Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 6, 1 June 2008 — Leap of Faith [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Leap of Faith

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No doubt life on the nahonal stage has its share of perks, like VIP seats at Madison Square Garden, shooting the breeze with lohn Mayer at a party and hanging out with Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould (Young is a self-described "huge Chicago Bears fan.") But life on the road also has its realities: Tinie for friends is rare, and days off, usually Sundays, are spent catching up with e-mails, phone calls and chores. "That's the

exciting thing, when you actually have elean laundry," he says. Caillat and her band performed for the first time in the Islands recently, spending several days here in between gigs on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno to showcase her latest hit, Realize, and in lapan at the MTV Video Music Awards. On stage at the Sheraton Waiklkl, the band headlined the Diversity Hannony Peaee event - a follow-up to the previous night's popular lantern ceremony at Ala Moana Park put on by Nā Lei Aloha Foundation - bringing together Hawaiian music heavyweights like Amv Hānaiali'i Gilliom. Keola Beamer.

Raiatea Hehn and Natalie Ai Kamauu. On stage, Young, wearing dreadlocks, a button-down eollared shirt and jeans, sang back up and played his Gibson 145 guitar - a "modern classic" of whieh he now has two thanks in part to Gibson's sponsorship of Caillat. In the middle of the set, he grabbed an 'ukulele to debut the band's newest version of Bob Marley's Turn Your Lights Down Low. "We always warm up to Turn Your Lights Down Low'C Caillat says after the show, sitting in a meeting room with an oeean view. "It's eool 'cause having him sing on it, the crowd they go nuts - his voice, his style of singing, it's the whole reggae style and it fits the song and people dig it." Caillat describes Young as "the cutest thing ever - his voice is gorgeous." "I love how his voice is just so soulful and how he ean play

the ukulele and bring the whole Hawauan acoustic, laid-back style to my songs 'cause that's what my music needs," she says. "And the fact that he and (guitarist) Tim (Fagan) are

from Hawai'i and they ean add that to my music it's just great." Best known among his Hawai'i fans for hits like "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Leaving on a Iet Plane," Young's roots have been musieal from day one. His mom, lan, had classical music playing at his birth. And when he developed his own musical tastes, the "first music I remember learning and playing was Hawaiian music," says Young, who moved to Los Angeles in 1999 to pursue a solo music career. "I used to go to sleep with 1420 AM KCCN. So few stations actually play traditional Hawaiian stuff - 1 love that." More than contemporary island music, it's the traditional music of Hui 'Ohana and others, he says, that "touches a special plaee and brings a lot of memories back for me." His girlfriend, MeKenna Maduli, ean attest to that. "I used to travel with Iustin and dance hula while he was promoting One

Foot on SandC his Hawaiian-language CD featuring many originals, she says. "He doesn't get to play as mueh Hawaiian music as he wants to, but when we're at home that's all he sings. He's with his Darren Benitez and Dennis Pavao songs and Mākaha Sons." Maduli's father, Kata Maduli, produced One Foot on Sand, released on the

Tropical Music label in 2003, after hearing Young perform "I Kona" at a CD release party. "I never knew he sang Hawaiian until he went on stage," Maduli recalls. "When I heard that, my executive (Lea Uyehara) and I looked at eaeh other: 'Wow, he's got a strong falsetto.' " With some urging by MeKenna, "we decided to go for it," Maduli says. Collaborators on the project included lohn Cruz, Barry Flanagan, Cyril Pahinui, Ieff Rasmussen and Ilona Irvine. Kama Hopkins of Holunape provided most of the translations, and Puakea Nogehneier also translated. Some of Young's songs were used by Kamehameha Schools in its annual song contest, Maduli says. Young got to revisit his Hawaiian music roots the night of the Waikīkī performanee with a concert with friends and fellow musicians like Kata Maduli and Ernie Cruz, at Anna Bannana's. Young's most recent release, All Attached, is the product of two years of writing and recording "on my computer in an empty bedroom." The CD, whieh describes the interconnectivity of things, eame after a

promising recording project fell flat. "I had finally been doing showcases, meeting with record labels, flying out to New York, recording tracks with some really great musicians with Ed Tuton who was producing it," Young says. "It felt like everything was finally happening, but after about one-and-a-half years of this exciting feeling - like I was on the verge of something - everything kind of dissipated. I was left with some great experiences and some niee songs recorded, but nothing going on. I spent a lot of money traveling out to New York, and so I just didn't know what to do. It took me awhile to find my way back." At around the time he completed All Attached, in 2007, Caillat's debut CD Coco, was released, launched with the help of 100,000 friends on MySpace. Young knew Caillat and the members of her band before she was famous - a mutual friend had told Young after hearing him perform, "You have to meet my friend (Colbie), you're like the male version of her." So when the band was looking for a guitarist and backup singer, Tim Fagan, the band's guitarist and a Punahou graduate, called Young. Three auditions later, Young became the band's

newest member. "Within a week of getting that phone eall I was pretty mueh on the road up until now so it was a pretty quick, drastic change, but it's great, and I love it," says Young. The band starts a nahonal tour with lohn Mayer next month. Young, a songwriter and a singer at heart, is planning on using some of his time off in August "to do something different and get into a real studio," says Young, whose musical influences include Stevie Wonder, Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight and soul singer Donny Hathaway. "I'd like to get a eouple players together that I like, probably some guys in the band and record at least an EP (extended play), if not an entire album. Something with a different sound than the last album, more live, a little more soulful stuff." As for his message to aspiring musicians, he says, make a leap of faith. "A lot of people want to do a lot of stuff, but they get really comfortable. Have faith in what you do if you love doing it. There's going to be that leap of faith when you start questioning, 'I don't know if this is a good idea. I don't know anybody in this town.' "I think the best writers are the bravest, like willing to reveal the most, whieh is scary," he says, adding that even he and Caillat get nervous and have to overcome stage fright. "If you ean imagine your worst fear, whatever it is and agree to face it every day, that takes a lot of courage. ... Have faith, be comfortable with walking into fear, and do it anyway." S

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Above: Justin Young performs ot the recent Dive rsity Harmony Peoee event in Waikīkī os part of Colbie Caillat's band. At rigbt: Young witb fans Kanani, Kawena and 'Alohi Bikle, atthe Sberaton Waikīkī. Photos: Ploine Fergeistrom

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