Just waking up in the morning gotta thank God
I don’t know but today seems kinda odd
No barking from the dog, no smog
And momma cooked the breakfast with no hog
Ok, so it wasn’t quite like how Ice Cube rapped it, but “today was like one of those fly dreams” and definitely “A Good Day“.
Why you axe? Welp, this morning, the much anticipated Motorola Droid was released to the public through Verizon Wireless, and, like every other nerd out there, I found myself standing in line, waiting to get mine.
Billed as the iPhone killer (watch iDont commercial here), this smartphone attacks and addresses all of the iPhone’s shortcomings. Being a non-AT&T Wireless sub and a Google and open source fiend, I literally NEEDED it. It’s running the newest Android 2.0 OS (the first phone with it) and has neat features like seamless Gmail and Facebook integration as well as free navigation via Google maps. I literally just got it, so I didn’t have much time to play with it yet, but here are a few quick tips/things I learned in this short time. Perhaps it’ll help some of y’all out.
Ed’s Tips/Notes:
* Not sure how crowded the other stores are, but the Pearl Highlands one I went to was not too bad. They opened at 7AM, and when I got there at about 6:30, there were only 4 people ahead of me. The woman at the front of the line said she got there at 5:15 with the next guy coming at 6:15. Before the doors opened, there were just about 15-20 of us (including couples). From what I heard, Verizon had 200 in stock, so if you get down there now, you should be ok.
The line outside Verizon Wireless at about 6:45AM
* The phone itself is $199 ($299 with a $100 mail-in rebate). With the Snap-On Gel Cover ($16.99), expect to pay over $300 out the door.
* With this phone, you must upgrade to a $29.99 data plan (if you didn’t already have it). I was coming from an enV Touch with a $15 VZW Mobile Web plan/package, so it was about double. It made me think about it for a split second, but for the extra goodies and the Wi-Fi action, I think it’s worth it.
* If you’re used to slim (narrow) phones, this one’s pretty wide. Compared to my Touch, it’s a beast. Gonna be interesting to see how it fits/feels in my pocket.
The Motorola Droid next to the LG enV Touch
* To keep the phone as slim (flat) as possible, the QWERTY keypad was built pretty flat. If you have big hands (like me), it may take some getting used to.
Closeup of the Droid’s QWERTY keyboard. Like how I focused on E-D?
* The Snap-On Gel Cover may also feel like it’s getting in the way sometimes, so using it would be up to personal preference.
The Motorola Droid with slider open
* The camera’s a bit tricky to get used to (accessing, saving, sharing, etc.), but once you get the hang of it, the 5 megapixel camera takes pretty good shots. Here’s a pic my friend/co-worker Maribel using the Droid in artificial light.
(resized) 5 Megapixel photo taken with the Droid. Click here for the full version.
* Even though you have VZW backup enabled, you must still manually import your contacts into your Droid (via Gmail). You actually download the CSV file from verizonwireless.com/backupassistant, and then import it into your contact list in Gmail. If you have tons of contacts in your Gmail account and tons of numbers in your addressbook (from your old phone), it could get a little messy. I still have yet to check what it did to my dupes (it said it merged them). Yikes!
Check out the step by step shots (for downloading and uploading your contacts) below.
The Verizon Wireless Backup Assistant login page
Your list of contacts in Backup Assistant
Gmail Contacts page
Import Contacts screen in Gmail Contacts page
Importing CSV into Gmail Contacts
Import complete!
Big ups to Tara Reyna from the Pearl Highlands Verizon Wireless store. She’s really helpful and smart, so go see her a-ight? For more information on the Droid, go to DroidDoes.com or visit Motorola’s consumer page here.
A-ight peeps. Hurr it is! Your questions, answered by Kauai’s own, Ms. Colbie Caillat herself.
Boy, what an experience! Having dinner with her and her band in Reno, catching (part of) her show, then driving down to Sacramento to catch her appearance there, THEN jumping aboard her tour bus to get this interview. And on top of all that, she’s like the sweetest person you’ll ever meet. Please go out and buy her music and show some love for our Kauai girl. She soooo deserves it.
K, nuff awwreddy! I know you just want me to shut up and get to the video, so here it is… Check it!
Singapore. I think we’re going most likely in January or February (2010). As of now, that’s what the schedule is looking like so I hope that still happens.
[bB]: what is her favorite song that she wrote and why?
I think my favorite song that I wrote is “Battle” on my first album CoCo because I wrote the whole thing in a matter of minutes. It was because I was feeling so strongly about a situation. Family members of mine were having this feud and it was going on for years, and I was tired of all the drama and all the sadness that was tied into it, where people couldn’t be in the same place at the same time and I really wanted to write about it and express my feelings that we need to get past this and both people can be sorry and things can get better with the relationship.
[NeedaHobby]: is she able to get back to Kauai very often? What are some of the foods she has to have when she’s back home?
*laughs* The last time I was in Kauai was when I was writing in January ‘09. *laughs* Before that, it was the summer before that, so I don’t get to go there enough. I want to go back right this second. When I go back to Hawaii, we always have barbeques at my aunt’s house, and I go to Bubba Burgers, and I get smoothies all the time. And all the local boys, we hang out at the beach. They go fishing and they cook us… I like ono, and my uncle goes out fishing and gets like really good ahi. I love fish, it’s amazing.
[rayboyjr]: Her music has a laid-back feel like music from Hawaii. Does she know of or ever heard the local Hawaii music? Any influences from Hawaii?
Well Justin Young! Who’s in my band… I actually knew of his music because my friends were listening to his music and every time I go to Hawaii and hear his songs. Every time I hear Hawaiian music or the ukulele, it brings back those warm feelings that I get when I go to Hawaii. And the people, how everyone’s so nice, and the weather. I heard… isn’t Pepper from Hawaii? Yeah so I mean just going there and getting to hear all of these artists and bands, I learn from them and I listen to them when I go back home.
