Music Knows No Boundaries

From left: Ward Yamashita, Roger Bong, Leimomi Acia, Mike Lundy, Oliver Seguin and Dennie Chong  PHOTO FROM ROGER BONG

From left: Ward Yamashita, Roger Bong, Leimomi Acia, Mike Lundy, Oliver Seguin and Dennie Chong PHOTO FROM ROGER BONG

We had seven release parties for Mike Lundy’s latest release on my record label Aloha Got Soul.

Two were right here in Honolulu, and the rest were in London, Shanghai and Chicago. I’m mentioning this because 35 years ago — when Mike’s music originally was released — this kind of thing never happened.

Firstly, back then, Mike and his producer ran out of money after spending it all on production and mastering, so there was nothing left for promotion and distribution. Also, we live in a world so different than that of 1980. The Internet and social media connect us all like nothing has ever before — which is precisely the reason why we were able to have international release parties.

The people in China, England and Chicago running the release parties? I’ve never met them before. But we’ve connected through music via the Internet: They heard this groovy music of Mike’s — of Hawaii’s! — and it resonated so strongly with them that they were compelled to reach out and offer to spread the music beyond its island home.

Our events here in Honolulu last month proved that music brings everyone together, regardless of one’s background. At Bevy during the evening, and Hungry Ear Records during the daytime, there was something of a groundswell rising. But even more exciting were the different kinds of people who expressed interest in a rare breed of locally made music. Which is encouraging because I think that music shouldn’t appeal to just one kind of person. Music is for all to share and enjoy.

For five years now, my blog has garnered its fair share of international attention. But within the past few days, Ho-nolulu has shown that it, too, wants to help recapture and perpetuate the creative energy and fascinating rhythms of Hawaii’s late 70’s music scene — and beyond! It’s an exciting time to be doing something like this — but what makes it 100 times more exciting is all of the people coming together and the passion they share for something we can all relate to: good music!

Mahalo to everyone out there who appreciates the power of music and good company, Mike Lundy for allowing me to re-release his music, Leimomi Acia for her invaluable help, the crew at Hungry Ear and Bevy for being such generous hosts, the DJs and musicians who give their support, the tourists and visitors who stop in at just the right time, the younger music enthusiasts who might be more passionate than I am about all this, family, friends old and new, and to everyone who recognizes that music knows no boundaries — and neither should we.

Music has the power to travel worldwide, but it always starts somewhere. For us, that’s here in Hawaii, our home.

Roger recently turned his blog, Aloha Got Soul, into a record label: alohagotsoul.com.