{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Hawaiian Concert Guide Show 710 - Hormonal Bananas","description":"\ud83c\udf3a\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f HAWAIIAN CONCERT GUIDE \u2014 SHOW 710 \ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\ud83c\udf3a \ud83c\udf4c \u201cHORMONAL BANANAS\u201d \ud83c\udf4c This week\u2019s Hawaiian Concert Guide takes a musical journey through Hawai\u02bbi as home, memory, place, identity, imagination \u2014 and occasionally something wonderfully unexpected. Show 710 moves from some of today\u2019s most compelling Hawaiian recording artists into classic exotica and vintage Hollywood Hawai\u02bbi, with plenty of musical and cultural connections along the way. \ud83c\udfb6 PLAYLIST 1. Kimi\u00e9 Miner \u2014 \u201cKu\u02bbu Hawai\u02bbi\u201d \u2014 3:55 Album: Ku\u02bbu Hawai\u02bbi We open with Kimi\u00e9 Miner and the title track from her five-song Ku\u02bbu Hawai\u02bbi EP. Kimi\u00e9 has built a career that moves naturally between contemporary Hawaiian music, acoustic singer-songwriter material, reggae, island pop and modern production. She is also the founder of Haku Collective and has become an important advocate for Hawai\u02bbi-based artists and music. Her earlier work earned major N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano recognition, including Female Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year for \u201cBamboo.\u201d The title Ku\u02bbu Hawai\u02bbi can be understood as \u201cMy Hawai\u02bbi\u201d or, with the emotional weight carried by ku\u02bbu, something closer to \u201cMy beloved Hawai\u02bbi.\u201d That makes this a particularly appropriate way to open Show 710 because much of tonight\u2019s program explores how different musicians experience, remember and interpret Hawai\u02bbi. \ud83c\udf3a 2. Kimi\u00e9 Miner feat. Kala\u02bbe \u2014 \u201cSippin\u2019 Somethin\u2019\u201d \u2014 3:56 Album: Ku\u02bbu Hawai\u02bbi We stay with Kimi\u00e9\u2019s EP but shift into a lighter collaboration featuring Kala\u02bbe Camarillo. The track sits comfortably between island music, acoustic pop and country. That country influence is not as unusual in Hawaiian music as someone unfamiliar with the islands might think. Hawai\u02bbi has a long musical relationship with American country traditions through paniolo culture, steel guitar, acoustic instrumentation and vocal harmony. Kala\u02bbe himself comes from a musical family and is a third-generation music teacher. Earlier in his career, he performed with his brother Kamaka as the Camarillo Brothers before establishing his solo career. This track also gives us the perfect bridge into more of Kala\u02bbe\u2019s music later in the show. \ud83c\udf34 3. Baba Tavares \u2014 \u201cKe\u02bbei\u201d \u2014 1:40 Album: Hanohano H\u014dnaunau Next we travel to Hawai\u02bbi Island with Baba Tavares. Baba Tavares is Joshua Tavares, and Hanohano H\u014dnaunau is an unusually place-centered project. The songs originated in connection with his play Glitter in the Pa\u02bbakai, produced through the Hawaiian Theatre program at the University of Hawai\u02bbi at M\u0101noa in February 2024. Tavares describes the EP as a huaka\u02bbi \u2014 a journey through Kona Hema and through the places that raised and nourished his family. That context matters. \u201cKe\u02bbei\u201d is not simply a song borrowing the name of a picturesque Hawaiian location. The place itself is connected to genealogy, home, \u02bbohana and lived experience. At only 1:40, the song almost functions like a musical vignette \u2014 one brief stop on that journey through Kona Hema. Pronunciation note: Ke\u02bbei \u2014 approximately keh-EH-ee, with the \u02bbokina creating a distinct break between the sounds. \ud83c\udf0a 4. Baba Tavares \u2014 \u201cHanohano H\u014dnaunau\u201d \u2014 2:04 Album: Hanohano H\u014dnaunau The journey continues with the title track. Hanohano carries meanings associated with honor, dignity, distinction and glory, making the title an expression of respect