It’s been a while, but a man donning dresses and surgical gowns, spouting rap-rock assaults over a bed of crunchy guitars, has drifted back into the sunbeam of MTV like a forgotten fleck of light. With the spastic delivery of a fallen patient from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Matt Shultz, lead singer of Cage The Elephant, is channeling the preeminent poster-child of grunge–Kurt Cobain.
Boys, beaches, bags of weed. In 2010, Best Coast blazed onto the music scene with a sealed Zip-lock of 7” singles that led the indie pop duo to roll out a fatty debut record called Crazy For You.
So what do you do if you’re a band who made it big in the L.A. hardcore-punk scene with several critically acclaimed self-titled albums under your belt?
Last Thursday, Foster the People sent news through their publicist that they won’t be performing at Audio Invasion 2012 due to “unforeseen circumstances.” (They’ll return to Hawaii on March 18.) Rumors are their two Grammy noms for Best Alternative Album and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance led to their cancellation. What a let down.
Spring Arts / A Dragon’s Horde of Premiere Plays The spring season’s theme is “innovation,” as local theaters roll out the debuts to befit the auspicious Year of the Dragon. Look for a trove of original, locally created shows, plus a few fire-breathing FOBs from Broadway and beyond.
Spring Arts / Ridin’ Jazz Waves In Honolulu, some believe we’re hard pressed to find a thriving jazz scene, but it’s here, hidden in neighborhood living rooms and restaurants and bars where candles are dim and drinks are strong. In fact, according to [honolulujazzscene.com], there are over 140 venues on the island that feature live jazz, at least once a year, in Honolulu.
Spring Arts / Classical and Beyond: Exciting Tastes Starting now, there is seriously delightful music being played throughout Honolulu by marvelous players, both local and visitor. It is definitely a season of fresher flavors than those served up in the standard repertoire, and why not?
Spring Arts / The Last Mixtape You’ll Ever Need Start the new year with a musical bang! Check out these upcoming shows to plan the soundtrack to your last year on Earth.
Spring Arts / Out of the Garage Unless you’re Kanye West or Mariah Carey, you may be out of luck when it comes to recording your next multi-platinum album. Sure, we are in the age of home recording and for many reasons, that’s a great thing.
Spring Arts / Creative Futures New year, new art. Like the seasons itself, local galleries run on a cycle.
Spring Arts / Cinema Forecast The Oscars are a month away, but the cinephiles here at the Weekly are pretty sure who’s taking home Best Picture (*cough* The Artist *cough*). That’s why where film is concerned, we’re already looking past the awards season and into what the rest of the year has to offer us: twelve studio films you haven’t heard of (yet), a series of DIY screenings and a film festival renaissance.
No. 1 Danger: The road.
Waterfalls are both beautiful and dangerous. High in more sense than one, people drawn to dive end up hurt, paralyzed or dead.
Like seeing your name in the paper? Go hiking.
Shailene Woodley Speaking by phone from Texas on a day set aside for media interviews, Shailene Woodley, 20, who plays Alexandra, Matt King’s 17-year-old daughter, sounds as fresh and spontaneous as if this is her first call of the day (it’s not). “Aloha,” she says.
Celia Kenney At Town, her father Ed’s restaurant, we caught up with 13-year-old Celia Kenney, a Punahou 8th grader who plays Reina, the “bad example” pal of Scottie in the film. Do you think the film toned down Reina’s character a bit?
“The way Alex goes underwater to cry, the dialog, the mood of the scenes, the way it’s not too bright, it captures the beauty and greenness. They kept everything I liked about Hawaii.
Filthy Farm Girl Soap Gretchen Wetzel had a real problem with soap. Her friends called her a “dirty hippie,” a “filthy farm girl,” and that fun-loving name calling, which derived from her working on an organic tomato farm, soon became the impetus for an incredibly successful line of body products.
Made in Hawaii / Maui’s Winery at ‘Ulupalakua Ranch The story of the Valley Isle’s sole commercial winery is one of sustainability. In 1974, Maui’s Winery, in collaboration with ‘Ulupalakua Ranch, began growing grapes, remaining true to the area’s agricultural heritage.
