Also, I was under the false impression before they began that it was going to be a Queen cover band, so I was super disappointed with that.

Hawaii was always going to be a tricky state to cover, detached from the mainland by some 2000 miles its music scene is naturally very insular. Of course I found the usual Ukulele music, but in my eyes no one plays the Uke as wonderfully as Elsa Rae. I also found a lot of hip hop, reggae, a little bit of indie and of course my Hawaii representative Welwing. The first and only instrumental entry into the State Of Music project, Welwing is a one man show headed by Matthew McVickar, a mainland exile doing his thing in the Pacific Ocean.

Incase you didn’t get to watch and learn about all of the producers battling we compiled all the videos shot & produced by Hypoetical, big ups.  Enjoy and hope to see you out on Friday Ni…

Great photos from Hallowbaloo this year, including the Baths show that I opened!

Sabrina asked local bands about their experience with Kickstarter, including me for the ‘Gate’ EP project funded on the site.

Christa Wittmier reviewing my first Lapwing show at Kaleidoscope back in 2009.

Two Portlanders who blog about their experience in Honolulu covered our Clones of the Queen/At Sea show. Very nice!

My friend Niko Rivas interviewed me and wrote up this great column on my Lapwing EP.

“The tracks on Clones’ Gate EP are composed of dark, spacious, myriad textures, but if songs were colors, they would be lavender instead of black.”

Christa covers last week's COTQ/Red Rockets improv music/performance art collab at thirtyninehotel. “Five or six people were crowded around a man sitting with a television over his head, suspended from the ceiling. Just his face was showing, so they were taking that opportunity to cover his face with glow-in-the-dark paint.”

A video by Jordan Blackmon, bassist for Toro Y Moi.

Photos by Tracy Chan. “The South Carolina-based ‘chillwave’ musician and his band brought their signature brand of funky, groovy, electronic shoegaze jams to a sold-out show at NextDoor Saturday night. Opening were local acts Clones of the Queen and Painted Highways. Although the club was packed and sweaty, people really got into the music, some dancing and some just swaying with eyes closed.”

Photos by Brian Tseng.

Gary Chun again! “Chaz Bundick and his crew manned their spaceship last night at Nextdoor, and took the good ship Toro y Moi and an audience of eager passengers to a nearby galaxy of sound and rhythm, forward thrusters go.”