What a productive last week and Father's Day weekend. It was anticipated on my calendar to be an intense week. On Thursday I taught 2 summer school classes early in the morning on the history and culture of beatboxing. Several students there remember when I performed at the school they graduated from several weeks prior. Before I came home from that adventure TEDxHonolulu uploaded and tagged me to their June auditions photo. That was when folks on Facebook made their voice heard. I want to thank Kitty for being the trend setter that she is and everyone who submitted "Jason Tom" to be a potential TEDxHonolulu presenter on 11.11.11 11.1.11. You can still nominate a potential presenter for 11.11.11 11.1.11 with "ideas worth spreading" for a total of two upcoming July auditions.
Then Thursday was pick up rehearsal for Femme Capulet before the opening weekend. On Friday I set up shop with my sponsor Freelance Clothing for Day 1 of the Big Boys & MMA Hawaii Expo presented by Napa Auto Parts at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. Then I went to the art district of Chinatown to perform for Femme Capulet's opening night at ARTs At Marks. Opening night packed out and I spent time with most of the cast and crew there after.
Then Saturday morning I woke up bright and early for the TEDxHonolulu June auditions. Met with the wonderful TEDxHonolulu crew and volunteers for the first time in person. I was first to audition. No pressure and then George Carroll snapped this slick photo. What a pro, him and the TEDxHonolulu team and volunteers.
After that I went straight for Day 2 of the Big Boys & MMA Hawaii Expo and performed 3 mini demos to tease attendees for Sunday's entertainment during the Freelance Power Hour featuring Ill Hill Society, Beat Rock Krew and myself. Then I performed for Femme Capulet's opening weekend and that packed out. Final shows are this Friday, June 24th and Saturday, June 25th at ARTs At Marks. Doors 7pm. $25 at the door or $20 pre-sale online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/175558 or call 1 (800) 838-3006. Spread the word!
Then Sunday was the big day, Father's Day, and I rocked the mic for Day 3 of the Big Boys & MMA Hawaii Expo during the Freelance Power Hour on Blaisdell Exhibition Hall's main stage.
Back tracking more.. June have been a wild month, June's First Fridays at HiSAM got canceled and postponed due to rain. PUJA Fantastic Voyage was a major success even through a storm on opening night Saturday, June 4th that caused an untimely power outage. Sunday, June 5th, PUJA Fantastic Voyage went smoothly and ate out with most of the Puja dancers. Then I performed for the 50th State Fair at Aloha Stadium. Shout out to Willow Chang and also the Tekniqlingz Crew. I had a blast spending time with Willow Chang, Adele Chu, Michael Hamilton, George Garcia and Isla Tango, Convergence Dance Theater, Anasma of Paris, Sangha Dance Theater, Jasmine Dance Revolution, Guilherme of Derose Method Hawaii, Samba AXE, and more.
Jason Tom beatboxing at the 50th State Fair
Jason Tom beatboxing at the 50th State Fair 2
June have also been 3 weeks of the first round for the 3rd Annual Battle of the Bands presented by Nemesis Productions. Congratulations to week 1 bands , week 2 bands and week 3 bands in advancing to the 2nd round.
3rd Annual Battle of the Bands presented by Nemesis Productions 2nd Round schedule:
Friday, June 24th, 7pm, all ages at Hawaiian Brians
2nd round week 1: Virgin Mary, Move Minor Standard, Nesta, Still to this day, Completely Insane, Wait for it.
Sunday, July 3rd, 7pm, all ages at Paparazzi
2nd round week 2: Sing the Body, 11th Hour, Delayed Resistance, Public Opinion, Mantra, Eat the Rich
MORE:
This Saturday, June 25th is Apex at the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii (behind Washington Intermediate) presented by Freelance Clothing. Hosted by Mox with performances by Krystilez, BlessDchil, Jason Tom, Ill Hill Society, Dancers Unlimited and more!
Apex is proudly sponsored by Affiliated, atypicalLIVING, Beyond The Islands, Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii, Curators of Hip Hop, Dancers Unlimited, Diverse Art Center, East-3.com, Fun Flicks Movies, Funky 4 Corners, Hibred International, HiDeph, iKandy Hawaii, JasonTom.com, KTUH 90.3 FM GOT RICE SHOW, Kulturez, Lacer Head Wear, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, L4 Models & L4 Entertainment, Lightsleepers, Master Culture, Mighty 4, New Image Productions, Nonstop Honolulu, Outsiders Car Club, Photo Ops Hawaii, Prolifik, Rise Up Hawaii, Sera's Surf & Shore, Such A Lady, Xprmnt Clothing Company, Z-Arts & Design, and more.
Other than that the Human Beatbox Academy will be opening in July and more events coming soon. Stay tuned!
And these events are also coming up...
Hawaii hip hop culture have pioneers in the art of writing (aerosol art), deejaying, b-boying/b-girling (break dancing), and emceeing. And Hawaii also had beatboxers in the early 1980's influenced by beatboxers Darren Robinson also known as Buffy (R.I.P) of the Fat Boys, Doug E. Fresh (who later influenced the Dougie dance), Biz Markie, the Godfather of Noyze Rahzel and the Human Orchestra Kenny Muhammad. There were Hawaii beatboxers who would perform at Hawaii hip hop jams and events, but the presence of Hawaii beatboxers remained unknown to most on the Hawaiian islands.
In 2004, beatboxer Jason Tom came into the performance scene, influenced by Bay Area California's Asian American beatboxer Elaine Chao after he caught her 2003 television appearance on the Showtime At the Apollo, and then he felt inspired with a vision of perpetuating the art, the fifth element of hip-hop and culture of beatboxing throughout the Hawaiian islands. He started with Oahu and helped to put Hawaii on the map with beatboxing on Kauai, Inner Mongolia, China, Beijing, Shanghai, Zhongshan, Guangdong, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Nyack, and New York City, etc.
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