[frankie]: I love the harmonies in “Magic.” Does she have any more collaborations planned?
Well, on my new album “Breakthrough”, Jason Reeves and I, we have a collaboration… we have a duet called “Droplets”, and I just did “Lucky” with Jason Mraz, and then after that, I really want to do a collaboration with a hip-hop artist like Common or Pharrell Williams or someone… Timbaland maybe. That’d be cool.
[skycastles]: How has becoming famous changed her life – the good and the bad?
It’s weird to say I’m famous because I don’t… it’s just weird. The good thing about it is that I get to travel the world and I have a nice tour bus and I stay at nice hotels. I get to travel and play my songs for people in different countries and all over the US. You get treated very well, people bring things to you all the time and you get to go to the front of the line, like stuff like that, that’s awesome. The bad part about it is that there’s so much work involved with it that I’m never home enough, I’m never with my family enough or I can’t have a dog out on the road with me, I don’t get to be in Hawaii as much as I want to, I have to miss out on things: weddings, birthdays, and having people… it’s very strange, when you have people taking pictures of you, you feel like you’re in a zoo in one of the cages and you’re like one of the zoo animals, so that’s weird, but it all comes together and you have to look at it in a positive way, so that’s what I try to do.
[mcat]: i’m curious on how much she visits HI & if she’ll ever do a concert here? (again)
I visit Hawaii… I try to go twice a year, and even that, that’s not enough. Right now, I’ve been begging my manager to try and book us a show in Hawaii. I haven’t played there for over a year now so I’d really love to go back. My band wants to go back, Justin Young who’s in my band is from there… we’d be sooooo happy to go back there and play a show, so hopefully soon. Really really soon.
[NEO]: Wow, Colbie Caillat, first off, you’re beautiful… I love your voice… secondly, where do you find most of the inspiration for your songs?
Aww. Well thank you NEO, that’s very sweet. I find inspiration for my songs from my personal experiences in life. Whatever I’m going through, whatever I’m observing with friends or family around me, going through a situation in life, or if I’m falling in love with someone or having to break up with someone. I just write about whatever is going on in here. *points to heart*
[kuya.d]: What “dream venue” does she want to perform at?
The dream venue that I would love to perform at is the Hollywood Bowl. That’s where I saw my first concert, I saw Fleetwood Mac perform there when I was younger and I’m from L.A. I want to perform at the Hollywood Bowl. Hollywood Bowl would just be “Ahhhhh!” *laughs*
[matt]: does she have any aspirations to transition to different media types or does she strictly see herself as a musician?
I pretty much see myself as a musician and eventually as just a song writer for other artists. I could be eventually talked into acting. I have been saying no for a long time, it’s not really my thing, but I’m trying to… that’s like my next goal is to be open to other situations and not be scared of things and acting I was kinda scared of so if a good opportunity comes up, I might try it, but I’m not sure. *smiles*
[MB]: does she have another duet with Mraz planned anytime soon?
Jason and I don’t have another duet planned yet but we’re friends, we see each other all the time, we perform “Lucky” together and I’m sure we will write another song together just by hanging out all the time and loving each other’s music so much.
…
With this interview, I’ve done three fairly high profile “Hawaii celeb” interviews in a row:
Not bad ah? Who you like me shoot fo’ next? I really think I’d enjoy one with Barack Obama, but I realize that that’s next to impossible. Plus, I no like get frisked in places I’ve never been touched before. I dunno, perhaps the peeps currently in the news might be interesting (e.g. Mark Dacascos or Carrie Ann Inaba from Dancing with the Stars, or the like)? The Rock would be fun too.
Apologies if I skipped your question. Tried to avoid repeating similar questions…
Hope you enjoyed it yo! Lemme know what you think!
In every lifetime, there comes one special star destined for greatness. A glowing beauty, full of energy and warmth, that shines big and bright for the world to admire.
In this lifetime, that star is Colbie Caillat.
Born Colbie Marie Caillat on May 28th, 1985 to a music producer dad and model mom, Colbie inherited greatness from both sides: the looks of a Hollywood actress with the voice of an angel.
Colbie could always sing and was a part of musical theater casts from 8 years old. At 11, she heard the Fugees’ Lauryn Hill sing “Killing Me Softly” for the first time and was blown away. She started taking things more seriously, writing, recording, and picking up instruments along the way.
In 2006, her producer friend convinced her to record several songs to put up on Myspace “just for fun.” Before long, her songs went viral. Members added her songs to their pages after seeing it on their friends’ pages. It multiplied and multiplied until she became the #1 unsigned artist in her genre for four consecutive months. That’s when the record companies came calling and the rest, as they say, is history.
Here’s her story…
Colbie Caillat – Personal Life
Personal Life:
Edward Sugimoto) Not too many people know that you have roots to Hawaii. Can you kind of explain your history with Hawaii?
Colbie Caillat) I grew up going to Kauai when I was 11 years old with my parents. And my aunt and uncle live there and they own Bubba Burgers in Hanalei. And ever since, I’ve been going once or twice a year with my family and bringing my friends and my cousins. And then I worked there for a summer, I worked there for a couple months at Bubba Burgers in Kauai. As so Hawaii is just… everyone, the people, the food, the weather… it’s just like my second home. It’s the one place that I would always want to be.
Bubba Burgers
Edward Sugimoto) What was it like when you first heard Bubbly on the radio?
Colbie Caillat) When I first heard Bubbly on the radio, I was in Southern California at this restaurant that my family and I always go to, and we heard it playing in the background, and all of the sudden my mom like gets up and starts dancing, and then everyone starts singing at the table. That was the first time I realized that it was actually really being played cause people tell you it’s played but that was my first time knowing that it was real.
