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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, February 12, 2010

Isles get star treatment on Weather Channel


TGIF Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Meteorologist Jim Cantore's "Cantore Stories" will focus on Hawai'i on Sunday.

The Weather Channel

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Ask a person from the Mainland about Hawai'i weather and you're bound to get an answer like, "Why do you even need weathermen?It's always sunny and 85 degrees."

Uh, yeah, right.

The recent cold snap, massive waves and voggy weather aside, Hawai'i will be featured at 5:30 p.m. Sunday on The Weather Channel's original series "Cantore Stories." Hosted by meteorologist Jim Cantore, the program follows him as he visits parts of the country that have interesting climates. Parts of Sunday's episode include looks at our rainforests and potential tsunamis, and Cantore also visits with folks on the Big Island about living near an active volcano.

Gotta love promoter Tom Moffatt for always being able to put acts in historical perspective. Moffatt has been bringing the biggest entertainers to Hawai'i since the early 1960s, including The Beach Boys, who first played Hawai'i in 1963 when tickets were $1.25 for teens, $1.45 for general admission and 90 cents for children 12 and younger. The catch: They also had to agree to sing and play backup for headliners Dee Dee Sharp ("Mashed PotatoTime") and Jackie DeShannon ("What The World Needs Now is Love").

Today? Tickets for their shows tonight on Maui, tomorrow at Blaisdell Arena and Sunday on the Big Island range from $35 to $85 — and no backup duties included.

Moffatt also played a role in bringing Bruce Johnston and The Beach Boys together when they returned a year later for a show at the Blaisdell Arena with nine other bands.

"Glen Campbell was playing with them and Bruce said he had never met The Beach Boys," Moffatt said. "I had a TV show at the time and Bruce was on it, so after we finished I took him over and introduced them to each other. About a year later he joined the band."

The Hawaiian music Grammy gave a sales boost to the winner "Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Volume 2," as well as nominees "Friends &Family of Hawaii" by Amy Hänaiali'i and "Nani Mau Loa" by Ho'okena. All three albums were in the top 10 in music sales this week in Hawai'i, according to Bordersin Ward Centre, ranking third, fifth and eighth, respectively.

Topping the album sales was "Green" by The Green band, six reggae rockers from Kailua and Waikíkí who leave next month for a Right Love Tour with Anuhea on the West Coast before playing at the prestigious SXSW festival in Austin,Texas, in mid-March.

Four beach cleanups (three on O'ahu, one on Maui) are being held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. tomorrow, with the reward being a chance to get tickets early for the Kokua Festival April 23-24 at the Waikíkí Shell.

Tickets don't go on sale for another week, so the cleanups offer a chance to get prime seating to hear a lineup that includes Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, Taj Mahal, Jake Shimabukuro and Anuhea. Go to www.kokuafestival.com or www.star101.9.com for a list of the beaches and information.