Q&A with Maile Meyer, owner of Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii How do you feel about the Made in Hawaii brand, is it a good business choice? Supporting locally made products is a philosophical position.
Pineapple Crush Pau Maui Vodka The only ultra-premium vodka fermented from Hawaiian pineapples is Pau Maui, a local brand of vodka that’s actually made in Maui. The pineapple provides a clean “mash” from which to start the fermentation process, and luckily for us, there isn’t a single hint of pineapple left on the palette.
Island Slipper “I felt like I was giving up on my employees, Hawaii and, ultimately, my ability to carry on the Island Slipper tradition,” says John Carpenter, owner of Island Slipper, referring to a decision that could’ve changed his business entirely. To move to Asia or not to move to Asia, it was a matter of money, and in the end, he made the uncommon choice to stay.
Twenty-five years ago Becky Burns was a single mom living in the Anahola Valley on Kauai. After hurricane Iniki hit, Burns decided to offer a solution to a problem faced by some of the hotel kitchens that were out of commission–breakfast.
What a Tees [idkwhat2wear.com] The owners of idkwhat2wear are Karl Miyashiro and Terri Dux, who’ve been friends a long time. Their wicked sense of humor and Neanderthal sense of fashion are what make their tee shirt company amusing.
Fighting in Paradise: Labor Unions, Racism, and Communists in the Making of Modern Hawaii Gerald Horne University of Hawaii Press 336 pages $28.99 In this deeply researched portrait of Hawaii’s plantation era zeitgeist, Dr. Gerald Horne, Professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston intimately details Hawaii’s transition from a conservative citadel to the liberal bastion it remains to this day.
After retiring from public service in 2002, Ben Cayetano seemed to be taking it easy on the political scene–until 2005, that is, when then-Mayor Mufi Hannemann revived the long-lapsed idea of a Honolulu heavy rail project. Needless to say, Cayetano did not concur.
Last Thursday, the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection had a busy session hearing several controversial bills relating to geothermal energy. Chairman Denny Coffman introduced HB2689, which seeks to exempt slim-hole, or exploratory, geothermal test wells from any sort of environmental review as is currently required under Chapter 343 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.
On Feb. 1, the Hawaii State House Agriculture Committee heard testimony on HB2703, dubbed the Food Self-Sufficiency Bill.
Mega-developer Castle & Cooke has re-filed an application with the Land Use Commission (LUC) seeking to convert approximately 768 acres of Ag land–currently in cultivation–into a “master-planned community” entitled Koa Ridge. If successful, the project will consist of two parcels–Koa Ridge Makai and Castle & Cooke Waiawa.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs holds a second round of community meetings to discuss the latest updates on the Kakaako land settlement. Stevenson Middle School, 1202 Prospect St., Wed., 2/8, 6:30pm; Waimanalo Community Center, 41-253 Ilauhole St., Thu., 2/9, 6:30pm City Council committees on Zoning and Planningand Transportation will take public testimony on agenda items.
[Feb. 1: “Kinda Kona”] The trade secret argument would fall to the wayside if it would read “10 percent Kona Coffee 90 percent Foreign Coffee,” or something to that effect.
If they are choosing the cheapest coffee from anywhere, then the “trade secret” is that they are adding crap and not a sp
[Feb. 1: “Rail Boss Wanted”] $300,000?
[Jan. 4: “Boss GMO] Dean Okimoto is a sell out and a criminal.
Monsanto is a major component of the NWO drive to reduce the world’s population in a global genocide program that includes the poisoning of the water, air and food. This criminal activity must be stopped.
Lets be real here, Dean Okimoto is not interested in anything other then keeping the status quo of industrial Ag. He is merely a puppet, playing it safe, a small game of following the money and corrupt political trail.
[Jan. 25: “Weaving the Future on Molokai”] Good luck to all those who possess the ability to balance long-term vision with short term opportunity.
[Dec. 21: “Underground Railroad”] This is, indeed, a “lunatic project,” as pointed out by a professor at the University of Hawaii.
This is such a bad idea for the overall architecture of Oahu. I visit here because my family is here and part of the charm is taking the bus or driving.
I cannot imagine how anyone can think this is a smart idea. I’ve lived in places with rail, but this Honolulu Rail Transit is stupid, plain stupid.
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