Dreams Do Come True: The Musical Journey of Kris Fuchigami

By Denise Laitinen

Kris Fuchigami is a study in perseverance. After picking up the ‘ukulele at age 13, the Hawai‘i Island native readily admits he dropped out of band class in school because he struggled with reading music at the time.

“I didn’t do well in my ‘ukulele class and pretty much failed at everything that had to do with music,” says Kris. Listening to his music that ranges from hauntingly beautiful to electrifying, you would be surprised to know Kris had a hard time with music classes.

Since that time, in addition to performing at ‘ukulele festivals in Hawai‘i, Kris has toured the US mainland and across Asia in Japan, South Korea, Guam, and Tahiti. His performances on the HI*Sessions YouTube channel have garnered more than 1,000,000 views.

A two-time finalist for a Nā Hōkū Hano Hano award, Hawai‘i’s version of the Grammy awards, he was nominated for Instrumental Composition of the Year in 2016, and his latest album, More Than This, is a 2018 finalist for ‘Ukulele Album of the Year.

Growing up in Puna, where he still lives, Kris was bored one summer afternoon when he was 13, so he picked up an old, beat up ‘ukulele and taught himself to play a Jake Shimabukuro song in a single day. That is not to say music came easy to him; however, he persevered. He drew inspiration from a variety of musical influences ranging from Tommy Emmanuel to Carlos Santana and Kris says many people might be surprised to learn that his biggest musical influence is the late rapper Tupac Shakur.

In time, Kris learned to compose music and play the guitar, drums, bass, and piano in addition to the ‘ukulele. Of all the musical instruments he plays, Kris says the ‘ukulele is his favorite. He affirms, “I just love the sound that it creates. [It’s] truly an instrument of peace and happiness.”

In 2005, two years after learning to play ‘ukulele, Kris won the Hāmākua Music Festival Annual Scholarship Competition. His hard work and dedication began to pay off. After graduating from Kea‘au High School in 2008, he balanced his dreams of a music career with the realities of earning a living, getting a job at KTA’s central warehouse facility (a job he still has to this day).

A couple of years after high school Kris started touring, playing at venues both on the mainland and in Asia. Whether he plays a local event on the island or a large festival overseas, Kris says the audience is his favorite part of performing. “I love the audience. The audience is always number one to me. I love seeing their smiles and I always enjoy seeing them happy and having a great time.”

Performing is a family affair for Kris. Both in his music videos and at his shows, Kris’ mom Keiko is frequently onstage with him playing the keyboard. “Up until we started performing together, my mom would play the piano for our church,” says Kris. “We would jam at home and we just loved the way we sounded together and so we brought it onto the stage. I love having her by my side for all my tours and performances.”

Kris notes that the rest of his family is also very supportive of his music career. “They always come to my performances that are on island and help sell CDs, take pictures, and videos.”

A Turning Point in Tahiti

A 2015 concert in Tahiti proved particularly memorable for Kris and led to his composing a song that resulted in his first Nā Hōkū Hano Hano award nomination.

“Moemoea” is a song that I wrote to thank the people of Tahiti for treating us so well,” says Kris. “After we got home from our tour in Tahiti, I was just so blown away by the aloha that they showed us. I really felt as if they were my family. I wanted to put all my feelings for Tahiti into a song and composed ‘Moemoea.’ [It’s] my thank you to Tahiti.”

“Moemoea” was well received later that year when it was released as a two-track single. It also included a cover version of a Tahitian song “Mihi Au Ia Oe” written by Tahitian singer Andy Tupaia. “Moemoea” went on to be named a finalist as Instrumental Composition of the Year in 2016 at the Nā Hōkū awards.

While Kris enjoys playing a wide variety of material—in numerous YouTube videos he can be seen covering everything from Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” to Carlos Santana’s “Europa”—he also enjoys composing his own material.

“I love composing music so much. It’s a beautiful way to express one’s feelings. A place where you’re the artist and you create whatever you want to create and it will always be right no matter what. Music is such a beautiful thing,” says Kris.

Inspiring the Next Generation

In addition to working, performing, touring, and composing, Kris teaches ‘ukulele lessons at Hilo Ukulele and Guitar and online. Kris says he shares his love of music by mentoring about 15 aspiring musicians a week with one-on-one instruction.

Helping the next generation of musicians isn’t the only way Kris gives back to the community. For the past five years, he has organized the Kris Fuchigami Ukulele Contest. Held every November at the Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo, the contest enables children to perform on stage and compete for prizes in two divisions: ages 5-14 and 15 and up.

“I wanted to give the Hilo community something fun and positive to look forward to,” says Kris. “Every year I love watching everyone gather with ‘ukuleles in their hands just smiling so big and having a great time with family and friends.” ‘Ukulele manufacturers and local sponsors donate ‘ukuleles as prizes for the young musicians.

Kris also performs during the festival and often invites fellow musicians to join in as well. Last year, multi award-winning musician (and fellow Hawai‘i Island native) Mark Yamanaka served as a contest judge and performed as part of the ‘ukulele contest.

Balancing it All

As Kris’ musical career takes off, he says his life becomes more of a balancing act. “I work from 7:30am to 4:15pm, teach ‘ukulele from 4:30 to 8pm, rehearse from 8:30 to 9:30pm and finish off my day managing my music career, replying to emails, scheduling performances, etc. I sometimes don’t get to sleep until 1am so I can get everything done, but I love it!”

Life has a way of making room for Kris’ passion for music. A co-worker inspired him to compose his newest album, More Than This.

“One day, as I was working at my day job, I had a conversation with my coworker and talked about how blessed we are to have a good job and a comfortable life. As I thought more about it, I thought to myself, ‘What if there was more to life than this?’ I found the answer to that question is that there is more if you set a goal for yourself and do all the work. But itʻs not gonna be easy.

“For me, Iʻve lost every single ‘ukulele contest that I ever entered. Yet I never let that get me down because I always had that vision of where I wanted to be and I set a goal for myself to keep pushing forward.

“That’s my message that I wanted to share with this album. Go for your dreams. Never give up. Because one day, those dreams will become a reality.”

As for what the future holds, Kris says he plans to continue building on those dreams, touring and performing, while sharing music that he loves. He is active on social media, where he has a strong following and says he loves interacting with friends and fans on Facebook and Instagram. “Social media makes it a lot easier to connect with fans.”

“In the next five years, I would like to continue touring. I want to share my music with the world and bring them the same joy this instrument has brought to me.” ❖

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For more information: krisfuchigami.com