I remember when I just turned 18 (legal drinking age back then) and my experienced friends took me nightclubbing. Hula Hut was the hot place with Natural High playing there. First thing was a drive-by down Beachwalk. And usually, the line would be extending out the door down the length of the building. That's what happens when you get there at prime time. Oh well, plan B.
I recall going to Hula Hut early just to make sure we'd get in without waiting. First was to find a parking space in the tiny - around 20 parking stalls - little parking structure behind the club. Usually it was futile and we'd end up parking at the Waikiki Post Office on Saratoga road.
Being a nightclub noob, it was pretty intimidating for me. Especially since it was more of a showroom setting and that meant walking down the few steps to the dance floor tables where most of girls would be seated. And fearing that I'd be turned down after asking a girl to dance, and having to walk back up the stairs to our table - thinking half the club just saw me get rejected. Ho, the pressure.
I remember one New Year's Eve, my friend said we go Hula Hut. Since it was a special night, there was a 2 drink minimum per hour. The waitress said that instead of bringing two drinks, they were just pouring doubles. Man, potent drinks. Two hours later, we were out of there. That was my worst New Year's Eve ever. I think New Year's Eve is meant to be celebrated at a house, not a nightclub.
Fast forward a couple years later after the ending of a long relationship. Trying to get back into the "singles" scene. I was just winding up my days at KCC and met a bunch of guys who hung out at the Point After. I quickly got to become good friends with them and we'd spend every Saturday night nightclubbing. The night would start off at La Mancha's for the "new wave/punk rock" hour of music. After that, it was on to the Point After.
Those were great times. Since we knew this big group of guys and girls, we'd just about take over the whole back bar at The Point. And the best part was that I didn't have to go ask some girl I didn't know if she wanted to dance - only to hear: "No thanks, I resting". Nope, none of that. It was, "Come on Edie, we go dance".
Remember Herbie, the bouncer at The Point? He'd joke around with us and introduce us to cute girls. He even used to come down to Ala Moana park on Sunday's to play volleyball with us - as we sweated out the alcohol from the night before.
We even knew a couple of bartenders at The Point. Ivan and, if I recall correctly, was it Bonji?
And through friends, we'd meet other friends. I remember being introduced to a girl named Paula. I ended up marrying her.
Remember when smoking was allowed in nightclubs. If you were standing at the bar, as soon as you put a cigarette up to your lips, the bartenders would whip out a lighter and flick the flame in a matter of seconds.
I remember the first time that happened to my friend. He was so startled, he took his cigarette out of his mouth and had this puzzled look on his face. Then you could almost see the light bulb go on above his head as he figured it out.
Same friend, different time, put a cigarette up to his lips. As expected, the bartender whipped out his lighter, flicked his flame but pulled back the lighter. My friend had that puzzled look once again. Then the bartender made a single circle motion with his finger. Again, after a slight pause, the light bulb appeared above his head. He had the cigarette backwards and the bartender caught it - so as not to try and light the filter end.
Some nights - okay most nights we'd stay to closing. That was what ~ 3:30 AM back then. And the lights would get brighter as our eyes got squintier. And the girl that looked so good through the "beer goggles" didn't look so hot in the bright lights. But was good fun anyway.
One of my friends, "R" always had to eat something before going home. All we wanted to do was make it through the pukas in the Koolau's and get home. But R was adamant about eating something so the Kapahulu Jack in the Box drive thru it was - as we sat in the car, trying hard not to get nauseous as R ate his Jumbo Jack and fries.
Needless to say, R used to go to the nightclub solo a lot.
I remember one time my friend and I were standing at the bar at The Point when this girl started leaning on my friend. He slowly stepped back as she then started leaning on me. I too stepped back, then BAM! Passed out on the floor. Whoa! That's when Herbie and Rick stepped in to make sure the girl was okay and helped her out the back door to get some fresh air. Ho da shame.
Me, I could feel when a head rush was coming on and made sure I went outside to get fresh air. That's why I stayed by the back bar where the back door was. Plus, the bathroom were right there too.
