SONGS FROM WAYNE KAUMUALII WESTLAKE’S POEMS
INTRODUCTION (FEATURING IMAIKALANI KALAHELE, HONOLULU)
last year I spent working as a janitor
down on the sidewalk in waikiki –
experiences ran from everything to
everything. I wrote poems to keep from
going insane … (1973)
TRACK #1 WENDELL ING & HAWAII ISLAND FRIENDS, HILO)
DOWN ON THE SIDEWALK IN WAIKIKI
No need feel sorry
for the crippled man
down on the sidewalk
– in Waikiki
There are a lot more crippled
minds
limping around,
feel sorry for them!
TRACK #2 (IMAIKALANI KALAHELE, HONOLULU)
DOWN ON THE SIDEWALK
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
feeling more than sad
i wonder, silent
to myself
why i don’t go
STARK
RAVING
MAD!
TRACK #3 (IMAIKALANI KALAHELE, HONOLULU)
DOWN ON THE SIDEWALK (IN WAIKIKI)
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
I
SEE
EVERYTHING
passing me:
lost souls
girls with nice asses,
businessmen
with dirty assholes
and shiny suits,
bums pimps whores
freaks junkies gigolos
and burnt out Amerikans …
they’re
straight bent
slimy clean
women under the
spell of the MOON
children learning
the GAME too soon
policemen hippies
Kahunas (a few)
fat sick Amerikans
and speedy Japanese
studs cunts
rich poor
perverts weirdos
beggars fools
crazy-men
and old people
about to DIE . . .
they’re all there
I tell you,
man
from my seat
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
I SEE EVERYTHING
this gigantic PIG
PARADE
staggering by . . .
and across the street
unnoticed,
an old Hawaiian
slowly sweeps
the sidewalk
clean
with a fallen
coconut leaf:
away,
you fools
he whispers,
away!
TRACK #4 (HANS KEONI WILHELM & RYAN OISHI, HONOLULU)
THE NAME OF THE GAME
there was this strange smell
the first thing in the morning
when the janitor, crazy fool
first opened the door:
shit? anger? despair?
what was it this time?
he wondered . . .
the janitor suddenly wished
he’d brought some incense
to clean the air
of evil, of spirits, of evil
whatever the smell was
SOMETHING was WEIRD
there was blood
all over the floor!
. . . and the Police
they found him
dead in the bathroom
and the janitor
spent all morning
cleaning blood
off the floor,
and glass . . .
THE NAME OF THE GAME
IS PROFIT!
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki:
crazy guy all doped up
went right thru the
plateglass window
hungry, starving
for some BREAD
didn’t find anything
BLEEDING
he went CRAZY
like a wounded animal
TRAPPED!
he lost his mind
went running
FRANTIC!
all over the store:
there was blood EVERYWHERE
on the floor
and high up
on the walls
the Name of the Game
is PROFIT all right
and when the janitor
(that’s his job)
got down on his fucking knees
to clean up the mess
the smell of rotted
clotted
blood
ten times
just about made him
lose his GUTS!
HORRIBLE!
more than that:
HE JUST ABOUT
LOST HIS MIND!
in the bathroom
where they found him
bleeding
was the worst:
the floor was solid
blood –
the guy must have tried
to stop the bleeding
using two old
slimy sponges
no way
two slimy sponges
full, heavy
and much more
all over the floor –
gagging,
i flushed two blood-soaked
slimy sponges
down the toilet
away . . .
fingers sticky
from the blood
bleeding
from the glass
they gave the janitor
a ten dollar bill
for cleaning up
the mess
the janitor, I took it
out of my mind
and went straight to a place
called HELL
and spent it . . .
TRACK #5 (RICHARD HAMASAKI, KANEOHE)
JANITOR – OKADAYA
WAIKIKI – HAWAII
cleaning piss
off the floor
of the japanese
tourist store
can’t help thinking
over and over
“these japanese
businessmen
are PIGS!”
TRACK #6 (AMY YAMASHIRO, KANEOHE/NEW YORK)
A SAVAGE CAN’T LIVE IN AMERIKA
i always had this thing
about my hair:
it gets so long
it’s FREAKY!
like a SAVAGE,
you know,
it’s cool
you know, but
A SAVAGE
CAN’T LIVE
IN AMERIKA!
and Amerika
i tell you
is EVERYWHERE!
