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Calling themselves the Rough Riders, three of Hawaii’s most esteemed musicians, Henry Kapono, Brother Noland and John Cruz, have teamed for a series of momentous concerts debuting Friday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
The trio first got together informally last spring to just hang out. “We didn’t really play, we just talked story and got to feel good about each other,” Kapono explains. “I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while. Then when we did ‘Back in the Day,’ and we all agreed we should do something.”
“Back in the Day” was a special concert spearheaded by Kapono that assembled an astonishing lineup of island talent for a benefit at the Waikiki Shell last August.
“We had so much fun rehearsing for the ‘Back in the Day’ concert and the gig was ‘wow,’ all of us were like, ‘This sounds good,’ ” adds Cruz. “We would get together at Sandy Beach and we would tell stories about fishing and growing up. Eventually, a song poured out, and then another song. The last few rehearsals, it’s always another new song or two. We’re having a blast.”
Feeling honored to be performing with two trailblazers, Cruz continues: “Both of them have been such huge influences on Hawaiian music and myself. Both of them have been such pioneers breaking new ground.”
“It’s so natural,” says Noland about their historic collaboration. “We’re just letting it flow.”
The musicians adopted their name from legendary Hawaiian paniolo Ikua Purdy, Archie Ka’aua and Jack Low, who traveled in 1908 to the World Rodeo Championships in Cheyenne, Wyo., and were immortalized in the song “Hawaiian Rough Riders.”
“I threw the name out when we first met and it kind of stuck with us,” Kapono notes. “It’s something new and something different. We’re writing together and arranging our songs together.”
“It just keeps evolving,” says Noland. “We’re all pretty seasoned and we know how to make music work. We have three different textures with our voices, and it’s just how can we blend them into one color. And we’re really conscious of sounding too Crosby, Stills & Nash, sounding too Eagles. Playing off the Rough Riders is a lot of fun; we talk like cowboys in rehearsals, like John Wayne. It makes it fun.”
After the Maui show, the Rough Riders plan to play other islands and then head to the Mainland. And they are talking about recording an album together.
“That’s where this seems to be leading,” says Cruz.
Kapono has just released a new CD, “Dukes on Sunday 2,” an exceptional collection of originals and covers that reflect his more rocking side.
Recorded live at Dukes in Waikiki, the album provides a vehicle for this multi-talented artist to shred on electric guitar, covering songs featuring three of rock’s greatest guitarists – Jimmy Page with “Stairway to Heaven,” Carlos Santana with “Europa,” and Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green with “Black Magic Woman.”
“I like to take chances,” he says, chuckling. “They’re a great inspiration, you can’t do them wrong.”
Other songs he covers include Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” and Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.”
“I only play songs that I enjoy, that are positive and make people feel good,” he says. “I like to get positive energy out.”
Besides his classic “Friends,” Kapono includes some of his more recent songs, “LA” and “Dukes on Sunday,” as well as the new composition “In Japan.”
“It’s doing really well, it’s been taking off,” he enthuses. “People have been waiting for it. The first Duke’s album was out 10 years ago.”
Folks have also been eagerly waiting for Cruz’s next opus.
“I’ve got about eight songs finished,” he reports. “It’s just been a slow road. I started it about four years ago and I had about 11 songs at different stages of being completed. But it just didn’t feel right, and I scrapped the whole project. I flew to Nashville and started all over again. I’m close to being finished. I want it to really sound good with no throwaway songs.”
Noland is also working on a new album and collaborating with Jake Shimabukuro on a project, “stretching the boundaries musically with a few cameo appearances by others, and co-writing some theme songs with Chucky Boy Chock for the Hokulea and Hikianalia, documenting their voyage around the world,” he says.
And Noland is excited about the publication of his new book, “The Hawaiian Survival Handbook,” where he shares the outdoor skills he has developed over a lifetime spent in Hawaii’s forests and waters.
“It’s like a manual of all the things I teach in my kids’ program,” he explains. “I localized it so anyone can read it. I’ve got some cool responses to it.”
Award-winning playwright and performer Ann Randolph so enjoyed the book she wants to collaborate with him on a workshop tour. Her popular solo shows have included “Loveland” and “Squeeze Box,” which was produced by Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft.
“She lives part time on Kauai,” Noland explains. “She emailed me thanks for your wisdom, and would I like to collaborate with her on retreats she does all over the country.”
For their Castle Theater debut, Kapono and his fellow maverick musicians will perform together for the entire show.
“We’ll incorporate our own songs and some originals and a couple of covers that we’ve worked out together,” Kapono says. It’s fun to be with these guys. I love these guys and their music. We all have great respect for each other. We’re enjoying the ride.”
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The free First Sunday Music series continues at Kaanapali’s Hula Grill from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. this weekend with Big Island Grammy- and Na Hoku-winner John Keawe. The performance will also include his wife, Kumu Hope Keawe, and Maui’s Benny Uyetake. Call 667-6636 for reservations.
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In the exotic world of devotional chant music, popular artists like Krishna Das have woven mantras with a little classic rock, Jai Uttal has added reggae and Brazilian rhythms, and Donna De Lory has injected dance beats, but none have infused their sacred songs with U2-inspired rock and Cowboy Junkies-flavored Americana roots as Simrit Kaur.
Listening to the smoldering, electric guitar-driven opening track on her “The Oracle Sessions” album, you almost expect to hear Bono belting out the lyrics.
“My co-producer was a huge U2 fan, and it really came out on that,” Kaur explains. “It really has that vibe. There’s no box this has to fit into, it’s what feels good in the moment. I draw from so many different influences. It’s not traditional kirtan sounding.”
The Go Go’s lead singer, Belinda Carlisle, was so impressed hearing Kaur in concert that she joined the chanter on her most recent spellbinding album, “Simrit.”
“The first time I saw her live, I thought she’s kind of punk rock,” Carlisle reported. “I think she has the potential to bridge the gap of pop/rock and mantra music.”
“Working with Belinda widened my perspective and opened the doors to her audiences,” Kaur says. “Belinda was really inspired by the chanting and decided she wants to do her own chant album, and so I’m singing on her album, and she will sing on my new album coming out in June.”
Gifted with a remarkably beautiful voice, Kaur has been singing most of her life. “I was adopted from a mother in Greece who was a singer and real young, by a Greek family in the States, and as a young child, I sang in the Greek Orthodox Church choir,” she explains. “So I’ve always had a lot of experience with chants. I chant a lot in Gurmukhi, which comes from the northeast tip of India, and I do English songs. The Gurmukhi chants are not a lot different from the chants I did in church; they have a similar vibe.”
* Simrit Kaur will perform with Daniel Paul on tabla and Gordon Hellegers on kora at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Makawao Union Church. Tickets are $20 cash in advance and are available at Maui Kombucha in Haiku, Island Spirit Yoga in Lahaina and Awakening in Paradise Bookstore in Kihei; and are $30 cash at the door.