They have delighted fans with their performances in their native Hawaiian islands as well as at such notable mainland venues as Carnegie Hall in New York. The group’s lineup has changed over the years, but still includes founding member Jerome Koko on 12-string guitar as well as Mark Yim on 6-string guitar and Kimo Artis on bass. The Makaha Sons celebrate the release of their latest CD, “Mauna Lahilahi,” with a show on June 16 at the West Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. The show doubles as a benefit for the Nihonmachi Street Fair in San Francisco.
The results make for interesting, sometimes surprising reading (caveat: it’s popular songs, not a snapshot of all music), Here are some of the highlights, with each section title a link to the full blog post outlining the results, Is music happier or sadder?, Start with an examination of “valence” – a psychological term referring to happiness, Can you really measure a song’s happiness with an algorithm? The Echo Nest reckons you can, and in less ballet leotards adults than three seconds (“We have a music expert classify some sample songs by valence, then use machine-learning to extend those rules to all of the rest of the music in the world, fine tuning as we go”)..
Meanwhile, theme parks have been using projection mapping for some time, creating elaborate sound-and-light shows to supplement their brick-and-mortar fantasies after dark. At Universal Studios Hollywood, for example, “The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle,” which shows seasonally, uses projections and surround sound to show the four student houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin onto the sides of the brick-and-mortar castle. Building a show with the depth and sophistication of Mickey’s Mix Magic takes a huge investment in technology, requiring 28 laser projectors that can easily cost $100,000 or more each, 100 special rooftop lighting fixtures, elaborate surround sound systems, special computer servers and highly specialized technicians to create and run them.
Members of Compagnie Hervé Koubi perform What the Day Owes to the Night at ODC Theater Jan, 22-24, (Courtesy Compagnie Hervé Koubi), Hervé Koubi s dance company makes its West Coast premiere this weekend at ODC, with an evening-length work that represents a deeply personal tale for the French-Algerian choreographer, What the Day Owes to the Night, inspired by the novel of the same name, tells the story of Algerian immigrants and mirrors Koubi s own background, Compagnie Hervé Koubi performs the work, which includes elements of martial arts, contemporary dance and ballet, but tickets are going fast: 8 p.m, Jan, 22-23 and 3 p.m, Jan, 24; ballet leotards adults $30-$45; 415-863-9834, www.odcdance.org.— Randy McMullen, Staff..
The speaker is author Stephen Barton, who is working on a biography about Wilson (1868-1942). The program is presented by Friends of the Berkeley Public Library. Details: 510-982-6148. The speaker will be Victoria Kastner, author of the book “Hearst Ranch: Family, Land, and Legacy.”. Admission to the talk at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., is by reservation only, which can be made at landmarkheritage@att.net. Classes are for all ages and abilities, from beginners to professionals. Financial aid is available for youths under 18.
