FREE L.A.: The Grammy Museum Goes Hawaiian

Hawaiian Eye/Aloha Friday Radio may be long gone, but the vibrant Hawaiian music scene lives on. This Friday, L.A. Live’s Grammy Museum is offering a free program featuring this year’s Grammy nominees in the Hawaiian category.

“Hawai’i Goes Grammy: A Tribute to Hawaiian Music” takes place this Friday, Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. Not only will the event give you an opportunity to check out the museum — which we gave a good review back in December — but you’ll also get what promises to be a good show. Details:

Celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Hawaiian music with The GRAMMY Museum! Join us as 2009 GRAMMY Nominees in the Hawaiian Music category perform on our GRAMMY Sound Stage. Program will also include an onstage interview and musical history lesson with Chief Curator Ken Viste. Admission is free to the public. Museum members receive priority admission. Doors open at 7:30 pm. To reserve tickets, call 213.765.6830 or e-mail programs@grammymuseum.org.

This year’s nominees — yet another group heavy on the slack key guitar, shutting out other subgenres — include “Ikena” by Tia Carrere & Daniel Ho; “Aumakua” by Amy Hanaiali’i; “Force of Nature” by Led Kaapana & Mike Kaawa; “Hawaiian Slack Key Kings Masters Series, Vol. II,” compiled by Chris Lau and Milton Lau; and “The Spirit of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar,” compiled by Daniel Ho, George Kahumoku Jr., Dennis Kamakahi, Paul Konwiser and Wayne Wong.

Soundtrack to the Holidays, Hawaiian Style

Sadly, as you know, my KCSN radio show “Hawaiian Eye” (later retitled “Aloha Friday Radio”) went off the air this fall as part of a format tweak.

One of my most popular episodes year after year was my pre-Christmas edition of “Hawaiian Eye,” in which I played wall-to-wall Christmas tunes from the islands. Slack key, reggae, ska, traditional, contemporary — all the forms were represented.

By popular demand, here’s a copy of last year’s holiday edition of “Hawaiian Eye,” cut into 6 pieces for easy streaming. It’s a nice alternative to the same-old, same-old on KOST or KRTH. Put it on in the background today as you finish up your Christmas Eve chores — perhaps it’ll calm you down, and get you in the mood. Mele Kalikimaka!!

ALOHA FRIDAY RADIO Tonight on KCSN!

Don’t forget, Bruddah Mike’s spinning the Aloha Friday jams tonight from 9 p.m. to midnight on 88.5 KCSN!

Listen there or over the air live, or check out the blog later to stream it or download it.

And yes, it may seem like the competition was fixed… but Maria did come up with “Aloha Friday” as the show’s title… and it makes the most sense. That’s what my show’s all about — a way to kick off the weekend with a breezy mix of contemporary and traditional Hawaiian, reggae, surf rockabilly, and other tunes.

"Hawaiian Eye" Moves Tonight!

Don’t forget! My weekly musical tour of the islands and beyond moves to its new Friday night time slot TONIGHT!

Tune in to hear which new title made the cut!

With this new primetime slot, I’ll be mixing in a bit more surf music and reggae into the Hawaiian mix, to provide a nice island getaway to the weekend. It is Aloha Friday, after all!

TONIGHT — 9 P.M. TO MIDNIGHT — 88.5 KCSN (or KCSN.org)!

(And if you’re curious about the title and artists, or want to stream or download the show later, go to our Hawaiian Eye blog.)

Help Rename "Hawaiian Eye"

It’s been a long time coming, but “Hawaiian Eye” is finally moving to a more marquee spot on 88.5 KCSN!

Starting next week, I’ll be spinning island tunes from 9 p.m. to midnight each Friday night. (You know, “Aloha Friday.”) With the potential for more listeners, I’m also going to be throwing in a few more surf and island tunes from other parts of the world as well.

Also, with so many changes, I thought it was time to come up with a broader, more catchy title for the show. So I’m throwing it open to you: What should the show be titled? Should “Island” be in the name? (“Island Style”? “Island Rhythm”? C’mon, let’s come up with something better!) Should it be a song title, which could then double as the theme song? (That’s why I used “Hawaiian Eye” in the first place — I used the old TV show theme.)

