Tropical Jam 5

Saturday March 13, 2010
Pikake Pavilion at Waimea Valley
North Shore, Oahu 
Doors at 7:00 pm

Chris Berry http://www.myspace.com/chrisberryandpanjea 2009 Grammy Award Winner

Michael Kang http://www.stringcheeseincident.com

Bill Kruetzman http://www.billkreutzmann.com/   Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee with Grateful Dead
Steve Kimock http://www.kimock.com/ 
Bobby Vega www.myspace.com/bobbyvegabassman

Tickets available online at www.HonoluluBoxOffice.com OR in person at:

North Shore Smoke Shop in Haleiwa
Hungry Ear in Kailua

Hawaii’s Natural High in Waikiki

Below is brief info on all of theses amazing artists!
 

With this ALL STAR line-up, March 13 may well be THE BEST night of music we see all year. 

***Chris Berry & Michael Kang***

'Chris Berry picked up where Paul Simon left off,' says Michael Kang, violinist and mandolin-player for The String Cheese Incident. 'Chris' music glides across all racial and ethnic lines making everyone feel at home within the music. The conscious lyrics are a road map for humanity and Chris is one of the few people able to carry this message to a wide audience.'  In 2009, The Chris Berry Trio won Best Electronica/Dance Album at the 51st annual Grammy Awards

Berry's story 'sounds like it was written by a Hollywood script writer' (Steve Leggett, All Music Guide). Maybe that is because it is hard to believe that a California White boy moved to Africa, became a spirit caller, won a Grammy award, went on to sell over a million records in Southern Africa, where he still sells out stadiums. Now he is positioned to do the same in America.

After over a decade living in Africa, Berry has now settled back in America following the edict given to him by African ancestor spirits to make a difference here, launching a slew of new activities to convey his message of justice and peace. His renewed American mission launches when Chris Berry and his band Panjea release Dancemakers, on Wrasse Records on April 18, 2006. Panjea's Inclusion of String Cheese's Michael Kang for new collaborations, has created quite a buzz in the World Music and Jamband scene fusing the two genres and exposing hundreds of thousands of listeners to a fresh new sound. They have recorded a new album 'Find A Way' possibly their best and it will be released late 2009!!

Berry's fascination of Zimbabwean mbira (thumb piano) music eventually lured him to Harare, where he settled and studied under legendary mbira master Monderek Muchena for ten years. During that time, Berry put together his band Panjea, whose pioneering blend of indigenous music, dance hall, and hip-hop earned platinum album sales throughout Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and beyond.

While studying in Zimbabwe, Berry became one of the first Westerners to be accepted among the elder mbira masters as one of their own. 'I played for a lot of ceremonies where people would become possessed,' said Berry. 'Some of the old ancestors who came back spoke to me through these people: 'What are you doing here? There are lots of misguided people, lost and confused people, in your country. They're killing each other there. It's time for you to take what you've learned and bring it to your own country because they need it more than we need it here. That's your job. You're the bridge maker.'' And so back on his native soil we find him today, preaching an uplifting transcontinental message of hope to contagious, dance beats based in the Zimbabwean mbira and sacred Congolese ngoma drum rhythms. Berry has been deemed a master of both mbira and ngoma drum, earning the title of gwenyambira ('one whose music calls the spirits'), a distinction reserved only for those who have achieved the highest fusion of the technical and the magical in music from the elder with whom he lived and studied during his years abroad.

Michael Kang grew up as a true world citizen. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Michael or Hyung Joon (his given Korean name) criss crossed the globe, living in 6 different countries before settling into life in the United States. Arriving in the bay area in his teens, Michael was drawn to the sounds of San Francisco through the musical offerings of bands such as the Grateful Dead and Santana. During this time, Michael was also developing his skills as a violinist, an instrument he had picked up along the way. As a member of the Tamalpais High Orchestra and various youth orchestras in Marin County, Kang got his first taste of performing in large ensembles.

Eventually, Michael ended up at UC Berkeley where his love for outdoor activities like skiing and climbing fueled his appetite for environmental studies. His love for wide open spaces also led to numerous visits to Alaska, where Michael studied natural history and also rekindled his interest in the fiddle and mandolin. Figuring it was a great way to get into bars without a valid id, Michael got his first taste of playing club gigs with local musicians.

Playing music by night and skiing during the day was the norm when Kang moved to Colorado in 1992. An epic winter of powder ensued as well as the first apres ski gigs with his eventual musical compadres, The String Cheese Incident. Sixteen years and some 1500 shows later, Michael Kang and SCI has developed a distinct niche for themselves in the music industry. Having performed at many of the most renowned venues and festivals worldwide, Kang has become one of the few musicians to have cultivated his sound using an electric octave mandolin and violin as SCI developed their eclectic blend of bluegrass, rock, jazz, african and latin world fusion.

A chance meeting with Chris Berry in an airport in 2005 eventually led to subsequent journeys to Africa to get a first hand taste of African musical traditions. Having travelled and performed with Chris in South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mali and Senegal, the two developed an intimate musical rapport that has led to Michael becoming a member of Panjea in 2007.

Michael has most recently expanded his horizons into global environmental advocacy through his work with Our Future Now, a group he co-founded in 2006. Seeing that the world's greatest challenges also provide room for equally grand solutions, Michael has dedicated himself to being a part of the solution whether it be through music, community development or environmental advocacy.