Edward Sugimoto) I hear you are a true arteest. You like to take photographs and you like painting a lot. Are photobooks or art in your future?
Colbie Caillat) I’m really into photography and painting. I like watercolors. So my dream job is to move back to Hawaii and be a photographer and paint and live that lifestyle. That’s what I want to do eventually. And yeah, I paint all the time on my tour bus when I’m traveling. And I save all the paintings. We’ll see what I’ll do with them. *modest laugh*
Edward Sugimoto) A little art gallery maybe?
Colbie Caillat) I don’t know. Maybe. For my mom. *laughs*
Colbie Caillat
Edward Sugimoto) When you’re not out being “world famous” Colbie Caillat, what do you like to do in your downtime?
Colbie Caillat) Whenever I have downtime, if I’m on tour, I hang out with my band and crew and we barbeque outside of the bus, we go sightseeing, we take pictures, just super mellow since the schedule’s really crazy. When I’m home, I like to be with my family and my close friends and my dogs. Stay at home, listen to music, barbeque, go swimming. I’m super mellow.
Edward Sugimoto) I noticed you got some new ink on your arm.
Colbie Caillat) *laughs*
Edward Sugimoto) Any significance with that? Is there a story behind it?
Colbie Caillat) My flower tattoo, well this smaller flower I’ve always had for a couple years and that’s the logo for my first album CoCo. And then this new flower I got in Paris a couple months ago. And that is the Breakthrough flower for my new record. So this is the new logo for like all my merch, my T-shirts, on my CD. I had wanted it for a couple years and I new it was a big commitment getting a big tattoo on my arm so I made sure I still wanted it and I got it.
Edward Sugimoto) So after a few albums, your whole arm is gonna be covered?
Colbie Caillat) *laughs* My dad was actually like, “Honey, that flower better not keep growing!” I don’t want a sleeve, but I could see how tattoos are addicting.
Colbie Caillat
Edward Sugimoto) Let’s play Faves. First thing that pops into your mind when I say this/when I ask this question: Favorite all time song?
Colbie Caillat) Bob Marley “Waiting in Vain.”
Edward Sugimoto) Favorite musical artist?
Colbie Caillat) Bob Marley or Lauryn Hill.
Edward Sugimoto) Favorite TV show?
Colbie Caillat) The Office.
Edward Sugimoto) Favorite movie I heard is “Dumb and Dumber”. Is that still the case?
Colbie Caillat) Favorite movie is Dumb and Dumber. I quote it probably every day. *laughs*
Edward Sugimoto) Favorite web site (besides AroundHawaii)?
Colbie Caillat) I could promote myself, but no Youtube is way more fun! *laughs*
Edward Sugimoto) Favorite food?
Colbie Caillat) Favorite food is either Mexican food or sushi. Either one.
Edward Sugimoto) How about least favorite food?
Colbie Caillat) Least favorite food? Um, I don’t like goat cheese. Is that ok, or did you want like a full on like kinda food? *laughs*
Edward Sugimoto) What is the one thing you always need to have in your purse before leaving the house?
Colbie Caillat) I’m addicted to chapstick or lipgloss. My lips are, I always want to reapply every 5 seconds. My camera I always have in my purse. My cell phone, gum, water bottles.
Colbie Caillat
Edward Sugimoto) If you weren’t doing music, what would you be doing career-wise?
Colbie Caillat) I would be living in Hawaii doing photography and painting.
Edward Sugimoto) These stats are a little off cause I did it about a week ago, but you had over 438,857 Myspace friends and over 40,615 Twitter followers.
Colbie Caillat) Wow!
Edward Sugimoto) How does it feel having that kind of accessibility to your fans?
Colbie Caillat) I think the Internet is so amazing. I mean that’s how I got my career started was because of Myspace a few years ago. People found my music and played it so much that I became the #1 unsigned artist and I got a record deal. And now, to be able to keep in touch with my fans by sending out a text to Twitter anytime, telling them what I’m doing, and they can reply and I can reply to each person individually. I think it’s the coolest way of being able to just stay in contact with your friends, family, fans. Internet’s great.
Edward Sugimoto) So that’s actually you on Twitter then?
Colbie Caillat) Yeah it’s me.
Edward Sugimoto) Your songs are pretty huge for weddings I’m guessing. We (wifey and I) actually used your “Magic” for our wedding song.
Colbie Caillat) Awww, so did my friend.
Edward Sugimoto) And a lot of people cover your songs on Youtube. Is that pretty flattering?
Colbie Caillat) It’s really flattering. This year, I’ve heard that “Lucky” was the wedding song. Last year, I heard it was “Bubbly” and “Magic”. But to know people cover my songs and try to learn them like I’ve learned other artist’s songs that I admire and adore, it’s really cool to know that I could be like that for other people. It’s a wonderful feeling.
Edward Sugimoto) You mentioned today on the stage about your constant struggle with fear/fright and stage fright and that’s why you named the album “Breakthrough”. What kind of specific things can you tell other people who have that kind of fear on how to get over it?
Colbie Caillat talking about her struggle with stage fright
Colbie Caillat) It’s just like anything. It takes practice and you have to work on it every single day. I mean I went on tour and performed every night and every day for two years straight and as hard as it was for me, as difficult and terrifying as it was I had to keep doing it. And slowly each time it got better and I got more comfortable. And just the past 6 months I really trained my brain to just remember to have fun out there. People are there to hear the music and music’s supposed to make you feel good, and have fun and smile. So when I remember to smile and look at my fans who are smiling and singing back it calms my heart down a little bit and you just have to remember that you’re up there doing something great and people admire that so you have nothing to be afraid of.
Colbie Caillat – Music Life
Music Life:
Edward Sugimoto) You started singing at 11 after hearing Lauryn Hill’s/Fugee’s “Killing Me Softly”. Did you have “it” back then or is it something you had to really work on?
