Aloha kakahiaka, my friends! I spent most of yesterday sending emails and chatting on Facebook with many of our friends and fans in Japan, trying to find out if everyone was ok. I was very relieved to hear that many of them were safe, but a few of them told me that they were still trying to find family members or friends. My heart sank when I heard that … I pray that they are found safe and in good health. I am especially concerned for my good friend Yoshie, who’s aunt lived in one of the areas that was hardest hit by the tsunami and is now missing.
I am so proud of the response from many of my musician buddies … I heard there are plans for a couple of benefit concerts and some of the guys are already soliciting donations at their various gigs. Nick quickly put together a small fundraiser for the Red Cross last night at Lulu’s and I want to thank everyone who came out and helped. It didn’t matter if you were local, from the mainland or wherever … people just wanted to help in any way that they could. Aloha is still very much alive and well, my friends! Mahalo!
The Honolulu Festival is this weekend, and because there are a lot of Japanese attendees (many from areas hit hard by the quake), there was talk of canceling the event. The decision was made to have the festival go on, but I’m sure a lot of the participants will be thinking about their family and friends back home.
And finally … ManoaDNA will not be at Kani Ka Pila tonight since we’ll be performing at a private function – sorry!
Aloha, “D”