***Bill Kruetzman***

Kreutzmann started playing drums at the age of 13, despite having been told by his sixth grade music teacher that he couldn't keep a beat. As a teenager, he met Aldous Huxley at his high school, who encouraged him in his drumming. At the end of 1964 he co-founded the band The Warlocks, along with Phil Lesh, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan. Their first real gig was May 5, 1965, two days before Kreutzmann's nineteenth birthday. During the band's early days, Kreutzmann sometimes used a fake draft card with the name 'Bill Sommers' to be admitted to bars where the band was playing, since he was underage.^[2] In November 1965, the Warlocks became the Grateful Dead. Meeting fellow percussionist Mickey Hart in the fall of 1967 would have a big impact on Kreutzmann's career. Hart soon joined the Dead, making it one of the first (and few) rock bands to feature two drummers. The two percussionists' remarkable cohesion, synchronicity, and driving power became a hallmark of the Grateful Dead sound, and earned them the nickname 'the Rhythm Devils'. Their lengthy drum duets were a feature of nearly every show from 1978–1995, and are documented in a number of recordings by the band.^[3] Kreutzmann remained with the Grateful Dead until its dissolution following the passing of Garcia in 1995, making him one of four members to play at every one of the band's 2,300 shows, along with Garcia, Weir and Lesh.

***Steve Kimock***

With the Grateful Dead

Kimock has toured and recorded with many Grateful Dead-themed bands, including Keith and Donna Godchaux's Heart of Gold Band (1979-80), Bob Weir's Kingfish (1986), Merl Saunders and the Rainforest Band (1990-91), Vince Welnick's Missing Man Formation (1996-97), Phil Lesh and Friends (1998-99),^[9] and The Other Ones (1998–2000).^[10] He was also a member of the Rhythm Devils in 2006, a supergroup formed by Grateful Dead drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, also featuring Mike Gordon of Phish. In July 2007, Kimock was asked to join Bob Weir's RatDog, filling in for Mark Karan, who was undergoing treatment for cancer of the throat.

In addition to those affiliations, Kimock also toured and recorded with Jerry Joseph’s Little Women (1988), with Henry Kaiser and Freddy Roulette as The Psychedelic Guitar Circus (1993) and Steve Kimock & Friends (early 90s). There is no definitive list of Kimock's collaborative efforts. A seminal version of 'It's Up To you' appears on 'Everybody Slides' (1996). In 2001, he recorded with Pete Sears on his album The Long Haul. Kimock has also been featured on the two most recent recordings by Bruce Hornsby ('Big Swing Face' and 'Here Comes the Noisemakers'), and toured as featured guitarist with Bruce Hornsby and his band in the fall of 2002.

Steve Kimock Band (SKB) was Kimock’s primary musical focus from 2000-2006, while he continued to play other outlets such as acoustic performances that allowed him to play some of his favorite and diverse instruments publicly, including custom guitars, vintage lap steels and arch tops, Hawaiian guitars and even an octave mandolin. These special performances continue to offer Kimock the opportunity to connect with his folk roots and with old musical friends.

Kimock launched his new band, Steve Kimock Crazy Engine, in 2009. The band features Melvin Seals on B-3 organ and Kimock's son John Morgan Kimock on drums.

Early Kimock

… In the mid 1970s, Kimock moved from Pennsylvania to the San Francisco Bay Area to play guitar with the folk-rock group The Goodman Brothers. In 1979, after a stint with Martin Fierro in the salsa band the Underdogs, Kimock joined the Heart of Gold Band featuring Keith & Donna Godchaux and drummer Greg Anton. In 1984, along with Anton,and John Cipollina formerly of Quicksilver Messenger Service. Kimock co-founded the psychedelic rock ensemble Zero, through which he became known nationally.^[5][6][7][8]

In January 1998, Kimock along with Zero band mate Bobby Vega, joined with Frank Zappa alumnus Ray White and drummer Alan Hertz to form the band KVHW. This band toured nationally until their December 1999 breakup.

In February 2000, Kimock formed the Steve Kimock Band. In November 2000, Grammy-award winning drummer Rodney Holmes joined the band.

***Bobby Vega***

Born in San Francisco, bassist Bobby Vega has significantly contributed to the city’s rich musical heritage, and his resumé reads like a who’s who of Bay Area rock, soul, funk, and world music. He’s a master of pickstyle funk, a tone connoisseur, a professor of the groove, and one of the funniest people you’ll ever meet.

Bobby began his professional career at age 15 with Bo Diddley, but he attained widespread attention as a 16-year-old for his distinctive picked and muted bass line on Sly Stone’s “I Get High On You” (from Sly’s 1975 album High On You). Since then, he has contributed his soulful feel and incredibly dynamic playing to a long list of world-class artists, including:

Billy Preston, Booker T. , Paul Butterfield, Joan Baez, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Santana, Tower of Power (filling in on 40 shows for Rocco Prestia in 2001), Etta James, Zigaboo Modeliste, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Starship, Babatunde Olatunji, Kitaro, Ronnie Laws, Hubert Laws, Lee Oskar, Melvin Seals, Cold Blood.

In addition to his stellar career as a sideman, Bobby has been a member and co-founder of several of the Bay Area’s finest all-star collaborations, including Zero, KVHW, the Avalon All-stars, and Don’t Push the Clown; he continues to work with Zero/KVHW guitarist Steve Kimock in various situations. Bobby’s 1997 solo album Down the Road—with special guest performances by the Turtle Island String Quartet, Tower of Power drummer David Garibaldi, and legendary percussionist Airto Moreira—is a showcase for his diverse compositional, harmonic, and rhythmic chops.