and admiration for H\u014dnaunau. H\u014dnaunau is one of the most culturally significant areas on Hawai\u02bbi Island. Nearby Pu\u02bbuhonua o H\u014dnaunau preserves an ancient Hawaiian royal center and place of refuge associated with the traditional kapu system. Baba Tavares also had an exceptional year at the 2026 N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano Awards, receiving: \ud83c\udfc6 Most Promising Artist \ud83c\udfc6 Hawaiian EP of the Year \u2014 Hanohano H\u014dnaunau So if Baba Tavares is a new name to you, Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s recording community has already provided two very good reasons to remember it. One important way to hear these songs is not simply as descriptions of beautiful places. Tavares describes them as songs tied to home and \u02bbohana. In Hawaiian music, geography frequently functions as far more than scenery. Place can carry family history, ancestry, memory and identity. \ud83c\udf3a 5. Kala\u02bbe Camarillo \u2014 \u201cBorn Again\u201d \u2014 3:44 Album: Drifting On Island Time Kala\u02bbe Camarillo returns, this time with music from his own album Drifting On Island Time, released in August 2025. Kala\u02bbe\u2019s career has steadily gained recognition. His earlier album Feel at Home won Contemporary Acoustic Album of the Year, while later work including \u201cSands of Old Lahaina\u201d brought additional recognition. And at the 2026 N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano Awards: \ud83c\udfc6 Drifting On Island Time won Contemporary Album of the Year. \u201cBorn Again\u201d gives us a chance to hear something beyond simply the album\u2019s obvious headline tracks. Kala\u02bbe\u2019s music often has a very conversational quality. Rather than sounding overly produced or formal, his songs often feel like someone sitting nearby, instrument in hand, telling you a story. \ud83c\udf34 6. Kala\u02bbe Camarillo \u2014 \u201cDown In Makena\u201d \u2014 3:31 Album: Drifting On Island Time We stay with Kala\u02bbe and travel musically to M\u0101kena on Maui\u2019s south shore. \u201cDown In Makena\u201d gives us another example of something that appears repeatedly throughout Hawaiian music: The location is not simply where the story happens. Very often, the place is part of the story itself. That idea connects the work of Kala\u02bbe Camarillo with Baba Tavares, Kimi\u00e9 Miner and generations of Hawaiian composers before them. Place names in Hawaiian music can contain stories about family, love, historical events, landscapes, people and personal memories that are invisible to someone simply looking at a map. \ud83c\udf3a 7. Ei Nei \u2014 \u201cHawai\u02bbi Forever\u201d \u2014 2:56 Album: Ei Nei, Look At Us Bonus Track Next we hear the beautiful three-part harmony of Ei Nei. Ei Nei consists of: \ud83c\udfa4 Dane Fujiwara \ud83c\udfa4 Grant Kono \ud83c\udfa4 \u02bbEkolu Chang The trio formed in 2016 and has built its sound around close vocal harmony, mele Hawai\u02bbi, original music and contemporary interpretations of Hawaiian songs. Their album Ei Nei, Look At Us mixes original compositions with reimagined classics. \u201cHawai\u02bbi Forever\u201d is particularly significant because Ei Nei submitted the song for N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b consideration in both: \u2022 Single of the Year \u2022 Song of the Year The group also had a very strong showing at the 2026 N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano Awards: \ud83c\udfc6 Ei Nei, Look At Us won Island Music Album of the Year. By this point in Show 710, we\u2019ve already heard four distinctly different approaches to contemporary Hawaiian music: Kimi\u00e9 Miner Baba Tavares Kala\u02bbe Camarillo Ei Nei Together, they provide an interesting snapshot of what recorded Hawaiian music looks and sounds like in 2025\u20132026. \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\udf3a 8. Ei Nei \u2014 \u201cYappa Sukiyanen\u201d \u2014 3:52 Album: Ei Nei, Look At Us Bonus Track This may be the most unexpected song in Show 710. \u201cYappa Sukiyanen\u201d \u2014 \u3084\u3063\u3071\u597d\u304d\u3084\u306d\u3093 \u2014 is closely associated with Osaka singer and television personality Takajin Yashiki. The original single was released on: \ud83d\udcc5 September 21, 1986 That means September 2026 marks the song\u2019s 40th anniversary. The title uses Kansai\/Osaka-style speech and roughly expresses: \u2764\ufe0f \u201cAfter all, I still love you.