. . . and when you
run around NAKED
in the hot
HAWAIIAN SUN,
your skin
naturally
turns brown
DEEP DARK BROWN
like chocolate,
and hair
turns yellow like
GOLD!
gold hair
brown skin
half-naked
crazy grin
it’s WEIRD
i know
i’ve seen my
self a SAVAGE
in plateglass
windows
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
and sometimes
it SCARES ME
TO DEATH!
TRACK #7 (DAREN KAMALI & GRACE TAYLOR, FIJI & AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND)
CRACKED
HUNKS
of raw meat
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
look to me
like something
OBSCENE!
but it’s not
so STRANGE
in waikiki
where dirt’s
expensive
and bricks
are cheaper
than rocks –
can’t stand
to look at it
any longer
i get up
and FLEE
the MONSTER
WAIKIKI!
TRACK #8 (AMY YAMASHIRO, KANEOHE/NEW YORK)
washing windows
dirty janitor sweats
clean tourist asks
“how do you get . . .?”
before he’s finished
tell him
EAT SHIT!
TRACK #9 (WENDELL ING & HAWAII ISLAND FRIENDS, HILO)
THESE DROPS
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
i wring my mind
like a blood-soaked sponge
and get
these
drops:
“the girls asses
are nice
but the World’s
in bad shape
you can see it
in their EYES –”
BURN OUT!
WASTED!
WIPED OUT!
TRACK #10 (FRED HO & IYANNA JONES, aka NANA SOUL, NEW YORK)
D FOR DISGUSTING
from my seat
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
i watch Amerika
limp by –
FAT
AND
DISGUSTING!
TRACK #11 (SIA FIGIEL, SAMOA)
OUT OF MY MIND
to give my poems
BITE
i sit all day
down on the
sidewalk
in waikiki
watching the
PIG PARADE
limp by . . .
i watch them
the PIGS –
the Pigs
they watch me –
it’s enough to drive
any man
CRAZY
i write
i write
TOTALLY OUT OF
MY MIND
TRACK #12 (THREE FRIED MEN, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI)
CHRISTMAS DAY, 1972
washing windows
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
tourists again
they’re asking me
the way to
the Catholic Church –
since it’s Christmas Day
i oblige them pointing gladly
pointing a finger
up my ass:
“GO STRAIGHT AS AN ARROW
TO HELL!”
TRACK #12 (VAITOA MALLON & TERESIA TEAIWA, AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND)
CHRISTMAS DAY
Christmas Day’s
a holiday
the janitor
doesn’t have
to work!
so he sleeps
and sleeps
has weird dreams
and gets up late
outside
a fine rain
falling.
TRACK #14 (JUDGE NOTHING, ALTON, ILLINOIS)
GEORGE WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY – AT HONOLULU ZOO
WHAT?
you never seen
a human
being
before?
well then what
the fuck
you staring
for,
ASSHOLE!
no shirt
no shoes
bald head
brown skin –
taking a short
cut
through Honolulu
zoo
people all look
at me
like i should
be in some
kind
of
cage . . .
MUTANTS!
PIGS!
i just hang around
the lion cages:
a lepered sparrow
pecking on
bloody
bones
TRACKS #15 (HANS KEONI WILHELM, HONOLULU)
BLOOD STAINS
down
on the sidewalk
in waikiki
i look
like a Haole
but I’m not:
i got
ROYAL HAWAIIAN BLOOD!
really!
i got
but by now
it’s probably
all gone:
seeing what’s
going on
i BLEED
a lot
and no way
will
that
stop . . .
TRACK #16 (JOHN PULE, AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND)
THE KAHUNA OF WAIKIKI
the bum Hawaiian
came up to me
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
put out his hand
said he needed smokes
asked me for
some change
i reached in my pocket
looking for the cash
asked how he was doing
the World these days
so STRANGE –
“gotta know where
they are first
before they know
where you are”
he said, “I could
go home RIGHT NOW!”
paranoid looking around
wanting to leave
i gave my last dollar
to the Kahuna of Waikiki
mumbling INSANELY
stumbling down
the crowded street . . .
