The live music scene in Hawaii is a collective blend of influences from ukulele and slack key guitar, to reggae, rock ‘n’ roll, rap and jazz. The variation in island music is as diverse as the culture itself. Kailua-Kona-based Hawaiian rock band, Maka, brought their original sound to the Big Island a couple of years ago, and has been entertaining the west side since.
The live music scene in Hawaii is a collective blend of influences from ukulele and slack key guitar, to reggae, rock ‘n’ roll, rap and jazz. The variation in island music is as diverse as the culture itself. Kailua-Kona-based Hawaiian rock band, Maka, brought their original sound to the Big Island a couple of years ago, and has been entertaining the west side since.
The four-piece band comprises Maka Gallinger on vocals and ukulele, Jason Stith on bass, Sean Allen on guitar and John Reiner on drums. Taking first place at the islandwide Battle of the Bands in 2014 thrust the band into the spotlight and led them to finishing this fall their long-awaited album, “Let’s Dance,” recorded at Grammy Award-winner Charles Michael Brotman’s studio.
“It’s really a range of genres from rock to reggae to pop. It shows our diversity, which is what we wanted to showcase,” Gallinger said of the album.
While the current members of Maka have played together the past couple of years, Gallinger’s quest for the perfect band was a journey in discovery. Starting out as a solo artist, she felt the call to get a band together and perform as a group.
“I’ve been through a few musicians,” she said. “I’ve been playing with Jason, the bass player, for about five years now. We went through several guitar players but the style just wasn’t what we were looking for until we found Sean. We’ve been playing with Sean, our current guitarist, for about three years now, and John, our drummer, has been with us for about a year and a half.”
Gallinger stresses the importance of band unity and how vital it is for all members of the band to get along well.
“I think it takes about a year for a band to really get it together,” she said. “Our band comes from different backgrounds and we have very different styles of playing. It’s about so much more than just talent. It’s about really getting along with one another. The band is like a second family with the amount of time we spend together, so it was really important for me to find guys, that even though we’re so different, when we come together we can really get along. We’ve had to work through some hard things together and it’s really been good.”
Like other musicians, Gallinger grew up in a large Hawaiian family and singing in the church choir. Not surprisingly, she finds her musical inspiration through her family and children.
“Music was just part of our every day life,” she said. “My mom always had an ukulele. She was always singing. So music was always with me. I never thought I would become a professional musician, but after my first son was born, I had a desire to start performing and writing music. I’ve spent the last seven years really being focusing on writing. And of course kids, and life in general, are inspirational to me.”
Maka plays regularly at Kona Brew Pub, Mi’s Italian Bistro, and The Korner Pocket in Kealakekua. For more information visit www.facebook.com/themakaband and www.jeremyrstegall.com/index_maka.html. ■