Post #610296 by Mateotiki on Sat, Oct 15, 2011 9:53 AM

Being located where we are, we've experienced some of the same pitfalls that The Smokin' Menehunes have. When we first started (The Grass Skirts), we were focused on marketing for private parties and special events as a "Hawaiian" trio that did about 50% traditional Hawaiian and Hapa Haole covers, 25% originals, and 25% "Hawaiianized" rock/pop covers. We learned the hard way that the majority of folks only had an attention span for 2-3 Hawaiian/Hapa Haole songs. They tended to connect more to the pop songs they actually recognized. The money was fair-to-middlin', but staying on top of 3-4 hours of repertoire just lost its fun.

Fast forward a few years later and I can tell you that, without a broad-based tiki community such as most of you guys enjoy, anything that smacks of Hawaiian or tropical stylings is a bit of a harder sell here. We've had to modify our approach in that we've added a drummer, ditched the private party and special events scene and concentrated more on originals (about 70-80%) and clubs that cater to original bands. The neophilia that emspace speaks of is as real here as anywhere else and we're guilty of it to a degree. But we're getting better results and having more fun connecting with the audience rather than wondering, "Why don't they get it??" like before. The few traditional/Hapa Haole musicians left in Hawaii experience the same problem with tourists. Unfortunately, the Wynton Marsalis approach to music isn't going to win people over. Tastes and expectations will always change.

One of those expectations is the visual and aural integration. No great revelation here, but the few videos of bands like the Creepy Creeps, etc. that I've seen feature an exciting visual element that people respond to. As much as I wish it was like the "old days" where the music itself was enough, we're slowly resorting to the same tactics: dancers and other "gimmicks". As a steel player, I'm by nature a shoegazer and shoegazing didn't work for me. What IS working is letting people who are good at the visual do it.

Bands and musicians who are successful on their own terms (whatever that is: creatively, spiritually, socially, commercially) are happy to see others succeed as well and there's no need to piss on the collective tree, so to speak.