I found and “borrowed” this bio of the Kasuals from this blog. I would normally just leave the bio to the link to do the job, but just in case said blog post disappears, it’s here too.
“KASUALS” OFFICIAL HAWAII BIO (by Danny Perez
“Guam and Hawaii’s Own-The Kasuals” was a band formed on Guam by founding members, Frank Mendiola, Danny Perez and Bob Owen, in the summer of 1971, when Frank had just gotten out of the Army after serving honorably in the Vietnam War and Danny had just graduated from high school. The band’s name was derived from two of the top bands on Guam during the 1960s: the “Kaskels”, a band that Danny and his brothers, Joe & Tony Perez had played in; and the “Casuals”, a band that featured Frank Mendiola & Bob Owen.
During their fifteen (15) year run, from 1971 to 1986, Frank and Danny had kept the “Kasuals” musical aspirations alive, recruiting and featuring some of the finest musicians from Guam, the Philippines, Hawaii, and the U.S. mainland, including (from 1971 to 1974): Dave (Tabi/Koho) Taitano; Jesse (Te) Leon Guerrero; the late Joe (Bela) Borja; Ray (Dúng) Baza; the late Charles Jackson; Monte Pladevega; Joe (Uncle Tote) Cunningham; Bobby Laigo; and Patrick Palomo. From 1975 (the year the band moved to Hawaii) to 1986, the “Kasuals” line-up included: Jesse Bais; Roger Jereza; Zachary Flores; Pat Palomo; brothers, Mike and Sal Diamore; Victor Maratas (from California); Mark Demello and Jack Martin (both from Hawaii); and Linda Guerrero.
The “Kasuals” were a full-time, hard-working band, and had performed at nightclubs, hotels, restaurants, and concerts in Guam, Saipan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Palau, Chuuk, Pohnpei, the Marshalls, the Hawaiian Islands, California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Georgia, Chicago, and Alaska.
From the time they moved from Guam to live and work in Hawaii in 1975, and up to 1986, the “Kasuals” had performed at many venues, such as:
(on Oahu)
* Foxy Lady Disco (Beachcomber Hotel)
* Point After (Regency Hotel)
* Beef & Grog (the Spencecliff Restaurant on Kalakaua, where the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center is now located)
* C’est Si Bon (Pagoda Hotel)
* Jazz Cellar (Imperial Hawaii Hotel)
* Infinity (Sheraton Hotel)
* Hawaiian Hut (Ala Moana Hotel)
* Oceania Floating Restaurant
* Garden Bar at the Hilton Hawaiian Hotel
* Cock’s Roost at the International Marketplace
* Canoe House (Ilikai Hotel)
* Captain’s Table (Holiday Inn Waikiki)
* Hickam AFB Officers’ Club
* Waikiki Marina Hotel
* Fort Shafter NCO Club
* Black Angus/Stuart Anderson’s Cattle Co. in Pearl City
(on the Big Island)
* My Place Disco
* Kea’ahou Beach Hotel
* Kona Surf Hotel in Kona
* Naniloa Surf Hotel in Hilo
(on Maui)
* Maui Surf Hotel
* Kahului Beach Hotel
(on Kauai)
* Waialua Beach Hotel
* Kauai Beach Boys Hotel
In 1983, the “Kasuals” recorded an album on Tom Moffatt’s Paradise Records label, with “Songs About Love” and “Ebony Eyes” (and other cuts) making it onto the charts and getting extensive airplay on radio stations in Hawaii and Guam. For their recording endeavors, the “Kasuals” received a Na Hoku Hanohano Award for “Most Promising Artists”.
Some of the highlights of the “Kasuals” musical career includes: being the opening act for the “Elvin Bishop” Concert on Guam; opening for “The Beach Boys” Concert at the Blaisdell Arena; performing at the annual “Brown Bags to Stardom” concerts at the Waikiki Shell; and entering a song at the Hawaii Music Festival, where they performed with the Honolulu Symphony. As well, some of their most memorable performances were the ones where they gave back to the community for charitable causes, such as: playing a concert for “Operation New Life” on Guam in 1975, when they donated their services to entertain and help lift the morale of the thousands of Vietnamese refugees who were housed at Camp Asan after the fall of Saigon. In 1976, they helped to raise funds through their performances to assist the people of Guam with typhoon relief in the aftermath of Supertyphoon Pamela. They also volunteered their time and musical performances to help out at the annual Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon; the annual Carole Kai Bed Race; and they had also donated their performances to raise funds for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawaii, among others.
All in all, throughout their musical career, the “Kasuals” were all about striving for musical excellence; and fame and fortune had never been their motivation in working on their craft. Up to the present time, most of the former members of the “Kasuals” are still performing and/or recording in one way or another, whether as soloists, duets, or as members of various groups, and they have never let up in the contributions of their musical legacy; and their love of music and the performance arts has not wavered.
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It’s going to be another packed-dance-floor event! Tickets for the main ballroom are pretty much sold out but there are singles and pairs of tickets available spread out around the main ballroom. And there are tickets and tables available in the overflow ballroom (where there is a live feed from the main ballroom and another dance floor). Call all your friends for a night out, then call Candy to get your tickets! It’s going to be another all-star line up!
Speaking of The Kasuals, do you remember The Kasuals from the 70s nightclub scene? I recall seeing them at C’est Si Bon because I remember seeing on the curtain behind the band “HAFA ADAI”. And I remember asking “what does “˜hah fah a dye’ mean”. And I was corrected that it’s pronounced like “Half a Day” and it means “Hello” in Chamorro.
How about that list of clubs that they played. Do you remember those places? How many of those places have you been to? Do you remember other live bands that played the nightclub circuit?
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That’s the Hawaii bio above. For the Guam crowd, let’s not forget that they opened their own nightclub in ’78 in the ITC building called the Odyssey. I waitered there, what a blast that was!
Ebony Eyes
Songs About Love