Video from the RecycleAThon...

Hey everyone,

We recently just finished up our 6th performance of the year, one of which was at the 1st Annual RecycleAThon and Sustainability Fair held at the Lab School. We played a couple of short sets and here's one of the highlights - another song from Haiti...





As usual, you can find more of our music on our YouTube channel. Last week-end we played at the Waikiki Shack to a packed and crowded house. It was our last scheduled performance of the year...

Until next time,
The Lab School Funk Band

Video from Alu Like...

Here are a couple of the videos from our recent Alu Like performance...

The World is New (Save Ferris)



Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper)



You can find more on our YouTube channel:

Also, here's a heads up - we'll be playing again in January for the Lab School homecoming festivities. We'll have special alumni guests joining us and we'll be joined again by Thee Laborettes singing some cool new songs... mark your calendars for Saturday afternoon/evening on the 23rd of January!

See you soon,
The Funk Band

The Big Day...

Pride. Relief. Accomplishment. Excitement. Hunger. Achievement. In addition to wanting to do the whole thing all over again, these were just a few of the feelings we had as we sat down to share our celebratory meal after last Saturday's Alu Like performance. Like all things, after 3 months of anticipation, the big day came and went - and faster than we expected. Our performance included a mixture of nerves and excitement, aloha attire, nice black shoes and polished instruments, all contributing to make it a fun day for everyone.

Our hard work and practice over the course of 3 months helped to create Funk Band history. Not only was it the first time we've ever performed with freshman members, it was also the fastest we've ever compiled a full-length, 45-minute set list (9 songs!). However, as with all accomplishments, we couldn't have done it all on our own. We have to thank our friends and family and all the great folks at Alu Like (especially Auntie Lani and Kalehua) for helping and supporting us. Not only did we get the opportunity to perform for a great cause, but Kalehua even got us on the radio the day before to promote the event, play some of our music and hang out in the radio station - how cool is that? And not to mention Mr. Jeremiah for supporting and believing in us (and making sure we had a place to rehearse!) and the other Lab School faculty members who came to watch us play. And of course, there's always Mr. Agena who was there with his 3 video cameras documenting our show - be sure to check out our YouTube channel for the some new video posts! And of course, we had lots of special guests sharing the stage with us and filling out our sound and even taking over the lead vocals for our hana hou, I'm Yours. Thee Laborettes (we missed you Alexis!) lent us their beautiful voices on most of our songs, as did our ubiquitous and distinguished alumnus, William Pascua, who always seems to be there when we need him. And Marc James Uy (with help from The Laborettes) in addition to helping Melissa on Time After Time, sang a beautiful version of Jason Mraz's superhit, I'm Yours. They all worked hard and our performance would not have been the same without them.

Now that we've got the ball rolling, we're all looking forward to more upcoming performances. Next week, Tuesday and Wednesday, we'll be performing for the ULS Japanese sister schools. It'll be a chance to do a number of mini-performances in a short amount of time and work out more of the kinks in our set list. Farther ahead, the Funk Band will also perform for the Homecoming festivities in the latter part of January and our school's recyclathon in February. Be sure to check back for more details and more performance dates!

Of course for now, after the Thanksgiving holiday, we'll be heading back into the woodshed to continue practicing. We have some new songs we'll be doing with Thee Laborettes, more funk, more world music and more surprise guests in the works. And we promise to try and keep up with our blog posts!

So we're looking forward to seeing you in our audience soon, but in the meantime, keep groovin' green!

The ULS Funk Band

Funky Status...

Greetings Funk Band Fans!

Well, we're only a few weeks away from our first performance and we're really stoked. We've all been practicing hard. We have revamped some old songs from last year with the help of our new players and, even though it's been a challenge to balance school, music and sports, the band and the music are most definitely starting to gel.

From our rocking percussion section to our smooth saxes, we're developing a brand new sound for the band. This new sonic territory includes some surprises that will leave you wanting more. Now, not to worry, even though our blog posts are sporadic, our music practice is not.

We're also continuing to learn about the big picture including relating important messages (like about grooving green!) and positive vibes with our music. We're like a pebble in the big pond, sending out ripples of green funky positive vibes.

Speaking of good causes, we'll be playing for Alu Like's Literacy Fair (see the cool poster above) which supports their Native Hawaiian library. The fair starts at 10 a.m. and goes 'til 3 p.m. and you can catch us on-stage at 1:00 p.m. With the performance just a few weeks away, mark your calendars for November 21st for the funk band's debut in the local community performance circuit. We hope to see you there (458 Keawe Street in Kaka'ako). In addition to hearing us, a bunch of other great local performers will be on hand (check out the poster!), including Natalie Ai Kamauu, Danny Carvalho and the Lab School's own 4th and 5th grade ukulele wizards (catch them at 10 am).

But we've get back into the woodshed and polish our repertoire, so...

...'til next time,

The Funk Band

Meet Shawn...

Dear Funk Band Fans/Readers:

Some of you may not know me yet. My name is Shawn V. - I play drums and I have been playing and taking lessons for 3 years. I am in the 9th grade and playing drums is my passion and my favorite hobby.

I'm going to start off by talking a bit about practice. Practice is essential! I try to practice everyday, but with school, homework and sports, it is tough. When I practice, I try very hard not to make mistakes, because if you keep playing wrong notes, your body and mind will adapt to that and you will think you are playing it right when you're not. I think that you should always practice on your own when you can, so when you practice with the band, you know what it sound like and you know your part.

On November 21st, we will perform for the first time this school year, so mark your calendars. We have a really good set list and we'll be playing a variety of songs. I can't wait to play, and I'm sure that everyone who shows up to hear us play won't be disappointed.

I am glad that I joined the Funk Band and I have no regrets. The whole band is amazing and everyone sounds really good. If you did not know already, this is the first year of 9th graders and Funk Band is no longer an elective for grades 10-12. I am thankful that I have been given the opportunity to be in the Funk Band.

Shawn

And We're Back!!

Greetings Funk Fans...

It's great to be back in school and in the funk groove. This year even though things are different, we're feeling the potential to be better than ever, so we're all extremely excited. Although we lost two people from last year, we have gained some amazing new players who will definitely spice things up for us. We're stoked to start playing again, but we know it will take hard work and discipline to get us ready to hit the stage.

As always we have a diverse repertoire that we're developing and guess what? We have horns again! Not only that, for the first time ever, freshman are now in the band and will most certainly bring a few new dishes to the table. For all our devoted fans who've been following us over the years, don't worry - we have a few surprises waiting in the wings.

We're looking at our first performance being on November 21st. Check back soon for all the details and don't forget to Groove Green...

Mahalo for keeping in touch,
The ULS Funk Band

First Day Playing!!!

Hey Funkband Fans!

Today was our first day playing instruments together as a group. It was a lot of fun, but we still have a long way to go before we can starting performing. We are working on a really fast upbeat ska song with awesome horn solos and a very classic ballad which I'm sure most of you have heard before. I'm not going to say the names of the songs just yet. You'll just have to come and see our performances in order to find out. :)

This year, we moved all our equipment from the band room over to the orchestra portable. At first, we were all a little worried it would sound terrible in there, but it actually wasn't bad. We didn't get a single bit of feedback :)...yet. I hope it stays that way.

As far as how we did on our first actual rehearsal day, I think we did okay. I was happy that most everyone sort of knew their parts - the new funk band members are getting off to a good start. I am proud of them.

I hope we can all keep up the hard work and that our rehearsals will continue to get better and better. Come visit the funk band website soon for new updates. We'll be posting more information about our upcoming performance on November 21st. (Mark your calendars!)

Much love,
Melissa