Wow.

Last Sunday I headed down with the family to check out the 2009 HUMA’s and it seems they had a trick up their sleeves…  Otto and his staff planned a new category.

“The Lifetime Achievement Award”

I was to be honored with the inaugural Tiki statue by surprise… they got my wife and kids in on the act by having them write some things about me and my two oldest sons read them to the crowd.

It was all news to me… so I was floored, and truly honored to have such nice things said about me, for simply doing what I truly love to do (Support Local Music!)

It’s nice to be recognized for all of my efforts, but thankfully I am not the only person who tries to make a difference, so I tip my hat to all of them as well!

The award itself was a nice surprise and I hope my little acceptance speech (off the top of my head) didn’t disappoint. I barely even remember what I said but I know I tried to convey how much I love my wife and kids for letting me risk money on shows and invite bands over to stay with us… as well as how much I deeply appreciate Hawaii’s outstanding bands and music fans.

Without such great bands and the support of those who make a donation at the door, things would grind to a halt.  (Mahalo)

I’ve been fortunate to make a ton of solid friends who are willing to lend a hand for the greater good and I can never thank them enough. They lend gear, they play for little or no financial gain, they spread the word on shows… and it all adds up. In the end we sometimes lose money, but it would have been worse without their help, so again, thank you all for even the littlest thing that you’re able to do to keep things going in the scene!!!

I should get back to my day job now, but thanks again to Otto and everyone behind the scenes for the surprise award and for another fun event.

I’ll hope to see you at a show soon, and while it was a “lifetime achievement” award that they felt I had earned, I’m hoping that my soon-to-be 15 years of doing what feels right, will one day prove to have been just the beginning!!

and maybe one, some, or all of my soon-to-be 4 sons will carry on the torch in years to come!
Even if they don’t…  I wasn’t the first, and I won’t be the last, but Hawaii is a great place to support local music.

ALOHA

I will add some photos from 2009 once I have them!!

For now, here’s a shot from the first year:

For a link to the myspace page for the event:  Click Here
Update: As promised, here’s some photos!

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