Rod Lopez's Songs:
Hana Butta Days
Quando Quando Quando
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Remember the Kalihi Kid who could really jam on the uke?
Lucky for us, Rod Lopez, now living "away from home" in Silverdale, Washington, picked up his uke again after a 25-year break.
Switching from jazz to Hawaiian music, he's now a musician with Kumu Aunty Manu Lono and also gives ukulele lessons at her Hula Studio.
Rod offers two songs - "Quando, Quando, Quando" and "Hana Butta Days" - for your listening pleasure... enjoy!!! He writes:
"After taking an early retirement from Hawaiian Tel, I thought I would try something different and moved to Washington in 1994.
When I started entertaining at events, people asked if I give lessons. So I started offering uke lessons at Aunty Manu's Hula Studio.
I started playing the uke when I was nine years old; was self taught by listening to records and played by ear.
I can still remember the good old days when I first took Polynesian Instrument with Mr Y's (Yanigahara) class.
He couldn't figure out why I was having a hard time with the names of the chords, but could jam with him during lunch hour and play some jazz chords and jazz tunes on the uke while he backed me up on the piano.
I told Mr. Y, "Jus' press and play from the heart."
"I started a family right after high school and had to find a job to support my family.
I was asked to make records, but never had the opportunity to make one.
My music career had to be put aside and hadn't been active for about 25 years.
"I guess being away from home, you appreciate the music culture of Hawaii even more and really do miss it a lot.
The funny part of it all is when I was living in Hawaii, I loved to learn jazz music with the uke and would hang around jazz nite clubs in
Waikiki and Ala Moana and jam with the pros playing jazz on the uke.
"Now that I live in Washington, I am playing Hawaiian music and having the hardest time trying to sing Hawaiian songs.
I am active again with music up here and it really makes me feel like I am back home jammin' with the locals again.
"Thank you for sharing my music back home. It will be the closest thing to making a CD. Aloha, Rod"
If you wanna get in touch with Braddah Rod, e-mail him at rodsr@aol.com
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