Recently, I had a yummy dinner the likes of which I haven’t had for perhaps 50 years.
It was fried aku bones.
Yep, many families used to dine on aku bones when available. No, you don’t eat the skeletal remains, but you’d nibble on the flesh of the bones of fish, which were seasoned with salt and pepper and served as a casual meal.
You were able to buy uncooked aku bones at your neighborhood market; if it sold aku filet, it would have had the aku bones – remnants of the fish – the home chefs would buy and then serve. Ono stuff.
Fried aku bones — a delicacy, if you can find ’em these days
But I don’t know how long ago that markets pulled the plug on aku bones. After all, it’s supposed to be a discarded item. If they’re still sold, it must be a regional secret.
But my nephew, who was on a mission to purchase aku filets at Tamashiro Market in Palama, noticed the availability of aku bones. He managed to score enough and save some for me.
These bones were simply wrapped up in a market’s pink paper, and given to regular customers. I mean, come on, you can’t buy/sell steak bones, so why can you sell aku bones?
Folks of a certain vintage will remember aku bones. You’d have to grab the bones with your fingers cuz you couldn’t use a knife and fork to cut the flesh off the fish, since there wasn’t much on the bone. Yet if you had two or three of these critters, you had a meal in the old days.
After salt and peppering – you could add a dash of garlic – you simply fried till it was koge – blackened or charred – and some folks deep-fried the aku bones. White rice wouldn’t have been the only other component you’d need to have a feast. Since the bone would be a hand-held item, a musubi would have been the perfect partner.
Then you’d suck away, till every morsel of the aku flesh would be slurped and consumed. But eating the aku bones required some skill and caution, because the bones were sharp and subject to poke and wound you. So you’d have to learn to use your tongue to navigate. Honest!
This all might sound gross and disgusting, but if you have elders in your household, ask ‘em about aku bones. It was an incredible edible, only consumed at home. You’d never serve it to guests at your dinner table and you’re never find it on a restaurant menu. But if you remember and treasured aku bones, you’d never forget ‘em.
So: If you’re a fan of fried aku bones, share your memories here.
Singer Kevin I. released today – Valentine’s Day, his birthday – a new studio version of his early, early yesteryear hit, “One in Love.”
The timing is essential here. Kevin earlier updated his beloved catalogue of music which had been on the shelf for four decades, and his “My Continuum” EP was released last February. It found a receptive audience that adored his romantic sound.
I wondered out loud to him: “Too bad you couldn’t release it on Valentine’s Day, to celebrate your birthday.”
Kevin I.
Interestingly, his recordings intersect with his life. No other singer I know jump-starts a career 40 years after turning off the mike; however, Kevin’s journey has had a marvelous turnaround. His vintage melodies caught the ears and hearts of Spotify fans, who discovered this retired vocalist who still had limited love songs in stock. Kevin always focused on romantic tunes, since he’s got the voice to deliver ‘em, and that’s what connects with his audience.
His newest update is “One in Love,” is a melody he performed at the Tokyo Music Festival years ago, earning the Grand Prize laurels. So something old is new again.
He’s chatted about this tune, I’ve written about it, so his fan base is no stranger to his work.
“This song has always been deeply special to me. It validated me professionally, solidified my reputation as a vocalist, and honestly changed the course of my life. Fast forward to today, and Lance Jyo stepped way outside his comfort zone by producing a song he didn’t compose.”
Kevin’s big on yesteryear tunes; his collection of ‘80s songs triggered a new life and fueled a base of loyalists who want more.
“One in Love” is the ideal Valentine’s Day tune, so its release today globally is timely marketing. It has a past, but certainly will enjoy a new future, too.
I commend Kevin’s decision to finally open up his well-oiled pipes – his voice, silly – and go into the studio to update “One in Love,” which has uncharted magic and potential to connect with those who’ve been streaming his music. To his current fan base, this is a new, fresh commodity.
Kevin knows his way around a love song; he enhances lyrics, adding his own warmth and vibes. In this particular case, he’s caressing and embracing an old friend from the past. He’s wanted to give “One in Life” new life, so yep, he can finally check this one off his bucket list.
