‘It’s all a blessing when it comes to music’

John Cruz shares the painful, private side of success in a new documentary

Imagine being the subject of a documentary. John Cruz, the subject of Leslie Truglio's new film, "Made of Music -- The Story of John Cruz," doesn't recommend it.

"It's strange. ... It's a story about a part of my life, little pieces of my life, I guess."

'Hawaii Night' "Made of Music -- The Story of John Cruz" is the showcase piece in the Hawaii International Film Festival's "Hawaii Night." Screening: 7:30 p.m. Thursday Place: Hawaii Theatre Tickets: $15; $13 HIFF members Also showing: "The Shimmering," based on the shark tale "It Swims When You Sleep," by Keola Beamer

The title of Truglio's film, premiering Thursday at the Hawaii Theatre, was inspired by Jackson Browne's description of Cruz: "A great songwriter (and) a great singer ... one of the best. He's one of those people who's just made of music."

Browne is one of many celebrities interviewed in the documentary, along with singer Jack Johnson and ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro, who says he "felt the mana, the power" while listening to Cruz sing.

Three members of the Cruz family -- his father, Ernie Cruz Sr., his oldest sister, Doodie Cruz Downs, and his younger sister, Tiffany "Tiffa" Cruz -- provide much of the back story.

In addition to the usual family photos, talking-head commentary, vintage video clips and contemporary performance segments, Truglio offers a candid and unflinching look at an unquestionably talented man and his longtime struggle with drug addiction. Cruz mentions being in so deep that he used crystal methamphetamine in an attempt to get off cocaine. He also expresses in articulate form the feelings of hopelessness that lead many people to choose drugs as a form of escape.

Among the lowest points in his life, he said, was losing parental rights to his children after their mother also tested positive for drugs shortly after giving birth.

As far as revealing so much about his life on film, Cruz says the most important thing is the quality of the production. In other words, does it work as a world-class documentary?

"Hopefully it will be received as a well-done piece of work, for Leslie's sake, and for my sake, too. ... I sort of like to be associated with quality, believe it or not, and so I've sort of shied away from doing these local videos and stuff because I just haven't been willing to settle for whatever we can get. That goes the same for the album."

"The album" would be the long-awaited follow-up to his 1997 Na Hoku Hanohano winner, "Acoustic Soul."

"It's been a long time coming; a couple of the songs are 20 years old," Cruz volunteers, adding that there have been periods in his life recently when he didn't find much reason to sing or play music, even though it has always been part of his life.

Cruz's mother loved music, his father was a professional musician and recording artist -- all their kids shared those interests. Cruz wanted to do more musically than seemed possible in Hawaii, so he moved to the East Coast in 1983.

He spent the next 12 years developing his style as a singer and songwriter, then returned home to work with his brother, Ernie Cruz Jr., and Troy Fernandez in the Ka'au Crater Boys. John was the bass player and wrote songs for the group.

"Acoustic Soul" was his first local release as a solo artist. It was an instant hit, with "Island Style," a semiautobiographical ode to the islands, quickly becoming his musical signature. Suddenly, it seemed, Cruz was a local superstar, under pressure to top that success with something bigger and better.

Cruz mentions in the film that he smoked marijuana for the first time when he was still in middle school, and was involved with one illegal substance or another for most of his adult life. One of the benefits of a hit album and a successful career was that catering to an addiction wasn't a problem -- at least not financially, and at least not for a while.

Cruz credits his current management team with helping him turn his life around. Some of the newer songs on his upcoming album reflect his experiences -- good, bad and painful -- since "Acoustic Soul" established his voice in contemporary local music.

"Made of Music" includes "live" versions of some of the songs that Cruz is recording for his new album, and Cruz spent much of this month on the mainland, finishing the tracks and adding overdubs in Los Angeles and New York.

He returns home to perform at the premiere this week, then goes back to L.A. to mix the album in November. He plans to release it early next year.

"I never felt like I was finished with music, (but) for a while I felt like I was finished with trying to please people, that's for sure. I can't help it, I'm a people-pleaser in a sense, but I felt for a while, 'I don't want to do that,' so I didn't."

Cruz says in the film that having your children taken from you isn't the type of experience that makes a person want to sing. He's not preaching or presuming to tell other people what to do with their lives, just speaking from experience.

He adds that he feels a "great deal of responsibility" in putting himself "in the middle of the room" and asking people to take time out of their lives to see what he has to offer.

"People have expectations, and most of it stems from love -- love of my music or love of me or what I represent. A lot of times people can see themselves in you, and they lay their trip on you because you seem better qualified to deal with it, but I just sing and write songs -- and I love performing them."

Are there any surprises in the movie? How well do you already know John Cruz?

"I don't know what people know about me or think they know about me, but I think people who have been interested in my music but have never really gotten any sort of first- or secondhand information about my life might be surprised ... but it's all a blessing when it comes to music," he said.

"I'm just glad that I was able to focus enough to get this thing together. I've got a new manager -- he's been my manager now for about two years -- who's helped me get back focused and set some goals. ... I'm glad to be back in the studio, (and) I'm looking forward to getting back in there again."