HAPA Blew Us Away!

Just back from Maui! Highlight of the trip? My party of six was blown away by the intimate HAPA concert at Stella Blues Restaurant... a full house of just 60 people at a dinner concert. An awesome night of excellent music. I knew Barry Flannagan could wail on the guitar but had no idea how accomplished he was on an uke. Everyone in the HAPA entourage was completely accessible to those in attendance... before and after the show. A REALLY great night for my family. Prior to making the trip I had decided to invest in a new uke. I had my mind pre-set on a Kanilea but, when test driving all the "K" ukes side-by-side at a local uke shop (my first ever opportunity to do so), it was a Koaloha that strummed my heart strings. LOVED both the feel and sound of it! But, in the end, I had to walk away when I was informed it would take about 6-10 days to have a MiSi trio installed. I got back to the hotel and checked the Koaloha website. Was surprised to see it is offline until at least January 1st. What's that all about? Is Koaloha okay?

musiccityuker said:

BUT.. just figured out today that the Koaloha website is down. Are they still in business?

Click to expand...

I think KoAloha is probably around for the long haul - however, their web site has never been much of a priority from what I can tell. I keep hearing rumors that they're working on fixing it up, but so far I guess it's still out to lunch. You might try clearing your browser cache, some people have reported that gave them access to the site though it's not up to date.

JOhn

OldePhart said:

I think KoAloha is probably around for the long haul - however, their web site has never been much of a priority from what I can tell. I keep hearing rumors that they're working on fixing it up, but so far I guess it's still out to lunch. You might try clearing your browser cache, some people have reported that gave them access to the site though it's not up to date.

JOhn

Click to expand...

When I just visited the site I got a placeholder with an image of the crown headstock and this disclaimer:

Stay "Tuned" - We are coming at you with a new site January 1st

Click to expand...

So, here's hoping!

Sorry for the threadjack.

Did you try going to Hawaii Music Supply? They're active here on the forums, and should be able to hook you up with whatever pickup you want. If they don't have it, they can ship it to you, since they do business online and all.

Yeah, what she said. Hawaii Music Supply sells KoAlohas. I'm sure that if you don't have whatyou want they can get it for you, and I'm also sure they can install whatever you want in it. Here's a link to the HMS KoAloha page: http://www.theukulelesite.com/shop-by/brand/koaloha.html

Thanks much. I think that's the route I'll take.

mds725 said:

Yeah, what she said. Hawaii Music Supply sells KoAlohas. I'm sure that if you don't have whatyou want they can get it for you, and I'm also sure they can install whatever you want in it. Here's a link to the HMS KoAloha page: http://www.theukulelesite.com/shop-by/brand/koaloha.html

Click to expand...

Yaaa... getting the "New Site Will Appear on Jan 1st" window. Curious what we'll see. Thanks for the reply.

On Facebook, Koaloha is trying to get some more likes, so anyone here that has an account and hasn't given them a like.. Just search Koaloha and look for their logo.

I just love the "Hapa" players, they are awesome. Try this X-mas song ,Ke Ku'ulani,http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/hapa/album/holidays/track/ke-kuulani I could only find a free bit of soundtrack here.

bonesigh said:

I just love the "Hapa" players, they are awesome. Try this X-mas song ,Ke Ku'ulani,http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/hapa/album/holidays/track/ke-kuulani I could only find a free bit of soundtrack here.

Click to expand...

Great stuff. Joined rhapsody so I could hear the rest. Thanks much for pointing me in that direction. I see you are from Berryville. Years ago when I lived back that way I attended the Berryville Bluegrass Festival every year. It was always a great event. Are they still putting it on each year?

I saw Nathan Aweau at the Seattle Slack Key Festival in November. One of the highlight of an excellent lineup. Amazing voice, great guitarist. I'm sure he and Flannagan put on a great show.

I first bought a Hapa CD 25 years ago from a box on the checkout counter at Longs (across the street from Stella Blues). Bought it on a whim and I've been a fan ever since. They got me hooked on Slack Key. Got to see Hapa at Stella Blues last year for the first time and talked to Barry afterwards. Turns out I probably got the CD before it was in wide release and he seemed genuinely thankful for a long time fan. Anyway, we had a nice long chat and our table was literally touching the stage so not only sounded great but amazing to see accomplished musicians work their craft. We've been trying to time another trip when they are at Stella's but haven't connected - we were even in Maui when they were here in Seattle at the Triple Door last fall. I highly recommend them any time you get the chance to see them.