I am especially proud of the work I have done to put on specialty shows. The Music of Sade is my personal fav. I also do Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston when I used to find favor at The Blue Note. You know…the overpriced venue in Waikiki with terrible food and even worse idea of how to treat artists like me? Haha. Anyway, I found a great supporter in Glen Anderson of Slack Key Lounge and he...
I was onstage at a recent 4th of July show with a band called Hawaiian Soul. A woman from the audience caught my attention during the break, and said she had worked up a special dedication on her saxophone. She asked if she would get on stage while we were on break and perform it for our audience. She then asked me to sing with her. Here was my challenge immediately after the first phrase….our...
One of my favorite songs ever played on the radio is the Todd Rundgren composition, “Love Is The Answer” that was made popular by England Dan and John Ford Coley. The melody pierced my heart, sounded slightly haunting, but mostly left me feeling encouraged somehow. The lyrics dripped sweet honey into my soul and when the song was through, I understood my place in this world. Internalizing...
Musical Notes editor/writer Jim Rugglirello gave us a lovely write up after attending the show “Mardi Gras Madness” with the Long Beach Symphony featuring Matt Catingub, Steven Moretti, and myself your Black Pearl of the Pacific! In the review he wrote, “And then there's Ginai. It's considered off limits these days to comment on a female performer's appearance or attire, so I won't...
I am sure the genre has already been created, but I’m calling it a first for me. “The Rock Lounge.” Since Jazz has been made a ‘dirty word’ I have had to switch gears yet again. Thanks to corporate radio all a person gets to hear are rehashed oldies and a very limited playlist of 3-chord-no-brainers. All new music can be played on ukulele and that is saying something not-so-complimentary. I...
Happy 2019 and I hope you had a introspective changing of the year as I certainly have. This year will mark a milestone. I will be 60. A wee bit older and definitely a lot wiser. I had a pretty interesting year, 2018, where I slaved to keep myself in the limelight to prove what again? I do not know. To prove I still had it, I guess. What I needed to learn was that I always ‘had it’ and didn’t...
The anniversary of Whitney Houston’s death is coming up on Feb 12th. On the 7th, Mike Lewis and I are producing a show of her music featuring myself along with a few fresh faces at the Blue Note in Waikiki. I will be using my many years of performance savvy and vocal ability to bring as much of her depth and emotion to her countless hits and masterful recordings. She was iconic not only...