If I choose your entry, you’ll get a cool prize. Not sure what it is yet, but it will be cool. Probably.

HAWAIIAN EYE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: Your Holiday Music Alternative

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Yeah, it’s chilly outside. And still kinda wet. All the more reason to click above and listen to my annual “Hawaiian Eye” island holiday music special from last night. It’s familiar Christmas tunes done in a not-so-familiar island style.

It kicks off with Pure Heart’s rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” — Local Style (“numbah one day of Christmas my tutu gave to me, one mynah bird in one papaya tree”). Other favorites include Willie K’s powerful version of “O Holy Night”; the Brothers Cazimero’s haunting “We Three Kings,” and new Hawaiian Christmas tracks from artists like Keali’i Reichel and Amy Hanaiali’i.

Click above to stream it right now, or go to the Hawaiian Eye blog to download it and/or podcast it.

Also head to the blog for a run down of the title and artist of every song played here. Mele Kalikimaka!

HAWAIIAN EYE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: Your Holiday Music Alternative

powered by ODEO

Yeah, it’s chilly outside. And still kinda wet. All the more reason to click above and listen to my annual “Hawaiian Eye” island holiday music special from last night. It’s familiar Christmas tunes done in a not-so-familiar island style.

It kicks off with Pure Heart’s rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” — Local Style (“numbah one day of Christmas my tutu gave to me, one mynah bird in one papaya tree”). Other favorites include Willie K’s powerful version of “O Holy Night”; the Brothers Cazimero’s haunting “We Three Kings,” and new Hawaiian Christmas tracks from artists like Keali’i Reichel and Amy Hanaiali’i.

Click above to stream it right now, or go to the Hawaiian Eye blog to download it and/or podcast it.

Also head to the blog for a run down of the title and artist of every song played here. Mele Kalikimaka!

Tonight on "Hawaiian Eye": A Very Hawai’i Christmas

Set your radio dial at midnight to 88.5 KCSN; I’ll be playing non-stop holiday music from the islands. It’s the perfect alternative to that repetitive stuff you’re hearing on KOST right now.

And no worries, if you can’t stay up tonight, I’ll post a link tomorrow so you can stream, download or podcast it this weekend. It may be chilly outside (well, 62 degrees — chilly in my book), but you can at least pretend you’re closer to the equator.

Tonight on "Hawaiian Eye": It’s Pledge Drive Time!

Twice a year, public radio station KCSN holds its on-air fundraiser; tonight, it’s my turn to conjure up some cash.

Luckily, since Hawaiian Eye is on late, I’m not expected to bring in much. And I can stick to playing mostly music. But if you’re interested in helping a Bruddah out, tune in tonight… or listen to the stream or podcast tomorrow (access it here). All pledges enter you in a sweepstakes to win a 7-day Mexican Riveria cruise on Princess Cruises. Mahalo plennys!

Counting Down the Greatest Hawaiian Songs of All Time

This month’s issue of Honolulu magazine ranks the 50 Greatest Hawaiian Songs of All Time — and like any good list, has some obvious choices, a number of nice surprises and a few head scratchers to boot.

It’s an interesting list — particularly when you see the wide variety of musical styles butting heads throughout the top 50. The mag writes:

To help with such a daunting task, we invited an esteemed panel of musicians, historians and producers to vote for the songs they felt represented the best in Hawai‘i music. The results, tabulated according to a weighted point system, are amazingly diverse. The following article contain everything from revered, Hawaiian-language standards to bubbly hapa haole ditties, monarchy-era anthems to contemporary, radio-friendly hits.

For this week’s Hawaiian Eye, I started counting down the list, making it from No. 50 to No. 25. You can listen to the show (or at least part of it, as I’m told the stream cuts out midway through) here.

Next week, I complete the countdown, from No. 24 to No. 1. And the hits don’t stop ’till we reach the top! (Sorry, channeling my inner Casey Kasem there.) You can check it out live Thursday at midnight on 88.5 KCSN-FM, or live on the web at KCSN.org that night.