BAREFOOT NATIVES HONORED WITH SIX 2008 NA HOKU HANOHANO AWARD NOMINATIONS

CATEGORIES INCLUDE "ALBUM OF THE THE YEAR" FOR CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED "SLACK KEY CIRCUS" CD

                WAILUKU, Monday May 5... The Hawaii Academy of Recording Artists (HARA) have announced the finalists for the 2008 Na Hoku Hanohano awards, and the Barefoot Natives have been honored with six nominations. The categories are: Favorite Entertainers of the year (determined by public vote in Borders Books and Music), Engineer of the year (for Nick Fournier and Milan Bertosa), Group of the year, Song of the year (for "Ke Aloha A'u E Hali'a Nei"), Island music album of the year (formerly "Contemporary Hawaiian album of the year"), and Album of the year (for Producers William Kahaialii, Eric Gilliom, and Brian Kohne).  The Barefoot Natives released "Slack Key Circus" in late October of 2007, and the CD has enjoyed widespread critical acclaim. Due to the timing of the release, "Slack Key Circus" was ineligible for the 2007 Grammy, but will appear on the preliminary ballot for the 2008 Grammy awards. People who would like to hear the CD in it's entirety can do so online at: www.barefootnatives.com. 

                In early 2007 the Barefoot Natives self-titled debut CD was nominated for five Hoku awards, and went on to win "Best Contemporary Hawaiian Album of the Year". The win was a first for Eric Gilliom, and another of many for Uncle Willie K who, with last year's win, joined an elite collective of recording artists to have been honored by HARA performing with three different groups. Recently the group also appeared in the Audio CD of a children's book: "Old Makana Had a Taro Farm", which was written by Kauai's Dr. Carolan, illustrated by Joanna Carolan, and distributed by the Islander Group. For more information on "Old Makana", please visit: www.bananapatchpress.com..

           The Barefoot Natives debut CD "Barefoot Natives", and "Slack Key Circus" are each distributed by the Mountain Apple Company. They are on sale wherever Hawaiian music is sold, and can be downloaded from all the major online services such as iTunes.

Congratulations goes to the Barefoot Natives in the release of their newest CD "Slack Key Circus" an uplifting selection of songs to get you up and on your feet.

Best of Luck and a HUGE Mahalo for sending me the CD! ~Always Aloha from Fanaddicts

Please visit Uncle Willie K and Eric and listen to the complete CD

BAREFOOT NATIVES WILLIE K AND ERIC GILLIOM FEATURED IN THE AUDIO CD OF NEW CHILDREN"S BOOK

DR. CAROLAN'S "OLD MAKANA HAD A TARO FARM" ON SALE NOW

                WAILUKU, November 15 ...The Barefoot Natives, Willie K and Eric Gilliom, are known for their musical range and versatility. There isn't a musical genre in which they can't perform and excel. So when Dr. Carolan was looking for recording artists to work with on his new children's book,Old Makana Had a Taro Farm, the Barefoot Natives were his first choice. I had it in my head that they could really do something unique and special with the song and the animal sounds, said Dr. Carolan, and what they have created is better than anything I imagined.

                Old Makana Had a Taro Farmis a Hawaiian version of the well-known children's classicOld MacDonald Had a Farm. The book takes readers onto a taro farm where we find native animals such as thekoloa(Hawaiian duck) andnene(Hawaiian goose), as well as later arrivals such as thepua'a(pigs) andpipi wahine(cow). Eric Gilliom is credited with making all of the animal sounds, and he even showcases the noises made during a taro planting cycle - from the plop-plop ofplantinghuli(taro starts) to the pound-pound of making poi. Willie K created the slack-key arrangement for the song, and brings a fresh, new sound to the old classic.

We at Fanaddicts send our sincere Congratulations to Eric and Willie K for their First Hoku Award Win for Contemporary Hawaiian Album of the Year '07

BAREFOOT NATIVES HAWAII 2007 TOUR

click on for LG

 visit: www.barefootnatives.com. 

 

 The Barefoot Natives recently won the 2007 Na Hoku Hanohano award for Best Contemporary Hawaiian Album for their debut CD “Barefoot Natives”, which was released in May of 2006. A critically acclaimed collection of original, traditional, and carefully selected covers, the CD has become an instant classic amongst locals and visitors alike. Songs from the debut release are on the airwaves across the globe- in particular radio stations in Germany and the Netherlands have really taken to the unique Barefoot Native sound. On this special tour of the islands Willie K and Eric Gilliom will showcase the songs from the debut CD, as well as offer a preview of some of the material from the upcoming new CD “Slack Key Circus”, which is scheduled for commercial release on October 16, 2007.

Listen to Clips

Visit them at   http://www.myspace.com/barefootnatives

Performers that have Influenced Eric and Willie are, Gabby Pahinui, Cecilio & Kapono (they will be performing with Kapono in June), Jimi Hendrix, George Benson, Manu Kahaialii and The Ink Spots just to name a few.
Our friend John Berger of - (Honolulu Star Bulletin says) Barefoot Natives sounds Like "A tight blend of Hawaiian, hapa-haole, comedy and intense acoustic rock."
 

     Gilliom is really excited about the debut of the Barefoot Natives. He promises we’re in for a treat and from what I hear from the promo CD we are indeed.

“The whole last year, Willie and Eric have been playing together off and on in various configurations,” “And they have such a great time playing together. It’s so much fun. We’ve played together over the years when he was with my sister, and we found this magic between the two of us. Eric added.

