Kukuau Studio

Build it and they will come. And come they have. Since opening Kukuau Studio in downtown Hilo two years ago, musician and music/vocal teacher Bub Pratt has created a community center that provides music instruction by day and performance art space by night, where musicians, writers, and artists gather and collaborate on a near daily basis.

Originally from the Seattle area, Bub grew up singing and studied music and creative writing at Olympia College. For several years after graduation, Bub was busy teaching music while juggling his performing and recording career. On top of his full schedule, he also spent seven years creating several gallery and art studio spaces, as well as art installations in Bremerton, Washington. Bub didn’t realize it at the time, but all these endeavors were laying the groundwork for a future studio that would combine all these elements in one space. Bub hadn’t envisioned Hawai‘i in his future, but when his family moved to East Hawai‘i, he decided to follow suit a few years later and moved to Hawai‘i Island in 2011.

As Bub settled into life in Hawai‘i, he began teaching guitar lessons in Hilo and checking out the local arts and music scene.

“I saw a lot of niches that needed to be filled,” says Bub. “I saw that a lot of things that were happening in Seattle, things like poetry slams that I took for granted, weren’t happening here.”

Between his love of music, experience creating art installations, and his work teaching music and vocal lessons, an idea was slowly taking root.

That idea grew even larger when, in 2014, Bub had to find a new space to teach guitar lessons in Hilo. The previous studio space where he taught had barely fit two people and Bub jumped at the opportunity when a friend said he had space available at the old Hatada Bakery next to Sangha Hall.

“I was looking for a bigger space to teach music, guitar specifically, and then have the space pay for itself through community events,” he says.

“It was pretty cool, but gross,” says Bub of the first time he saw the space. “You couldn’t walk upstairs without fear of falling through the floor.”

He started to put together a crew of people who got the vision of a place where people could feel free to create music and art and bring their creative energies together with other like-minded people. Friends and community members pitched in to support it any way they could.

“I fixed it up on a shoestring budget,” Bub says. A lot of the music and sound equipment, including a piano, drum set, and speakers were donated.

“People saw the value of a community based multi-media art space and they just wanted to help, they felt compelled to help,” he adds. “They still do. There’s a team here, people who will help out with concessions or play music or make art.”

For instance, Dean Krakauer, a musician, designed the light chandelier that hangs above the center stage.

“Dean is a metal artist in addition to being a musician,” says Bub. On top of the large chandelier that spans nearly the entire stage with hundreds of small lights, he says, “he made the metal stanchions for the handrails on our balcony out of some recycled conduit left over before I acquired the building, and he also made the metal peace sign out front.”

If the vintage seats in the upstairs balcony look familiar to long-time Hilo residents, it’s because they were recycled from the former Kress Theatre. In addition to the main stage area, there are plenty of sofas, loveseats and tables spread out across the main two-story performance space providing areas for people to collaborate on music, vocals or art. Just outside is the “Rick Barbati Acoustic Stage,” made with recycled crate material that held the laser addition to the Subaru telescope while it was being shipped from Japan. It is a smaller space which provides a two-tier platform where people can rehearse, practice, or play.

Kukuau Studio also provides full audio recording services. The bakery’s old freezer serves as an isolation booth for recording and there’s an additional sound booth upstairs for recording vocals.

“It’s got an urban black box theater vibe,” says Bub of the 1,200 square foot venue space. Part of that vibe comes from the large-scale artwork featured in the center stage area.

Since its opening, Kukuau Studio has had three different art installations, each by different artists. The current art mural, called Steampunk Pele, was designed and painted by Dan Madsen of Oasis Skateboards. True to the studio’s collaborative and multi-media nature, Raiatea Arcuri Photography filmed Steampunk Pele in time-lapse. You can see the time-lapse video on Raiatea’s Facebook page.

facebook.com/pg/raiateaarcuri/videos/

The eye-catching mural with its bright red and orange hues and black background runs behind and on either side of the stage in the main hall. Krakauer’s light chandelier perfectly compliments and enhances the hues of the artwork.

During the day, Bub teaches music lessons to more than two-dozen students throughout the week. At night and on the weekends, a broad spectrum of events takes place.

“This place does a lot for the community in a lot of different ways,” says Bub.

Kukuau Studio has hosted everything from CD release parties, to speed dating events, to author talks offering nearly 10 events a month.

“We’ve had an all-day harmonica workshop here with two stages for harmonica players, as well as mini-music festivals with food vendors outside in the parking lot.”

Not all the events are music related. For instance, local author Dennis Alstrand gave a talk about his book “The Beatles and Their Revolutionary Bass Player,” an event which included showing a Beatles film. In November 2016, Hilo artist Joshua Fay held a kickoff event for his Kickstarter campaign for a series of graphic novels he created. Bub says Fay and his team recorded the audio version of the first graphic novel at Kukuau Studio. The kickoff party was a multi-media event with the audio tracks played, plus art from the graphic novel displayed while the author talked about his book.

