![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/inside-hero-maui8197.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve still got their monster reggae grooves after a decade together. But the members of The Green possess something far more important these days: growing families.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Take just about any checklist of things associated with the color green and you\u2019ll be surprised how favorably it compares to the six hardworking musicians who make up The Green.<\/p>\n Natural, infectious energy? Check. Loads of creativity? Check. Steady growth? Check. Long-term stability with blessings of satisfying prosperity? Check and check.<\/p>\n At one time, about the only missing check mark for these pillars in the roots-reggae-smooth lovers\u2019 rock scene might have been in the fertility department. But that issue was finally put to rest a few years ago with the sudden greening of their families. So, big check.<\/p>\n Led by guitarists-vocalists JP Kennedy (foreground) and Zion Thompson (background), The Green continues to perform before packed crowds in support of the group\u2019s latest album, Brand New Eyes<\/em>.<\/p><\/div>\n Since then, these good-natured local boys who first coalesced back in the late 2000s and who today, as 30-somethings, are still energizing crowds, lighting up stages and kicking major butt with their monster grooves, have been carrying around their fatherhood badges with as much pride as any N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano Award they\u2019ve earned. And while their papa responsibilities often leave them more exhausted than their tours do, they wouldn\u2019t want it any other way.<\/p>\n Call it The Coming-of-age Green Effect.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all dads now, so we\u2019re busy with our kids,\u201d explains guitarist-vocalist Zion Thompson. \u201cWhen the pandemic happened in 2020, three of us in the band had daughters. In my case, I had my girl Bowie, named after David Bowie. It\u2019s why I\u2019m up early and up late with no sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n With drummer Jordan Espinoza and bassist Brad Watanabe laying the foundation for The Green\u2019s sound, singer Caleb Keolanui is free to impress audiences with his vocal range and soulful stylings. He pauses momentarily to catch his breath and possibly a few imperceptible winks of shut-eye before adding, \u201cI thought touring was hard, but this is way more nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n In embracing fatherhood, members of The Green have grown to accept a more matured view of life in the spotlight while also placing an even greater emphasis on their individual and collective family units.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the band\u2019s first five or six years, Caleb (Keolanui, lead vocalist) and our original drummer Leslie Ludiazo had daughters, but that was it. The rest of us didn\u2019t have kids,\u201d explains Thompson. \u201cBut our focus has changed now that we have families. You start to feel different about why you\u2019re out there (on stage) \u2014 that it\u2019s not for me anymore, you know? It\u2019s like I\u2019m not here just to mess around, but I\u2019m out here to make money and build this business and build this brand. Now, we do it because we all have families to support,\u201d he says, adding that the number of children among current band members totals 19.<\/p>\n Zion Thompson shows off his chops on the guitar.<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cWith The Green, everybody\u2019s family is the priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Nothing illustrates this feeling of tribal unity better than how the band rallies around each other \u2014 whether in difficult times (as members did earlier this month during a concert and fundraiser for current drummer Jordan Espinoza\u2019s wife, Anjuli, who\u2019s battling cancer) or in joyous ones (as when keyboardist-vocalist Ikaika Antone received the good news that he was about to become a daddy).<\/p>\n \u201cLook at our latest album, Brand New Eyes<\/em> (released last November),\u201d notes Thompson. \u201cEverything about that album pertains to family stuff. We all have brand-new eyes and it\u2019s all based on our new outlook on life as fathers.<\/p>\n Family remains the priority for The Green\u2019s members: (from left) Jordan Espinoza, JP Kennedy, Brad Watanabe, Caleb Keolanui, Ikaika Antone and Zion Thompson. \u201cTake the song Young Man<\/em>. Ikaika wrote that about the struggles of trying to have a child and the ups and downs of going through that with his wife,\u201d Thompson continues. \u201cSo, I remember the day when he finally got the call. We were on tour and he was in the hallway and he was FaceTiming his wife and I kind of noticed that she was crying, but she also looked happy. I busted out my phone to start taking pictures when she told him, \u2018I\u2019m pregnant.\u2019 And Kaiks just started crying.