\u201d or \u2764\ufe0f \u201cI really do love you after all.\u201d Ei Nei performing the song creates a fascinating musical connection between Hawai\u02bbi and Japan. That relationship has deep historical roots through immigration, family connections, tourism, food, language and generations of cultural exchange. So although the track initially seems like an unexpected diversion, it actually fits the broader story of Hawai\u02bbi extraordinarily well. And because the original was released almost exactly forty years before Show 710, the timing could hardly be better. \ud83c\udf8b\ud83c\udf34 9. Martin Denny \u2014 \u201cJapanese Farewell Song\u201d \u2014 2:24 Album: Exotica II Our Japanese connection provides the perfect transition into one of the most influential musicians associated with the mid-century exotica movement: Martin Denny. Exotica Volume II was released in 1958 following the extraordinary success of Denny\u2019s earlier Exotica album. The musicians associated with the project included: \ud83c\udfb9 Martin Denny \u2014 piano, celeste and arrangements \ud83e\udd41 Arthur Lyman \u2014 vibes, marimba, xylophone and percussion \ud83e\udd9c Augie Col\u00f3n \u2014 percussion and the famous bird-call effects \ud83c\udfb8 Bernard Miller \u2014 bass \ud83c\udfb7 Jack Shoop \u2014 flute and saxophone \ud83e\udd41 Roy Harte \u2014 drums and percussion \u201cJapanese Farewell Song,\u201d also known as \u201cSayonara,\u201d appears as track three. Martin Denny\u2019s music occupies an interesting place in Hawaiian musical history. Exotica wasn't traditional Hawaiian music. Instead, it represented a mid-century American fantasy of the Pacific \u2014 blending Hawaiian, Japanese, Asian, Latin and imagined tropical elements into a stylized lounge sound. That distinction makes exotica particularly interesting today. It tells us something not only about music, but about how mainland America imagined Hawai\u02bbi and the broader Pacific during the 1950s. \ud83c\udf34\ud83c\udfb6 10. Martin Denny \u2014 \u201cSinging Bamboos\u201d \u2014 2:10 Album: Exotica II We continue directly into track four of Exotica Volume II. \u201cSinging Bamboos\u201d demonstrates one of the qualities that made Martin Denny\u2019s recordings so distinctive: texture. Instead of focusing entirely on melody, the arrangement creates atmosphere through: \u2022 percussion \u2022 mallet instruments \u2022 unusual timbres \u2022 spatial effects \u2022 bird calls \u2022 carefully constructed tropical ambience That sound became closely associated with the tiki and lounge culture boom of the 1950s and early 1960s. You can almost imagine the record spinning inside a dark Polynesian-themed cocktail lounge with bamboo walls, carved tiki figures and glowing lamps. And that brings us directly into another major American interpretation of Hawai\u02bbi from almost exactly the same period. \ud83c\udfac\ud83c\udf3a 11. Elvis Presley \u2014 \u201cKu-U-I-Po\u201d \u2014 2:22 Album: Blue Hawaii Few Hollywood productions shaped mainland America\u2019s romantic image of Hawai\u02bbi more strongly than Blue Hawaii. \u201cKu-U-I-Po\u201d was recorded on: \ud83d\udcc5 March 21, 1961 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood for the film. The soundtrack was released later that year on: \ud83d\udcc5 October 20, 1961 The song was written by: Hugo Peretti Luigi Creatore George David Weiss The recording session featured an extraordinary group of musicians including: \ud83c\udfb8 Hank Garland \ud83c\udfb8 Scotty Moore \ud83c\udfb9 Floyd Cramer \ud83c\udfb7 Boots Randolph \ud83c\udfb8 