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jumpingmusic
Aloha
1 Posts |
 Posted - 02/20/2008 : 08:08:16 AM
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I have something to write about awards and competition.....
I feel that awards are a "positive" as an accomplishment of excellence in music when you are voted by your peers. It is also good for publicity and promotional purposes. The negative part of it is the competition aspect. Sometimes it is all in fun, but other times, it brings out the worst in people. People start talking negative things about other people and it just turns out to be an ugly situation. People become jealous! Yeah I said it...JEALOUS!
I have a friend that lives on the mainland. My friend was born and raised in Hawai'i. There are people in the music industry, and also the media that believes my friend shouldn't even be considered a nomination in any "Hawaiian" awards category. We should be proud of those people that roll the dice and take a gamble on life...not cut them down and say that he or she is not deserving of it because he or she doesn't live here in Hawai'i anymore. IF...IF.. Robert Cazimero moved to Florida for a couple of years. He decides to record a Hawaiian CD and have it only released here in Hawai'i. If he gets nominated for a Hoku or a Grammy, would some people criticize his nomination and complain? Probably...but not as much.....and probably not publicly.
The bottom line people, is that we are only playing music! Music...Music....That is all. My friend loves Hawai'i! My friend loves Hawaiian music! Some of my friend closest friends live in Hawai'i...and some of them are Hawaiian and they support my friend 100%. So to the people who complains, it is people like you that make this world a rough place to live in. We are showing our children of tomorrow a bad example. Be proud of people from Hawai'i.. here or anywhere!
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KäneKïHö`alu
Akahai
64 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2008 : 09:28:20 AM
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| Maika`i loa. One of the best ways to perpetuate Hawaiian culture is to allow people everywhere to partake in it and enjoy it, so long as they respect it and keep it pure, which I'm sure your friend is doing. |
E mālama pono a e hoʻomaha ma ka maluhia o ke Akua,
Matt |
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2008 : 10:24:34 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by jumpingmusic
I have something to write about awards and competition.....*
Your point is well taken. But in no attempt at heresy, I think most would agree that all who perform and record Hawaiian music do so first and foremost as a labor of love. They may gain financially from it. They may even win an occasional award. But if it is not first an affair of the heart, then it is far from being Hawaiian. So who really cares if they are eligible for an award or not?
The issue you raise does not only apply to Hawaiians no longer living in Hawai`i. Imagine for a moment the perceptions of the Academy at haoles who perform and record Hawaiian music outside of Hawai`i. I am one of those.
But I, for one, am not ruffled by HARA's policies about what recordings qualify for Hoku Award consideration - because they haven't exactly kept it a secret. HARA and the Hoku Awards are not merely about preserving Hawaiian music. They are first and foremost about promoting the music industry in Hawai`i. So, if the artist doesn't reside in Hawai`i, then should they really be seeking HARA's endorsement and support?
From HARA's mission statement...
"All product created, produced, engineered, and recorded by a local resident artist, musician, or technician released during the eligibility year and primarily for distribution in Hawai'i is eligible for inclusion on the preliminary voting ballot."
I do not find this to be at all exclusionary. It is directly within their mission to promote the artists in this remote region. If not HARA, then who will?
If an artist outside of Hawai`i is bothered by this policy, the most effective way of changing hearts and minds would be to continue to make beautiful Hawaiian music and forget about the awards. Let evolution take its course.
And, not so incidentally, regardless of HARA's statement above, there are very few categories for which recordings made outside of Hawai`i are not eligible. Only the General, Technical, and Adjudicated categories have Hawai`i residency requirements and these are not at all new. For example, for the "Best New Artist" category, shouldn't the best new artist in Hawai`i come from Hawai`i? This, too, is directly in keeping with HARA's mission. But your friend and others from outside of Hawai`i are eligible for all awards in all of the Genre categories.
I think your issue is more reflective of the artist than the Hawaiian music community. The bottom line as you see it - "we are only playing music" - is not wholly accurate. When you are playing Hawaiian music, you are representing Hawaiian culture. The farther the artist roams from Hawai`i, the more Hawaiian their music had better be.
Welcome to taropatch.net. I don't speak for all of us, but... It would be nice if you would identify yourself. I haven't been here very long myself, but I don't recall anyone's first post here being an anonymous rant filled with negativity. This forum is all about aloha...
*This is an old issue - at least two years old since your friend's CD was rejected from the "Album Of The Year" and "Male Vocalist Of The Year" categories of the Hoku Awards. I doubt that moving the issue from one forum to another will give it any more credence. Anyway, no sense talking about your friend in the abstract since I think this issue has only ever been voiced by one artist ever. There are plenty of amazing musicians in Hawai`i nei who continue to go unrecognized. I would love to be part of the Hawaiian music community in Hawai`i. But it hardly makes sense, does it, to be importing Hawaiian music into Hawai`i when the goal is to export Hawaiian music to the world?
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Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 02/20/2008 : 11:32:46 AM
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Awards and competition are great, if you win.  I say that in jest, but there is truth to it, no? The positive is that it brings attention to the winner... which can can help sell CDs, get gigs, etc. On the other hand, judging music is so subjective. The result is controversy about who shoulda/coulda won, been nominated, etc. Whether it's music or sport, competition can bring out the best and worst in any of us.
You're clearly a big supporter of Hawai`i and Hawaiian music. Welcome to the 'patch and hope that you and your friend will hang around a while. |
Andy |
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