Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 2, 1 February 2002 — 'Rust on the Moon' a magical reality for 1. Mihana [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

'Rust on the Moon' a magical reality for 1. Mihana

By Manu Boyd £ ~w~ t was a kind of epiphany, When I turned I 50, 1 figured out that I really have to know Awhat ī'm doing, For 23 years, I played bass in Mom's group, Puamana, and sang alto, I didn't know all the words that well because I didn't sing lead, Two years ago, Mom (īrmgard Farden 'Āluli) retired from performing, and ī decided to play guitar, ī played a little guitar, but mom helped me too, Then ī discovered by playing guitar, ī could sing lead, Wowl ī had to really know the songs," Two years, the sultry soloist, īrmgard Mihana 'Āluli Souza, has emerged, "Did you know my first name is 'īrmgard?' īsn't that eool? What a better way to bring mom into this project, So in my debut, ī am 'ī, Mihana'," Mihana Souza has music running through her veins, Born in Tennessee to īrmgard Farden and Nane 'Āluli, she and her siblings, including twin brother īnoa, grew up in a household where music was the staple, Her mother's large family,

the Fardens of Lahaina, were noted musicians and dancers, "Mom and Dad were living in L.A, where Dad was in law school at Loyola, So many islanders frequented their plaee, Dad couldn't get any studying done, so they made the move east to the

University of Tennessee whieh had a new law school, Mom kept hearing country western tunes and began to write, Dad loved her songs," said Mihana, īrmgard 'Āluli, who passed away in October, is noted for such Hawaiian compositions as UE Maliu Mai " and " PuamanaE But compositions influenced by country and jazz were some of her favorites, Aunty īrmgard's uRust on the Moon " is a mix of jazz and blues that leads the way for ī, Mihana's 11 originals that follow - eaeh song a reflection of the spirit and experiences of the artist, "ī started writing two years ago, and asked Mom for advice, She said, 'Just pay attention to what comes through, Capture how you feel,' and that's what ī did, ī discovered that everything people say and experience is a potential song, ī started carrying around a notebook and recorder, "ī recorded the vocals with simple guitar in L.A, in two days, Richard Bredice, a well-known lead guitarist helped put it all together, ī said, See I. MIHANA on page 18

Mfi f y Aii ana

I. MIHANA from page 11 'Here are the songs with guitar. Just fill in the rest.' He said, 'are you kidding?' and that began a year-long partnership with Richard who said that this was the backward way. When he sent back the "Rust on the Moon" track, I was in awe. Mom loved it too." Cover art is striking and most appropriately, Mihana's initial concept evolved with the help of her mother, "When we were in final production, Mom had gone to Castle Hospital for minor surgery, I brought down the artwork with an array of photos of family and friends to illustratemy songs, She told me, 'Mihana, this one is not about family and friends, This is about you,' She chose another solo shot for the back panel and gave it her blessing, That was the last moment we shared together," "Mom was a huge inspiration to us all, She was 65 when she started "Puamana," Mihana said of the group whieh also included sister Aima and cousin Luana, "What that taught me is that age doesn't matter, You ean do whatever you want, whenever you want," At 52, I, Mihana is doing just that, "Some people mellow a bit at this age, but I want to rev it up, I love rock-n-roll, jazz, Hawaiian - all kinds of music, I believe that if you have good lyrics, a good tune and good delivery, your music will find its market," Another recording? "I have a lot of music as well as some of Mom's ī'd like to record, ,And I'll probably do it the 'backwards way' again," ■