Ricky Hana offers his first solo record and takes you on an exciting and spiritual musical journey to his favorite places in Hawaii. Places burned into his heart and soul.
From his party days in Waikiki, to his homelessness in Wai'anae, to his rebirth atop Haleakala Crater on Maui, and to his devastating motorcycle crash on Maui, Ricky Hana brings you an intense, beautiful look into his life in Hawaii.
From the Ricky Hana Blog:
1) Go to town and relax with "SUMMER WAIKIKI" and suck up the frenzied beach scene at the most popular beach in the world. I wrote this song in one day during the summer of 2007 in Waikiki. Man, I love south shore. In fact, I'm thinking of buying my own table at the Cheesecake Factory....
2) Listen to the wistful "NO MONEY NO HONEY" about false love lost but real love found. Materialism, betrayal, homelessness......happiness! Just give me a yard and a dog....
3) Hear "SUNRISE HALEAKALA" and experience the spectacular sunrise at the top of the 10,023ft Haleakala volcanic crater on the island of Maui. Really, my rebirth experience, sitting at the right hand of God.
4) Time to sit back and watch the sunset with "NANI PUKANA LA" - a nice laid-back song I wrote after surfing Canoe's all day.
5) Give a reflective thanks for everything with "MAHALO KE AKUA" - a song/prayer I wrote for the celebration of my life and intended to be played at my own funeral.
6) Check-in to your hotel room with "COCKROACHES....READY...SET...LIGHTS ON!"
A fun, whimsical song that's a blast to play on acoustic guitar, though my fingers aren't as fast since my motorcycle accident. I used to play it twice as fast....
7) Travel to the most intense surfing spot in the world with "2nd REEF PIPELINE" over at North Shore Oahu. Surfing the Pipe is about the biggest thrill short of jumping off a cliff.
8) One more trip to North Shore for the biggest baddest waves with "WAIMEA BAY" - Never surfed Waimea over 20ft......my balls were never big enough....
Ricky Hana lives and breathes HawaiiHonolulu Star-Bulletin Review of "My Hawaii"
"Ricky Hana displays such versatility and imagination with the lyrics of the first two songs on this unpretentious artist's demo that the instrumentals that follow seem incomplete by comparison."
"Hana makes a great first impression with "Summer Waikiki" as he combines an updated list of traditional hapa-haole images -- "suntan oil, bodies on the beach in the summer sun," "going to a party tonight," "my shaka brah surfboard," "G-string divas" -- with rock guitars and reggae rhythms. The lyrics ring true in describing an enticing summer playground. The song would be a perfect anthem for a "Come to Hawaii" campaign aimed at hip young 20-somethings. HVCB, are you listening?"
"On his next number, "No Money No Honey," Hana switches genres and goes acoustic to display his prowess on ukulele and as a falsetto singer. Once again, the lyrics are worth a careful listen. Hana describes a relationship with a greedy and unfaithful woman from a survivor's perspective. The lyric images and Hana's back-porch delivery make it memorable."
"Three subsequent songs show off Hana's talent as a slack-key guitarist, and the final two are rockers. They're nicely done, but Hana is most promising as a quirky singer-songwriter. The collection might have made a stronger impression if Hana had organized his tracks differently, opening with the slack-key tunes, following with the rocker numbers and concluding with his vocal pieces."
"Hana mentions in the credits that he wrote all the songs and played all the instruments, but he provides no information about himself, or the people and experiences that inspired him."
- John Berger Honolulu Star-Bulletin July 18, 2008 "Island Mele"
All songs written by Ricky Hana
All vocals by Ricky Hana
All instruments by Ricky Hana
Synthesizer programming by Ricky Hana
All software programming by Ricky Hana
Conch shell by Taylor Anthony
Produced, recorded and mixed by Ricky Hana
Mastered by Ricky Hana
copyright 2008
Priority consideration for TV/Film placements
Contact: info@shakabrahrecords.com
808Talk Hawaii: "At The Waikiki Wall" video featuring Ricky Hana's "Summer Waikiki"
The Dreamers - Santa Barbara
The Dreamers were a hugely popular band in Santa Barbara during just a few years the 80's. They were founded by Rick Anthony AKA Ric Streeter, who had just finished a stint with Warner Bros Records legendary Santa Barbara rock band, DB Cooper and doing tours with Tom Petty, Judas Priest and the Pretenders.
Ric Streeter enlisted Bridget Benenate as lead vocalist.
Streeter started writing all of the band's material and as time went on, he introduced Bridget to the world of songwriting and eventually Ric & Bridget wrote everything 50/50 - he supplied the music and she supplied the melody and lyrics. Other band members included drummer Jesse Benenati, keyboardist Perry Benenati and bassist Jack Folks.
The Dreamers signed a management/production deal (MELECO) the day after their debut Valentine's Day concert in Santa Barbara.
From the Ric Streeter Blog - "Bridget had the most powerful, soulful and at the same time, the most tender voice I had, and have, ever heard. Sharing the same stage with her night after night gave me goosebumps. She's the reason I started The Dreamers."
They took the local music world by storm and then climbed quickly with major concerts and video placements on MTV and Showtime. Ric and Bridget also co-wrote "Big Tease" with Jimmy Messina which was released worldwide as the single on his One More Mile album.
They even did a 3-month stint at the now-defunct Wave Waikiki in Honolulu.
By the time they were offered record deals, the Dreamers were on the verge of breaking up, which they did. Ric has since developed the wildly popular ShakaBrah Records and ShakaBrah Surfboards spending his time between Santa Barbara & Hawaii. Bridget went on to co-write "Breakaway" for Kelly Clarkson.
Here's some of their catalog offered for FREE DOWNLOADS Enjoy!
DB Cooper - Santa BarbaraRic Streeter played in DB Cooper right before he started The Dreamers. An intense band featuring a 3-guitar attack, they were 20-years ahead of their time. Their debut record "Buy American" paved the way for major concerts and their record-release party was held at the Montecito Country Club, with 1,000 of their top fans attending. That night redefined the term "Party" and at the time, DB Cooper was the most successful band to come out of Santa Barbara.