Colbie Caillat) “It”? *smiles*
Edward Sugimoto) It: the voice, the singing.
Colbie Caillat) I’ve always been able to sing. I remember my parents saying I could sing when I was younger, and like when I was 8, 9, I was in musical theater. I did musicals, but I was still always afraid of being on stage and performing so I would never audition for like one of the lead parts, I’d always be in the background. And then when I got into 6th grade, I sang “Killing Me Softly” with my two best friends for our school talent show. And my other two friends, who I’m still best friends with, they can’t sing at all. *laughs*
Edward Sugimoto) You carried the team!
Colbie Caillat) Yeah, I guess, I didn’t realize it at the time. But um, yeah I’ve always been able to sing but I had to also train my voice. I mean I followed Lauryn Hill and learned how she did her licks, and I took vocal lessons for years to keep… I still have to warm up every single day. You have to keep your voice. Just like working out you have to stay in shape.
Edward Sugimoto) You kinda touched upon your Myspace history. Can you kinda expand on how you got discovered after that?
Colbie Caillat) Well, pretty much I was writing songs and I was friends with my producer, and every time I’d play him a new song in the studio, he was like, “let’s record it right now and put it up on Myspace just for fun.” And so we would put it up on Myspace and after 6 months I had grown such a large fan base. They were playing my songs everyday like 50,000 times. People would add my songs to their pages and then their friends would hear it and I kept rising on the charts and I eventually became #1 and then I got all the record label calls. I went to New York and met with the different labels. Universal (Republic) was the first one that I met with and I just knew that I belonged with them. They were just great and so personable. So that’s really how I got my career started and then went on tour with the Goo Goo Dolls and ever since then, everything keeps going.
Edward Sugimoto) Your dad is famed producer Ken Caillat who produced people like Fleetwood Mac. Why didn’t he just hook a sistah up instead of making you work hard for it?
Colbie Caillat) *laughs* Well, first of all, like I said, I was shy and had stage fright and so, I didn’t know how to play an instrument because I wasn’t writing when I was younger. I could sing, but I was shy. If you asked me to sing, I wouldn’t sing. So he couldn’t have done anything for me in this business because I wouldn’t have made it. I was too shy and if someone asked me to sing and I had to, I would mess up because I was so nervous. Plus my dad really wanted me to become a musician and become a song writer and establish my career for myself and he knew that was the best way to go about it, and at the time I didn’t realize that, until I was 19 and I learned how to play guitar and I wrote my first song and I realized that he was right.
Edward Sugimoto) I read somewhere also that he was the one that kinda made you play instruments and pick up piano and guitar and all this kind of stuff. Are you kinda glad you took that advice?
Colbie Caillat) I’m so glad I took my parents’ advice. I learned how to play guitar, a little bit of the piano, and I can play a little ukulele now, and battle Justin. It’s great because I’m able to write songs now and I’m able to accompany myself when I’m singing and doing performances. It feels good to know how to play music and to be able to express your emotions in song writing.
Colbie Caillat with her ukulele battling Justin Young on stage
Edward Sugimoto) You mentioned the ukulele. Jason Reeves played it on “Tied Down” on the last album. Do you get to play it a lot and is it going to be featured on future songs possibly?
Colbie Caillat) The ukulele, I think we might have it on “Rainbow” on my new album “Breakthrough.” But yeah, I always want to keep the Hawaii ties tied into my music, the whole reggae islandy vibe. I want to learn how to play more chords on it. I only know a few chords right now so that’s my next goal: to get better on the uke. *laughs*
Edward Sugimoto) You guys shot “The Little Things” in Kauai. Was that kind of like your shout out to your hometown?
Hanalei Bridge in Kauai
Colbie Caillat) I always wanted to shoot a music video in Kauai. On the north shore, that’s just where I grew up going. The song “The Little Things” where I shot the video for, I wanted to sum up the summer that I had with my friends when I lived there. I worked at Bubba Burgers, we rented a rent-a-wreck car and had our jobs and we’d go to the Hanalei Pier and we’d jump off every day and go swimming and hang out with cute boys (*smiles*) and have bon fires. That’s what I wanted to show. What I’m like, what I like to do and what that song means.
Old Hanalei School Building
Edward Sugimoto) For the album “Breakthrough” I think you went to Kauai for a few weeks with Kara Dioguardi from American Idol? If things hadn’t worked out, is that something you might’ve considered (going on the show)?
Colbie Caillat) Oh, I would go on American Idol. Yeah, being a judge, it’s…
Edward Sugimoto) Oh actually as a performer. If you hadn’t made it until now.
Colbie Caillat) Oh. I auditioned twice actually. The second time I auditioned, I auditioned “Bubbly” right after I wrote it, but, like I said, I was shy and when I had the audition I was like, (*subdued*) “Been awake for awhile now.” Like I was quiet, I didn’t look at them and they want somebody outgoing and fun so no, I didn’t make it. *laughs*
Colbie Caillat
Edward Sugimoto) They must be regretting it pretty much.
Colbie Caillat) Well, now that I’m friends with Randy (Jackson) and Kara and all them, they laugh about it. They’re like, “I can’t believe that we passed that up.” But I understood why. I wasn’t ready for it at that point.
Edward Sugimoto) Had you made the show and Simon (Cowell) gave you like a negative comment, try and give us your best comeback to him.
Colbie Caillat) I wouldn’t have been mean to him. That’s the thing, I would be like, “OK.” I think criticism is, you need that. Someone can’t always tell you you’re good because you’re not. You need to learn and grow from it. I mean he is harsh, *laughs* but I think the combination of all the judges, giving them their compliments and then giving them their critiques is good.
