Housing Works - Facing Future book event
Update (posted 8/13/10):
Thank you to everyone who came out, author Dan Kois, moderator Nate Chinen, fellow musician Jason, the hula dancers, Housing Works, 33 1/3, and Hālāwai.
It was a successful and fun evening of book discussion, music and hula. What a privilage to be invited to perform Hawaiian music including the well known Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World medley made famous by IZ. I enjoyed seeing old friends (I'm so appreciative of how far some traveled - 2+ hours!) and meeting very cool people afterwards.
It was very inspiring to be playing the same stage that such big names like John Mellencamp, Bjork, Jason Mraz, Chris Thile and others had played before. It was another great outing with my KoAloha ukulele. Housing Works Bookstore Cafe is a unique place, staffed almost entirely by volunteers and 100% of profits going to Housing Works, Inc. With 9.5% unemployment and 40.8 million Americans on food stamps today, Housing Works' dual battle against AIDS and homelessness is likely as important as ever.
I recently finished this book, the 70th in Continuum International Publishing's 33 1/3 series of books written about music albums. Notably, it is the only book in the series on the subject of Hawaiian music. The tiny paperback is an easy read. Among the many interesting insights about Iz and the Facing Future album, I liked learning more about Willie Dan who penned White Sandy Beach. An unexpected surprise for me was that p. 148 mentions my Hawaiian music website www.taropatch.net.
I am honored to be a part of this event. Hope to see you there on August 12th!
Bookstore Cafe
126 Crosby Street,
New York, NY 10012
212-334-3324
[map | directions]
Housing Works, 33 1/3, and Hālāwai invite you to join author Dan Kois and music writer Nate Chinen as they discuss the fascinating life and afterlife of Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwo’ole, and Kois’s book, Facing Future. Entertainment will provided by traditional Hawaiian ukulele players Andy Kūlana Wang and Jason Poole.
Dan Kois is the author of Facing Future. He's a film critic for the Washington Post and the Village Voice. He was the founding editor of Vulture, New York magazine’s culture blog, and also writes for New York, the New York Times, Slate, and other publications. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.
Nate Chinen writes about music for the New York Times. He's also a columnist for JazzTimes and coauthor of Myself Among Others, the autobiography of impresario George Wein. His essay “(Over the) Rainbow Warrior: Israel Kamakawiwoʻole and Another Kind of Somewhere” will appear in the forthcoming anthology Pop When the World Falls Apart: Music and Conflict.
Link to Housing Works
Andy has performed Israel "Braddah IZ" Kamawiwoʻole's medley Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World and other songs at wedding ceremonies, wedding cocktail hours and wedding receptions in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and California. For booking information, please email.