Bub also notes that he’s seeing an increasing amount of hip hop artists come to Kukuau to record music tracks. In December, the studio held a Hip Hop Hui, featuring a variety of DJs, MCs, and break-dancers.

He’s also quick to point out that Kukuau attracts artists of all ages, not just young people. That’s partly due to the wide range of events held on a monthly basis at Kukuau Studio.

“In any given month, we have ten events, including a Jazz Jam, poem slam, blues jam, and songwriters showcase,” says Bub. There’s no admission charge for the Jazz Jam, and for regularly scheduled monthly or weekly events, a $5 donation is suggested. Admission fees for other shows throughout the year vary depending on the event.

Since Bub’s favorite music genre is jazz and he is involved in many of the jazz events held on island, it’s not surprising that Kukuau Studio offers a weekly Jazz Jam on Monday nights. Held from 6–9pm, the weekly sessions are aimed at strengthening the Hawai‘i Island jazz community through networking and jamming. The all-inclusive jazz session includes a rotating house band.

Open to all ages, people are encouraged to bring their favorite chart music and instrument of their choice or just come to sing.

As with other events at the community venue, it’s a collaborative effort.

“We have a bass player, Diana Webb, and a drummer, John Robinson, who help organize the Jazz Jam,” explains Bub. “We try to have an organized rotation of different musicians but they are the main house musicians.”

The Jazz Jams tend to attract a broad spectrum of ages, while the monthly poetry slams attract a younger, collegiate crowd. Held the fourth Friday of every month from 6–9pm, the poetry slams are open to anyone over age 18. All spoken poetry pieces must be three minutes or less in length, with random audience members selected as judges for that evening’s event. Extra points are given for memorized pieces, and prizes are awarded to top three poets.

“The poetry slam is magical,” says Bub, “sometimes people bust out a poem and you can hear a pin drop.”

“We have prizes for the poetry slam winners, and it’s always gift cards to other Hilo businesses, that way we help support other local businesses,” he adds.

Other regularly-scheduled events include a monthly songwriters showcase, held the second Friday of every month from 6–9pm, open to all ages.

“We feature four singer/songwriters with a different line up every month,” says Bub. The showcase features only original songs with just the songwriter, a microphone, and their instrument. Bub adds that most musicians featured in the monthly showcase play guitar or ‘ukulele. Audience members, whom Bub says cover all ages, get to hear great music from up and coming artists, while the artists get to reach new audiences and gauge their reaction to new material.

As if that weren’t enough, Kukuau Studio also regularly offers a monthly blues event, which Bub says attracts a mainly baby-boomer crowd. Held the second Thursday of every month with Grammy-award nominated blues singer and guitar player Larry Dupio, the blues jam doubles as a monthly food drive, with a $5 suggested donation and a can of food, or just a $7 monetary donation.

“It’s more an invitational event than a jam,” says Bub. “Larry invites a different guest artist every month.”

Regardless of the type of musical genre, whether blues, jazz, or the songwriter’s showcase, the music performed at Kukuau is original. “We don’t do loud rock and roll or cover songs,” says Bub, “it’s all original music.”

As the New Year gets underway, Bub says the studio is increasing its live-streaming capabilities and combining that with an increase in performances. The studio already live-streams all its events on their website and then archives them on the Kukuau YouTube channel so people can watch online in case they miss an event. In the coming year, Bub is also looking to partner with venues and radio stations, providing additional opportunities for live-streaming broadcasts.

“More national and international touring acts are going to be rolling through here. They’ll perform a live-stream set here in an intimate setting and then play their gig at another venue, like the Palace Theater,” he says. The intimate live-stream would then be simulcast or rebroadcast on the radio, exposing the artists to an even larger audience. As word spreads about Kukuau Studio via social media and word of mouth, Bub sees the community performing arts and theatre program growing at Kukuau and beyond.

“It is so beautiful how many amazing artists are represented here behind this subtle, nondescript door off the beaten path…on this little, one-way street in downtown Hilo,” he quips.

For event information, you can check the calendar on their website, Facebook, or as Bub says, “just look for the glowing, orange peace sign…then you’ll know we’re doing something.”

Weekly/monthly events at Kukuau Studio:

Weekly Jazz Jams

Monday nights, 6–9pm. Free to all ages.

Monthly Songwriters’ Showcase

Second Friday of the month, 6–9pm.

Four songwriters featured each time. $5 suggested donation.

Monthly Poetry Slam

Fourth Friday of every month, 6–9pm. Ages 18+.

All poetry pieces must be three minutes or less, with random audience member judges. Extra points for memorized pieces. Prizes awarded to top three poets. $5 suggested donation.

Monthly Blues By The Bay

Second Thursday of every month, 6–9pm

with Grammy-award nominated blues singer and guitar player Larry Dupio. $7 suggested donation, or $5 with canned food item. Blues event doubles as a monthly fundraiser for the Hawai‘i Island Food Bank.

Contact Kukuau Studio: kukuaustudio.com

Contact writer/photographer Denise Laitinen:

Denise@DeniseLaitinen.com