Celebrate the music of Hawai’i, and the undying spirit of Puna

Concerts

Kore Ionz at Tropics Café
One love, one Kore.
Image: Paul Grady Photography

Roots, rock, reggae

by shantel Grace | Sep 29, 2010
Comes with video

Dated

Sat, Oct 6

Kore Ionz at Tropics Café / The lead singer of Seattle-based reggae band Kore Ionz admits his influences come from a childhood filled with jazz, revolutionary literature and parents who thrived as activists.

“My mom and dad met in the ’70s in Hawaii,” says Daniel Pak. “They were doing revolutionary work, protesting Vietnam, fighting for the rights of farmers, things like that. Their shelves were filled with Karl Marx and Duke Ellington. They taught me to be an independent thinker, and when I realized music was my calling, there was no question who I would be singing to, and what causes I would be singing for.”

Kore Ionz features two members originally from Hawaii, Pak and keyboardist Kiley Sullivan. Their band has shared the stage with Katchafire, The Wailers, Third World and two-time Grammy winner Common. With more than 200 hours in the studio making their second album, and 100 hours yet to go, the band is taking a break for a celebration at Tropics Café next Wednesday.

Pak and the rest of the band met while working with immigrant and low-income youth. They played hip-hop and reggae but Pak says they were fostering a more important lesson than music–that everyone has the ability to make change.

“Our band is really about love and community,” Pak says. “You could say we’re like farmers; we plant seeds, we cultivate them, they germinate and thrive.”

Kore Ionz shouldn’t be missed. If not for the reggae, for a lesson in love.

Tropics Café, 1020 Auahi Street, Wed., 10/6, 10pm, free, 21+, [koreionz.com], 591-8009

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