Vince Esquire of the band Kanekoa will be among the musicians playing at the 16th annual Maui ‘Ukulele Festival on Sunday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. — DAVID RANDALL PHOTOGRAPHY
Ukulele virtuoso Vince Esquire recalls his first professional gig was as a 7-year-old in Lahaina.
“I was playing percussion with my dad at the Sunset Cafe in Lahaina, right off Front Street, by the library,” Esquire said. “That was where I first played. So all that is gone. It’s just crazy.”
The acclaimed ukulele player has fond memories of various gigs over the years in the town.
“Eric Gilliom and I played at Frida’s (Beach House),” he remembered. “We were there every Tuesday for six or seven months, right before Mark Ellman passed away. I played at Fleetwood’s and many gigs at the old Hard Rock Cafe and Paradise Blues.”
Esquire and the band Kanekoa will be among the local artists performing Sunday at the 16th annual Maui ‘Ukulele Festival at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, which will also serve as a drop-off point for donations for the Maui Food Bank following the Aug. 8 wildfires.
The free festival will also feature Jeff Peterson, Rama, Kamaka and Kala’e Camarillo, Arlie Asiu, Benny Uyetake, Andrew Molina, Anthony Pfluke, The Hula Honeys, Beat-lele, the Kamehameha Middle School ‘Ukulele Band and the Kalama Intermediate School ‘Ukulele Band. Also appearing will be Kumu Hula Napua Silva and Halau Na Lei Kaumaka O Uka.
Recently voted the Best Male Musician by Maui Times’ readers, along with Kanekoa, which was voted Maui’s Best Band, Esquire has been passionate about the ukulele since his younger years.
“It’s kind of a prerequisite in Hawaii to play ukulele in music in middle school,” he recalled. “It’s kind of like the recorder is on the Mainland for music class. Some people kind of stick with it and some people don’t. I just happened to be one of the people that kind of stuck with it. I was only in high school at Baldwin for a year before I left and got my GED because I was already gigging full time. I was playing with a couple of youth groups and had my first band in high school.”
While honing his skill on the ukulele, inspired by Jake Shimabukuro, he also became a remarkable electric guitarist, influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King.
“I was pretty much simultaneously playing both because I was in Kanekoa the entire time I was playing guitar,” he said.
In time, he would record with Gregg Allman and join the Allman Brothers on stage in New York. And he performed with Shimabukuro on Kanekoa’s “Acoustic Live” album and their superb, Na Hoku Hanohano Award-nominated “Songs of the Great Disruption.”
Most recently he released a very cool “chill-out” project, “Tasty Jams,” that was a bit of a surprise considering some of his fiery playing in Kanekoa and beyond. It’s a collection of jazzy instrumental grooves with titles like “Guava” and “Grape,” with guests including saxophonist Nick Biello and Mike Alexander on trumpet.
“I put it out for people to enjoy,” he said. “I’m a fan of instrumental music, so it’s kind of like similar to the stuff I listen to, artists like FKJ. I was inspired to do something just for fun.”
Fans can expect another intriguing album from him in the future.
“I’m doing what I’m calling the ‘Funk Uke’ album,” he noted. “It’s all funk ukulele music. I have a couple of Prince’s old rhythm section members, and I’m working with (producer) Michael Ruff, who lives on Kauai. It’s pretty much all originals.”
And from Kanekoa, fans can expect a collection of Christmas gems.
“We are in the midst of working on a Christmas album,” he explained. “I’m hoping we’ll be done by the end of the year. It’s all the classics, ‘White Christmas,’ ‘Winter Wonderland’ and ‘Silent Night.’ We’ve got an awesome version of ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ with Kaulana (Kanekoa) and Danyel (Alana).”
With Kanekoa on lead vocals and rhythm ukulele, Esquire on lead ukulele and backing vocals and Don Lopez on bass, the band recently added Chris Dack on drums. Performing a novel mix of rock, Latin, R&B, reggae and Hawaiian music, they’ve gained fans across the Mainland with successful tours on the West Coast and East Coast, which included a show at the prestigious John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
“We’re only the second act from Hawaii that’s ever played there, and I think the first act from Hawaii in the room that we actually played in,” said Esquire. “Everywhere we go, we find everybody’s very receptive. I think people are intrigued with the originality of the concept of the band and the kind of stuff that we choose to do. Because we have some really interesting covers and arrangements of covers that a lot of people figured we probably couldn’t do. That’s what really trips people out, when they hear us do Pink Floyd or Zeppelin, or The Police. Anything like that, people are always pretty intrigued.”
Besides appearing at the festival on Sunday, Kanekoa has been aiding fire relief efforts inaugurating monthly performances at Wailuku’s Maui Coffee Attic, with “First Friday at the Attic” shows benefiting different local relief organizations.
“We’re just trying to do what we can,” he said.
The free annual Maui ‘Ukulele Festival is presented in the A&B Amphitheater and Yokouchi Pavilion. Gates open at 2:30 p.m. and the concert starts at 3 p.m. The festival will support those impacted by the recent wildfires, serving as a drop-off point for donations to the Maui Food Bank. The MACC requests that patrons donate items including diapers (baby and adult) and personal hygiene items like toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, etc. Donation bins will be located near the MACC’s main entry gates.
Vince Esquire of the band Kanekoa will be among the musicians playing at the 16th annual Maui ‘Ukulele Festival on Sunday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. — DAVID RANDALL PHOTOGRAPHYToday's breaking news and more in your inbox
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