Alvino Rey \u2014 steel guitar \ud83e\ude95 Fred Tavares \u2014 \u02bbukulele \ud83e\ude95 Bernie Lewis \u2014 \u02bbukulele Vocals were supported by The Jordanaires and The Surfers. The title uses an older spelling of the Hawaiian phrase: ku\u02bbu ipo meaning approximately: \u2764\ufe0f \u201cmy sweetheart\u201d \u2764\ufe0f \u201cmy beloved\u201d One particularly interesting musician in those sessions is Fred Tavares. Tavares came from the legendary Hawaiian Tavares musical family and later became closely associated with Fender, contributing significantly to the development of electric and steel guitars. \u201cKu-U-I-Po\u201d is one of the gentler and more affectionate pieces from the Blue Hawaii soundtrack. And then Elvis takes us from sweetheart\u2026 \u2026to supper. \ud83c\udf7d\ufe0f\ud83c\udf3a 12. Elvis Presley \u2014 \u201cIto Eats\u201d \u2014 1:23 Album: Blue Hawaii \u201cIto Eats\u201d was recorded one day later: \ud83d\udcc5 March 22, 1961 The song was written by the prolific songwriting partnership of: Sid Tepper Roy C. Bennett Much of the same remarkable session team appears on this recording. But this track represents a very different side of Hollywood Hawai\u02bbi. \u201cIto Eats\u201d is unmistakably a 1961 novelty song. Its humor revolves around a Hawaiian character who constantly eats, including fish and poi. Some of its characterization reflects stereotypes that were common in mainland entertainment during that period. That distinction is worth recognizing. We opened Show 710 with Hawaiian artists describing and expressing Hawai\u02bbi from within their own communities. We end with Hollywood presenting its version of Hawai\u02bbi more than sixty years ago. Those are two very different perspectives. And hearing them side-by-side gives us an interesting way to think about how the musical image of Hawai\u02bbi has evolved. \ud83c\udf3a\ud83c\udf3a\ud83c\udf3a \ud83c\udf99\ufe0f SHOW 710 \u2014 \u201cHORMONAL BANANAS\u201d The musical theme running beneath this somewhat suspicious title is: HAWAI\u02bbI \u2014 PLACE, MEMORY & IMAGINATION Tonight we hear Hawai\u02bbi as: \ud83c\udf34 Home \ud83c\udf0a Geography \ud83d\udc68\u200d\ud83d\udc69\u200d\ud83d\udc67\u200d\ud83d\udc66 \u02bbOhana \ud83e\uddec Genealogy \u2764\ufe0f Love \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 Cultural connection \ud83c\udfb6 Musical experimentation \ud83c\udf3a Nostalgia \ud83c\udfac Hollywood fantasy The contemporary portion of the show also includes an unusually strong concentration of artists recognized at the 2026 N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano Awards: \ud83c\udfc6 Baba Tavares \u2014 Most Promising Artist \ud83c\udfc6 Hanohano H\u014dnaunau \u2014 Hawaiian EP of the Year \ud83c\udfc6 Kala\u02bbe Camarillo \u2014 Drifting On Island Time \u2014 Contemporary Album of the Year \ud83c\udfc6 Ei Nei \u2014 Ei Nei, Look At Us \u2014 Island Music Album of the Year And tucked right in the middle is another musical coincidence: \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 \u201cYappa Sukiyanen\u201d celebrated its 40th anniversary this month, having originally been released September 21, 1986. So Show 710 travels from contemporary Hawai\u02bbi\u2026 \u2026through Kona Hema\u2026 \u2026to M\u0101kena\u2026 \u2026through Hawaiian-Japanese musical connections\u2026 \u2026into the tiki lounges of the 1950s\u2026 \u2026and finally onto the Hollywood set of Blue Hawaii in 1961. All in about 34 minutes of music. Only on Hawaiian Concert Guide. \ud83c\udf3a\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\ud83c\udf4c Hawaiian Concert Guide \u2014 Show 710 \u201cHormonal Bananas\u201d Place, Memory & Imagination #HawaiianConcertGuide #Show710 #HormonalBananas #HawaiianMusic #HawaiiMusic #KimieMiner #KalaeCamarillo #BabaTavares #EiNei #MartinDenny #ElvisPresley #BlueHawaii #NaHokuHanohano #MeleHawaii #HawaiianCulture #Exotica #Ukulele #Aloha ","author_name":"Hawaiian Concert Guide","author_url":"http:\/\/www.hawaiianconcertguide.com","html":"