Cecilio and Kapono on KGMB Sunrise

Cecilio & Kapono live on KGMB's Sunrise news show, August 21.


One of Hawaii's most popular and enduring recording artists, Cecilio & Kapono gave a short, open public concert performance at the KGMB TV studios parking lot on August 21. Morning news anchors invited the public to come and watch the live broadcast. Since I live near the KGMB TV studio on Kapiolani Boulevard, I walked over to the parking lot and found the group there, mostly waiting around for tape to roll.

If you know anything about TV, most of the time working on a production is spent waiting. I was there at around 6:45 am and the station did not shoot the live segment until the 7:30 am hour. In the meantime I and a very small group of people waited around and talked to each other and the two performers.

Not surprisingly for me, we ended up talking about computers among other things. Found out that both C & K are avid Macintosh computer users. We talked about the Garage Band software, computer security, identity theft and risks of using a standard Windows PC online. Cecilio is an avid golfer and he talked about using a GPS based golf course hardware device. Cool.

They jammed for a few minutes warming up and once they started playing Cecilio & Kapono treated us to about 4 or 5 songs. They included well known classics such as "Goodtimes Together," "Highway in the Sun" and "Friends". I think they also sang a song I had not heard before called "Back in the Day" which I heard again on their website.

After the broadcast I found that several of the KGMB News morning people are fans as they ended up posing for pictures with the legendary duo.

Cecilio & Kapono are coming out with a new album on September 1.

Additonal Links

• More Photos
• KGMB TV
• Cecilio & Kapono "Back in the Day"
  

C & K with KGMB Sunrise weatherman, Ben Gutierrez.

Greg Hammer Band

I rarely go out of my way to see live music. Last weekend I did not go out of my way to see the Greg Hammer Band. They were however performing at the free Honolulu Family Festival carnival that was held on Magic Island, Ala Moana Park from July 30 to August 2. I was there on Saturday night, August 1, mainly to test out a new lens I got for one of my old Minolta 35mm SLR film cameras.

After taking photos of the sights at the carnival, I settled down in the large show tent where a kids performance was taking place at one end while I ate. I was at the far end from that show but very close to the other performance stage where the band was setting up.

The Greg Hammer Band took stage right after the kids parade was over. They are a cover band and that played some great top 40 and rock n roll hits from mainly the late 1960s and early to mid 1970s. Nearly all of the songs were radio gems that I grew up with. "Vehicle," "No Time," "Play That Funky Music," "You Made Me So Very Happy", "Get Ready," "I Just Want to Celebrate," and many more. They did a great set of hits popularized by Chicago which included "Make Me Smile," "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is" and "Beginnings".

The band's vocals are handled by Greg Hammer, who bills himself as "Hawaii's premiere singer/impressionist". Impress he does as he handles the vocals with nearly perfect recreation of the artists he covers including Elvis Presley, The Commodores, Chicago, Rare Earth and more. He is backed by a tight band that keep the vibes and rhythm going. I totally enjoyed the night's show. It was great to hear all of those old hits in a live setting.

The Greg Hammer Band has a regular gig at Dave & Buster's in Honolulu.


MEL'S OLDIES OF THE WEEK
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30 site

1. Pretty Lady - Lighthouse
2. Who's Lovin' You - Jackson 5
3. Summer Sand - Dawn
4. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
5. Revolution - The Beatles
6. Feelings - The Grass Roots
7. Long Time to Be Alone - New Colony Six
8. Tiny Bubbles - Don Ho
9. Convoy - C.W. McCall
10. Birds of a Feather - The Raiders