In the smallest elementary school in Hawai‘i, with only five classmates, the music career of one of Hawai‘i’s most beloved reggae artists started to take shape some three decades ago.
“They had a kupuna program,” said Sasha, adding that a kupuna (respected elder) would sing songs while the children would learn how to strum an ‘ukulele.
“That was my start on music,” said the artist known worldwide as Sashamon.
Many years have gone by since Sasha attended Molokai’s Maunaloa Elementary School, but he still keeps the warm, cool smile that only a person without worries in life could display. That’s Molokai style.
Sasha became famous after one of his songs, “Japanese Squeeze,” hit the charts on the Big Island. Following the success of that upbeat love song, “Necta” exploded all over Hawai‘i, making Sasha a household name, especially among the surfing crowd.
It has been a long road since Sasha first picked up the ‘ukulele, and certainly a bumpy one. But his relaxed attitude suggests an otherwise smooth ride, which may as well be true, since what really counts is how we react to life rather than what happens to us.
Mostly, Sasha’s music brings a positive message, speaking of love and peace. “Japanese Squeeze,” “Necta,” “Malia” and “Merry” could easily become any couple’s trademark love song. “Justice,” “Peaceful Vibration,” “Peaceizafya” and “Herbal Criminal” pretty much ask for a better world.
What make Sasha’s music so popular are lyrics that we easily identify with, and tunes that we cannot help but dance along to.
During Sasha’s senior year in high school, one of his friends introduced him to the guitar, and he was hooked on the instrument. After graduating high school Sasha left Molokai.
Luckily he landed not too far away, at O‘ahu’s University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
“I didn’t have much of a social life; it was just me and my guitar, six hours a day,” he said of when he first started college.
Sasha laughs remembering how he used to beg people to teach him a thing or two on the guitar. He would borrow guitar magazines, and go to a 7-Eleven to make copies of songs with Xerox machines.
Utilizing a flexible liberal studies program at UH, Sasha shaped his own bachelor’s degree.
“Philosophy of arts, computer classes, drawing, painting, multimedia,” he said, listing some of his classes. “I created my own major, music and arts.”
Right around that time Sasha wrote his first song. He humbly credits the kupuna, who several years earlier gave him “the very basic understanding of music.”
Also at that time, Sasha got a job at the host stand at Duke’s Waikiki.
“Aloha, welcome to Duke’s, follow me to your table,” he says, joking about his lines at work.
“They put the pretty girls out there to kinda draw more business,” said Sasha, adding that the girls were always trying to give away shifts, which he promptly picked up.
His work back then may seem fun and upbeat, but Sasha said it was boring. So one day he asked his boss if he could bring his ‘ukulele along.
“Next thing I knew, I found myself there five days a week, three hours a night, playing the ‘ukulele, just messing around,” he said.
He kept singing what he learned on the guitar, but transferring to the ‘ukulele, just by remembering what he learned back in elementary school. Some people would jokingly advise him to never quit his day job, while others would be amazed by his music.
“I didn’t really know who to believe,” Sasha said.
Luckily for us, he believed in himself. Today we all can enjoy his upbeat music.
Molokai, a rural island with a 60 percent Native-Hawaiian population, breathes culture every single day, to a point that locals claim Molokai is the piko (center) of Hawaiian culture.
Music carries on the culture on a daily basis there. From government meetings to church affairs and community events, music opens and closes every gathering on Molokai. Even political enemies hold hands and chant.
If children are not introduced to music at home, they will embrace it at the schools. “I always wanted to say ‘Hawai‘i has the message,’” Sasha said. “The message is aloha.”
To the ‘opio, Sasha said Hawai‘i has the potential to become a modern Nashville. “Everyone is so talented here.”
Sasha has already influenced many with his lyrics. Back in 2004, when “Necta” exploded on the charts in Hawai‘i, one of his youngest and biggest fans died in a car accident, alongside a young and gorgeous Hawaiian girl.
Tyson Pagador, only 22 years old, used to “pound” Sasha’s music everywhere he went. He and 17-year-old Alyssa Gonsalves perished in a one-car crash in Koloa. Their friend Adam Frazier survived, but had some serious injuries.
Several family members of Pagador tattooed butterflies on their shoulder, just like the lyrics on “Necta.” Sasha said the family made a sign that read: “Now you are free to chase your butterfly.” The touching story goes on to describe a butterfly that landed on the sign and immediately died.
Sasha’s first album was entirely made in a home studio, with him playing all the tracks, using different instruments. His next CD is still in the making, and his fans will just have to wait a little while.
“I hope that it will come soon, but it’s coming slow,” said the relaxed Sasha.
Last Saturday Sasha played at the recently revamped Lava Lounge, launching a spring tour that will take him to at least six performances in California. See www.sashamon.com for more information.
