Canefield Hero

Finalist for Best Rock Album of the Year - Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts, 2010 BMI songwriting contest winner - Kauai Music Festival 'Tamaoka and his compositions are ready for prime time, major radio airplay and national audiences.' - Honolulu Star-Bulletin Tamaoka is a rare find - listen to any of his songs, and you will know he is no ordinary singer/songwriter. He has an unusual approach to the most common human themes, and the perfect voice for soul-baring songs that range from intimate and emotional to hard-hitting acoustic/alternative rock. quot;My music is the stuff that flows out of me when my heart is moved. My songs range from heart baring confessions to just plain fun indulgence. I'm inspired by relationship dynamics - tension, joy, love, lust, sorrow, triumph - all thatquot;. -David Tamaoka David started writing after high school - at first mostly pop punk for the bands he was in and later for acoustic guitar. His old band, Pennylane, was rock alternative influenced by Jimmy Eat World and Juliana Theory. Has opened for Jason Mraz, 311, New Found Glory, Yellow Card, Underoath, Rise Against, Blink 182, Mae, Hoobastank, Hot Hot Heat, Matt Costa. Produced by GRAMMY Award-winning Charles Michael Brotman for MIX808. Honolulu Star-Bulletin Review 08/15/2008: Time for Tamaoka After five years of establishing Band Camp as the marquee summer concert for fans of rock and alternative music, it's promoters are looking for new ways to differentiate the show from everything else going on in Honolulu this year. In a move that could be seen as either an acknowledgment of the increasingly talented pool of local musicians available for gigs -- or a calculated reaction to the recent rise in airline ticket prices -- BAMP Project has decided to give one local act the chance to open for the big boys this weekend. The first artist to get a shot will be David Tamaoka, former lead singer of Kauai-based rockers Pennylane. But he admits to being more than a little star-struck by the acts following him on stage at the Waikiki Shell. 'Yeah, it's huge for me,' Tamaoka said last week during a visit to the Star-Bulletin newsroom. 'But Jason Mraz has been very influential for what I do. '(And) I've never seen him perform ... so I'm super stoked to open for that guy.' Family is also very important to Tamaoka. It was part of the reason he moved to Kauai in 1998 after graduating from Moanalua High School, and helped inspire him to write his first full-length album as a solo recording artist. 'Canefield Hero,' the album's working title, is a tribute to Tamaoka's grandparents and their sugar plantation roots on the Garden Island. 'I'm Filipino, Japanese and Chinese, and all of my grandparents worked in the cane industry at one time or another,' he explained. 'They made all these sacrifices, and now I'm here today enjoying life and learning to play music.' Tamaoka started out playing the upright bass in his high school orchestra and jamming with friends outside of class. His younger brother, Josh Tamaoka, and good friend Blaine Furukawa often played with him, and even followed Tamaoka to Kauai to help start a band before Pennylane formed in 2000. For nearly five years, Pennylane struggled to find a foothold in the local scene. Being based on Kauai left them at a disadvantage, and they were forced to deal with the stereotypes that come with identifying themselves as a spiritual band. 'We released one EP with a short run and no distribution,' said Tamaoka. 'And right whe