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Israel really changed Hawaiian music forever, even before he branched out on his own. And at that point, when he really wanted to produce and organize his own music, he came to me.
WC: So how did you become the producer for Bruddah Iz?
JM: Well, Israel and I knew each other quite well, since we were kids. He would come to our Lei Day concerts with the Brothers Cazimero at the Waikiki Shell and we would talk from time to time. Then there came a period when Israel was turning up in the hospital about three times a year. During one of his stays, I got a call from Israel asking me to come over and talk to him because he wanted to leave the Makaha Sons and go solo.
So I get to the hospital and there’s a crowd of people—standing room only—stuffed into his room and pouring out into the hallway. He was propped up in his bed, no shirt on, playing an ʻukulele and everyone was listening.
We probably met for four or five hours, and I spent the first two trying to convince him to change his mind about leaving the band. Because, again, the effect the Makaha Sons had on Hawaiian music was astounding. And also because it’s just hard for an artist to come out of a group and become a giant on his own—it doesn’t happen all that often. But he knew what he wanted.
He could be stubborn at times, but he was also pliable. He would listen to my opinion, and I would help guide him. His premise was that he wanted to tap my experience, but make some of the important conceptual decisions for himself. So that was the summer of ’93, and by November we had released Facing Future.