TRACK #17 (KEY OF DIRTY, HONOLULU)
THE DIRTY OLD KAHUNA
the dirty old Kahuna
yawns
another morning
wakes up
from under his coconut
tree
the Kahuna stands up
brushing last night’s
sand
off his back, his hair
his hands
the dirty old Kahuna
puts on a dirty old aloha
shirt
nothing to win
nothing to lose
the Kahuna goes stumbling
straight into
the Heart of
Waikiki
on the sidewalk, ah!
this morning the Kahuna
finds
something special:
wilted but nice
he puts it on
ah, still smells good!
the dirty old Kahuna
SMILES!
friday the 13th
full moon tonight
wearing a beat-up
old orchid lei
that some dumb tourist
threw away
the Kahuna stands
on the corner
Kalakaua and Kaiulani
calls over to his friend
come over
and asks him for
some change
for cigarettes
and something
to eat!
his friend, the janitor
of waikiki
empties
his wallet
GLADLY!
WHY?
‘cause down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
NOTHING’S FREE!
TRACK #18 (AUGUSTO ACALDE, CORDOBA, ARGENTINA)
PAID BY THE SEA
“PIGS! EAT SHIT!
HEY PIGS!”
i practice
by the sea
on my way down
to the sidewalk
in waikiki:
the Amerikan Legion
Parade . . .
i didn’t think
i should write this
what if
maybe i get
caught –
in trouble
then what?
the Pigs
will read it
and nail me
right?
said fuck it
sat down
and wrote it . . .
guess it was
right and the
right thing
to do
first poem
i got paid for
paid by the sea:
two dollar bills
found
right there
on the beach –
one for the Kahuna
and one for me
TRACK #19 (WENDELL ING & HAWAII ISLAND FRIENDS, HILO)
AS RATS CLIMB THE COCONUT TREES
waikiki
with all its people
is still
a lonely place
as rats climb
the coconut trees
the meat
keeps broiling and
fat pags still
slide out of
cadillacs
OINKING!
fingering the slimy
green GOD
of waikiki:
“the whores don’t
want your cock, man
they want your
MONEY!
. . . as rats climb
the coconut trees
going insane
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki i
remember the Kahuna
how he treated
pretty girls:
swatted them away
like flies!
i stumble sad
and lonely
down the crowded
streets
. . . as rats climb
the coconut trees . . .
TRACK #20 (DANIEL PAK, KANEOHE/SEATTLE)
THE DEVIL OF MY LIFE
got an expensive
habit to
maintain
you know,
something
called Life
so i have to
go to
work every day
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki:
like a young punk monkey
facing a giant ape
every morning
i face off waikiki
and when i meet
that Joe Paradise
in the heart of
the concrete jungle
I’LL SPIT
IN HIS FACE!
giant monster
sick and evil
WAIKIKI
i never win
leave there
every morning
SCREAMING
RUNNING
the Devil of my Life
hungry again
snapping
at my heels!
TRACK #21 (HINEMOANA BAKER & CHRISTINE WHITE, AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND)
LOST
last night
in a dream
someone stapled
the sea
to my mind
it was my Badge:
i was invited
to a party!
all the lunatics
the sages
the madmen
of waikiki
were there
and the Kahuna
he was there
too, of course
the highest!
the happiest!
the guest of HONOR!
all the others
lifting beers
around him
drinking!
laughing!
singing . . .
but that’s
all gone now –
i woke up
lost
banished
down
on the sidewalk
in waikiki
looking
looking
can’t see
THE KAHUNAS
ALL GONE
tears sliding
down my cheeks
salting
my lips
my god!
what am i doing
where
am
i?
TRACK #22 (BABATUNJI HEATH, HONOLULU)
MUTANTS EVERYONE
brown skin
gold hair
no shirt
no shoes
some dumb
ass
came up to me
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
asked if i
dyed my hair?
IDIOT!
i told him
YOU FOOL!
just can’t look
like a human being
these days,
can you?
people FREAK!
THEY ALL LOOK
LIKE MUTANTS
TO ME!
Golden Boy
meets Miss Clairol –
they fuck and maybe
something is born –
i don’t know:
either you mutate
or you
DIE!
