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On the Scene John Berger |
Platter chatter among
the pure pop party peopleIN MY Next Life... : Famed DJ Mei-Lwun had just finished spinning a great set for Flash Hansen and Matty "Matty Boy" Hazelgrove at the Hanohano Room on Saturday when he commented that "in my next life I want to be a (party) promoter." True, Mei-Lwun added, he gets to "fly all over the world" playing for people who can afford his fee, but while he's in the DJ booth creating the musical soundtrack for the event, the party promoter is working the room and talking to all the beautiful women. Mei-Lwun entertained the smart nightlifers who arrived before midnight for the SKYLiNE party with an eclectic musical smorgasbord that included bits and pieces of Digital Underground, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kriss Kross and Zapp, as well as the modern work of Missy Elliott and Eminem ....
AGIT-PROP Art Blitz: Art with in-your-face political content, "agit-prop art" for short, is hitting big this summer in the "Artists of Hawai'i 2004" show at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. This year's juror, Janet Koplos, looked at 1,272 works submitted by 524 artists and selected 96 works by 61 artists to include in the show. Two constructions by Erika Johnson express in explicit form the deterioration of Hawaii after several decades of "old boy" rule; her "Gripe With Aloha" received the Cynthia Eyre Award. Three 3D collages by Kapulani Landgraf are more subtle but suggest the alienation of native Hawaiians from the 'aina; Landgraf's "nui na aholehole" received the Roselle Davenport Award for Artistic Excellence. Lina Chan addressed the legacy of communist genocide with two paintings; "Path through Killing Field: Sinking Skulls" received the Reuben Tam Award for painting ... A display of playing cards with designs hostile to President George W. Bush found favor with Koplos but received no special awards ...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To Frank DeLima, Mike Kelly (general manager of Cox Radio Hawaii), and Sean D, who are celebrating today. Sean and his girlfriend, Peggy Yu, will be partying tonight as he hosts the "Battleship" MC Battle at Velvet Lounge ... Birthday wishes also to Rufus Demarco, who will be celebrating Saturday ....
NOW IT can be told: Son Caribe leader Eddie Ortiz confirms that "No Speaki Spanish," a song on the group's new album, "Salsa From Hawaii 2," is comical. (The lyrics describe the plight of a Puerto Rican man newly arrived in New York City who meets a pretty girl on the subway, who only speaks English.) Ortiz says that the next time Son Caribe records an album, the band will insist that the record label include adequate cultural information and not short-change the public with skimpy liner notes.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
John Berger has covered the local
entertainment scene since 1972. Contact
him at jberger@starbulletin.com.