He’s had a grand career in the business community, and is not likely to return to live singing. (I could be wrong! But he’s not likely to go live)…
The legendary tale of Hi‘iaka, historically part of the Hawaiian oral tradition and notably passed on from generation to generation through song and dance, has been honed and developed as an eventual spectacle on Broadway. It’s been on the burner since 2019, and final auditions are ahead to cast the production.
The spectacle is due to debut on Broadway this October, with details still forthcoming.
The Hawaiian story has all the epic elements of high drama, based on the goddess Hi‘iaka – full name, Hi‘iakaikapoliopele – whose quest is to find her sister Pele’s dream lover, restore him to life, and deliver him safely to Pele, the volcano goddess at her crater home on the Big Island. With Pele among the characters, there should be some explosive eruptions of sorts.
Of course, it is not a simple journey filled with ordeals and dangers, but one very much alive with a very human retelling of love and lust, with challenges of jealousy and justice, with deities and chiefs, commoners and demons, and a potential fall out of the two sisters.
Michael Jackowitz
Essentially, the story is about two goddesses, who happen to be sisters, and thus boasts grandeur as well as grace. It is storytelling with cultural impact, with collaborative input by the legendary stage and film visionary Stephen Schwartz (“Wicked,” “Godspell,” “Pippin,” “Children of Eden,” “The Prince of Egypt”), Broadway guidance by stage producer Michael Jackowitz {“How To Succeed in Business Without ReallyTrying,” “tick, tick, Booml”) and stalwart Hawaiians Roslyn Catracchio (music and lyrics) and Patrick Makuakane (choregraphy, music and lyrics). Keali’i Reichel (multi Na Hoku Hanahano Award winner, recording artist and kumu hula) was an advisor in preliminary development of the show, along with Schwartz).
The production, earlier utilzing the title “Hi’iaka,” now boasts a formal new name, “The Epic Tale of Hi‘iaka: A New Hawaiian Musical.” The operative word is “Hawaiian.” The story will be told – with a roster of vivid and atmospheric Hawaiian songs, dances, and chants – and performed by a cast of Hawaiian artists on both sides of the limelight.
Roslyn Catracchia
Once cast. “Hi’iaka” will loom as a mammoth cultural spectacle with pulsating and harmonizing vocals rendered in traditional Hawaiian, with choreography and costuming unlike anything ever seen and heard on the Great White Way.
Applicants should designate voice range and roles sought; audition documents and head shots must be submitted by Feb. 15, with call backs to follow. Email applications to castinghiiaka@gmail.com
The creative team boasts remarkable star-studded notables:
Book, Music and Lyrics: Roslyn Catracchia and Patrick Makuakane.
Original Story: Ho’oulumahiehie.
Hawaiian Consultant: Puakea Nogelmeier.
Stage Director: Scott Schwartz.
Choreographer: Patrick Makuakane.
Patrick Makuakane
Scenic Designer: Kevin Depinet.
Costume Designer: Manaola.
Music Supervisor: Brad Haak.
Orchestrations and Instrumental Track Production: David Kauahikaua.
Hawaiian Music Advisor: Shawn Pimental.
Musical Arrangements: David Kauahikaua and Brad Haak.
Producers: Michael Jackowitz for WitzEnd Productions and Kuhio Lewis for Hawaiian Council.
Associate Director: Melanie Lockyer.
Associate Choreographer: Christine Yasunaga.
Costume Coordinator: Maile Speetjens.
Preliminary Artwork: Solomon Enos.
Keyart by Mance Creative for Rubicon Theatre Company.
State of Hawaii Tourism/Creative Industries Division Consultant: Georja Skinner.
Marketing: NMG Networks.
PR Consultant: Adrian Kamali‘i.
Casting Director: Aubrey Lee Staley
Advisors During Development: Keali’i Reichel and Stephen Schwartz.
Footnotes:
Prolific author: Ho‘oulumāhiehie, credited as original story writer, was a prolific Hawaiian (The Epic Tale of Hi‘iakaikapoliopele), which ran in the newspaper Ka Na‘i Aupuni in 1905–1906. His 500-page narrative is renowned for containing 375 chants, and vivid portrayal of the goddess Pele and the scholar and author was best known for chronicling the epic saga Ka Mo‘olelo o Hi‘iakaikapoliopeler, sister Hi‘iaka.
