Carlos Cavazo & Big Dawg at Hawaiian Brians

12.08.11 Once again, Brett of Big Dawg out did himself by bringing Carlos Cavazo, former guitarist of the 80′s metal band Quiet Riot & member of the new reincarnation of the 80′s metal act RATT, to play their hearts out for a single night at Hawaiian Brian’s.

Big Dawg

There’s not much else I can say about any show Brett puts on that hasn’t already been said in previous posts. Hawaiian Brian’s has slowly made a name for itself in the local music circuit as thee place to put on a show that; 1) won’t have neighbors complaining about noise levels, 2) bathrooms that don’t smell like a combination of piss & alcohol 3) friendly staff that don’t threaten to kick out the guy with the camera just for wearing a shirt with skulls on it for once.

I’m gonna be upfront and say I was never a big fan of a lot of the “hair” bands in the 80′s. Tight pants & poofy hair didn’t quite speak to my generation. But I will say this, any show Brett & Big Dawg puts on is always a thorough education in the way things were & an example of how passionate musicians & artists were about their craft back in the days before ProTools & AutoTune. Having your music heard wasn’t as easy as uploading an mp3 to YouTube. I can’t even imagine what a struggle it must of been just to be heard or even paid attention to for that matter.

Carlos Cavazo

So to be face-to-face with the man who actually replaced Randy Rhoads in Quiet Riot & who’s played for crowds around the world was pretty damn intimidating. It was a fantastic night once again, full of die hard fans & long time friends.

I was actually bummed that I didn’t catch the opener Emke. I had no idea who they were, how they sounded or that they were standing right in front of me & looking curiously out of place, for nearly the entire show. I was looking forward to seeing how the audience would react to them.

To my surprise, my buds in the blues/rock band VeJJ, didn’t play till after Carlos Cavazo & Big Dawg finished their set. Their lead front dude, Jamm Aquino has always been a friend & huge inspiration in my photography (Check out some of his amazing work here) Ernie Ecraela, the “e” in VeJJ & former bassist of Friends of Adam has always been in a class of his own with his hilariously infectious stage presence & unmatched skills on bass.

Jamm Aquino