Hukilau Adventure #1

Hey all! Travelling for music is always filled with surprises, some better than others, an adventure through new places and people, stages and sound systems, restaurants and hotel rooms. I try to keep that perspective so the bummers don't seem so bad and the good surprises seem great.

Day #1 at Hikilau in Ft. Lauderdale was filled with good surprises. First we rehearsed, acoustic style (I played only my log drum and cowbell), with Billy Mure in a hotel room and heard some incredible stories from him about his music career with RCA and other labels in NYC. He's a great talker, and an even better player! Again, check out the Billy Mure link in my previous post to read all about him.

Next, we ventured to the famous Mai Kai restaurant, effectively a Polynesian time/transport machine, for a back room tour with mangaer Kern (thanks, Kern!). Kern's uncle built the Mai Kai, now celebrating its 50th anniversary, and collected unbelievable artifacts to decorate the place -- tikis, weapons, even real shrunken heads! Following a toast with a delicious 18 year old rum in his private office/artifact museum, and a tour through the garden, we took in the Mai Kai's authentic Polynesia show. Having had no sleep from the redeye flight the night before made for a surreal adventure at the Mai Kai that I'll remember fondly.