Biography

                                                                    Home

"A diamond in the rough...with tremendous potential" -                     DON HO

   Nathan was born into a musical family.  His grandparents could play various instruments, as well as performances with bands.  His mom a piano player and his father for many years taught music and was a choir director, as well as a Polynesian music teacher at various high schools.

   His early years consisted of piano lessons, learning the guitar and ukulele with the natural ability to sing.  From 7^th thru 12^th grades his main instrument was the saxophone - he once thought that this would be his lifetime passion. 

   In college he performed in the jazz ensemble, as a bass player, and the wind symphony, as a percussionist.  By this time his passion for the electric bass made him decide that this would be his main instrument.

    In 1983, during his college years, he started his professional career accompanying performers such as Gabe Baltazar, Henry Kapono, Loyal Garner and Nohelani Cypriano to name a few.  He was a member of the Hoku award winning group Ka'eo and the award winning group The Ali'i's.  He also did a 15 year stint with the legendary Don Ho, as bass player and back up singer.  He’s done various high school and college level seminars covering subjects from writing , arranging and sequencing to computer music. 

    For a few short years Nathan was a music teaher at various schools in Hawai’i.  He’s even done a project with students from Campbell High School.  The students had a chance to see the workings of what goes on in producing and recording a song.   

   Other than being a stage musician Nathan has performed on commercials for Windward Mall, Meadow Gold, etc.  He's done background music for various TV shows for the Travel Channel.  

    In 2002 Nathan released his c.d. called “E Apo Mai”, which garnered him a couple of awards.  One was for “Male Vocalist of the Year”, and the other for “Song of the Year.  This project was his most  gratifying to date because he had written most of the songs, arranged all the songs, performed all of the instruments, recorded and engineered the whole project and released it on his own record label.   In 2005 Nathan released a project called "The Hawai'i Classic Series" of which c.d.s are released as specific themes.  The first was called "Vintage" in which the focus was on popular hapa-haole songs.  The second installment called "Hula" based on popular auwana hulas of the past.  Both of which garnered Nathan "Male Vocalist of the Year" for 2006 & 2007. 

     Nathan released a c.d. called "Bass Etude"  in 2005, which centered around the electric bass guitar, in a contemporary/eclectic sound.  This project gave him the award for "Jazz Album of the Year" in 2006.

     What you are hearing is a cut off of Nathan's "One More Road" c.d., in which he wrote, performed all of the instruments and sang all harmony parts and lead.

 Photograph by William Pie