“The BIG BREAK” - Cecilio and Kapono (Part 2)

Our first gig in Waikiki was at J.J’s Cafe right on Kalākaua Blvd next to Canlis. Both places are gone. From there we went to “The Rainbow Villa.” This place was known for having the longest bar in the state. There were pool tables in the back and there was a bartender and one waitress and the room was empty. It was like that for almost 3 months. During that time we got a manager, Bill Thompson, who was in show biz in L.A., but had retired to Maui. He managed The Smothers Brothers and Glen Campbell before retiring. He eventually got things going. I’m really grateful to him for all he did. He believed in us. Well, he had a friend visiting the islands, Terry Powell, who was with Columbia Records. Bill invited him to check us out. He came to see us and said he had to be at a dinner with friends and he ended up staying all night. He was the only person in the club other than Bill, the bartender and the waitress, so he had to be impressed. More later on Columbia Records. Well we played the Diamond Head Crater Sunshine Festival on the small stage, and attracted an impressive crowd for being unknown. But our “Big Break” came when we opened for Frank Zappa at the Honolulu Civic Auditorium. I use to go to the Civic as a kid to watch, wrestling, roller derby and mainland rock acts like, Boz Scagg (before Silk Degrees), Jethro Tull, Paul Cotton Blues Band, LED Zeppelin, and more. Well we did our 15 minute opening set and when we were done we had a raving response. We didn’t really think about it, but as we were walking out, guitars packed and heading to the Rainbow, Frank Zappa came out and said, “get back up there the people want you,”. This was Frank Zappa, he didn’t have to do that and most groups would never consider it. God bless him. The crowd was still cheering, so we got back up for a Hana Hou and played “Suite:Judy Blue Eyes. “ That night, changed our lives. We went to the Rainbow Villa and by the time we got there the club was packed and the line was around the block. It was crazy, we thought the management hired another group. We walked in and people were waiting for us. It was like this 6 days a week for 8 months. This was a time when people were going out every night and they were coming to see us. It was a wild and crazy good time. It was unbelievable...to be continued: Next “C&K go to California”.

The late Frank Zappa a musical genius. Thank you Frank!!!