How come it always seemed like there were more guys than girls at the nightclubs back then? When we'd get to the meat market, I mean nightclub, we'd take a spin around inside the club and end up saying "Boys Town". It seemed like the ratio was 5 guys to 1 girl. Maybe we were hitting the wrong discos...
What's your memories of nightclubbing? Remember Magic Mushroom? All-You-Can-Drink for a $10 admission charge? Not being a big drinker, I never did visit that club. How about Bobby McGee's? That's another one that I never visited. Duke's at the International Market Place - or was that Tiki's? We went there only once, but it was one of those sit-down clubs were you weren't allowed to walk around with your drink. Didn't really care for that set up - too restrictive - unlike the Point After where it was like a big party. Sometimes, guys would be standing 3 deep. I don't know how the waitresses did it.
Wow, that's a long read. Enough of my stories. How about you sharing some of your nightclub experiences with us. Doesn't have to be disco clubs. Showroom clubs work too. But we can leave out the strip club stories. Please.
*btw, I have 3 tickets left for Saturday's big dance. If anyone in interested in joining us on the MLC table, let me know before the tickets are sold.
Did you get to see the feature in yesterday's Honolulu Advertiser's Island Life section?
70's Night's All Right <--- clickable!
An excellent feature article by Mike Gordon about the 70's Nightclub Reunion gigs, of which number 7 is coming up on this Saturday (3/20). And how the whole thing started over a lunch conversation with Candy Au and Rob Kimura.
btw, rumor has it that after the 70's NCR X (# 10), that'll be it - so now's your chance to be a part of this throwback phenomenon.
On the sidebar of the feature is a little note about a book that will be for sale titled Hawaii A Go-Go - The 50's - 60's Rock, Pop & Contemporary Hawaiian Singles/45 Record Discography.
Okay, now get this. The author of Hawaii A Go-Go, Tom Tourville, lives in Iowa. Yes, Iowa!
I asked Tom how and why he decided to... well, I'll let Tom tell his story:
Hi Rodney,
Thanks for the opportunity to send in a blog entry on my new book, "Hawaii A Go-Go".
The question I’m most often asked, is how can a guy from Iowa do a book on Hawaii’s rock record and music scene. I thought Mid Life Crisis would be a great place to answer that question and tell the story about this book.
I’ve always had a fascination with Hawaii’s rock, pop, and contemporary music scene. There has always been certain artists that I’ve enjoyed for many years. Today when you get in my car, you’ll probably hear C&K or Kalapana playing.
I've always been an avid record collector. Close to twenty years ago, I met three great friends though the record collecting world that lived on Oahu. Their passion for the records released in and from Hawaii was second to none. Through their friendship, they took me to Hawaii rock and roll school and have taught me so very much.
The challenge of publishing a book has never bothered me, as this is the seventeenth book I’ve done on rock and roll records and collectibles.
The approach for "Hawaii A Go-Go", was to put together the first compressive discography on the rock, jazz, blues, garage, horn rock, and contemporary Hawaiian single record releases from the decades of the 50's, 60's, and 70's.
I did not try to cover traditional Hawaiian, slack key, and other such releases. There has been so much written about this traditional Hawaiian music style, I wanted to concentrate on rock music.
There was another incredible part to Hawaii’s music scene, and that was it’s unbelievable live club scene from the decade of the 70's. When you think of all the "name" artists that used to appear on the Hawaii club scene for little or no cover, it is beyond belief.
In addition, to the mainland and Pacific Rim artists that used to play Hawaii on a constant basis, think of some of the incredible live acts that grew from Hawaii’s scene. The Krush, Society of Seven, Natural High, Greenwood, or Dick Jensen, just to name a few. It was a fabulous time to be living in Hawaii and enjoying live music.
In addition a section on exotica record releases, records based upon TV and movies themed from Hawaii. Lastly, a section based upon some of the great Maori artists from New Zealand that appeared in Hawaii.
For the concept for this book, I wanted to do some unique stories that I thought people would enjoy and maybe learn something new about Hawaii’s music scene that they were not aware of.
