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Hawaii’s MAKENA Rocks the Mainland

After five years of making music together in both Hawaii and Los Angeles, out singer-songwriters Siena Lee and Toast Tajiri of the duo MAKENA are now receiving nationwide exposure. In addition to participating in L.A. Women’s Fest, a show featuring lesbian comedians and musicians which recently aired on Logo, MAKENA (pronounced mah-keh-nah) was invited to be one of five acts in the Emerging Artist Showcase on Olivia’s Hawaiian cruise this past November.

“We’re on the Olivia mailing list,” Lee said, “and about two years ago, we got a catalog in the mail and daydreamed about where we could go. Then we wondered how we could play on one of the cruises.” After exchanging several emails and mailing them press kits, Olivia invited them aboard.

MAKENA, which means abundance in Hawaiian, had further good fortune when they were signed to Grammy-winning producer Daniel Ho’s label. Their self-titled album features sweet, harmonizing vocals and Tajiri’s guitar on their original songs; two traditional Hawaiian songs; and covers of Loggins and Messina’s “House at Pooh Corner” (enhanced with a Hawaiian-language bridge) and Carole King’s “It’s Too Late.”

“‘It’s Too Late’ is sentimental for us, since it’s the first one we sang together,” Lee explained. Tajiri and Lee first met when Tajiri opened for a group with whom Lee sang. “What was really neat,” Tajiri said, “was that this concert was in Hilo , where I was born and raised and where Siena’s family lives now. Neither of us was living in Hawaii at the time, but for this concert, we came back to Hilo where our roots were and happened to meet there.”

Both had released solo albums before meeting one another, but after much post-tour email correspondence, they realized that they shared philosophies and their outlook on music and knew they could hook up musically. Lee said, “We jumped in and committed to making music together before we even knew what we would sound like together!”

Two years later, they became a couple personally as well, which was humorously disclosed during the L.A. Women’s Fest documentary. “They were filming everything,” Tajiri said. “Sound checks, breaks … we didn’t know how they would edit it all. On air, in between the performances, they would show a clip with an interview question.

“For most of the performers, there were pretty serious questions with serious answers like, ‘How does it feel to be an out lesbian performer?’ Ours was funny. They asked, ‘How long have you been together?’ We said, ‘Well, we’ve been playing music together for [what was then] four years, and we’ve been together for three years.’ And they repeated it: ‘Together together?’ And we said, ‘Yes, for music and for other things,’ and that’s where they cut it.”

They were glad to see the full broadcast because, as Lee explained, they didn’t get to see the other acts perform on the day of the taping. “That was such a long, wonderful day, but we didn’t actually get to see the performances,” she said. “We were backstage in the green room getting to know everyone, but we weren’t able to witness their art. So it was fantastic to see them on the show.”

The show featured one of their original tunes, “Good Enough,” which is also the music that accompanies the podcasts on their website. “We hoped that would be what they picked,” Tajiri said.

Lee added: “We now play it faster, perform it a little differently. So they’re showing a different version than what we perform now, a slower version. Watching it, we took away a lot about what we would do differently now. But it’s very beautiful – the venue, the lighting, the people – it was all wonderful.”

Tajiri (who wears the bandanna) was born and grew up on the big island of Hawaii. Four generations of her family still live there. Lee was born and raised on Oahu. Five generations of her family live there and on the big island. Though the two didn’t meet until 2001, there were some interesting parallels in their lives. They were born within a month of each other. They were both working at nonmusical careers and dropped them around the same time to concentrate on music full-time.

As MAKENA, their original songs are collaborative efforts, with both Lee and Tajiri working on music and lyrics. “We each get inspired in different ways,” Lee said. “For me, I’ll have an emotion, and I’ll hear a chord and go off of that to create a story around it and work it into a song. I bring that to the table to Toast, and she will hear it with new ears, tweak it, and make it more of our synergy.”

“I tend to be more on the intellectual side of things,” Tajiri said, “so I usually start with a concept or message that I want to communicate, and from that comes a phrase or a lyric, or I’ll mess around on the guitar and come up with a riff or a progression that I feel communicates the message. Then I bring it to Siena.”

The lyrics on their self-titled CD speak of relationships, of being the best one can be for both one’s self and one’s partner, and of being true to yourself. “Tell Me,” for example, speaks about the self-doubt that can creep in when in a relationship: “Dreamt last night you had to say goodbye/But when I woke up there you were at my side.”

Many of their lyrics are refreshingly positive, such as in the song “That’s Why I Keep Keeping On.” This optimism comes through when speaking with them as well. “Thank God for The Secret!” Lee exclaimed when I remarked on their positive outlook. This documentary has been very affirming for them.

“In a nutshell,” Lee explained, “The Secret has provided structure and clarity to ways we’re living. … It’s about the laws of attraction and about taking responsibility.”

It has particularly been helpful for them as they work in the music industry. “It’s been challenging for us,” she continued. “We’ve given up [music] a handful of times and jumped back in, and The Secret‘s been an anchor for us on how to turn things around and see things in a light that feels good to us, to not settle. It’s about keeping what you truly want in your heart.”

MAKENA’s mission statement reflects how they incorporate what they’ve learned and what they believe: ” To serve the worldwide community with music goods and services of comfort and joy, in order to support people’s worthwhile purposes through strengthened spirits of peace, inspiration and love.”

Yet it’s not just people who they serve. ” Our home is a magnet for cats with any kinds of needs,” Tajiri said. “If it needs dental work, it comes to our house. If it needs a leg amputated, it comes to our house. If it’s lost, it comes to our house.” So Lee and Tajiri founded Concerts4Cats. “We wanted to figure out a way to combine our music with this. Sometimes we’d have to run home from our gigs to administer medicine to someone recovering from IBD or from a heart condition. It’s been a very emotional experience.”

And costly. Since so many of the cats who came to them were seniors, they weren’t able to find much help with funding the needed medical treatment, since many agencies concentrate on kittens or cats who are more adoptable. Their concerts4cats.com website provides more information and features bios of several of the cats they’ve helped.

Other projects for MAKENA include an upcoming benefit for Animal Acres, an agency that assists abused farm animals, and a benefit for The Vagina Monologues Hollywood. They are also working on new songs.” Siena and I have been talking with each other lately, and since we’ve been together, both musically and personally, for a while now, we have a better handle on what our style is musically.”

Lee agreed. “We’re able to look back after a certain amount of time and can be more secure that ‘this is our style,'” she said. “We’re really excited about the next project. It’ll be more flirty, fun and playful.”

Though they’ve played venues as varied as straight weddings and Pride events, the Los Angeles County Fair and Hawaiian cultural festivals, they have a special place in their heart for their queer audiences. “We love playing for lesbians, love playing for families, for the gay men out there, and for everyone in between,” Lee said.

“It’s such an overwhelming feeling of love, warmth and validation for us, something that you don’t know it’s missing until you experience it. Like with the L.A. Women’s Fest, as soon as we got onstage, we received the acceptance we haven’t felt before in such an enormous way. The queer audience is our audience. It also makes us feel 110 percent more comfortable sharing truthfully the experiences in what’s behind each song. And to share how we are a couple and to talk about that, too.”

Tajiri continued: “I want to express — and I know Siena feels the same way, too — that we’re grateful for the lesbian community and their support of lesbian artists. We’ve often received questions from the gay press about whether or not we have experienced discrimination, and the answer to that is yes, but on the flip side, we’ve experienced even greater amount of preferential support because we are lesbians. Because we’re women and we’re gay, we can be a part of the community.”

Learn more about MAKENA and hear clips of their music at MAKENAmusic.com.

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