They liken themselves to collaborators with multiple sources of inspiration, and a collaboration they are, indeed. A fusion of muses that include a little bit of punk, rock, bluegrass, blues and reggae is what helps make the band Kapaia Stream
They liken themselves to collaborators with multiple sources of inspiration, and a collaboration they are, indeed.
A fusion of muses that include a little bit of punk, rock, bluegrass, blues and reggae is what helps make the band Kapaia Stream — a band still somewhat in the stages of its infancy, so to speak, as it’s only been an official band for a little over a year — genuinely unique.
High-energy fun, it’s not about covers for Kapaia Stream. It’s about creating originals, some of which are crafted in a single jam session, others that take months to compile.
Guitarist Ian McPhee, who dubbed the group an “eclectic fusion of several styles with improv jams intermixed,” said the mix includes a “drummer who is in love with punk rock, a bassist in love with bluegrass and a lead singer who’s into indie rock,” adding, “we bring four interests together to create our sound.”
The band formally got its start right around the time he got married, more than a year ago, but the group had been playing together around campfires for years, he said.
“The four of us in particular always played campfire-style acoustic music,” he said. “Then the lead singer suggested we form a band at my wedding. So we decided to do it.”
Mostly made up of former East-Coasters, with the exception of one from the Midwest, the group has been playing regular gigs mostly on the Eastside at Waipouli’s Oasis on the Beach inside Waipouli Beach Resort and, occasionally, other venues. McPhee said the band also plays private parties, but has played the KKCR Fun Fest as well.
“But we play anywhere,” he added, noting, “When we have opportunity to play, we jump on it.”
The opportunities to play have been around for McPhee since he was a youngster, around the age of 10, when he picked up his first guitar and also began jamming with his brother and Kapaia Stream drummer John.
“I was raised in a pretty musically-driven household,” he said. “I just started practicing and I never stopped.”
Though none of his family members played music at the time, McPhee said they were surrounded by it nonetheless.
“Since they never got to master instruments, they wanted that for us,” said McPhee, noting his brother (bandmate John) got a drum set around the same age — 10. “(My parents) had to put on their ear plugs.”
It was a little different for lead singer Kenny Jannelli, who said despite “coming out of the womb singing,” he was adopted into a “family that’s not musical.”
Despite being able to sing the alphabet as a 1-year-old — much to the delight of his family — technically, Jannelli said, he got a late musical start in life.
“I actually didn’t start playing guitar until I was 18 years old,” Jannelli said. Though pursuing music “wasn’t exactly encouraged,” Jannelli added that eventually his family “backed off” once they saw it was right for him.
“I love music,” he added. “I have a job in music and it’s what I feel like I should be doing.”
Of all of his musical ventures thus far, being part of Kapaia Stream is the one with which he is most pleased, he said.
“I’ve been in a few reject groups before this,” he said, noting, “this the first one I’m really proud of. …We’ve known each other for years. Our first place we wrote a lot in the Kapaia river valley in Hanama‘ulu … That’s how we got our name.”
Originals that came out of jam sessions there include a song called “Eons,” according to McPhee. McPhee said the song is a more-complex song with rhythms and melodies that took a while to master, noting the song entitled “Down Low” only took a session to get together.
Jamming is “great meditation,” McPhee added, noting the practices two to three times a week are cathartic.
For Jannelli, one of the gems to come out of their collaborations is a song called “On My Own,” with lyrics about making the world a little better while celebrating what we have:
“the crystal ball is telling me things/
it’s obvious what the future brings/
if we don’t start bailing/
the ship is going to sink/
or we could ride on the biggest wave/
… destiny’s being laid down today/
do you want to change…”
Of the song, Jannelli said there are “obvious problems people want to complain about. It’s easier to complain. The only way out is to do something about it.”
Kapaia Stream will perform live from 10 p.m. to midnight, July17, at Oasis on the Beach in Waipouli.
