Kolu Kalama: Lead Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Keyboard, Backup Vocals, etc.
Influences
Mackey Feary (Kalapana) he's my main man, Cecilio and Kapono (Hawaii's best), Lionel Richie (Smooth Vocals), Michael Jackson (Killer Grooves and all the Moves), Maxi Priest (I like his style), Bob Marley (Says the most with the least amount of words), James Taylor (So unassuming its awesome!), Clapton (for obvious reasons), John Mayer (The baddest singer/ song writer/guitarist out there right now). My dad singing around the house when I was a kid (he's got killer harmonies)
Kolu Kalama is a singer/songwriter/musician from Molokai, HI, one of the least well known of the six major islands in the Hawaiian chain, with a population of approximately 7,000 people. Often called the “friendly island,” Molokai is rural, peaceful, remote, and the true essence of Hawaiian living, the perfect destination for someone looking for a little unexpected solitude by the ocean. And just like the place that he’s proud to call home, Kolu Kalama is one of Hawaii's best kept secrets.
Growing up in Hawaii, Kalama was largely influenced by his surroundings. Put on a surfboard or the first time before the age of one, and with role models in his uncle, the 1962 U.S Surfing Champion, Ilima Kalama, and his cousins, Dave, a champion windsurfer and waterman, and Ikaika, the current Tow-in Surfing World Champion, Kolu couldn’t help but to become a success on the water as well. However, with a family so rooted in ocean sports, Kalama actually gives credit for his surfing talents and passion for the ocean to his grandmother, an accomplished surfer and canoe paddler, known to the Waikiki crowd of the day as “Jake,” because “she was considered one of the ‘boys’,” Kalama states. Winning numerous body boarding competitions in his youth, Kolu has evolved in his wave riding and now finds the most pleasure in surfing his 4-man canoe and stand-up paddle surfboard. Kalama and his cousin Dave, are proud to be the current two-time World Champions in Stand-up Paddleboard racing, holding the record (4:36) from Molokai to Oahu, which broke their own record in 2006, however, surfing was not Kolu’s only interest growing up.
Music is a large part of the Hawaiian culture, and Kalama couldn’t help but have that rub off on him as well. Playing instruments such as ukulele, guitar, bass, drums and keyboard (and the kazoo just to impress his fans), Kalama is truly a musician, songwriter and performer all rolled into one. “I learned to play the ukulele by watching one of my high school volleyball mates, Allin, as he entertained us on our trips,” comments Kalama. “We’d use music to get us hyped up on the way to the game. Allin would jam out and the rest of the team would supply the backup vocals, and since he was a senior, I spent the entire second half of my freshman season learning from him so I could carry on the tradition after he graduated.”
Kolu picked up singing, at first, for a girl. “My first girlfriend was an amazing singer and she always asked me to sing,” states Kalama. “I guess I started doing it to impress her.” Although it soon became a love all his own, that same girl would later play an integral part in this now musician and singer taking his first steps into songwriting. “I was 19 when I wrote the first version of “Rocking Horses,” remembers Kalama. “It’s about my break-up with the same girl who encouraged me to sing. I had gone to see her in a neighboring city in California before I came back to Hawaii for summer break from college, to find that she had been seeing someone else.” As with the majority of truly successful songwriters, a hard life lesson had inspired the songwriting to begin.
“Hawaii is considered the melting pot of the world and my music reflects the many cultures and musical styles that have made its way to this tropical paradise,” states Kalama who sites his major musical influences as Hawaii locals Jack Johnson, Makey Feary and Henry Kapono ,as well as world-wide musical icons such as Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder. Not to be left out off that list, however, is Kalama’s own father, who sang harmonies around the house while Kolu was growing up, and truly influenced his ear for music and for singing.
Be Major, the first solo release for Kalama, showcases his abilities, not only as a songwriter (Kalama wrote all 14 tracks on the album), but as a musician who played all of the instruments on the recording as well, and the title shows his philosophy for life. “It’s a play on words,” explains Kalama. “The first is a play on the guitar chord (B Major [7]) which most of my songs occur in or contain. The second meaning behind the title is in actually “being major” in life. The songs reflect my thoughts that whatever you do in life, you should to do it in a "major" way. Whether it’s loving someone, forgiving someone, striving for a goal, contributing to society, or simply living life....do it "major.”
Whether its fully living and enjoying the beach lifestyle, or playing his music for a local crowd, Kalama brings talent and true passion to his craft.
LOVE IT!!! CONGRATS KOLU. I ALWAYS KNEW THAT WITH YOU....IF THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY AND THIS IS ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG FOR YOU. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND HANORA.
YOUR OTHER LITTLE SIS, TARRAH
PS. WHEN CAN KELA AND I GET ON ONE OF YOUR SONGS? LOL. J/K.
