Reflections on the Career of Kevin I.

by Wayne Harada

December 2020

(Wayne Harada is the longtime entertainment editor, columnist, and journalist with the Honolulu Advertiser, where he served for 45 years. He also wrote the Show Biz column in the combined Honolulu Star-Advertiser daily newspaper for another 10 years after retirement.  He has chronicled the entertainment career of Kevin I., the Asian American singer-entertainer who also is known as Kevin Iwamoto in the business travel and hospitality industry).

Kevin I.’s reboot of his entertainment profile — after a 30-year absence — is akin to a dormant volcano erupting again. Instead of lava, there’s a renewed flow of love and applause for his catalogue of songs, updated and technically enhanced with sparkle and sass, in his new digital album compilation, “The Best of Kevin I. 1980-1985” now available at all music streaming services.

As Kevin I. (he simply decided to use an initial for his surname, since folks outside of Hawaii had difficulty remembering or mispronounced his last name) he had been an unlikely but successful entertainer in Hawaii in the 1980s. Unlikely, because of his Japanese American ancestry and a vocalist with a powerful voice and range, hurled into the spectrum of island show biz that favored Polynesian headliners singing and dancing in revues that catered to the visitors. Successful, because of his versatility and ability to discover his own groove and adapt to prevail in a very competitive marketplace.

Now he’s back, this time on a digital platform, launching a stunning sampler of some of his best from the past, enabling his old fans to reminisce with him and inviting new followers to play catch-up and embrace him. Everything old is new again, though there’s not likely a supportive live performance platform to promote the disc as common practice mandates because he no longer performs.

Clearly, he’s had an inherent passion for music and singing, but fundamentally had the smarts to turn away from the entertainment circuit to carve out a remarkable and enduring career in global business travel and events, fueled by his academics at the University of Hawaii’s Travel Industry Management program, where he fashioned a second and more stable career in the business travel and meetings industries. With perseverance and drive, he managed to score successfully in two fields, the earlier career providing some lessons to build a foundation for a firm grip of later opportunities in the global business world.

He always had vision and ease to look ahead, not back, and it’s quite obvious his savvy in working a crowd of listeners would also help him transit to a new legacy in the business world. Sure, it took effort and knowledge to perfect a musical style, but he had parallel skills in finding his niche in the business community.  In both worlds he has demonstrated keen instincts and strategic decision-making abilities that have fueled his successes.

Growing up, Kevin has always been thin and “average looking” (his own description and insecurities). He’s never been a jock but possessed an inherent control of his pipes and could sing just about anything. At dances while a student at Roosevelt High School in the middle-class Makiki/Manoa area of Honolulu, he could out-perform anyone in a peer band. (For the record, Bruno Mars, Hawaii’s superstar singer-dancer, also is a Roosevelt grad, as was Yvonne Elliman, the one-time Broadway-film-recording star. Different years, of course).

In high school, he recognized that he had a voice but was too insecure to strut his stuff, so he took private lessons from Richard Aoyagi, an early mentor and coach who specialized in Japanese music, who recognized and helped to hone his talent.  While at the University of Hawaii in 1973, he had the chance to visit Japan, for further formal training in vocalizing and modeling. There, his demanding vocal coach taught him the technique of using his diaphragm to hold and sustain tones. 

The musical journey was not easy. In 1973, he put college classes on hold (his parents weren’t particularly thrilled) because Japan offered optimistic opportunities. He learned the ropes, performing, recording, modeling, and dabbling in TV work, too. 

Japan also prepared him to accept rejection, harsh criticism in an industry where “you must learn how to swim with the sharks.” A thick skin meant survival; naysayers win if you quit and lose, so the prospects of succeeding meant “you must believe in yourself and your dreams.” Japan, he said, “is where I became an adult and where I confronted my teenage insecurities and grew stronger.”

Short on funds, he returned home and the University of Hawaii, to continue his livelihood and develop a career fueled with confidence, experience, and desire. For added support, he took a part-time job with Hawaiian Airlines in the Japanese sales department and took on musical gigs, singing at weddings and special weekend parties, as a vocalist with the Ebb Tides band.

So, the door opened a bit, but the market was like his physique – slim. Japanese American singers surfaced in the growing tide of entertainment in Hawaii though most talent bookers favored female performers, like local-born Asian singer-pianist Carole Kai, his longtime mentor and confidante, but not Asian gents. 

The aforementioned Kai has been influential to Kevin’s career. “How ironic that I ended up becoming a singing partner with Carole Kai,” he said. “I was always a big fan of hers and never dreamed how our paths and lives would cross and we would not only become singing partners, but Carole even today is one of my best friends and confidante.  She taught me so much about life, performing, being professional, and about the importance of philanthropy and giving back to the community.”

