earlier than they did. (For the record, Min has one child, and Nowecki and Kim have three each.) That difference aside, they're all on the same track.

"The importance of the music hasn't changed for me," Kim said. "I can still sit down with a guitar and not have an audience and still get a lot out of it. It's just that now since things have evolved and all of us still enjoy getting together and playing, it's like how it was before. The big difference is that we haven't had a regular venue to play. We don't have Chuck's anymore, but we've still been playing and we're more ready to do something regular again."

THE CHUCK'S in question was the Manoa restaurant and lounge now long gone and where the George Street story really began.

Chuck's was newly opened and looking for entertainment but was planning to hire just a duo. But George Street still went ahead and auditioned and got the job in April of 1980.

They then spent several months playing five nights a week to an empty room -- and didn't get fired!

The management's preternatural patience paid off, because once people discovered George Street at Chuck's, both the band and the lounge developed a large and loyal clientele.

The trio would go on to headline there for nine years.

"It was a real good experience for all of us, having to work (five nights a week) and perfect the craft," Min said.

"Now I look back and I realize it doesn't happen like that anymore," Nowecki said. "I knew I could carry a tune, but I had never sung in public before and basically I learned from Gordon and Steve how to sing harmonies, how to pick up songs (and) how to arrange. Gordon and Steve had experience as a duo, and I was the add-on.

"I think we have a unique combination of voice and guitar," she said. "We've always prided ourselves on doing remakes but in our own style. There are a lot of great musicians, but vocals are specific to a specific group and our strong point was focusing on vocals and harmonies. Hopefully, we can continue doing something different with our vocals."

"Once we decided to put together our own albums, there was a venue for our own writing," Kim added.

NOWECKI has been heard on a couple of small projects by other local artists over the years, but she says that George Street is going to become more visible again as recording artists as well. In the meantime the group's first three albums have been licensed for release in Japan, where the music remains popular.

"I definitely think that we've matured as musicians. I think we still have that same sound that we had before, but just through the years we've matured, and so, hopefully, we can translate that to the music," Nowecki said.

Kim summed it up by saying that he appreciates now what he took for granted 20 years ago.

"I just took it for granted that he has a lower voice, I have a higher voice and Gail can carry the top and sing leads. The harmony just always worked and I took it for granted. We had less time in the last decade (to work together), and now, when a harmony works right away (on a new song), it feels good. I don't take it for granted now."

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