Live From The Lawn - 'Ukulele Madness

Description/Comments

First Fridays at the Hawai‘i State Art Museum will continue on Friday, August 4th with another free Live from the Lawn arts program entitled ‘Ukulele Madness featuring musicians Bill Tapia, Tony Gamble, and Herb Ohta, Jr.

Performance Schedule

5:00 p.m. See the Poet / On the Spot Improvisation
5:30 p.m. Bill Tapia with Byron Yasui on bass
6.30 p.m. See the Poet / On the Spot Improvisation
7:00 p.m. Tony Gamble
7:40 p.m. See the Poet / On the Spot Improvisation
8:00 p.m. Herb Ohta, Jr. with James Pilgrim on guitar, Michael Guerrero on bass

‘Ukulele legend Bill Tapia continues to delight audiences with jazz chops and sharp wit both intact at age 98! Tapia is the only musician on the planet who can say these words, “Here’s a song that I performed in World War I,” as he introduces his unique version of Stars and Stripes Forever that he came up with in 1918 at the age of 10.

Tapia’s youth was spent performing and jamming with the top names of the day – Charlie Barnet, Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Bing Crosby, and many more. While in Hawai‘i, he led his own big band and also worked with island luminaries like Sol Hoopi‘i and Johnny Noble.

After World War II, Tapia and his family settled in the San Francisco area, where he largely abandoned performing for the greater stability offered by teaching guitar fulltime. Re-discovered just six years ago, “Tappy” has embarked on perhaps the unlikeliest career resurgence ever, pushing his century and hotter than ever.

Tony Gamble is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, who recently won the Rock City Award in Los Angeles as Most Outstanding Melodic Instrumentalist of 2005. His new CD Breaking Tradition shows the ‘ukulele as a very diverse instrument. It may be hard to believe when you hear him play, that no electric guitars are being used to create his unique sound.

Having a well-known father in the music industry, it would have been very hard for Herb Ohta, Jr. not to like music. Herb’s grandmother taught him his first song on the ‘ukulele at the age of three. The song was Happy Birthday. His father, Ohta-San started his early instruction on the ‘ukulele and Herb continued to study music playing the viola in high school. His recording debut was in 1990 on his father’s recording.

Since then, Herb has recorded on over 35 recordings. He is a six-time Na Hoku Hanohano Award Nominee and a two-time Hawai‘i Music Award Winner. Herb has performed throughout the state of Hawai‘i and has traveled overseas to Japan and the mainland USA. Herb Ohta, Jr. is certainly a vanguard in this new generation of ‘ukulele players.

Live from the Lawn is a series of innovative arts-oriented entertainment programming held on the first Friday of each month, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The shows are free to the public. The events are presented by the Friends of the Hawai‘i State Art Museum, supported by the Hawai‘i State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, the LEF Foundation, and the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Starbucks Coffee and the Honolulu Advertiser are support sponsors at all events. Tim Bostock Productions is the producer of these programs.

Bring a blanket or a low back chair and relax for First Friday at the Hawai‘i State Art Museum. It’s a beautiful building and a wonderful lawn – and it’s your museum – so join us as we celebrate the arts. The Hawai‘i State Art Museum galleries are open, and free, all evening. This is also a wonderful opportunity for you to see the Art in Public Places and Enriched by Diversity exhibitions, showcasing excellence in Hawai‘i’s arts.

The Hawai‘i State Art Museum is located in the former Armed Forces YMCA at 250 South Hotel Street. The gracious 1928 Spanish mission style building is situated in the historic Hawai‘i Capital Cultural District, across from ‘Iolani Palace and the State Capitol. The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information on the Hawai‘i State Art Museum call (808) 586-0900 or visit http://www.hawaii.gov/sfca.

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For more information or ephotos, contact:
Ken Hamilton, Public Information Officer
Phone: (808) 586-0307,Website: www.hawaii.gov/sfca

To arrange interviews with artists, contact:
Tim Bostock, President, Tim Bostock Productions LLC
Phone: (808) 521-9699

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