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been such a long road for them and we all knew about it,\u201d he adds. \u201cI still have those pictures on my phone of him when he found out \u2026 I thought it was such a special moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps the shared closeness shouldn\u2019t be all that surprising given the members\u2019 common roots. Keolanui and guitarist-vocalist JP Kennedy are cousins and former members of the reggae band Next G, and both come from a family of musicians (their uncle, in fact, is Danny Kennedy of Mana\u2018o Co. fame). And although Thompson, Antone and bassist-vocalist Brad Watanabe aren\u2019t blood relatives, they do hail from the same community (Kailua) and, in the case of Thompson and Antone, had already evolved into close friends after previously joining forces in the group Stir Crazy.<\/p>\n In recalling how The Green finally came together to combine their vocal prowess (highlighted by the golden-throated Keolanui) and exceptional musicianship with their strong songwriting abilities, Thompson explains that things happened quickly once their prior bands began to \u201cfizzle out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just sitting there at JP\u2019s house with all this music we had been recording and we were like, \u2018What are we going to do now?\u2019\u201d remembers Thompson. \u201cAnd right there, the band just kind of formed.\u201d<\/p>\n One of their first decisions was to come up with a suitable name. Thompson can\u2019t recall if it was Kennedy or Watanabe who first suggested The Green, but he does recollect the name initially being tossed out \u201chalf in jest.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, the name stuck because it resonated with the members despite the color not having any particular meaning to them.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s obvious because we\u2019re a reggae band that people will think it (means) one thing, but for us, it\u2019s not that,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt could be anything and doesn\u2019t necessarily need to mean one thing or require a specific definition. It\u2019s just us \u2026 (it) felt right.\u201d<\/p>\n Hungry to strike a chord with reggae fans both near and far, The Green \u2014 which had already released its breakthrough single Love I<\/em> \u2014 immediately joined up with fellow local musician Anuhea on her stateside Right Love Tour in 2010. But the band soon learned that gaining the attention of the masses would be a work in progress.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we were starting out, there weren\u2019t a lot of touring reggae bands, so it was usually just Hawai\u2018i transplants at our shows,\u201d says Thompson, who at 39 is the oldest member of the band. \u201cBut the first time we went to New Orleans, we played at a spot called the Republic, and there was nobody there \u2014 I mean literally no one.\u201d<\/p>\n Undeterred, the band kept plugging away and soon the crowds started coming to experience The Green vibe, thanks in part to the willingness of college newspapers and radio stations to promote its music. Today, the group has five studio albums under its belt, a large following that stretches across the globe and a thriving touring schedule. Last month, it performed at the Reggae Rise Up Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida, and in February, it staged a West Coast swing \u201cthrough eight or nine states\u201d that included packed shows in Nevada, Colorado and Utah.<\/p>\n Proving the band has no let-up, the members intend to play on with more road dates next month. Up first is the California Roots Music Festival on May 29 in Monterey, and the group will follow that performance up the very next day with an appearance at the Arise Music Festival in Loveland, Colorado.<\/p>\n Best of all, The Green intends to hold a couple of shows in the islands in the near future, although the dates and locations have yet to be determined.<\/p>\n \u201cUnless something goes wrong, we\u2019ll do one show here (on O\u2018ahu) and one on the outer islands,\u201d promises Thompson.<\/p>\n In summing up his thoughts on how the band has flourished in its decade together, Thompson would only say this: \u201cWe\u2019re blessed \u2014 we\u2019ve always felt that way. From the get-go, Hawai\u2018i has had our back, and we had great timing when we released our music as far as what came out that year. Our very first album did well, and I just thought there weren\u2019t a lot of heavy-hitting albums in the reggae genre that came out that same year, so we kind of got lucky. Things just aligned and a lot of things just worked out for us.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we\u2019ve worked hard and the touring has been a huge part of teaching us how to be together and I wouldn\u2019t trade any of that for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Nor would his fellow band members, all of whom intend to remain a part of The Green scene for a very, very long time.<\/p>\n As Thompson puts it, \u201cWe\u2019re not going to stop. This thing that we have just works. It\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" They\u2019ve still got their monster reggae grooves after a decade together. But the members of The Green possess something far..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1568,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-story"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/maui7568.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/maui7611.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/maui7624.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/the-green-2.4.22-one-love-16.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n