Name: Ryan 'Gonzo' Gonzalez

Age: 26

Occupation:
Innovation Guru/Full Time Free Time Specialist

Hobbies: Bodybuilding, reading the dictionary, video games, web/graphic design, losing at poker

Contribution to the group:
Lead & background vocals
12 & 6 string lead guitars
4 & 6 string lead `ukuleles
Kazoo
5 String Banjo
Webmaster/designer
Book-keeping
King Almighty of Kale & Chad

Musical Experience:
Piano Lessons at age 8.
Quit Piano Lessons at age 8.1
Violin at age 10
Quit Violin at age 10.1
Percussion at age 12
`Ukulele at age 18
Guitar at age 18
Banjo at age 20
Can't read music, although I can read rhythms! (thanks to my 6 years as a percussionist! Go Band!)

Quote to live by:
"What, me worry?"

The story of teh Gonz.....

I was born on April 1st, 1978. Growing up, my parents listened to a little bit of everything. They had an 8 track and a record player and I would often hear the sounds of The Beatles, some Credence, Cream, Led Zep, Crosby Stills & Nash, Carlos Santana.. the list goes on...you pretty much get the idea. Not a lot of Hawaiian music going on in our household, but at least there was plenty of music to fill the air. I tried the violin, didn't like it. I tried the piano, I didn't like that either (although I regret it now). My parents owned some guitars from the time when my mom's brothers and my dad were in musical groups. My Uncles played with the Coachmen, around the same time as the Mop Tops...It's funny, because later on in life when I got to meet Kata Maduli he would tell me about those days. I would tinker with those old relics. I only knew 3 chords, but that didn't stop me from trying to imitate what was playing in the house.

When I hit intermediate school, that's when I started to get even more interested in music. I joined the beginning band, because I decided that orchestra was too dorky for me, and besides.... I wanted to play the drums. (after growing up listening to Ginger Baker and Ringo Starr....I thought I'd give it a shot). So there I was, in my first band class, auditioning to become a percussionist.

A year later, i took a choral music class. It was there I got my first true taste of the "music of Hawaii". I picked up the `ukulele at that time, and well frankly I wasn't very good. I knew how to play "Crazy G", "St Louis Blues", and "Yellowbird" thanks to my moms patience, but that was about it. In the choral music class we learned basic chords, strumming, basic picking, and some 'classic' songs like "Ku'u Home o Kahalu'u", "Flying", and "Quando Quando". After the class was over, I stopped playing the `ukulele and never really thought I was going to pick it up again. I did however manage to get my first Hawaiian Album. It was the Makaha Sons' "Ho`oluana". I think every Hawaiian in the world owns that album, along with a pair of rubber slippers. It opened my eyes to a whole new world. From there I started listening to the Sunday Manoa, with Robert Cazimero's beautiful vocals, and I was introduced to the magical fingers of Peter Moon.

In high school, I was still in band, but then there was this thing called the "Song Contest" that would take place every year. That was my first taste of singing with others, with harmonies and stuff. It was such a wondrous experience.
In my junior year, the `ukulele made a huge "comeback" thanks to the likes of the Ka`au Crater Boys' Troy Fernandez. Around school, you could see students carrying `ukuleles, jamming in their free time just like Troy. My classmate Jerome Koko jr. was such an awesome musician, but most especially he was a fabulous `ukulele player, I would sit and watch Jerome, Kalen Omo, Glenn Maeda and some of my other classmates jam in the high school stairwells. That's when i got drawn back in.

I would go down to Midkiff learning center during my free period, and I would bug Jerome to teach me some stuff. He's such a nice guy, he helped me with learning my first licks on the `ukulele. I also picked up the guitar again, and took a guitar class which was offered. I somehow managed to pick up a few things, and from there I started to tag along with Kalen Omo. We were both Ka`au fan boys, but Kalen knew a lot about Hawaiian music, and music in general. We would pretend to be Troy & Ernie, Robert & Roland, Moon John and Jerome...We had a blast. College came calling, Kalen left to attend a mainland college, and I was all set to go to the University of Washington, but then something made me just want to stay home and try out music. I enrolled at the University of Hawaii, attended classes, and it was

there I ran into my old classmate Jason Kaneakua. He told me he got a gig playing saxophone at a small coffee shop in Kapahulu called 'Java Java'. I wasn't into jazz at the time, I was focused on the music of the islands, but some of my other high school friends were going to go down, so Ii decided to tag along.

When I got there, Jason was on stage...with Kale accompanying him on the bass.
The coffee shop owner had an old `ukulele on stage, and during a break Kale and I just started playing stuff. Ian Custino who was there to catch the show, introduced himself to me. He informed me that he was going to try to get a music group together. Kale, Ian, and I exchanged phone numbers. Ian also had an old high school classmate of his in mind. We set a tentative date to get together and just 'Jam'.

So when we finally all sat down in Kale's living room, there was the four of us, Chad with his beat up nylon guitar (imagine willie nelsons guitar x 1000), me with my old cracked martin `ukulele, Ian with no instrument, and Kale with a bass on "loan". That was the 2nd time I met Chad... the first time was when I caught a ride home in intermediate school from a mutual friend of ours. He was in the car....anyway,
Chad knew a few chords on the guitar, and I remember thinking to myself that his voice was so smooth and pleasing. We managed to get through "Lei Ka`ahumanu", and we decided to call it a night. It was there in Kale's living room that my "professional" music career got its start. With the guys that would soon become `Ale`a.