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| Biographical Background A true “island son”, Elias was born on the island of O’ahu and raised in the windward town of Kane’ohe. His musical influences, like most Hawaiian youth, began at home. He remembers fondly clutching his mother’s skirt as she moved about her day singing everything from Eddie Arnold and Johnny Mathis to Alfred Apaka and Emma Veary. His father also played ukulele and sang. Elias’ grandparents were well known in the Waikiki music scene and performed with many of the greats of that golden period, such as Aunty Genoa Keawe, Marlene Sai and Sonny Chillingsworth. Elias attended Kamehameha Schools from 1973 to 1979, where he was selected to join the acclaimed Kamehameha Schools Concert Glee Choir and sang as a tenor alongside Tony Conjugacion, Lopaka Ho’opii, and Nephi Brown. His love for Hawaiian music was deeply ingrained under the guidance of his music instructors Robert Cazimero, Wayne Chang, Zillah Young and Dale Noble. In high school and after graduating, Elias performed with multiple bands in Hawaii, traveled to Tennessee and entertained there as a Polynesian show performer. He graduated in 1979 and, after several years of travel and military service, he returned to Honolulu where he met his wife, Lisa, a local haole girl. Elias has been a resident of the Puget Sound community of Richmond Beach, Washington, since 1995. While he’s now a successful Realtor with the leading real estate company, Keller Williams, his real love has always been a wide variety of music. Elias has also performed at diverse venues throughout the Seattle area—including Seattle’s renowned Benaroya Concert Hall with one of the world’s most revered cellists, Ms. Sang Won Shin and feature singer Hayley Blackwell-Olsby. Current musical projects In 2005, Elias teamed up with two transplanted Hawaiians and long time Seattle residents, Bernie Simeona and Tiko Kaeo, and is a vocalist and conga player in their Seattle-based Hawaiian group — Brudda Dem. He is also the lead vocalist and percussionist for the Seattle-based club band, Napun Tasi — an island music alternative band comprised of Elias and five other members who are all natives of Guam (Chamorro’s). As diverse as Elias’ music history has been, over the last three years he has returned to the music that calls to his heart and his ‘uhane (Ka’uhane translated is the spirit). Hawaiian music has always been, and remains, the music that has shaped him and gives him hope for a world that cries out for Faith, Hope, and Love. After all, that’s what Hawaiian music is all about. Contact Elias at info@musicbyelias.com |
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