Ed Mahiko - Autobiography

Instruments: Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals

Email: ed.mahiko@shorebrk.com

Hana-bada Dayz:

Geez, where do I start? I feel like I've been playing forever yet, there's so much more I have to learn. 1961 marks the year of my birth. Born and raised in Kalihi on the island of Oahu. Have been playing since my Mom bought me my first ukulele when I was in the 2nd grade. It was a Kamaka. Think it cost her about $13 back then (I called her and asked her....) They're a tad bit more expensive now!

High School-the formative years:

Pretty much played uke until my sophomore year in high school at Kamehameha Schools. That year, I started jamming with some friends and learned to play the bass and guitar. Encouraged by those friends, my Junior year I auditioned for and was selected to play in a Polynesian stage show that summer at Porpoise Island. Porpoise Island was a Hawaiian-themed amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Every year, the owner would come to Hawaii to audition young entertainers to play at his park during the summer. It was truly a dream-come-true. All expenses were paid, including airfare, hotel accommodations, transportation, food, etc. And on top of that, we actually got paid, too! We did everything from doing a Polynesian revue to emceeing a bird and porpoise show, chaperoning a deer petting zoo, policing the park grounds (we called it "cigarette butt duty!") and running the hot dog stand! For the Polynesian revue, I mainly played the upright bass, although I regularly traded off and switched between bass, guitar and uke. We worked on a rotating schedule to cover the other park responsibilities. I had such a blast that summer, that I auditioned and was selected again the summer of my Senior year. In fact, I left the day after graduation and didn't return until the Fall. I made lifelong friends at Porpoise Island and consider those 2 summers the most significant of my early music career. Those memories I will cherish always.

The Roaring 20's-life after high school:

After high school, I moved to California and did a brief stint at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. Took music and electronics for a year, then joined the Army to participate in their educational benefits program. After boot camp and AIT (military school), I moved back to Hawaii and was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Wahiawa. Upon my return, I hooked up with Matt Souza, a fellow Porpoise Island alumnus and a close personal friend. Matt had recently formed a band and asked me if I'd be interested in playing in the band (silly question!). I became the newest member of Boulevard (aka "BLVD"). The band included: Matt Souza, lead vocals, harmonica, and rhythm guitar; DeeDee Walker, 1st lead guitar; me, 2nd lead and rhythm guitar, vocals; Bob Schaller, keyboards and vocals; Randall Yamaguchi, bass and vocals; Todd Grupen, harmonica, percussion, lead and backup vocals; and Mark ("Yea, Mark!") on drums. We played 3 nights a week for about 2-1/2 years at Chuck's Steakhouse in Pearlridge Shopping Center. We didn't play Hawaiian music as you might expect, but mainly did original tunes, the majority of which were written by Matt with help from Todd on a few songs. Our musical influences were the Eagles, James Taylor, Steely Dan, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, Van Morrison, etc.. We were the rebels going against the grain to make a statement, 'cept none of us new exactly what we were trying to say. Just knew we were "doin' our own thing!"

The Void-music limbo:

Sometime during my stint with Boulevard, I managed to get hooked, line and sinker, by the mother of my children, the keeper of my fate, and the captain of my ship (sorry, I've run out of cliches!), my darling wife, Robin. Oh, not necessarily in that order. Long story short, after the military, I went back to school, then packed up, moved to Boston and "hung up my music spurs" while dealing with the complexities of normal life. And there they remained until...

No Time like the Present:

The summer of '96. And I can blame/credit but one person for all of this...my cousin, Aug. I have always played at family parties at the request of my relatives and in keeping with the tradition of the Hawaiian "backyard jam". Aug started to take an active interest in music and that summer, Aug asked me to teach him to play bass. It all started innocently enough. My sister, Ahmoi, also happened to be dancing with Aunty Sybil Pruett. Eddie (Salvador) was part of Aunty Cybil's group, providing the music for the halau. Reis works with Aug and comes from a musical family background. As I do every year, I threw a summer party at my place, and we all got together just to "fool around." It was really rough, but we had a good time. So we agreed to get together again, and then again, and again...My other cousin, Keoki was (and still is) playing with Mo'opuna, another fine Hawaiian group in the Bay Area. He started practicing with us too, and around January 1997, signed on as our lead singer and drummer. Rounding out our team is Reis' wife, Carlene. Carlene is the band's sound engineer, with formal training at the School of Hard Knocks ( we live, we learn, huh, Carlene!). Our first public appearance was at the Templebar's Sunday Jam on September 1, 1996. About a week or so later, Kem Kanikapila, Sr., proprietor/owner of the Templebar in Berkeley asked us if we'd like to play at the club again. It started out as a "next 3 months" sort of arrangement, and we've been fortunate enough to have played at the club once a month, every month. We continued to play there every 2nd Saturday of the month until April 2001. To coin an oft used cliche: "the rest is history!"