Musicians come from all walks of life, even from the sports
world. But the results are, as they were in Shaq’s rap
career, often less than great. So who knew that a pair of former
University of San Diego football players and ukulele-slinging
singers from Hawaii, who formed the upbeat island reggae band
Ho’onu’a (pronounced Ho-oh-new-a) 10 years ago, would
become one of the top modern musical acts in their native
island?
After opening for the likes of reggae superstars Shaggy and Maxi
Priest in front of crowds of 10,000-plus and launching an expanded
U.S. tour of their own, the popularity of Ho’onu’a,
Hawaiian for “give lavishly,” has spread to the
mainland. Ho’onu’a will play at the 19th Annual UCLA
Hawaii Club Luau this Saturday in Ackerman Grand Ballroom.
“Five years ago, they started to get really big,”
said luau coordinator Cori Fujii. “They’re one of the
top 5 most recognizable contemporary groups that most people in
Hawaii know about.”
This popularity was fomented by band members Jared Keo and
Christian Yrizarry’s charismatic, light-hearted and laid-back
demeanors despite their hefty, football-player physiques. Their
easy-going personalities have translated into their songs, which
are infectious upon first listen due to pleasant pop melodies and a
relaxed tone. The name of their record label, Feel Good
Entertainment, which they founded in 1998, says it all.
“When you come to our show, whatever mood you’re in
before the show, at the end of the show you’re gonna feel
good about yourself,” Keo said.
Entertainment aside, Fujii said the luau in which
Ho’onu’a will perform has a deeper purpose.
“The ultimate goal of the luau is to give the people in
the greater Los Angeles area a taste of one aspect of the Hawaiian
culture,” Fujii said.
The luau will begin with a dinner catered by The Loft and a
dance performance by the UCLA Hawaii Club’s members in the
tradition of hula “˜auana, a modern-day, slower, graceful
hula.
“A lot of people have misconceptions of what Hawaii is
like,” Fujii said. “All they see is those cartoons or
those movies. It’s like “˜Oh yay, people surf and
it’s upbeat stuff, but we really wanted to get back to the
roots and just show this is where it comes from.”
UCLA Hawaii club president Greg Tom says the misconceptions can
sometimes be even simpler.
“In “˜Lilo and Stitch,’ the way they depicted
all the females in it “¦ they made all the dancers look the
same,” Tom said.
But Keo takes these misconceptions more light-heartedly.
“To me, I’m not offended much by a lot of
stereotypes that people see, because the world is driven by what
they see on TV,” Keo said.
But there is one myth that Keo hopes to prolong.
“I would hope that we could prove the myth of the aloha
spirit being something so strong to be true,” Keo said.
The aloha spirit promotes positive thoughts and feelings and the
sharing of goodness with others.
In following the aloha spirit tradition, the songs of
Ho’onu’a tend to be both positive and sincere as in
“Passion Love” and “Beautiful Day,” which
show that football players may be tough on the field, but share the
same human emotions as everybody else.
What did their fellow college football team members think of all
this dabbling in music?
“A lot of people thought it was a unique thing that big
football players actually could belt out harmonies,” Keo
said. “They were just kind of tripping out. It didn’t
hurt in getting some female attention as well.”