The stories I include were on Masako, one of the most remarkable artists to come from Hawaii from the late 50's and early 60’s. Another story was on one of Hawaii’s real entertainment giants, Dick Jensen. I’ve always been a huge fan of Jensen’s music.
Knowing that I was doing a record released section on club artists, I wanted to look back at one of the islands best remembered, but little known about groups, The Lewis & Clark Expedition.
Lastly, in doing over a decades worth of research for this book, I leaned of Bob Bertram, one of Hawaii’s real rock and roll record and recording label creators. There has been so little written about or documented on Bob, that I thought it was time to tell his story.
When I planned this book, I was going to include 45 single and LP releases in the same book, but with the size of the publication it became prohibitive. This first effort was just on the 45/single releases.
I know if I wanted to buy this book, and I might not be a record collector, but had fond memories of Hawaii’s 50's-70's music scene, then I wanted to see photos, ads, graphics.
Knowing that, I spent over three years alone acquiring old band photos, club and concert ads, etc to make this book a real look back at an incredible time in Hawaii’s live music scene.
My first book was done in 1976. I can say in all honesty, I’ve had more fun doing this book that any others I’ve ever published. It has been a true labor of love.
The coming out party for the book will be at Hawaii’s 70's Night Club Reunion VII scheduled for Saturday March 20th at7:30 PM at the Ala Moana Hotel. Yes, they are still some tickets available.
I’ll have a display set up about the book and can’t wait to meet and talk with people about Hawaii’s music scene. I flew over to Oahu for last years show, and it is an event not to be missed. I will have the book available for sale at the show. Stop by and say Hi!
If you can’t make the show, it is available at Amazon.com and can by ordered on my blog at MySpace-Tom Tourville. As some Island locations pick up he book, I’ll blog you back at MLC.
I’d like to give a shout out to my good friend, Robin Kimura of Greenwood, that has helped me so much this past year with my book. Robin’s forward for the book is very special!
Mid Life Crisis is a weekly read for me. It’s my way of keeping up on what is happening back in Hawaii. Thanks Rodney for all you do for all of us! MLC is without questions one of the most entertaining Hawaiian blogs existing today.
Tom
Thank you Tom for being a guest blogger here on MLC and for taking the time to share your story with us.
Now I'm sure you readers probably want to know what the book looks like inside, right? With Tom's permission, I've included a few pages as a sneak peek.
Greenwood's single "Cheerleader Strut/Sparkle"
One of my favorites: Copper Nickel's "Come Run With Me & Walk Close To Me"
And check out this flyer: Remember, Tom will be at the 70's Nightclub Reunion VII this Saturday to sell and autograph his book. And I'm sure he'll be more than happy to pose for pictures too.
If you can't make it down to the 70's NCR, his book is available on Amazon.com. It's only been out a couple of weeks and already has great reviews on the Amazon site.
There are still some tickets left. Be a part of this before it, like all the nightclubs we used to visit, becomes just another MLC memory.
Thank you once again Tom, for sharing your story with us and for putting together this compilation of Hawaii 45's and singles. I can hardly wait for the Hawaii LP book to come out.
And I look forward to meeting you on Saturday.
Speaking of vinyl - what Hawaii 45's and/or singles do you remember having? Or maybe you still have?
Another Friday 5 questionnaire courtesy of Friday5.org. This heading - Staples.
Cut and paste the Friday 5 questions or just answer them from 1 to 5. And don't hesitate to leave comments, memories, and stories.
Of all the hundreds of sizes and shapes bread seems to come in, what is your favorite?
What’s your favorite thing to eat with rice?
What are your feelings about milk?
What was wrapped in the tortilla you most recently ate?
How many staplers are there in your house and where are they?
Here we go with my replies:
Of all the hundreds of sizes and shapes bread seems to come in, what is your favorite?
I like the standard, rectangle size loafs as I mostly use bread for sandwiches.
Although when it comes to sweet bread french toast, I like slices from the round Pao Doce - Leonard's or Kings Bakery style.
What’s your favorite thing to eat with rice?