“About four months ago he talked to Willie, ’I want to do this, I want to create a duo.’ Playing with Willie is magical. He’s such a profound entertainer with such an enormous vocabulary.”

No other musician in Hawaii commands such a broad stylistic range as Willie K. The multi-Hoku-winning artist can sing and play virtually anything, well. And leave you keeled over laughing, he’s so funny. A versatile artist known for his movie and theater work, Gilliom has previously applied his musical talent to playing funk and R&B with the group "The Project" releasing two excellent solo CDs “Into the Mystic” and “Like Chow Fun.” Teamed with Hapa’s founder, Barry Flanagan, Gilliom has lately explored Hawaiian music, packing Mulligan’s on the Blue, enthralling visitors and residents with a unique dinner show.

“In a broad sense we’re bringing all the styles and color of both,” Gilliom continues. “That’s what the Barefoot Natives are about. We’re bringing all of that to the forefront. Just imagine all the stuff I’ve done from ’Rocky Horror’ to ’Hamlet’ to my style of music, and you bring Willie K’s colorful palette.

“Willie is breathing a whole new life into his own career with the Barefoot Natives project. He has had a hankering to get far more theatrical than he has in the past. At the core of Willie K, he ultimately wants to be a stand-up comedian. So he’s really fired up because in his mind he’s getting closer to that stand-up comedian thing he wants to do. Much of our act is wedged in humor and really at the heart it’s Hawaiian.”

Honing his guitar playing with Flanagan and performing for a while as a member of Hapa laid the foundation for Gilliom’s teaming with Willie. “There’s no question that I’ve grown into becoming a guitar player,” he says. “I get to sit between two guitar giants. With Willie it’s taken to another level. Barry (Flanagan) has been a very instrumental part in why I am the guitar player I am today. I’ve been playing with Barry for two years and what better education than to play with these guys, and both had no reservation about throwing me into the deep end of the pool.

“With Barry, we’ll discuss what we’re going to do before we walk on stage. With Willie there’s no talking about that. I made the biggest mistake with him at the first gig we ever did, about a year ago. I spent a week thinking about a set list we were going to play and I had it taped on the floor in front of him and me. Before the show started, he looked down and said over the microphone, ’What’s that?’ I said, ’A set list.’ He burst into laughter. He picked it up and showed it to the audience like it was a fungus and said, ’I haven’t seen one of these in 25 years.’ He crumpled it up and threw it over his shoulder and that was that. So I’m always on my toes playing with Willie.”

“Our goal is that we can get more theatrical with some of this stuff and at the Barefoot Bash show, people will get a taste of how we’ll utilize the stage,” he says.

Live Music & Entertainment Nightly At Mulligan's See Eric Gilliom & Barry Flanagan of Hapa at Wailea Nights - Thursday & Friday Nights

Eric Gilliom Biography:  was born in Lakewood, California and raised on the valley isle of Maui. He began studying theater, music and dance at age 14 and quickly realized that entertainment was to be his profession. Born into a musical family, Eric's grandmother, Jennie "Napua" Woodd choreographed and starred in over 200 Hollywood films and T.V shows along side the Marx Brothers, Shirley Temple, The Ink Spots and many others.
At 17 he was the first person of Hawaiian ancestry to be accepted to the prestigious Goodman School of Performing Arts in Chicago. He spent the next four years training and performing with Chicago's best and braving the inclement weather of the windy city. After graduating with honors he moved to L.A and landed a role in the movie Hoosiers opposite Gene Hackman. In the years to follow he guest starred on numerous episodic T.V shows like Moonlighting, My Sister Sam and Heart of the City.

In 1989, Debbie Allen (Fame) asked Eric to join the cast of a new Broadway bound rock musical called "Carrie" starring Betty Buckley, The show opened at the Royal Shakespeare Theater in London and then in New York two years later. Soon after, famed choreographer, Jerome Robbins (West Side Story) cast Eric along side New York's finest singers and dancers in "Jerome Robbins Broadway". The sheer volume of shows that he has done is impressive, some 35 musicals, 26 dramas, 13 of Shakespeare's works including the role of Hamlet.

In the winter of 1992, Eric took a singing job with a Los Angeles based band called Danny Turbo and the V8's with famous saxophonist Dave Koz, hoping to bring him a little closer to Hawaii. After 10 years on the road he could shuttle back and forth on a regular basis to see his family.

The mid 90's was a prolific time for Eric, performing at Carnegie Hall with Kealii Reichel, producing, directing and starring in The Rocky Horror Show and lending his writing, arranging and vocal talents to more than two dozen CD's before recording his own in 1996 titled "Into the Mystic". He toured that album opening for Al Jarreau, Earl Klugh and Bobby Caldwell. His second CD "Chow Fun" would bring him even more success, taking him on the road with Actor/Comedian and friend Jamie Foxx as the closing act of his "Somebody Call Security" tour. Jamie then brought Eric back to Los Angeles to guest star on The Jamie Foxx Show and create a variety show for the WB in 2003.

Finally based on Maui, he is currently recording with Willie K as the "Barefoot Natives" and developing film and T.V projects.
 

~My special Mahalo to Eric and Uncle Willie K, and Brian for supplying the CD, information

 and photos to Danny Couch Fanaddicts~

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Information/photos/slideshow listed with prior-written permission

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