Stephen Schwartz
Father and Son: Stephen Schwartz (“Wiz” icreaator) is the father of Scott Schwartz.
Principal roles:
Hi’iaka, the youngest of the sisters and the favorite of Pele.
Pele, the volcano goddess.
Lohiau, chief of Kauai and Pele’s lover.Hopoe, Hi ‘iaka’s best friend.
Wahine: Hi ‘ika’s most trusted ally and traveling companion.
Kane: God of procreation…
‘Chicago’ returns to Broadway’s Top 10
“Chicago,” one of the longest-running Broadway hits, surged its way to No. 7 this week – a remarkable return to the charts.
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” continues to be Broadway’s top-grossing play, earning $2.339 million for the week ending Feb. 8.
“Chicago” landied at No 7.
The Top 10:
1—”Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $2.339 million
2—”Hamilton,” $1.848 million
3—”Wicked,” $1.596 million
4—”The Lion King,” $1.514 million
5—”Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” $1.400 million
Frances Kakugawa, the prolific poet and author known for her literary mouse Wordsworth, concludes her brief island visit today (Feb. 1).
Kakugawa is originally from Kapoho on the Big Island, who was a long-time Honolulan while toiling for the Department Education here before retiring bin Sacramento. She will autograph her latest tome, “The Outhouse Poet,” at 2 p.m. today at Barnes & Nobles at Ala Moana Center.
Frances Kakugawa
“Outhouse” (Watermark Publishing) is her 19th book – but not her last, since her 20thpublication is in the works. Surely, her current volume is a keeper, with its cover shot of an outhouse, and likely the most ingenious book jacket of any season.
Those of a certain vintage, who were raised in the islands amid a rustic landscape minus running water and a flushing toilet, will remember with mixed thoughts the closet-like wooden structure commonly erected somewhere on the property of a country home. Yes, the outhouse was out there, outside of the home, perhaps with a wee window or none at all, with a key feature: a hole in the ground and likely a copy of the Sears Roebuck catalogue which served the purpose of what now would be Charmin toilet paper.
“The Outhouse Poet” has a subtitle, “Reflections of a Writer,” indicative of the think-tank moments back in the day, when Kakugawa would perhaps nurture a poem, or a thought, that would someday be fodder for a book. There are poems, her specialty, along a chapter on banned books.
Kakugawa will sign copies of her book, and perhaps reflect on Those Days in isolation. While here, she spoke at an Altheimer’s event at the Elks Club and signed copies of her book at Hilo’s Basically Books where her former first graders from Laupahoehoe School on the Big Island showed up to support their former teacher.
On Saturday (Jan.31) we met up with her at Heavenly at the Koko Marina Center, for a sumptuous breakfast, which just may wind up as a future destination for more meals and reflections together…
Santos and Kimokea at The Lounge
Jerry Santos and Kamuela Kimokea will team up for a splendid show from 5 to 7:30 p.m. and from 8 to 10:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at Kapono’s on The Lounge at the Hawaii Kai Shopping Center. The first show was a quick sell-out but eats remain for the nightcap.
Kimokea and Santos: Together again at Kapono’s at The Lounge.
Reservations are $110 for two seats; VIP seats are also available.
I’ve not been in this venue since it became an active night spot. Santos teamed up with Kimokea recently for an evening at the Kahala Resort, and the show included a buffet meal but viewing accommodations were problematic. Best moment at any Santos show: “E Kuu Home O Kahaluu.” And their interplay and harmonies are first-stage. The Plumeria Beach House is not a proper fit for live music, though it’s also a plus to sit through a Santos show anytime, even if you can’t see him. I went for the music but wound up “reviewing” the buffet — great misoyaki butterfish, too salty choi sum; wonderful salmon-poke salad, bland chicken long rice; yummy haupia dessert, and so on.
Consequently, The Lounge site — tailor-made for live acts — should be a bonanza that simply couldn’t churn up the vibes at the Kahala.