Kim chee! Gravy! Furikake! Everything goes good with rice. Heck, we grew up eating even spaghetti with rice.
I always wondered when I was a kid, what was the rice for. It didn't have taste and just took up space on my plate. I always thought it was just so we don't eat too much of the main dish.
Then it just became natural. Gotta have rice. But I notice as we get older, we seem to eat less rice. After all, it's still just a filler.
What are your feelings about milk?
Milk. Here comes the jokes. Being lactose intolerant, milk just glides right through me.
Small kid time, I used to drink milk only because we had to - with the school lunch. Then one day, I was playing at my friend's house (Lost Hawaiian) and he went in the house to get something to drink. He came out with a glass of milk. I looked at him and asked "Why are you drinking milk?" and he replied "I like milk". I thought that was so ODD. I thought everyone hated milk (being that it's good for you and all that). So I wanted to be different too and told myself that I liked milk. And I started drinking a glass of milk every night with dinner - like my dad did.
Somewhere along the way in my late teen years, I strayed away from milk. Then wondered why those occasional milk shakes and orange freezes gave me the runs. Drinking iced latte's confirmed it - I was now lactose intolerant.
A little bit of ice cream and stuff is okay. But those rich cream sauces and I'm ready for the "pencil maneuver". *I'll explain it later...
What was wrapped in the tortilla you most recently ate?
Hmm. Oh I know! A Big Mac. Yeah, I tried a couple of those Big Mac wraps from McDonalds. It's actually more like 1/2 a Big Mac wrapped in a tortilla wrapper. And it's pretty good! Wouldn't mind eating one right now.
How many staplers are there in your house and where are they?
I know of 2. One on Paula's desk and one in the "stationery" drawer in the kitchen. When Paula was working at a doctor's office, she used to come home with a lot of freebies from drug companies. Pens, post-its, and acrylic staplers.
With the invention of laser printers, those long green-bar and blue-bar continuous form computer paper became history. There must've been a big surge in staplers and staples as laser printers worked their way into the modern day office. Should've bought stock in Swingline and 3M.
And don't forget, the 70's Nightclub Reunion is coming up fast and will be here is just 2 weeks.
There are still tables of 10 available in the Garden Lanai as well as individual seats of 2s and 3s in the main ballroom as well as the Garden Lanai. And when all those sell out, it'll be SRO (Standing Room Only) tickets.
So don't hesitate. Call your old nightclub buddies, your old social club members, your classmates from high school and college and start planning that long overdue reunion now.
Call Candy Au at 944-4330 or email her at candace.au@alamoanahotel.com
On Monday while we were discussing our first home stereo systems, Kathi sensed a car stereo topic coming up. And since I'm always open to topics that you MLC readers would like to talk about, I figured - let's do Car Stereo memories from our younger days.
I can't for the life of me remember what brand my cassette player was in my '73 Dodge Swinger. But I do recall that it was an under-the-dash-system that I had hooked up to a huge, chrome-plated, quick-removal, slide-out kit.
The big thing in those days were people breaking into cars and ripping off their cassette and 8-track tape players. So the idea was to remove the player and hide it in the trunk when parking go to a movie or going surfing.
In Monday's thread, Ted contributed a nice entry that pretty much summed up the tape deck that I had:
ted:
As a 3rd grader back in 79, I remember listening to my older brother's "new" cassette player that he hooked up to our mom's 1970 Datsun 510 station wagon. It had an eject lever, volume, balance and a forward button but no rewind. In order to replay a song, you had to eject, reinsert tape, fast forward, stop, eject, reinsert and repeat as necessary until you found your spot. Oh how I used to pound that tiny stereo listening to Kiss and Van Halen. As my brother went through high school, he made speaker boxes with wiring that he would install before going out on a Friday or Saturday night and remove before our mom drove it again. And don't forget the booster, amp, and the equalizer. The more lighted levers on the equalizer, the better is was.
Excellent post, ted!
And remember the speaker systems. The Jensen dual-cone speakers? They had a little cone thingy in the center of the speaker that was supposed to boost up the highs?
