Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 8, 1 ʻAukake 2000 — Troy Fernandez rides solo debut [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Troy Fernandez rides solo debut

By Manu Boyd ĪROY FERNANDEZ'S first-break solo project is energetic, loaded with surf tunes that speak of the rush of the South Shore summer swell. From the "Kaiser Bowl" surf spot outside Kālia at Waikīkī to the North Shore and over to Mākaha, he captures moments of "ripping" and "shredding" with surf buddies that many loeal boys (and girls) ean relate to. Surfing, after all, is as Hawaiian as it gets, as is capturing those moments on paper, and putting them to instrument and voice. In less than a decade, Troy Femandez has gained all kinds of experience — as a budding perfomer/songwriter, award-winning group member to producer, and now, solo perfomer and record company owner. To his credit, he has produced the groups 'Ekolu and Typical Hawaiians under his own label, Dinosaur Mountain Productions. Roy Sakuma, the 'ukulele gum who has groomed thousands of young players, has been a kind of mentor in Troy's development, although he acknowledges that

he was already playing before they met. "When Troy was 14, he, Chino (Montero) and Nathan (Nāhinu), opened a Helen Reddy concert. I had a student also playing, and I was very taken by Troy's self-taught style," he said. "Peter Moon, I think, was a big influence on him. Troy's style has become very popular among young players," he said, adding that Troy is at least, i in part, responsible for the huge populariy of § the 'ukulele todav.

Together with Ēmie Cruz Jr., the Ka'au Crater Boys became an immensely popular duo recording five CDs that won aeelaim in the loeal Hōkū awards for contemporary album of the year, twice. The also recored a song of the year, "Captain Craig" Kamahele's " 'Ōpihi Mein." Since Ka'au's demise, Femandez, Montero and Nāhinu, hit the island music scene as "Pālolo" with three recordings to-date. Except for "Southswell Boogie" he co-wrote with a friend, and "Thinking About You" by David Kahalewai, the songs are all Troy's, including "Rose" for his wife and "Leialohapoina 'ole" for his daughter. "7 was born

in Honolulu" recalls ■ friends playing ■ 'ukulele at Ānuenue ■ Elementary and, of | course, surfing. "Surfer | in Pālolo," the title cut, is / a revealing musical resume that acknowledges hard lessons leamed, obstacles overcome, and evenmal success. "The songs on this project

were originally for Ka'au," Femandez said, noting that the surf theme was better suited to he and Emie Craz than Pālolo. "So I ended up recording them on my own." When asked what's on the horizon, Fernandez offered a glimpse. "I've been writing a lot, and perform down at the Hawaiian Regent Oeean Terrace. Another solo or maybe another Pālolo release is a definite possibility." ■

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