There was a day a few years ago when suddenly the sky got a little bluer, the air smelled a little fresher, the birds trilled a little sweeter. You may have paused for a moment, wondering if you were imagining things… or you may have just gone about your business, smiling a little bit, without realizing that the world had just changed. Not a lot, just a little, but definitely for the better.

The Sweet Hollywaiians at Forbidden Island

That day, halfway around the world from sunny California, The Sweet Hollywaiians had gotten together. Thank goodness for that.

I got to see The Sweet Hollywaiians perform last night at an impromptu show at Forbidden Island. The Sweet Hollywaiians hail from Osaka, Japan, and they play hapa-haole Hawaiian music in a Hollywood style. They are dashing, they are darling, and they are really effing good. I might even call them pipin’ hot. It was transporting music, played pitch-perfectly, and it got the whole room swaying.

The Sweet Hollywaiians are Tomotaka Matsui, Nobumasa Takada, Takashi Nakayama and Kouichi Tsutsumishita. They’re touring California right now, but if you miss them here, you can pick up their music at the Sweet Strings website.

• The Sweet Hollywaiians [MySpace]
• Sweet Strings website

Talk Story About Hawaiiana

I just found a great blog I hadn’t seen before. At least, I think it’s great — it’s in Japanese. It’s called Talk Story About Hawaiiana, and even though I can’t read it, I’m loving looking through the posts. From what I can gather, if you like Humu Kon Tiki, you’ll like Talk Story — especially if you know the language. It looks like an interesting perspective: Here in the U.S., imagery of Japan sometimes gets lumped in with Tiki stuff, under the banner of Exotica (especially in Exotica music). At Talk Story, some American imagery is lumped in with Tiki stuff, probably for similar reasons: it’s Exotic. The blog has some really interesting things posted on it, some collectibles I haven’t seen before. I’ve tried running the site through the Babel Fish translator, and while it doesn’t really make it readable, I can kinda sorta make out that it seems to be very thoughtfully written. I would love to hear from someone who can read the site — any Japanese-reading Humu Kon Tiki readers out there who can share their thoughts?

• Talk Story About Hawaiiana
• Babel Fish Translation Tool

Here’s an update on some of the Trader Vic’s openings currently slated, from the Trader Vic’s website:

Shanghai, China – Opened on New Year’s Eve

Dallas – February, 2007 (it’s been pushed back many times, but February 11 is the most recent date)

Las Vegas – in June, 2007

Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Bar in Dubai – April, 2007

Chicago – late 2007 (This has been pushed back quite a bit — their initial estimate was that it would be open by now. There have been rumblings of union troubles (I don’t know of which sort) causing some delays.)

Doha, Qatar – late 2007

Amman, Jordan – late 2007

Beijing, China – late 2007

Earlier Trader Vic’s opening reports on Humu Kon Tiki:

• Dallas Trader Vic’s Reopening Confirmed
• Trader Vic’s Update — Lightning Round!
• Trader Vic’s Update: Chicago, Bellevue, Scottsdale, Las Vegas and Dallas
• Details on the New Trader Vic’s Las Vegas, Scottsdale
• Trader Vic’s Adding Locations