Justin Morris often performs with various bands on Maui. Courtesy photo
With a storied history of presenting live music from the mid-1980s on, Casanova once again has become an Upcountry entertainment venue with the debut of the “Sundays in the Country” series.
Presented by Aloha Growers in collaboration with JMo Productions, on Aug. 31 Casanova will host the popular band Above Snakes Country, performing classics by country greats.
All sharing a love for classic country and western, Above Snakes features Justin Morris on guitar and vocals, Marty Fera on drums (Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, and Dave Mason), Matt Del Olmo on guitar and vocals, and Tim Hackbarth on bass.
“We have really great players,” said Morris. “Marty Fera and Tim Hackbarth have toured nationally, and I’ve been playing music with Matt for about 20 years. We occasionally have guests like Barry Sless from the Bay Area, who plays pedal steel with us.”
As far as their repertoire, “we’re playing classic honky tonk, like the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, Hank Williams Sr. and Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson,” he said. “It’s hard to do some of that stuff because you’ve got so much respect for the guys that did it. But we really try hard to pay respect to the songs.”
The seeds of the new Casanova series trace back to the old Stella Blues in Kihei, where Scott Johnson of Aloha Growers and Justin Morris of Above Snakes worked.
“Scott and I both used to work with Ray Ennis at Stella Blues,” Morris explained. “We met Kale (Boverman) through his dad. About six months ago, Kale told us he had been working with Casanova and they want to do a music program. We did our first show and it was well attended. So we’re really excited.”
All sharing a love for classic country and western, Above Snakes also features Marty Fera on drums (Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, and Dave Mason), Matt Del Olmo on guitar and vocals, and Tim Hackbarth on bass.
“We have really great players,” said Morris. “Marty Fera and Tim Hackbarth have toured nationally, and I’ve been playing music with Matt for about 20 years. We occasionally have guests like Barry Sless from the Bay Area, who plays pedal steel with us.”
As far as their repertoire, “we’re playing classic honky-tonk, like the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, Hank Williams Sr. and Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson,” Morris said. “It’s hard to do some of that stuff because you’ve got so much respect for the guys that did it, but we really try hard to pay respect to the songs.”
One of the busiest musicians on Maui, this versatile artist shifts between different bands, playing bluegrass with the Brown Chicken Brown Cow String Band, country and western with Above Snakes, Beatles favorites with the Lonely Hearts Beatles and Beyond group, more bluegrass with Crow Foot Stomp, and original rock music with his own Justin Morris and Company band. Before Gretchen Rhodes moved off island he also performed with her band. And he mixes sound for performers at various venues on the island, including the MACC, Ocean Vodka Farm and Mulligan’s on the Blue.
“I actually enjoy mixing shows, especially when we’re doing something big at the MACC,” he said. “Living on Maui, you kind of need to be diversified. I used to be in one band that traveled all over the country, and now I’m in five or six bands that don’t travel as much. Brown Chicken Brown Cow String Band and my rock and roll band, Justin Morrison and Company, we tour.”
Justin Morris performs with Gretchen Rhodes. Courtesy photo
Raised in rural West Virginia, music was all around.
“I was born in West Virginia and Matt was born in Texas, and we grew up in country music with our parents, but we didn’t really embrace it until later in life,” he said. “I’ve realized that I love country music, but when I was a kid, it was all about rock and roll. My dad was a coal miner, and instead of going to the mall on the weekend or whatever, we just would cook out and play music and throw horseshoes. Then when I went to college, I got real serious about music and had several bands.”
First playing on Maui in 2008 with the Brown Chicken Brown Cow String Band, he recalled, “we would come here to take a break from the road. It also became a really positive place for us because the shows were well attended.”
They recently played at the Hyatt Regency for the Hua Momona Foundation to a lively crowd. “It was really cool,” he said. “We had a really enthusiastic dance crowd that night.”
Now almost ubiquitous on Maui with various bands and sound gigs, he’s looking forward to the Sunday performance. “I’m excited about this Casanova show. There is a whole audience that will come to a Casanova show that we won’t see at any of the other venues.”
The “Sundays in the Country” shows are presented on Sunday afternoons, with Above Snakes Country performing this weekend. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the show starts at 1 p.m. Tickets are $20.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.mauinews.com ’
