{"id":99528,"date":"2024-10-23T09:37:49","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T19:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekpro\/?p=99528"},"modified":"2024-10-22T13:41:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T23:41:48","slug":"johnny-valentine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekpro\/johnny-valentine\/","title":{"rendered":"Go, Johnny, Go!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Photo by Lawrence Tabudlo<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019ll be a hopping good time when musician Johnny Valentine joins Hawai\u2018i Symphony Orchestra for its Kaimana HapaSymphony series.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If there is a true musical chameleon in the islands, it\u2019s gotta be Johnny Valentine. His ability to seamlessly segue from one genre to another \u2014 be it pop, rock, R&B, classical, opera or disco \u2014 is why he remains one of the most sought-after singers and guitarists around.<\/p>\n

During a career that\u2019s spanned more than four decades, Valentine has shared the stage and loaned his talents to a number of big-name acts \u2014 among them, Bruno Mars, Arnel Pineda, Regina Belle, Martin Nievera, Henry Kapono and Kalapana.<\/p>\n

Along the way, he\u2019s found joy in bringing smiles to so many fans\u2019 faces. His exuberance is likely born from \u201cthe fact that I play music for a living and it just brings so many people together (and) that people actually check my Google calendar to schedule their vacation when they come here, so they\u2019re going to see me.\u201d <\/p>\n

Now, Valentine has something else on tap that figures to keep him and the musical masses happy.<\/p>\n

His next show is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 16 at Hawai\u2018i Theatre Center. There, he will share the stage with Hawai\u2018i Symphony Orchestra and perform both original compositions and cover songs from artists such as Bread and The Rascals \u2014 all as part of the kickoff to the 2024-25 Kaimana HapaSymphony series. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to take (people) on a musical journey, one that celebrates the sound and spirit of Hawai\u2018i and one that made me successful,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

He looks forward to working with HSO music director\/conductor Dane Lam and composer-in-residence Michael-Thomas Foumai, and is also excited to be collaborating with members of his family. His wife, Chris, penned the lyrics to For Just a Moment, which Valentine plans to premiere at the show. The couple\u2019s two sons, Jesse and Daniel, will also have a part in the performance. <\/p>\n

\u201c(Daniel) has written and arranged an original song for us to perform with the symphony together,\u201d the musician notes. \u201cAnd my older son, Jesse, is playing lead guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Songstress Jessica Sands Hoffmann will be joining him on stage to perform The Prayer. She\u2019ll handle the Celine Dion portion of the song while Valentine plans to sing Andrea Bocelli\u2019s part.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s shaping up to be a very special night in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thrilled to have the opportunity to perform with the symphony. It is like the biggest concert I\u2019ve ever had to plan for,\u201d says Valentine, the winner of the 2018 N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano Favorite Entertainer Award. \u201cI just hope to see more people at the concert hall and inspire a love for orchestral music for those who may not have experienced a genre like this before.\u201d <\/p>\n

Much like his nephew, Bruno Mars, Valentine is known to most by his stage name. He was born John Bayot and eventually moved, along with his parents and siblings, from the Philippines to Hawai\u2018i in search of a better life. Predictably, music made up a significant part of his younger years.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brothers used to play a lot of Beatles when I was 6 years old, and my dad knew there was something going on with me because I would walk around the house and I had songs memorized while pretending that I was strumming a guitar,\u201d Valentine remembers. \u201cSo, he made me a fake plywood guitar with rubber bands and I just played that until it broke.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time he was about 9, Valentine was playing the \u2018ukulele; by 11, he was banging away on the drums. <\/p>\n

\u201cI got pretty good at it, but it was my brother\u2019s drum set and he sold it,\u201d he recalls. \u201cSo, I picked up the acoustic guitar at age 12 or 13, and from then on I was learning a bunch of Kalapana tunes, and The Beatles, America and The Doobie Brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating from Farrington High School, he wound up attending Leeward Community College on a music scholarship. <\/p>\n

\u201cDuring that time, the teacher asked me to tutor classical music because I was already reading music. I taught myself when I was 14,\u201d explains Valentine, adding that he learned to sing arias from music professor Marilyn Kim.<\/p>\n

By his second year of college, he was working as a full-time musician and, as a result, dropped out of school.<\/p>\n

In the 1980s, he formed the band Night Splendor Duo with Pat Miguel. The duo was discovered by Jerry Martini, the saxophonist for funk band Sly and the Family Stone, who was so impressed by their sound that he started booking them on regular gigs. Eventually, Night Splendor joined the Polynesian Show and the Dick Jensen Show at Hula Hut, where Valentine also did impersonations of Elvis, Michael Jackson and other celebrities. <\/p>\n

From 1987 to 1993, Valentine was also a member of The Love Notes, which included Mars\u2019 father, Peter Hernandez. The group released several albums and enjoyed a three-month engagement in the then-newly built showroom at Tokyo Sheraton. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t want us to leave,\u201d recalls Valentine. \u201cIt was supposed to be just three weeks.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Sheraton, however, kept extending the band\u2019s performances and wound up doubling the members\u2019 pay.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we brought (in) my mother, my sister, Bruno, all the kids,\u201d Valentine recalls. \u201cThat\u2019s when I started having Bruno perform as Elvis. He would watch the show every night, and in the daytime, I would babysit him. He was only 3 years old and I would teach him all the Elvis moves.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time they returned to Hawai\u2018i, Bruno had mastered his role as a young Elvis impersonator and immediately began making his way into the group\u2019s shows. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a big hit, and that\u2019s how he got addicted to performing live,\u201d says Valentine, who currently plays with the tribute band Nightbirds. \u201cThat\u2019s how it started and then by high school, he used to catch the bus to my house and take voice lessons, guitar lessons and stuff.\u201d <\/p>\n

When the pandemic hit in 2020 and live shows were shut down, Valentine turned his attention to daily performances on Facebook Live, and subsequently gained a global fan base called \u201cJohnny\u2019s Angels.\u201d To these admirers, his music was therapeutic and vital in keeping them connected with others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a stack of letters (saying) that I\u2019ve pulled people out of depression and loneliness during the pandemic,\u201d Valentine adds.<\/p>\n

His capacity to lift others\u2019 spirits was already apparent during a monthlong series of performances in 2018. One of the attendees was a boy with a rare genetic disorder (Angelman syndrome) who enjoyed listening to Valentine\u2019s music so much that he would spontaneously run to the stage and start dancing.<\/p>\n

Impressed by the boy\u2019s joyous reactions, his family flew Valentine to Malibu, California, to perform at the youngster\u2019s 16th birthday party.<\/p>\n

Only later did Valentine realize the boy was actor Colin Farrell\u2019s son.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole time I performed, he just stood in front of me and danced for two hours straight. That was so heartwarming,\u201d Valentine says.<\/p>\n

Even when he\u2019s not on stage, Valentine is generous with his time and eager to help others. For example, he helped organize a fundraiser concert for a close friend, Lauretta Sewake, when her Wahiaw\u0101 home burned down. He also gathered several top acts to play at the event, then picked up his guitar, cleared his throat and went to work on stage. <\/p>\n

For Hawai\u2018i\u2019s musical chameleon, it\u2019s just what he does.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you come and see me, it\u2019s always different,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019ll be a hopping good time when musician Johnny Valentine joins Hawai\u2018i Symphony Orchestra for its Kaimana HapaSymphony series. 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