TRACK #23 (SIA FIGIEL & LYDIA MUAVESI, SAMOA & SALT LAKE CITY)
MANGO-JUICE SLOBBER
tourist lady
walked up to me
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
didn’t say a word
just stared
i stared back
couldn’t believe it
how white – how smooth
her legs
she looked at me
like a wildman
eating a mango
in the sun
i just laughed
an INSANE laugh
and she ran away
fast
mango-juice slobber
drying on my face . . .
i sat there awhile
in a daze
the Parade
looking interesting
i walked on
picking my teeth
TRACK #24 (ROBERT GOETZ, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI)
JESUS FREAKS
if i took jesus
in my heart
the Sun wouldn’t
shine
and if the Sun
didn’t shine
the Sun
God RA would
be angry!
i
WORSHIP
THE SUN!
and make the Sun
not shine
is the
last thing in the world
i want
to do
so . . .
i told the
jesus freak
can’t you see
i don’t want
to stand here
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
and PRAISE THE LORD!
he, the jesus freak
looked at me puzzled
head uplifted
ah! the Sun
warm on my face
as
i
walked
down
the
street . . .
TRACK #25 (LYDIA MUAVESI, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH)
THE HAWAIIAN
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
the old Hawaiian
kept looking
up in the sky
i wondered
why?
what’s he looking
at?
looked up to see
mynah birds frolicking
in coconut
trees
of course!
of course!
TRACK #26 (KENNETH GOFIGAN KUPER, GUAHAN/GUAM)
THEY GOT ME HANGING ALREADY
wasted
full moon’s gone
and left me
lost and sick
like a lost
sick
dog . . .
dead dog
on the road
what’s it mean?
should i SCREAM?
yesterday today
tomorrow
FOREVER all a
sad
sick
DREAM . . .
if i wore
a tie
i’d DIE!
noose up tight
they got me
hanging
already
feet dangling
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
as the world
goes
spinning
by . . .
THE WAYNE KAUMUALII WESTLAKE PROJECT: POETRY SCORES HAWAII
Westlake CD CREDITS
“INTRODUCTION”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals: Imaikalani Kalahele
Recorded, mixed and produced: Richard Hamasaki
#1 “DOWN ON THE SIDEWALK IN WAIKIKI”
Lead vocals: Pedro Kaawaloa, Jacob Bernabe
Bkgd vocals: Wendell Ing, Pedro Kaawaloa, Jacob Bernabe, Justin Chittams, Dianne Gallina, Laura Saijo, Malu Debus
Ukulele: Wendell Ing
Electric Guitar: Trever Veilleux
Electric Bass: Gonzo
Drums: Danny Steiner
Recorded and mixed: Robert Abe
#2 “DOWN ON THE SIDEWALK”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals and music: Imaikalani Kalahele
Recorded, mixed and produced: Richard Hamasaki
#3 “DOWN ON THE SIDEWALK (IN WAIKIKI)”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals and music: Imaikalani Kalahele
Recorded, mixed and produced: Richard Hamasaki
#4 “THE NAME OF THE GAME”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals: Hans Keoni Wilhelm and Ryan Oishi
Music: Richard Hamasaki
Recorded, mixed and produced: Richard Hamasaki
#5 “JANITOR – OKADAYA – WAIKIKI – HAWAII”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Music and vocals: Richard Hamasaki
Recorded, mixed and produced: Richard Hamasaki
#6 “A SAVAGE CAN’T LIVE IN AMERIKA”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Music: Amy Yamashiro, vocals, ukulele and effects
Percussion (cajon and shaker): Melody Loveless
Flute: Caryn Freitag
Recorded, mixed and produced: Amy Yamashiro
#7 “CRACKED”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals: Daren Kamali and Grace Taylor
Recorded and mixed: Anonymous (Myome Music).
