FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Diverse Unity consists of, from left, Josh Hancock, Geph Albo Jr. and Nathaniel Pulkrabek.
Musician plays
varied beats
ONLY IN Hawaii can a punk rocker also proclaim membership in a roots reggae band and sound perfectly comfortable doing it.
For Diverse Unity bass player Josh Hancock, his involvement as a full-fledged member of The 86 List is simply another aspect of the musician's life, which also includes three part-time jobs and a spot in yet another band.
"I try to, like, stay all active in all my bands," Hancock explained over the phone earlier this week. "They're all important in their own ways."
The 21-year-old Makiki resident is also taking a stab at event promotion. Tonight's reggae concert at All Star Hawaii marks the first time he's gone out and tried to promote a show by himself. "I kind of set it up on my own free time," he said.
Reggae date
Diverse Unity with Dub Phylum, The Ionz, Most High and DJ Big BarWhere: All Star Hawaii, 2080 Kalakaua Ave.
When: 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. today
Admission: $5, 21 and over
Call: 955-8326
"I wanted to set something up with kind of young, upcoming reggae bands that haven't gotten a lot of exposure yet. And you can see them now, when they're starting out, as opposed to later on when it's going to cost more money."
Teaming up with KTUH's Barry "DJ Big Bar" Sato led to Hancock getting The Ionz onboard for this one, while Dub Phylum already shares a couple of its members with Diverse Unity. And it was pretty easy to get Most High to show up.
"We're musicians and we know what it's like to not have a place to play," he said.
HANCOCK'S INVOLVEMENT in a non-profit promotion company is another way he's working at giving the next wave of up-and-coming bands a chance to perform in front of live audiences. Along with partner Jake Foster, the pair's non-profit group Unity Crayons has produced over three dozen events since July that give "younger people something to do on the weekends that's safe and positive, creative and artistic."
Unlike most other promoters who are solely focused on the amount of revenue a party or concert can make, Hancock r admits he'll never hit it big by putting on all-ages events.
"We kind of try to just unite the entire spectrum of music and not have any sort of separation," he said. "It's very inclusive, and it very much brings everyone together, as opposed to segregating people by age."
In the next few months, Unity Crayons plans a number of all-ages concerts at venues like the Waialua Community Center, downtown Honolulu's Club Pauahi and Coffee Talk on Waialae Avenue. Also in the works is what Hancock calls a punk rock opera.
"We're going to have opera singers learn local punk rock bands' songs and perform them," he says with a laugh. Plans haven't been finalized yet, but don't be surprised if you hear local punk music coming out of someplace like the Blaisdell Concert Hall or the Hawaii Theatre next year.
FOR THE time being though, Hancock is focused more on establishing a solid base for Unity Crayons to build upon. "Right now, we're pretty much operating it as volunteers," he said. "We have bands that play, (and) we're friends with a lot of bands that need places to play.
"A lot of people that are involved in Unity Crayons are donating their money and time, and they don't get the money back afterwards."
But Hancock remains hopeful, and points to successful fund-raising events with the American Cancer Society and Hale Kipa as evidence that his efforts aren't going without notice. "We're kind of planning on keeping it underground for the next year or so," he said. "We want to just build a good name ... and then later on we'll start getting into the more corporate side of it.
"(We're) dedicated to promoting and supporting bands and venues that can work together and do shows where people can come, despite their age."
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