Edward Sugimoto) Is it true that you and Jason Mraz traded emails to write the lyrics to “Lucky”?
Colbie Caillat) Well, yeah, Jason Mraz, he emailed me and that was the first time we ever contacted each other. He said, “Hi, it’s Jason. I like your music. I want to write a song with you.” And we exchanged numbers and we talked through email and on the phone and he sent me “Lucky.” He had it started, and so we finished writing the song together through email. We still had never met each other, and then I flew to London when he was recording his record (“We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things”) and we recorded the song.
Jason Mraz
Edward Sugimoto) Wow, that’s an amazing story.
Colbie Caillat) *laughs*
Edward Sugimoto) A lot of your songs make your listeners feel warm and fuzzy about love. Is this because your real love life is like that?
Colbie Caillat) *blushes* *laughs* Yes, my love life is very warm. I’m very happy. I’m in love with someone right now. Yeah I guess when you can express how you’re feeling and people can relate to that, it’s really good. That’s how love is supposed to be. You’re supposed to feel just giddy and butterflies with that person everyday.
Edward Sugimoto) How about another warm and fuzzy: when you’re on stage and you’re singing to your fans and they’re actually singing back. That must make you feel pretty good?
Colbie Caillat) Well, the thing with my stage fright is when I see my audience singing all the songs back to me, smiling and cheering, it makes me feel sooo warm and comfortable up there and I don’t want to get off the stage anymore, I’m having so much fun. So it’s all because of them. They keep coming to my shows and making me feel good up there that I love what I do now.
Edward Sugimoto) CoCo – peaked at #5 on Billboard’s Top 200… (by the way, this is all from Wikipedia so I hope it’s accurate). *laughs*
Colbie Caillat) Yeah, that’s right.
Edward Sugimoto) … and sold 51,000 copies in the first week, and went to Double Platinum status! Breakthrough – already hit #1 on Billboard’s Top 200, and sold 106,000 copies in the first week, and debuted at #1 on iTunes.
Colbie Caillat) Yes. *big smile*
Edward Sugimoto) You must be pretty stoked, pretty excited!?
Colbie Caillat) It’s yeah, it’s incredible. You always hope for success like that. I never expected it because I don’t like getting my hopes up, and I don’t know, I can’t really explain it. It’s such a great feeling knowing that everyone involved on both of those records, helping me get to where I’m at, and all of our hard work and the love that we put into these songs, knowing that the world notices that, and wanted to support and listen to the songs, I’m just, I’m so honored.
Colbie Caillat
Edward Sugimoto) You’ve been on tour with The Goo Goo Dolls, Lifehouse, John Mayer, and had songs featured on movie soundtracks (“Here Comes the Sun” on “Imagine That”), TV shows (“Battle” on “The Hills”), and even for the Olympics you had a song (“Somethin’ Special”). Your music has been nominated for numerous awards (nominated for the AMA, Teen Choice, Teen Music Awards and won BMI Pop Awards for Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year). You’ve even been illustrated in a comic book (Archie). And this is pretty much just the beginning! How crazy is that!?
Colbie Caillat) It’s crazy. I mean it’s been two years and getting all of these great things that keep happening. I mean, it’s a lot of hard work. I mean every day it’s not just like “Oh, the life of a rock star.” It’s really difficult. There’s early early mornings, you go ’til late at night, people pulling you in all directions, but the people I surround myself with: my band, my crew, my management, my label… Everyone is so great so I have fun with it. We all work together. Seeing it pay off, it’s like a team effort.
Edward Sugimoto) Anything you’d like to say to your Hawaii fans out there?
Colbie Caillat) Aloha! *big smile* I can’t wait to come back to Hawaii to all the islands to play shows. I appreciate all of your support and for listening to my music and I hope to see you all soon. Aloha! *smiles*
Beyond her movie star looks and to-die-for voice, there is an inner beauty to this 24 year old songbird that is beyond compare.
Side story: You see, wifey and I had the honor of joining her and her bandmates for dinner the night before her Reno concert. She was warm and friendly and never once gave off the air that she was better than us (as other celebrities may). Mellow and laid back, she tried to blend right in with the rest of us, even though she obviously couldn’t. Due to an unfortunate case of food poisoning that night, I wasn’t able to make our scheduled interview the next night, but, instead of being upset, she was genuinely concerned.
The next day, they were going to play at “A Day In the Zone” in Sacramento’s Discovery Park, so she and Justin suggested that we meet up with them there, catch the show (with “all access”) and do the interview afterwards. They even told us not to worry about accommodations! Since we were catching our flight out of Sacramento early the next morning anyway, it was a perfect idea.
Following the show (which was amazing by the way), we headed to their bus and just hung out outside so as not to bother her post-show wind-down. I looked up to see her peeking out the window and as soon as she saw us, she practically ran out to give us a hug and see if we were feeling better. With the sun beating down, she immediately asked if we wanted something to drink and to come on board her tour bus which was cooled by A/C.
Remember, we were total strangers whom she met just two short nights ago. Granted Justin (who is in her band) is our mutual friend and yes, she knew that I was flying in special for the interview… She really didn’t have to go out of her way to be that nice to us. You could tell that it was just in her nature and that minus all the celebrity and bright lights, she was still as genuine and as sweet as they come.
It was refreshing to see such “realness” from someone who has made it so big. Much like her counterpart in the sky, this star’s warmth is breathtaking.
A star in every sense of the word. You know… The kind destined for greatness.
***
A special Mahalo to Diana Baron and Nicole Dona of D. Baron Media Relations, Inc., Diony Sepulveda, bruddah Justin Young, and especially Ms. Colbie Caillat. Thank you for being so nice and caring to us. All the best to you. You deserve everything coming to you. Enjoy the ride, and we’ll see ya back in Hawaii in the future!
