Wendley Kekauoha Jr

"Ala Moana" was my first CD project. It's been two years and eight months since I released the CD. Time sure flies when one is having fun.
The band is just two people my twin brother and dear friend, O'Donel Levy and myself. OD is a genius when it comes to listening to the sound and being to improvise riffs and arrangements on the spot. O'Donel, a born and bred Baltimore jazz guitarist, but I had no idea who he was or what he had done. But from the conversation I quickly determined that he had been away and was itching to get back into the studio.
I don't know why we got along or felt like one but we did hit it off and we stayed in touch. laying somewhere we'd tried to go and visit even if just for a couple of songs. I was impressed by the man, his talent and his story so much that I asked if I could interview him for a writing project I had pending. He agreed and we got together several weeks later to do the interview.

We meet and before getting down to business we sit at the bar just "talking story" over a couple of cold ones. We eventually move to a booth where it's a little quieter to begin the interview. We discuss his childhood, growing up in the projects, his early health issues, his education, his getting out and playing music. The time just flew. We had met at 6 pm it was now 10 pm. But before we parted he asked me if I had any stuff. Stuff? I asked. "Songs, he said, Do you have any songs you want to record?" Yeah, I've got songs but I never thought I'd have the opportunity to record them. He says he has a small recording studio and if I want I can come out and see what happens. I tell him that I've never been in a studio but he says he'll walk me through it step by step. He says it up to you. I think to myself if not now when, so I agree to meet him to see where the decision will lead. It was tough work but I enjoyed the process and fulfilled a dream of recording my own songs.

September 2006, I received a call from a friend who was promoting a Hawaiian music concert in Maryland and asked me if I wanted to open for the Makaha Sons. The Makaha Sons are a huge act in Hawaii, Japan and the Mainland. I couldn't get the "yes" out fast enough. I had about six weeks before the concert so I called a couple of friends and we rehearsed six songs though we knew we were limited to twenty-five minutes. The day of the concert we arrived for sound check. We meet the stars and the hula dancers who will be performing. We do the sound check then it's just a matter of waiting till the performance.
It's time. The emcee makes the introductions and we walk onto the stage to a thunderous applause. I thank the audience and introduce our first song and the next twenty two minutes fly by. It was exhillirating, fun and a great time.