Then they came out with the Coaxial speakers, and the Triaxial speaker systems.
And if you were a true audiophile, you might've even had an equalizer mounted under your dashboard. Like ted mentioned, the more lighted levers on the EQ, the better it was.
After I got rid of my Swinger and picked up a Karmann Ghia, I decided to go with an in-dash system. And since I was working at Windward Volkswagen, I opted to go with the German brand - Blaupunkt. That was one of the best stereo systems I had. It was a quality product - except when the tape heads got dirty.
What other kind of stereo accessories do you remember?
I remember when my big brother had is Ford Maverick. He had not only an 8-track tape player, but he had this cool colored light bar that beat different colors in tune with the music playing. Very psychedelic. LOL
Can you recall your early car stereo systems? Cassette? 8-track? 4-track even? How about maybe an in-dash system you might've had? 4 speakers - one in each door? And 8" ovals on the back deck behind the back seat? Perhaps a psychedelic light bar?
Share you old car stereo memories with us.
Happy Hina Matsuri to all the girls! And Happy Birthday to brother #2 (yes, he was born on Girl's Day - and yes, my parents were hoping for a girl). But I got a cool brother instead.
The table has been set for the 7th 70's Nightclub Reunion dance.
The big event will be taking place at the Ala Moana Hotel on Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 7:30 PM to 12:30 AM.
The line up of bands (in no particular order) are:
Greenwood
Power Point
New Experience
White Light
Reach
See the flyer below for ticket information:
For tickets, call Candy Au at 944-4330 or email her at candace.au@alamoanahotel.com. At last check, there were still tickets of 2's and 3's available in the main ballroom.
There is also an overflow ballroom with tables of 10 seats per table available. Although you can't see the bands playing live in the overflow ballroom, they will be shown live on a big screen. And it has it's own dance floor. But if you get the itch to dance floor in the main ballroom, it's right across the hall.
*One thing good about being in the overflow room - it's a lot cooler and quieter - great place to hang out and catch up with friends. And yes, the overflow ballroom does have a Nacho Bar or two as well as drinks.
Now, if you've never been to a 70's Nightclub Reunion, it is definitely something to experience. The ambiance, the lights, the crowded dance floor, and bumping into people you haven't seen for ages will transport you back to your nightclub days at The Magic Mushroom, or Hula Hut, or Tiki's, or The Point After.
What makes this so unique - besides the music being provided by live bands - is that these are original bands from the 70's. Some of these bands haven't played for decades and have regrouped for this special one-night performance.
Rob Kimura (Greenwood) and Candy Au pour their heart and soul to put these events together. And it's all for love. The love of reliving the glory days of our youth. They don't keep a cent of the proceeds - except what Rob gets for playing his part with Greenwood. Maybe he'll buy me a plate lunch with his portion.
Now if the $50 ticket price sounds pretty steep, consider that the band member aren't making a killing off their performance. The monies are used for the room, lights, sound system, security, etc.
But get this. Band members that no longer live here in Hawaii are flown in and put up in hotel rooms just to make the bands as original as possible. That's where a big chunk of the proceeds go. All towards making this a true reunion of 70's bands.
Sometimes pictures speak louder than words so take a look at the 70's Nightclub Reunion web site. Click on the photographer's picture to visit the photo galleries of previous 70's NCR dances. Or click on some songs from the hit list next to the jukebox. These are original recording of the bands playing.
Need an excuse to get together with old friends? This one is perfect. Because, let's face it - we're not getting any younger.
Now for a little side note.
I'm sure you've heard by now of the pending purchase of The Honolulu Advertiser by Star Bulletin's owner: Black Press.
We have no idea what the future holds for us. It's nobody's fault that this is happening so don't go pointing fingers. It's just a sign of the times.
Maybe with the huge number of hits - from you folks, the readers - the Midlife Crisis blog will continue. Please don't give up on us and keep visiting your favorite Honadv blogs and keep the hit numbers up. And I'll do my best to keep the topics interesting and fun and most of all - to help you recall the beautiful days of our youth.
