Lamasa Para Singko

Regardless of who you are, whether you are a close friend, a fellow activist or even just a perfect stranger, or perhaps someone who mistook me for Rasheed Wallace, if I have ever spoken to you for any decent amount of time, then I am sure I have complained in someway about my brother Kuri (Jeremy) and his banding.
Of course when I say banding I'm not referring to (prepare yourself geek joke on the horizon) to "banding" from the game Magic: The Gathering. But rather to the activity that Kuri regularly does, playing in bands, which keeps him from doing his chores around the house, or makes him impossible to get up in the morning. Kuri is currently in at least three bands that I know of, Freedom Fries (ska), Last Standing All-Stars (reggae) and Table for Five (reggae) and also allegedly participates in several other musical groups, such as UOG Jazz Band, George Washington Alumni Band, and he's probably also the trombone player for Rush's latest tour. (gi minagahet, ti hu tungo' kao gaige un trombone na danderu gi i inetnon Rush).

I had the privilege of listening to Kuri's band Table for Five play at the 2nd Isla Art Fair last Friday. They were very very good. I had heard them play twice before and the sound for both was pretty terrible, and so I wasn't impressed. But for months people have been telling me about how great they are, and so I was glad to finally get a chance to listen to them live, with some decent sound. They were very good, they played the best version of "Iron Lion Zion" I've ever heard. And they even played a new original song they've been working on called "Ipan."
Last week though, Kuri and his banding were dealt a serious blow, when he lost his Monday gig at Mac and Marti's and then lost his Wednesday gig at The Rack. The only paid banding that Kuri does now is Friday's at The Venue. Although they are trying to look at the mas ma'lak na banda gi este na homhom na mapagahes, and argue that this will give them time to practice more and work on original songs, they are still trying to find more gigs. If anyone out there is looking for a great reggae band for parties or for their bar or club, let me know. They are affordable and can even bring their own sound equipment for parties!

I'll spend the rest of the post, sharing pictures of Kuri's band and some videos of them playing:








Comments

Kel Muna said…
Wow! I didn't know that your brother was that talented. I guess art runs in your family. They sound great. I'll also get the word out in case I run into people that are looking for bands.

shoot!

ps - what are the chances of you doing a guest performance on vocals? j/k
March 11, 2009 12:02 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chamorro Public Service Post #15: Pues Adios, Esta Ki

A lot of people end up visiting this blog because they are searching around the internet for lyrics to Chamorro songs. Over the years I’ve pasted a couple here and there, but haven’t really kept up with it as much as I should. I complain all the time about there not being enough internet presence for the Chamorro language and for Chamorro thoughts and so I feel bad when I inadvertently contribute to that absence. På’go, gaige yu’ gi i gima’ iyo-ku grandfather. Desde i ma’pos’ña na mes, kumakatre gui’. Kana’ hineart attack gui’, ya sumaga’ gui’ gi i espitåt para tres meses. Mana’huyong gi i ma’pos na mes, ya sumåsaga’ gui’ gi i gima’, lao ti ha hulat tumohgue sin ayuda. Kada na puengge måtto yu’ gi i gima’-ña para i tetno-hu pumulan gui’. Gi este na tiempo, tåya’ internet, pues siña hu usa este para bai hu fanhasso. Manhasso yu’ put i lina’la’-hu pat i guinife-hu. Buente i chinathinasso-ku siha lokkue’. Tonight, I was trying to figure out what would be the best song to share the lyrics
Read more

Tuleti

Image
I was racking my brain recently to determine what was the first ever Chamorro song that was featured in a motion picture. Noon Sunday was the first every motion picture to be filmed primarily on Guam, prior to that some minor filming had been done on Guam for World War II and Godzilla films but nothing substantial. Noon Sunday was not set in Guam, but it was the first film to feature extensively the island of Guam. Guam was the locale for a fictional Pacific island that was being taken over by a menacing Asian power. Almost all the speaking roles went to people from off-island (from the US or the Philippines), and Chamorros ended up playing most of the "extra" roles. As a result the film didn't feature any Chamorro music. You do find documentaries and television programs, all locally produced that feature Chamorro songs of at least Chamorros singing songs. Guam's History Through Songs, made by the late Carmen Santos is a perfect example of this. For those of you u
Read more

Guam: The Movie

Image
During the pandemic lockdown on Guam, I was feeling at various points, like so many, stressed and anxious about the world and what was happening and what might happen. I was fortunate to still have a job during the lockdown, and because of technology like zoom and social media, I could still keep up my community work, by teaching classes in the Chamoru language and also history. I also was able to keep up with Fanachu! the podcast for Independent Guåhan. Because of so many people sheltering at home, our audience grew exponentially. One thing that I found myself doing more, like most people with a certain level of privilege and comfort, was watching more things online, on laptops and on my phones. Movie theaters were closed, but Netflix and Youtube were always open, so long as I had data on my phone and wifi in the home. As most people were locked down, sheltering in place, only encouraged to go out and explore for essential tasks or errands, things in general started to shift to becomi
Read more