It’s no coincidence that the word Victory is in Shane Victorino’s name. Losing is not even in his vocabulary. As a gifted athlete growing up, he’s always been on the winning end in sports. As a 28 year old young adult, it’s no different. He was an integral member of the world champion Philadelphia Phillies last season, has won the Gold Glove award, and was recently named to the Major League All Star Game, the first positional player from Hawaii to be bestowed the honor. And to think… this is just the beginning!
Victorino actually started his athletic career almost out of necessity. As an extremely active child with ADHD, his parents enrolled him in sports to feed his energy and keep him engaged. The decision proved to be a good one as Shane went on to star at Maui’s St. Anthony High in 4 sports: football, soccer, track and baseball. And, although he was offered a full ride scholarship to the University of Hawaii for football and baseball, Shane got the blessing of his family and chose to pursue a career in baseball when the Los Angeles Dodgers came a callin’ in 1999.
After years of minor league ball, the San Diego Padres claimed him from the Dodgers in 2002 via the Rule 5 draft (“Major league teams must protect players on their 40-man rosters within three or four years of their original signing. Those left unprotected are available to other teams as Rule 5 picks.” – http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/columnists/askbarule5.html), where he actually saw some time in the bigs (36 games). Eventually, he was returned to the Padres (as part of Rule 5 stipulations), before being drafted again, via Rule 5, by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2004.
The losses of starters Bobby Abreu (trade) and Aaron Rowand (free agency) made room for Shane to display his skills in the outfield and ultimately earn a starting spot in 2007.
Info about Victorino from a Phillies display at Philadelphia Airport
During a recent home series against the Florida Marlins, I was able to catch up with our All Star from the islands about his personal life, his career and everything else in between. Enjoy!
Personal Life:
Edward Sugimoto) We’ll start off with an easy one: What’s a typical day in the life of Shane Victorino in Maui?
Shane Victorino) In Maui? Typical day in the life of Shane Victorino in Maui? Woo. You know what? That probably would’ve been just getting up in the morning, getting up to the beautiful weather, of course there in Hawaii, our beautiful island of Maui, and just spending time with the family. That would be now, but back when I was a kid, it was probably, get up, go to school. After school’s done, go to sports – whatever practice it may be – soccer, football, whatever was going on at the time, baseball, track, and after that’s done, go home and spend time with the family.
The author and Shane Victorino
Edward Sugimoto) A couple years ago (March 30, 2007), you became a father (daughter Kali`a Makenna Victorino). How does that feel?
Shane Victorino) Oh I love it! I love being a dad. My little girl Kalia, she’s a little rascal. My mom guys always told me, sometimes it comes full circle. My mom and dad did a wonderful job with me as a kid, and now I get to see what I was probably like, and see my genes go to work on my daughter. She’s a handful so I can only imagine what I was like for my mom and dad.
Edward Sugimoto) Speaking of your dad, he’s a Council Member back in Maui. Did he give you any kind of words of wisdom or leadership advice?
Shane Victorino) Um, you know what, dad’s one of those guys where I think, in the position that he’s in, and some of the things that he’s done in the community, you know he always told me work hard, and when you go out there, you work hard, you show people that you can be a leader, not by talking about it, but by going out there and doing things the right way. Giving back to the community and so on and so forth. So to have dad in that position I think it’s nice and you know he loves what he does, he loves always giving back and working for the community, when he got into the Councilman position he was very excited.
The author and Shane Victorino
Edward Sugimoto) You mentioned being in baseball, you were an Eagle Scout, Football (star in Soccer, Basketball and Track too). Is there anything you CAN’T do?
Shane Victorino) Anything I can’t do. (*laughs*). You know what’s funny, I never did surf. I never did surf growing up. That’s the one thing I think everybody always kinda questions like coming from Hawaii, how it is to surf and yada yada yada, but I always told myself, when my friends went to the beach, I went to the baseball park, I went to the football field, I went to the soccer field, you know I wanted to go get better playing spots, so I think that helped me differentiate myself from some of the things that, you know, if I went and spent a lot of time at the beach and surfed, it would’ve took away from me trying to be a good athlete that I am today.
Edward Sugimoto) Speaking about baseball, we (Hawaii) have Tony Rego, Sid Fernandez, and Benny Agbayani from back in the day. Today we have like the Little Leaguers from Waipio, you, Tyler Yates (Kurt Suzuki). Is this just the beginning of Hawaii talent coming into the league?
Shane Victorino) Yeah. I think Hawaii is definitely going to be a place where scouts are gonna come. Myself, Kurt Suzuki, you said Tyler Yates, Brandon League. I mean I can keep going down the list. More and more kids are in the minor leagues, so it’s definitely one of those things where Hawaii’s gonna become a state where I think a lot of people are gonna look, go there and look for talent, and look for baseball talent. The thing is Hawaii has so many talented kids, it’s just that a lot of them don’t want to go away. A lot of them miss Hawaii, and yada yada, and I always say to myself, if my family’s healthy, eveybody’s doing great, Hawaii’s Hawaii. It’s not gonna change. If you get the opportunity to go away, go to the (eastern) states and do some things, hey take the chance. You know what, your home will always be home. It ain’t gonna go nowhere.
The author and Shane Victorino
Edward Sugimoto) You’re highly involved in the community, both in Philadelphia and in Hawaii. And you have a Celebrity Golf Classic (to raise funds and awareness for Hawaii Children’s Cancer Foundation) coming up in November I believe (November 21st at the Maui Prince Makena Resort)? What makes you care so much about your community?