Produced: Niu Navigations
#8 “WASHING WINDOWS…”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Music: Amy Yamashiro, vocals, ukulele and effects
Recorded, mixed and produced: Amy Yamashiro
#9 “THESE DROPS”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Lead vocal: Wendell Ing
Bkgd vocals: Pedro Kaawaloa, Jacob Bernabe, Justin Chittams, Dianne Gallina, Laura Saijo, Malu Debus
Piano: Wendell Ing
Electric Guitar: Trever Veilleux
Electric Bass: Gonzo
Drums: Danny Steiner
Recorded and mixed: Robert Abe
#10 “D FOR DISGUSTING”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Music: Fred Ho
Baritone saxophone: Fred Ho
Voice: Iyanna Jones (aka Nana Soul)
Recorded and mixed: Tylon U-Savior Washington and Shawna Glover
January 25, 2013 at BW Moving Images Studio, Jersey City, NJ
#11 “OUT OF MY MIND”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals: Sia Figiel
Recorded: Richard Hamasaki
Keyboards: H. Doug Matsuoka
Ambient sound recorded: H. Doug Matsuoka @ (De)Occupy Honolulu
Engineered, mixed and produced: H. Doug Matsuoka
#12 “CHRISTMAS DAY, 1972”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Performed: Three Fried Men
Drums, ukulele: Nick Barbieri
Electric guitar: Mark Buckheit
Vocals: Chris King
Acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards: David Melson
Recorded: David Melson and Nick Barbieri
Mixed: Meghan Gohil at Hollywood Recording Studio http://www.hollywoodrecordingstudio.com
Three Fried Men is the house band of Poetry Scores http://www.poetryscores.blogspot.com
#13 “CHRISTMAS DAY”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals: Vaitoa Mallon and Teresia Teaiwa
Instruments: Vaitoa Mallon
Bass: Jason Wright
Recorded: Christine White
Mixed: Jason Wright
Coproduced: Christine White and Vaitoa Mallon
#14 “GEORGE WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY – AT HONOLULU ZOO”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Music: Judge Nothing
Engineered and produced: Doug Raffety
#15 “BLOOD STAINS”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals: Hans Keoni Wilhelm
Engineered: Richard Hamasaki
Recorded, mixed and produced: Richard Hamasaki
#16 “THE KAHUNA OF WAIKIKI”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals: John Pule
Music: Fred Renata
Percussion: Levani Vosasi III (Tuituba)
Recorded and mixed: Colleen Brennan
#17 “THE DIRTY OLD KAHUNA”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Music: Key of Dirty
Vocals: Kimo Armitage, Micky Huihui, Koakāne Mattos and Loren Pabila
Keyboards: Koakāne Mattos
Bass: Koakāne Mattos
Drums: Koakāne Mattos
Recorded: The Corner Office, Kamakakūokalani-Center for Hawaiian Studies, UH Mānoa
Mixed: Koakāne Mattos
Produced: Key of Dirty
#18 “PAID BY THE SEA”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals: Augusto Alcalde
Ukulele: Augusto Alcalde
Engineered and produced: Tupac Recording Studio (Rio Caballos, Cordoba, Argentina)
#19 “AS RATS CLIMB THE COCONUT TREES”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Lead vocal: Wendell Ing
Bkgd vocals: Pedro Kaawaloa, Jacob Bernabe, Justin Chittams, Dianne Gallina, Laura Saijo, Malu Debus
Ukulele, Piano: Wendell Ing
Electric Guitar: Trever Veilleux
Electric Bass: Gonzo
Drums: Danny Steiner
Recorded and mixed: Robert Abe
#20 “THE DEVIL OF MY LIFE”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals and ukulele: Daniel Pak
Engineered: Daniel Pak
Recorded, mixed and produced: Richard Hamasaki
#21 “LOST”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals: Hinemoana Baker
Instrumental (oven grills, bowed and struck): Christine White
Recorded and mixed: Christine White
Produced: Hinemoana Baker http://www.hinemoana.co.nz and Christine White http://christine-white.blogspot.co.nz/
#22 “MUTANTS EVERYONE”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals and ambient sound recordings: Babatunji Heath
Recorded, mixed and produced: Babatunji Heath
#23 “MANGO-JUICE SLOBBER”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals: Sia Figiel and Lydia Muavesi
Recorded, mixed and produced: Richard Hamasaki
#24 “JESUS FREAKS”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals, acoustic guitar, drums: Robert Goetz
Cello: Adam Long
Electric Lap Steel Guitar: Mark Buckheit
Recorded, mixed and produced: Adam Long and Robert Goetz
#25 “THE HAWAIIAN”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals: Lydia Muavesi
Recorded, mixed and produced: Richard Hamasaki
#26 “THEY GOT ME HANGING ALREADY”
Words: Wayne Kaumualii Westlake
Vocals: Kenneth Gofigan Kuper
Bass: Jerico Aguon
Guitar: Jeremiah Klassen
Engineered and produced: Jerico Aguon
Art: Shinichi Takahashi
Album design: Mele Hamasaki
INTRODUCTION (adapted from http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-5684-9780824830670.aspx)
The Wayne Kaumualii Westlake Project, Poetry Scores Hawaii, consists of 26 songs inspired from his collection “Down on the Sidewalk in Waikiki,” poems from his book (pp. 138 – 169). In an all too brief life and literary career, Wayne Kaumualii Westlake (1947-1984) produced a substantial body of poetry consisting of hundreds of short poems and longer narrative pieces. He broke new ground as a concrete poet, translated Taoist classical literature and Japanese haiku, interwove perspectives from his Hawaiian heritage into his writing and art, and indefatigably published his poetry in small presses and anthologies in Hawaii and abroad. When Westlake died in Hilo Hospital on February 16, 1984 at the age of 36, two weeks after his car was struck by an allegedly drunken driver, the only available collection of Westlake’s poems was a 32-page, limited edition chapbook from an independently published small press. In 2001, seventeen years after Westlake’s death, his companion and literary executor, Mei-Li M. Siy, gathered and organized many of his manuscripts and papers that had been lying for years in boxes, stored in a shed near her family home in Hawaii. Receiving these unpublished poems and manuscripts from Mei-Li initiated a deeply emotional journey—for both of us—to document and honor his life and work (Mei-Li Siy and Richard Hamasaki, co-editors, 2007). We deeply thank all who have helped to perpetuate Wayne’s work.
