LIHUE — The size of the group gathered at the Kukui Grove food court was enough to draw people’s attention on Thursday under rain-darkened skies and a chilly northerly wind.
Add a group of musicians playing around one of the food court tables, crooning old time melodies like “Hanalei Moon,” and more in the style of Ron Toki, one of the Kukui Grove stable of entertainers who was booked especially for a reunion.
“This is the Kauai High School Class of 1960 reunion,” said Janice Bond. “I want you to meet Alfred Nobriga Jr., the songwriter for ‘Hele On to Kauai.’ When I lived in Wailua, my next-door neighbor was Al’s brother Gregg.”
Joining Nobriga in the circle of instruments and vocals were Sonny and Skippah Caycayon; Ron Toki, who was enjoying lunch while waiting to pick up his moopuna from Hanamaulu; and “Elvis” Kaneakua, who played with Al in Waikiki, and performing with a priceless Washburn he got from Scotty’s Music. Nobriga was jamming on a Taylor while running interferance from the steady stream of classmates who demanded his attention.
“Hele on to Kauai for a few days, then on to Oahu for a few more!” Nobriga posted on his Facebook page. “Need to ‘hang loose’ and kanikapila with some friends.”
The result was like Kaneakua’s Washburn guitar that featured inlays of a different wood rather than pearl on the fretboard.
“Al and I played together in Waikiki for a long time,” Kaneakua said. “The thing is, if you can play in Waikiki for at least five years, you can play anywhere.”
Nobriga’s first single as a solo artist was “Hele On to Kauai,” which showed his earliest love for country music.
He graduated with the Kauai High School Class of 1960 and moved to Oahu where he attended Brigham Young University from 1960 to 1965.
His love for music, according to an interview with Aloha Got Soul, started in the eighth grade when he remembers watching his uncle perform on a Gibson Sunburst guitar.
“I watched him play it and I loved it,” Nobriga told Aloha Got Soul. “He showed me a couple chords. My aunt had an old guitar that was in the closet. Put some strings on it and I started messing around, made some songs on it.”