Shane Victorino) Well, I just think that being in the position that I’m in today, you know, growing up there in Hawaii, I never really saw too much of these kinds of things. Being in the sport that I’m in, I have a lot of teammates who host charity events, and for me, I was always taught that any way you can give back, it’s just one of those things, if you can give back, why not? If you can make an impact on somebody’s life, why not? And I think that when I got into the level that I got last year, I told myself, you know what, it’s time for me to try and make something happen in Hawaii. We’ll raise money for certain causes. Last year it was Alzheimer’s, this year it’s Hawaii’s Children’s Cancer research. So any way I can give back, I think is one of those things where I’ve always uh. You know when you’re in a position, like they say, “well you’re a professional athlete, you should give back.” Well, sometimes I think that we’re in a position that we don’t have to give back, but we’re in a position where we can help to make the community build and I think that’s what we do and that’s why I love doing these charity events.
Shane doing an interview with a reporter at UFC 101
Edward Sugimoto) How’d you like the fight last night (UFC 101 was at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia)? We saw you!
Shane Victorino) I loved it! (*turns to camera*) Right on! Good job BJ! I was definitely excited. He definitely represented Hawaii. I think he worked hard. He was really, really focused on this fight and wanted to make an impression. I think that was what I saw out of him. He had that drive, he had that desire, he had the BJ Penn attitude. I think he really worked hard for this fight. He wanted to prove to people again that hey, you know what he’s still known as one of the best guys.
Edward Sugimoto) You probably have a lot of fans from Hawaii in for the fight and probably here for the game today. Are you pretty amped up about that?
Shane Victorino) Yeah, no I’m excited. I saw a few Hawaiian flags flying in the stands the last couple nights, so, it’s definitely nice to have the support and love from the Hawaii people.
Baseball Life:
Edward Sugimoto) You had a full ride scholarship to UH for Football. How difficult of a decision was it to turn that down and pursue a career in baseball?
Shane Victorino) It was very tough. It was one of those things, uh, you know my mom definitely wanted me to get a good education, and she definitely pushed that. She sent me to a private high school (St. Anthony in Maui) for a reason and that was to get a good education and to hopefully do well in sports and so on and so forth. But when that day came, it was definitely tough. But I told my mom, I said, “Mom, college will always be there. I may never have another chance to go pro.” So it was definitely a tough decision, but when I made a decision, I told myself I’m gonna go ’til I can’t stop. I wanted to go there and I wanted to work hard. As they always say, until they take the jersey off your back, I don’t want to quit. There were times yeah definitely through the minor leagues, there were struggles, and there were times I wanted to come home, but my dad said, “Hey just remember, you coming back home, you’re never going back.” That was words of advice that I’ll always remember. If I gave up when I wanted to, I may never get another chance to play pro ball, so I stuck with it, worked hard. But going back to the question, it was definitely a tough decision, but like I said, I told my mom, “Mom, education was gonna be there, college ain’t going nowhere.” You know, I can go to college when I’m 35, 40 years old. Hopefully I had a good career. I can go back to college when I’m done. So it was definitely tough, but I talked mom out of it, and I was able to go and turn pro, and hey, I’m having a wonderful time so far.
Victorino info on the billboard
Edward Sugimoto) The Phillies. You guys are all pretty aggressive, work hard. Is that something Coach (Charlie) Manuel stresses?
Shane Victorino) Yeah, um, you know what, Charlie is one of those guys where he lets you play. He’s the kind of manager that you want to play for. A guy that’s gonna let you go out there and gonna let you play the game that you play. Not gonna put too much stress on you, he’s not gonna bash you in the media. He’s gonna come and call you in his office if he wants to talk to you about things. So, when you come to the field every day, you know what you have out of your manager, and that’s the kind of guy you want. A guy who’s gonna be in your corner, not a guy that’s gonna yell at you, stress you out even more than what this game already does. He’s the kind of manager that we call a player’s manager. He takes care of his players. He goes out there, he wants his players to do their best. He’s got two rules: it’s to be on time and play hard (and hustle). You can’t ask much more out of a manager than that.
Phillies logo in the Phillies dugout
Edward Sugimoto) You wear a rarely fashioned double eared helmet. Is this because that’s how we used to play back in the day or just ’cause you’re a switch hitter?
Shane Victorino) Well, yeah, no, I did that in the minor leagues, and when I got to the big leagues, I put the one flap on for a while and it was kinda like I felt uncomfortable. So I told myself, why change? I did it in the minor leagues, I did it in Little League, why not keep it up? Plus, being a switch hitter, I don’t want to carry two different helmets, so some of those things factor in.
Shane Victorino sporting the double-eared helmet
Edward Sugimoto) Do you have a preference (right handed or left handed batting)?
Shane Victorino) No. There’s times you feel good from the right, there’s time you feel great from the left side. So you just gotta keep playing in this game. You play 162 games for a reason. You’re gonna go through your ups and downs, you’re gonna have your slumps, you’re gonna have your struggles, but you just go out there and keep working.
Edward Sugimoto) #8. Is there a reason why you chose that number?
Shane Victorino) Um, you know what, my brother was #8 in high school, my mom’s born on January 8, so 8 has some significance. I was 8 in high school. When I first got here, they gave me #8 so I was lucky enough, and I really didn’t have to ask for #8, but I was given #8 my first year here. It’s definitely a number that has ties to me.
Edward Sugimoto) Congratulations on winning the Gold Glove last season. Do you take pride in your defensive skills as much or more than your batting skills?
Shane Victorino) I definitely take pride in my offense a little more I think. But I mean I take pride in my defense too. I think defense is such a great factor in a ball game. You can never struggle. You should never slump on defense. You’re gonna go through struggles at the plate. You’re gonna go through 0 for 30s, you’re gonna go for 2 for 50s, but on defense you should never struggle because that’s not something where you gotta worry about hitting, you gotta worry about seeing the ball. You just gotta worry about staying focused, making good plays, and going out there and playing hard.
Shane manning the outfield (I know… kinda blurry!)
Edward Sugimoto) What’s the biggest rush. Homerun? Stolen base? Diving catch?
