Tag: hawaii

Mel Cabang

Mel Cabang – Your Love

(For You Lady, 1978)

Mel Cabang was born at the Honokaa plantation on the Big Island of Hawaii, the son of a Filipino sugar worker and his Portuguese wife. After spending his childhood playing the guitar and feeding chickens, he left Hawaii for Pasadena City College in California. He worked his way through school by playing music gigs and managing a taco stand.  

His first professional music gig was at the Newport Beach Club. “Jose Feliciano used to come in, and that was before he became a star.” Mel even recalls the night Jose’s seeing-eye dog bit him on the arm. Recent state legislation allowing pets in night clubs meant that the California club circuit was rampant with seeing-eye dogs. To this day Mel can’t understand why the dog bit him, but he shrugs his shoulders. “Us musicians have to put up with a lot.”

Mel Cabang – I Can’t Understand

Mel decided to try his luck in Vegas, where he landed a regular gig in the Crown Room of the Hilton. Between sets, he would catch Red Foxx’s show. Mel studied Red carefully and began working humor into his routine. “I used to call the audience ‘a bunch of gorillas’ and they just loved it.”

But after a while Mel tired of singing the same old tunes night after night. “How many times can a human being sing Union Of The Snake without donning a safari suit?” So he moved back to Hawaii and decided to go solo. He built up quite a large following in Hawaii as the house performer at the Outrigger Hotel, the Gold Coin Restaurant, and the Hickory Steak House. His debut album Lady, which he produced, arranged and conducted, was the culmination of many years of hard work. Richard Wong, the owner of Gold Coin restaurant said it best: “Everybody has problems…money problems, personal problems… Mel helps folks forget all their troubles. He helps them forget they’re even humans.”  

“You’re all a bunch of gorillas!”

Becky Mello – Kealakekua

Becky Mello – Kealakekua (1978)

“People often wonder how songs are written”, Becky Mello said in 1978. “Perhaps energy writes songs. A combination of human, environmental, and cosmic energies zeroing-in on someone who acts merely as interpreter.” 

So she had the energy thing worked out. She even made sure to give these “conglomerate energies” co-writing credit on each of her songs. The only thing left to resolve was which one of these glamour shots of Becky would go on the back of the record and which one would go on the inner sleeve:

VS.

Becky battled with her promoters from RLM Records until the wee hours of the morning, and although the exact details of the numerous shady deals that went down are still a mystery, there was definitely some blackmail, intimidation, and a gift certificate to Kimo’s Surf Shop involved. As the sun rose over Kailua Kona, they finally reached a consensus. Any guesses as to what was decided?

Moondance -North Shore Appeal

Moondance – Moondance  (North Shore Appeal, 1977)

A lot of musicians have recorded albums on the North Shore of Oahu: David Cassidy, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Pebbles, just to name a few. But none of these folks have remotely captured the “North Shore Sound” (except maybe Pebbles). And yes, there is such a thing as the North Shore Sound, just as there is a Motown Sound, and a Waco Sound. The North Shore Sound is basically the sound of guitars with a strong undercurrent of the sea, the sky, and the wind of the Islands. Those natural elements make all the difference in the world.

Why the name ‘Moondance’, you ask? Thankfully it had nothing to do with Van Morrison. Instead the name originated on a night when the band was really cookin’ at a place called The Proud Peacock in the shabby jungle of Waimea Falls Park. A fine foxy lady called “Moon” waltzed in, and naturally Harry (pictured below on the far right) asked her to dance. Believe it? Believe it! 

North Shore Appeal was released on Hula Records in Honolulu. The banana on the cover was courtesy of Bananas, Inc. (yes, that’s actually written on the back of the record)