Walking over water
Sam and I were on the phone one morning talking about another nut idea that I was trying make happen. We really think that this idea is solid. But its crazy, but why not. All crazy idea's come out pretty good, and it takes a nut case to make it happen. Don't you think? Any ways, part of this nut idea included two guys that are doing some fun poly skits on FB, (YO Samo). I thought it would be cool to bring them on board. Well it turns out one of them is a Kahuku grad. Yeah, and, he's a fan, even moa bettah. Then Sam tells me he even sang on our self titled album Vaihi. I was like WHAT? Then Sam refreshes my memory about the song "Walking over water". I was like, huh? See when you write songs and unless they become your hit song it just passes into album bliss. It's there and then when a fan shows up to your show and asks can you sing this song, and we're like ah? Then we begin with the sorrowful stutter of ssss....ooooo...rrrrr.....yyyy, we haven't sang that song since a hundred years ago. BUT! if you email us a year before you come. We will be ready with that request. Till then how about this song, then we offer them a substitute of an original we've been singing in our sleep.
Walking over water was the 9th song on our third studio album, but our first under our own label. The year was 1999. No i was not driving in a red corvette, and I wasn't trying to party like 1999. I was trying to put food on the table of my growing family. I couldn't afford to party, let alone drive a corvette. We couldn't even afford to do a cover song so we had to rely on our writing and story telling to pay the bills. Anyways, 98,99. and 2000 were good years but filled with sorrow as well. We had lost an original member of the band, that left while we were still in college. He wanted to pursue what he believed was the best for his family. We flew to his funeral in Maui and spent time with his beautiful wife jill and there baby girl, who had just been born I believe. I had known Jill for a bit, we worked together in the Hawaiian village at the Polynesian Cultural Center. She was also in school with us too. Jill could sing as well. I'm sure she still has it. Kai passing stuck with me for awhile, later my mom would pass, then later my oldest brother, and again these sat with me for years. These feelings would be the source of my songs. Losing someone is not easy. Then to think thats the end is even more insane. So for me, passing was just another birth. A birth to our a final destination. Eternity. A place where we will gather again and all will be well, for ETERNITY! Still though for the living, we have to deal and cope with the loss. Which many times requires huge leap of faith. The image of the Savior walking on the water during the storm, allows us the same power to overcome our fears. Loss can bring out the worst of fears. Even the idea of loss. For me the song "walking over water" was my source of strength. It rooted me back to my foundation, which is Christ. I hadn't listened to this song for years. When Sam and I had that conversation, a flood of memories came back.
When we began recording this album I worked out a deal for the studio and was able to pay upfront for the hours that was needed. I then flew my brother in-law Roro (Roger Tetuanui) in from Tahiti. He and I worked on all the music. We hired the late Scott Turnbull the leader of shakapela an acapella group to do all the vocal arrangements. Then got cracking. When it came to Walking over water we wanted to have a choir back us up and decided to bring in our high school choir. Kahuku's vocal motion. They were damn good, for years. We wanted to give an opportunity for our kids in our community to be a part of this song, and be able to experience being in a recording studio. Well, they killed it. Whats even more cool, was we got to be a part of MTV'S first reality tv show. The show that started reality tv. The performance took place at Local Motion Waikiki. The kids that were on the reality show was working at Local Motion Waikiki and living at mansion in black point. Walking over water was one of the songs we did. So we hired a bus to bring vocal motion down and we performed this on MTV. So Awesome yeah. We were extremely blessed through out our career. Some times you just don't see it till after the fact. Off of our self titled album Vaihi the song "Walking over water" enjoy and God bless.
https://open.spotify.com/track/6JbktZIfusIPWfcGwuu2pM?si=765eb71ef4f64aae