Arts Briefs
February 25, 2005
First Hawaiian Grammy
A compilation won the first-ever Grammy for Best Hawaiian Music Album. Slack Key Guitar Volume 2 was produced by Charles Michael Brotman on the Palm Records label.
Hawai‘i’s music industry, some Recording Academy members and politicians lobbied nearly 20 years for the creation of the award, which premiered last weekend at the 47th annual Grammy Awards under the folk field.
Other nominees included 30-year veterans The Brothers Cazimero for their album Some Call It Aloha … Don’t Tell; Amy Hanaiali’i Gilliom, who sings primarily in Hawaiian, and guitarist Willie K for Amy and Willie Live; the quartet Ho’okena for Cool Elevation; and singer Keali’i Reichel for Ke’alaokamaile.
Laotian ‘Madonna’ to Perform for New Generation
LOS ANGELES –– Ketsana Vilaylack, sometimes called “the Laotian Madonna,” has started Elao entertainment to discover and promote new Laotian voices in America. “I want to share my experience in Laos and to create sounds for a new generation. The generation living here has forgotten its roots or regrets coming from that part of the world,” said the singer.
Vilaylack, 35, arrived in Chicago as a 7-year-old refugee and began singing at Filipino and Thai nightclubs by the age of 12. The singer Madonna changed her life by inspiring her to be more experimental with her music and adapt traditional Laotian songs with an American style.
She is about to release a ninth album, Reminiscing the Past, sponsored by fellow Laotian Tony Sovidary, a San Diego businessman.
Casting Call for ‘Quest’
Event: Global casting search for Quest China, Da Tiao Zhan
Background: House Films is currently looking for participants from the United States, China, the United Kingdom and Australia. Taping begins this spring as four teams travel through China, competing in various physical, intellectual and cultural challenges.
Interesting: Quest China is a joint production between the United States and China and is scheduled to air on I-channel.
Details: Applications and the first season are available at www.questchina.tv.
Sachiko Collection of Spring Fashion
Event: Fashion fundraiser
Background: Boy Scout Troop 700 of San Mateo Buddhist Temple is sponsoring a fundraiser with Eileen ‘Sachiko’ Fitzpatrick and her collection of spring fashions.
Interesting: Participants will pick color schemes and styling and then try on samples for sizing.
Details: April 16, 1 to 4 p.m., and April 17, 11 to 4 p.m., San Mateo Buddhist Temple, 2 S. Claremont St., San Mateo, Calif.
Korean Stars’ ‘X-File’ Spurs Legal Threats
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s top entertainment stars threatened legal action after a file containing rumors about their sexual and drug habits was posted on the Internet.
The 113-page “X-File” contains personal and business data on some 100 TV stars, including rumors about their private lives.
The dossier was compiled for South Korea’s top advertising company, Cheil Communications, from interviews with tabloid reporters.
Cheil, a subsidiary of the nation’s No. 1 conglomerate, Samsung, said it planned to use the data as a reference when signing TV advertising contracts with the celebrities.
Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
Event: Lecture with author Luong Ung
Interesting: A survivor of Cambodia’s killing fields, Ung will be screening First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, followed by a lecture.
Details: $15, faculty and staff $10, students free, March 1, 4 p.m., Evert G. Person Theater, (707) 664-2537.
‘Henna’ First Pakistani American Film
Event: Night of Henna premiere
Background: Producer/director Hassan Zee’s film debuts at six Bay Area theaters in March.
Interesting: Night of Henna centers on a Pakistani girl, Hava, who comes to the United States for college. In the classic conflict of individualism and tradition, Hava must deal with an arranged marriage and the life she wants for herself.
Details: March 6, 4-Star Theatre (additional venues open March 11), MediaWorks, (415) 333-1650.
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