Shane Victorino) You know what, they all have their different life. Of course if you hit a walk-off homerun, that’s more exciting. When you make a diving catch in the game, that’s exciting. You steal a base in a big big situation, so you know, every one has its own weight I think. But for me, I would say, hitting a home run in a crucial situation, I think to me would be the most exciting thing.
Edward Sugimoto) You became the first Hawaii-born positional player in the All Star game. You had the support of Philadelphia, Hawaii, and everybody else (Both Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell and Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle showed their support, and South Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter even went door to door to solicit votes). You had 15.6 million Internet votes which set a record (previously held by Evan Longoria in 2008 at 9 million). How does that make you feel to have so much support?
Shane Victorino) It made me feel great. That really showed what Philly fans, what Hawaii fans, and what the passion of baseball has. The blessing that I had to be able to be voted in, to get that amount of votes, almost double what the guy the previous year had I think, was such an amazing thing. It really showed how much Philly fans and people around the world really care I guess about how I play the game and how I approach the game, so it was definitely a nice thing.
Edward Sugimoto) You had a hit in the All Star game. Explain your experience, the whole experience.
Shane Victorino) Everything was great. Every bit of it was what I expected. There were a few things, of course getting to meet President Obama again, just listening to the 5 living presidents talk before the game on the big screen about All Stars among us, people who are helping the community. Every moment had its catch, and being introduced as a starter, and then going out there and getting my first hit in my first at bat in my All Star game, or my first All Star game, so, it was some fun times.
Edward Sugimoto) On Friday, the Phillies inducted Harry Kalas into the Phillies Wall of Fame. After a recent homerun, you pointed to the booth where he used to sit. Kalas has a history in Hawaii (with the US Army and as a Hawaii Islanders announcer). What kind of an impact did he have on you?
Shane Victorino) He had that voice that I remember growing up as a little kid watching Inside the NFL at my grandma’s house, thinking to myself, who’s voice is this I’m hearing? And then when I came here in ‘05, I remember hearing his voice when I got called up and I’m like, hold on, this is the guy’s voice that I used to hear when I was a little kid when I used to watch Inside the NFL, NFL Films. You know, it was just like, woah, this is the man. This is the guy, Harry Kalas, the guy that I remember growing up watching Inside the, you know NFL Films, and hearing that voice. To actually meet the guy in person, we definitely had a bondage. I remember one of my walk off homeruns, he said Victorino No Ka Oi. That was one thing he would always call me. “Hey! Victorino No Ka Oi!” You know he would always say that. He definitely had his roots to Hawaii. His first wife was from Hawaii, he definitely started with the Islanders, did some broadcasting there, so he definitely had some roots to the islands.
Shane Victorino
Edward Sugimoto) What does the future hold for Shane Victorino?
Shane Victorino) What does the future hold huh? Just try to be the best player I can be. To go out there and try to keep succeeding, try to keep getting better. In this game, there’s always room for improvement, and I think you go out there and work hard every day, that’s all I can say. I try to go out there and work as hard as I can, and try to play as hard as I can because you never know what could happen. Tomorrow may be my last day, today might be my last day. I might get hurt and never play again. But as long as I’m giving 100%, that’s all I can ask about myself.
Edward Sugimoto) You have any words of advice for your young fans out there?
Shane Victorino) Yeah. I think the kids in Hawaii, like I said earlier, I think a lot of Hawaii kids don’t understand, and they struggle with the fact of leaving home. To me, my advice to them is hey, if you get the opportunity, leave. Take the chance, see what’s out there. Work hard as a little kid and work hard now because when you work hard now, it’ll help you in the end. I was one of those kids where I was blessed by God. I had a lot of natural abilities. I didn’t work as hard as some of my friends, and I always say to myself if I did, how much better a player would I have been when I first got to the big leagues? But you know, I think with hard work and dedication, a lot of things can happen.
Edward Sugimoto) And how about your general fans? Message to them?
Shane Victorino) General fans? Thank you guys for everything. Thank you for voting me to the All Star game. Just enjoy. I think when you come to watch our team, that’s what we do. We go out there, we have fun, we try the best we can, and we play the game hard, and we just try to go out and win every night.
…
Right back atcha Bruddah Shane. Mahaloz for making all of us in Hawaii so very proud. Keep on playing the game with that intensity and heart and only good things will come. But I’m sure you already know this, as failure has never been in your vocabulary. V is for Victorino. Victorino No Ka Oi!
Me and Bruddah Shane
…
Ed’s Notes:
Shortly after this interview, Victorino strangely got ejected from the game (in centerfield!) by home plate umpire Ed Rapuano for throwing his arms up in the air (following a bad call). The Phillies lost the game and was ultimately swept by the Marlins, further diminishing their lead in the NL East.
Yikes.
A couple games later, in a matchup against the Chicago Cubs, he was doused with beer by a rabid Cubs fan – while trying to make a routine catch.
Eek.
Could it be? Could my interview with Bruddah Shane, in some strange way, possibly have put some kind of curse on the Phils? No. Can’t be! Riiight?
Thankfully, the Phils broke out in a big way, going 14-5 since then and is now sitting atop the NL East with a handsome 7 and a half game lead (as of 08/31). So you can actually say that this interview gave them good luck going into the post-season! You’re welcome fellow Philly fans!
A big Mahaloz to: Ted Nakamura, Leonard Nakahashi, Shane’s mom, Josh Goldberg of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, Greg Casterioto and Deanna Sabec of the Phillies organization, Bari Carroll, and of course Bruddah Shane Victorino.
I dunno, perhaps the peeps currently in the news might be interesting (e.g. Mark Dacascos or Carrie Ann Inaba from Dancing with the Stars, or the like)? The Rock would be fun too.
Happy VH07V Friday!
