Herb Ohta, Jr.'s Blog

Happy New Year!

Herb Ohta, Jr. — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:48:54 +0000

Aloha,

Happy New Year!
2012 will be a great year or all of us! Stay positive… Think positive!

New projects will be coming out this year, so be looking out for it in the coming months!

Aloha,
Herb, Jr.

Merry Christmas!

Herb Ohta, Jr. — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 18:31:07 +0000

Aloha,

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Be safe and have a wonderful day celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
To be honest, don’t you think we should celebrate the birth of Christ every day of the year?

Aloha
Herb, Jr.

Xmas Season is Here!

Herb Ohta, Jr. — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 05:43:15 +0000

Aloha,

Xmas season is here.
Went to the Apple Store today. Was funny to see that they had more staff than customers.

Would like to thank everyone that came out to see me in Sac, Concord, and Santa Clara. We missed Keoki Kahumoku that couldn’t come because of illness, but we will be out there in CA soon!

Aloha,
Herb, Jr

Home Stretch

Herb Ohta, Jr. — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:39:16 +0000

Aloha

It’s November already….2011 surely went by pretty fast. Many ups and also many downs as well.

Just want to take this time to thank everyone for their support and for loving the ‘ukulele. Also to let all of you know that things are moving pretty fast for 2012. New projects will be coming out, and I plan to tour and being more productive in more parts of the US, Thailand, Korea, and Japan. Working on things now to prepare myself for next year.

Also…. I’ll be touring CA with Keoki Kahumoku and Patrick Landeza this month. Looking forward to playing music again with Keoki. It has been a while!

Looking forward, please let’s not forget about what has happened in Japan earlier this year with the earthquake and tsunami, and also with Thailand and their flooding situation. Let’s continue to help and support them! I’ve posted some photos of some of the destruction in Japan from this past June. I never posted them back in June because I thought that it wouldn’t be respectful to the Japanese people, but I realize that by me posting the photos, it could be used as a tool to be a reminder for all of us.

Aloha!

Lana’i ‘Ukulele Festiv

Herb Ohta, Jr. — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:39:20 +0000

Aloha!

I will be a part of the 1st Annual Lana’i ‘Ukulele Festival tomorrow and Saturday. Looking forward to a great time playing music along side Walt Keale, David Kamakahi, Tony Conjugacion, and so many others! For more info, go to this link: http://www.lanaiukulelefestival.com

Aloha,
Herb, Jr.

Happy 4th of July

Herb Ohta, Jr. — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 06:38:28 +0000

Aloha,

Wishing everyone a happy July 4th!
Just got back from a positive and emotional trip from Japan. After a few days of being home, I went straight to Maui to be a part of George Kahumoku’s week long music camp. It was so much fun being around so many friends and wonderful musicians.

Off to San Jose tomorrow, San Diego on Wednesday, LA on Thursday, and Cambria on Friday.

Don’t forget to attend the ‘ukulele festival on July 17th at Kapi’olani Park, and also the Lana’i ‘ukulele festival on July 29 and 30th. See you all around!

Herb

Japan

Herb Ohta, Jr. — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:28:21 +0000

Aloha

Just finished breakfast in Tokyo. Have a rehearsal to attend this evening. To be honest, not sure what to expect. I was supposed to come here 4 days after the disaster here and it was cancelled….. Looking forward to play music and put smiles on people’s faces.

Aloha,
Herb

New Song

Herb Ohta, Jr. — Wed, 25 May 2011 18:58:15 +0000

Aloha,

Sorry that I haven’t posted in a while. Just want people’s opinion on this song. Lele Music Productions will be releasing this song only in MP3 format and maybe in full CD quality on June 7th. Here is a sample of the song. It is called, “Nalu”.

Nalu

Aloha,

Herb, Jr.

To sum it up!

Herb Ohta, Jr. — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 00:21:30 +0000

Yesterday I posted some of my views about the fighting and hatred going around. What I posted was not me trying to open a can of worms, but hopefully people can realize to be happy that there is a hawaiian category in the Grammy’s. Hawaiian music will be now and forever, more promoted on a wider scale. Right now, Should I be scared to even submit anything in the future to NARAS? I’m a Japanese American, I live in Hawai’i, I play an adopted instrument from Portugal, and most of the time play Hawaiian music. I wonder what people would say about that? The bottom line is I wouldn’t care what people think if I get nominated and win a Hawaiian Grammy! But I think for every award show out there, I’m pretty sure that the members who vote, vote for people that they are friends with and who they know. Not the quality of their work. That’s just my opinion on that.
Yes, I’ve been nominated for a few awards and won a few, but the true joy of recording is sharing! With the new recording, we can go on the road and perform for people from Hawai’i and people who have never heard Hawaiian music. We make new friends along the way. Prioritize what’s right! Winning an award or just being nominated is nice because you are recognized and your music is appreciated, but not winning is just as nice because you were still nominated. How many people can actually say that they were nominated for anything in their lifetime? Not too many… Especially with music!
Please everyone….. Be happy that we all have the freedom to make music and share it.
We all have a God given gift and I know for a fact that God didn’t give us this talent to compete for awards!

This is my last post about this! Sorry if I have offended anyone! Just trying to make peace!

Herb

Music Awards

Herb Ohta, Jr. — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 06:43:23 +0000

I was going to keep my nose out of this…. and have been for the last 4 years.

Another year, another Grammy awards show, another year of people being upset. When will this all end?

Awards are nice to receive, but it is not why I record music. I record music to share. Share my feel of music. I truly believe that awards bring out the worst in everyone. It becomes a competition…. a game…. and people truly hate to lose. I keep telling people that music is special because it brings people together. You go to a concert, you see people of different ethnic backgrounds and different lifestyles to enjoy music together.

I am happy that there is a Hawaiian category in the Grammy’s! The only thing that I am not happy about is the fighting.

Not choosing sides, but I have a question to ask and want people’s opinion on this question. If Eddie Kamae decided to move to Seattle, WA, decided to record a Hawaiian CD, and then won a Hawaiian Grammy, how will people feel?

Just a question……

Herb