Olomana

Since becoming an aficionado of the uke, I have also become more appreciative of the wealth of beauty in good Hawaiian music; what a culture. So much great music has come out of the little island of Great Britain, and a commensurate amount has come out of Hawaii. Hawaii had a renaissance in the 70's, building off of its past and sparring with its history. Great music was produced that many of us haoles may have missed. Check it out. Sunday Manoa, The Peter Moon Band, Country Comfort, Olomana..........these are the equivalents of the great British bands, Hawaii's Buffalo Springfields and Byrds.

Olomana is one of the best. Imagine that you were at a little club and John Lennon was having a drink at the bar listening to Simon and Garfunkel perform on the stage, and you were raising a drink with Van or Otis Redding. That's what it felt like the other night at Chai's Island Bistro, listening to Jerry Santos and Wally the bass player from Olomana perform. Last year Robert Cazimero was having a drink next to us and I don't know which other greats were sitting around. Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, come over to Honolulu and listen to people of your own caliber play for a crowd of thirty. Danny Lopes, a songwriter, took a picture of my wife and me, and there were tears in my eyes; it was so beautiful. I raise a glass to Hawaii, its people, its music, and it was the uke that got me there.

Jerry Santos' voice is so beautiful and his songs so touching and he did a great version of "I Fall to Pieces" that continues to echo. I recommend beginning with Olomana's "Through the Years".

Olomana has been around for a long time, since the early 70's when it was just Jerry Santos and Robert Beaumont. Their first album "Like A Seabird In the Wind" came out in 1976 followed by "So We Are" in 78. A couple songs come to mind, Jerry's composition "Ku'u Home O Kahalu'u" and Robert's "Home". And who can forget Auntie Emma Defries' "E Ku'u Sweet Lei Poina 'ole" from the album "Come To Me Gently". It's unfortunate that Robert passed in 1982.

I've seen them perform a number of times and Jerry's voice is still timeless. I'm glad you enjoyed their performance. If you ever get the chance to see the Brothers Cazimero perform, please do. It's another one of those shows that leave you wanting more. A hui hou!



Discography

Like A Seabird In the Wind


And So We Are


Come To Me Gently

Through The Years


Enduring Pride (E Mau Ana Ka Ha'aheo)


Expecting Friends

eo kanaka916 a me kim,

as i read yours posts, hawaiian105.com is playing E Ku`u Sweet Lei Poina`ole. I can not put into words, how i feel about Olomana. I grew up to this music playing in the background. but it wasn't until when I re-discovered Hawaiian Music in my late teens after I moved to the continent, that I actually fell in love with the music. I was surprised I knew the lyrics! it was then I started to feel and know the lyrics. It was my own Hawaiian Renaissance.

I read an interview with both Robert Beaumont and Jerry Santos (along with an interview with the Brothers Cazimero) about the generational culture clashes around Hawaiian Music. It was such an in depth look at the creation of new Hawaiian music. How the old traditionalists (am i turning into one? lol) wanted to a firm foundation and how Jerry and Robert created music that both stays aligned with those principles and also allows for progression. maika`i the mana`o! living in the bay area now, ku`u home o kahalu`u holds a place in my heart. jerry wrote that song while living in sf.

I know what you mean, brah! I tink all da guys who relocate to da mainland find their ties with da 50th through da music. Living ova dea, you kinda take it for granted and wen you move someplace else, you say WTF, and den you realize how much it means to you personally. Like I said brah, their music is timeless and bring you back to a time whea you like relive like when you was young - not a care in the world and life was so simple then.

Kanaka916 said:

I know what you mean, brah! I tink all da guys who relocate to da mainland find their ties with da 50th through da music. Living ova dea, you kinda take it for granted and wen you move someplace else, you say WTF, and den you realize how much it means to you personally. Like I said brah, their music is timeless and bring you back to a time whea you like relive like when you was young - not a care in the world and life was so simple then.

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lol. my cousins back home used to call me about news in hawai`i. but after the superferry fiasco i burned myself out (for now). they didn't really care too much. maybe thats why they no mo gray hair. ld:

thanks 1014

Thank you for the information about where Jerry Santos wrote that song. I come from the Bay Area. Mt. Diablo was my Olomana. I climbed it often as a young boy. I have friends from Sonoma. I think one lesson to be learned from Olomana is to love the area you come from and honor it with song.

You guys ikaika, I lasted only 6 months on the Mainland, got too homesick. What kept me sane was my music, and fishing. Used to go into the river and spear fish but found out only Indians could legally do that but everyone who saw me assumed I was Indian so no problem. Used to grind da free salmon eggs.
Besides Gabby, Hui Ohana, and Sunday Manoa, my favorite contemporary groups were Cecilio & Kapono, Kalapana, and Olomana. Kind of lost interest in Olomana after Robert Beaumont passed away listening only to the first two albums. Maybe I should check Jerry out again. He was a regular customer at the hardware store in Kailua I worked in during the mid 80s, real nice guy.

Ku'u Home O Kahalu'u is such a powerful song, I tear up everytime I hear it, so often I have to skip it when it comes up on shuffle... but sometimes, when the mood strikes me, I listen to it and let it's beauty overwhelm me. The funny thing is, I don't even know what "me ke aloha ku'u home o kahalu'u" translates to...any help? The rest of the lyrics I understand all too well...

with the love of my home, Kahalu`u.

1014 said:

with the love of my home, Kahalu`u.

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Thanks 1014!

Back in the 60s we used to ride horse back in Kahalu'u Valley but the ranch no more for years, now get all residential homes. My in-laws live Kahalu'u, the Ko'olau mountains so close and beautiful the only comparable place would be Waimanalo in the back of the valley after a rain when every crevasse in the mountain has a waterfall. Haiku valley where the H-3 freeway passes also beautiful during a rain with it's dozens of waterfalls. I've been on almost all the Hawaiian Islands (except Ni'ihau) and lived on 3, and to me the Windward (O'ahu) side Ko'olau Mountains are the most beautiful mountains in the state if not the world. I grew up spending most week ends along the shore at He'eia on Kaneohe Bay just makai of Kahalu'u so very special place for me too.