Together they performed at Kono Hawaii in Anaheim, the Guam Hilton, the Sahara, or High Sierra Casino in Lake Tahoe, in Waikiki, and in many concerts and specials.  

Kevin was determined and sought to break the mold, becoming the lead male singer at an after-hours club at La Mancha, partnering with a female co-star Asian, Vietnamese vocalist Mimi Nguyen Sugane in a popular band led by keyboarder Ron Miyashiro.

Kevin eventually fronted his own bands and also performed in a piano bar setting at the Queen Kapiolani Hotel and co-starred with soprano Cathy Foy at the Ala Moana Hotel. The climate and the movement to showcase island entertainers was in high gear, with local faves Melveen Leed in the showroom at the Ala Moana, the Brothers Cazimero in one club and the Makaha Sons of Niihau in another club and comedian Rap Reiplinger also among the Ala Moana gallery of greats. 

By the mid-1980s, Kevin was headlining two nightly shows at the Sheraton Maui Hotel’s Black Rock Terrace, in what he termed “a great gig (but) artistically unsatisfying.” Perhaps it was a matter of “rock fever,” since he had visions of testing the waters in California, so he soon relocated there.

One of his first California gigs was a Nissei Week celebration in Los Angeles, where he met Ellison Onizuka, the first Asian American to become an astronaut. Onizuka, a Big Island native, was being honored for his accomplishments in space, “and he was a hero to me, someone from Hawaii who broke the mold and Asian stereotypes, despite the odds.” They talked about Onizuka’s Space Shuttle Challenger, which would have been the astronaut’s second space mission, so Kevin was shocked – like the rest of the world watching on TV – when the ill-fated ship exploded shortly after take-off in January 1986.

“I think it also galvanized for me, that I needed to make a decision about the insecurities and uncertainty of performing for a living and whether or not to pursue something else that was more stable and predictable,” said Kevin.

In California, he met a high-profile powerful show business manager who managed two top male music artists, who heard his music but admitted he was in a quandary on how to promote and produce an Asian crooner. “He was very honest, and he listened to my music and said that while he felt I was very talented and he really liked my voice, he could get behind me,” but the demand or interest in Asian male artists in a leading role was nil.

“All signs pointed to the exit door,” and in 1986, he unceremoniously shut down his performing goals and closed this chapter of his life.

Beyond the heartbreak, the biggest regret he had was the void of not being able to thank his following who supported him during his recording and performing phase. So, the release of his collection of his old/new tunes provided him the opportunity to reignite the memories and the music, despite the uncertainties and difficulties of this pandemic 2020 year.  It allowed him to finally put closure to the performing career and most importantly formally thank his supporters.

Along the way, all of Kevin’s recordings received Best Male Singer nominations in the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts’ Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (the island version of the Grammys) and “New Dimensions” earned a Hoku for best engineered album (John Chang was engineer).

Capsulizing his participation in music festivals, Kevin competed in 1981 in the Hawaii Music Festival, earning a Silver Award for his performance of “Never Found a Way.” In a subsequent year, his “One in Love” entry earned him the Grand Prize and enabled him to be the U.S. entry at the Tokyo Music Festival; his composer Manny Cabral was selected as best songwriter and Willie Barton won best arranger laurels.  Singing competitions is where he always excelled; he was very savvy in picking material that could showcase his impressive vocal range and skills that would make him competitively standout.

Working on the digital release, Kevin discovered how vastly different the musical landscape has evolved. “The whole business has changed, with very little barriers to entry,” he said.  Technology, YouTube and the internet have opened doors to global audiences literally overnight.  His music on YouTube playlists was discovered by European and Asian fans.

“Putting together the retrospective content for the website and working on the digitalization of my music forced me to look back at my career, which was difficult for me as I have always been a forward-looking person,” said Kevin. “Whenever I close a chapter in my life, it pretty much stays closed.”

A private person, his website shares rare photos of his modeling days in Japan, vintage clips from his Tokyo Music Festival competition and peeks of him, as a morning TV co-host. “I felt in the true spirit of reflection, I needed to share it all.” 

The marketplace also has changed, likely for the better. Barriers are down, access widely open, internet radio has expanded listenership. A deejay in France, who had been seeking Kevin’s “New Dimension” LP for club exposure, finally has secured two vinyl long-playing discs for French audiences. And initial response to the LP indicates there’s interest in 80s-based music, with even prevailing performers as The Weeknd and Dua Lipa embracing 80s elements in their current repertoire.

So, what has changed the most in the music landscape?  Kevin responds, “Most importantly, I don’t sense the discrimination and negative stereotyping like I used to; it seems being an Asian American male singer is not a big deal these days (which is) very encouraging for all minority artists.  When the number one global group is BTS from South Korea, it shows we’ve made real progress as music consumers.”