The Westlake Project, Poetry Scores Hawaii, was initiated by Chris King of St. Louis, Missouri, and UH-Hilo art professor Michael D. Marshall. Michael has known co-editor Mei-Li Siy since the mid-1980s. Mei-Li is Westlake’s literary estate executor, and I’m its principal advisor/editor. We’re also working with Justyn Ah Chong, movie producer and filmmaker, USC film school and Kamehameha Schools graduate. Dr. Michael Puleloa, Kamehameha Schools English teacher, is our content/script and editorial consultant. We’re an entity of five co-producers: Chris, Justyn, two Michaels, and me — with Mei-Li’s as supporting producer. Poetry Scores St. Louis is an associate producer for our soundtrack project: http://www.poetryscores.blogspot.com.
WAYNE KAUMUALII WESTLAKE SOUNDTRACK DESCRIPTION
In 2012, we shared Chris King’s words with prospective musicians, composers, and poets: “We are looking for 26 songwriters each to set to music one poem from Wayne Westlake’s 26-poem sequence ‘Down on the Sidewalk in Waikiki.’ We’d like songwriters to share their diversity of preferences for the music itself. Richard spoke with passion about making music new, coming up with new sounds and combinations and genres, and absolutely that should be communicated as an option….However else the songwriter sorts out the task, the first intent is to be true to the poem. To understand where the poem is coming from and what the poet is trying to say. To make [Wayne’s poetry] live, breathe, sing. Make Wayne proud. Make his family, friends and community proud.”
WESTLAKE PROJECT VISION
Our goals are many-layered and multi-genre in scope and vision.
First, by summer 2013, we’ll have produced and released recordings of Wayne’s “Down on the Sidewalk in Waikiki,” featuring 26 songs from each of Wayne’s poems from his published “Down on the Sidewalk Series.”
Second, the Westlake soundtrack will hopefully inspire short movies that will feature up to 26 different directors shooting 26 discrete short films based on each of the 26 songs.
Third, we will organize a Westlake Art Invitational in Honolulu in 2014, an exhibit inspired by Westlake’s work that will hopefully raise funds for the Westlake Archive (see below) and/or the Wayne Kaumualii Westlake monograph series published by Kuleana Oiwi Press http://www.hawaii.edu/oiwi/wayne-kaumualii-westlake-monograph-series.php.
Fourth, we’ll propose a permanent archive of three file boxes of Wayne’s manuscripts at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Hawaiian-Pacific Collection.
Finally, we plan on inviting one or more scholars who may be interested in possibly editing a second volume of Wayne’s work. However, the stipulation from Mei-Li and the Westlake Literary Estate is that Wayne’s work must first be secured, documented and carefully archived before a second volume is considered. Thereafter, restricted access to the Westlake Papers will become available physically, and hopefully via a digital repository.
To make a donation to help fund our forthcoming (Summer of 2013) “Down on the Sidewalk in Waikiki” CD, please hit: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-wayne-kaumualii-westlake-project-poetry-scores-hawaii/x/1040794
Co-producers: Justyn Ah Chong, Chris King, Michael Marshall, Michael Puleloa and Mei-Li Siy
Executive Producer: Richard Hamasaki
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