BIG Aloha!

With the success of UFC and Dana White’s television show “The Ultimate Fighter”, where the participants fight to earn a UFC contract, a lot of very good lesser known fighters from around the world are getting great opportunities at the big show. And Hawaii boys have proven to be a force. Maui’s Kendall Grove participated in season 3 of TUF and fought his way to win the season and contract, and seasons later found more Hawaii locals making a name for themselves. Anthony Torres (s2), Troy Mandaloniz (s6), Shane Nelson (s8), Scott Junk (s10), Brad Tavares (s11) and upcoming season 14 is currently holding try-outs in where numerous fighters from the 50th state are trying to stand out above the rest and make it onto the show. Among them are Ecosystems’ friends Bryson Wailehua-Hansen and RUSSELL DOANE

Besides the UFC there are other events and brands that hold a great reputation and are considers big names for the sport. These mainland companies are offering great money to local fighters as well. YANCY MEDEIROS has been fighting for Strikeforce, where most recently he fought the undercard for the Fedor/Werdum matchup! Also Hawaii superstar and Strikeforce/UFC alum FALANIKO VITALE, who just smashed Dylan Clay to retain his X-1 belt a few weeks ago, decided to vacate his title and sign with Bellator! Niko already has a ton of heavy-hitters on his Sherdog list, including Aaron Riley, Matt Lindland, Jason Miller, Robbie Lawler, Jeremy Horn, Frank Trigg and current UFC #1 Middleweight contender Yushin Okami.

Basically Hawaii MMA is on the rise… Mainland, BEWARE!!! Support Local!!!

The March 11th earthquake was preceded by a series of large foreshocks over the previous two days, beginning on March 9th with a 7.2-magnitude event and continuing with another three earthquakes greater than 6.0-magnitude on the same day. The later 9.0-magnitude quake hit near the northeast coast of Honshu, trembling the cities and it’s people. Shortly after with only about 20-30 minutes of warning, possibly the globe’s most devastating natural disaster, a tsunami swept onto the island shores terrorizing everything in it’s path.

Japan said they don’t need donations. But Hawaii is the land of aloha, islands to islands, we’re happy to help. The Japanese people and culture have been solidified into Hawaii’s own culture for decades. They as tourists also play a huge role in our economy. That being said, their are a few different local brands who have taken it to another level. HiLife’s “Aloha For Japan” was the first out and has been supported by many. Defend Hawaii will soon be launching theirs and will be available on their webstore SHOP : DEFEND HAWAII. Both parties are donating 100% OF PROCEEDS to Japan Relief.

If you would like to contribute directly, CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO GLOBAL GIVING AND/OR TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THEIR GIVING PROJECT(S)

ECOSYSTEMS – Hawaii’s Art|Music|Culture

Of course we’re cheering for PENN

AND, we’ll be linking an online stream for those that don’t or can’t make it to a bar or order pay-per-view.. Saturday, February 26th. WATCH BJ PENN vs JON FITCH right HERE on THIS BLOG..

Here it is!!!!

BJ PENN vs JON FITCH

So today embarks.. history? nevermind.

This Thursday we’re remembering DINOSAURS.

Dinosaurs was initially set in 60,000,003 BC with the years, months and days counting toward zero. (In the first episode, Robbie asks his father if he ever questions what they are counting down to.) The show centered on the Sinclair family, with regular American type names: Earl (the father), Fran (mother), Robbie (son), Charlene (daughter) and Baby Sinclair (the baby). The sitcom lasted 3 years on ABC.

Technically I was only about 5 or so when the show started, but I remember watching it and always trying to copy the baby’s catchphrase, “Not the mama!” Which often DIDN’T work out in my benefit.. haha.

It was a play off of the then current society problems and styles, which brings up the main reason we’re talking about it. These were dinosaurs, lol. Yet the dad Earl wore his construction-style plaid long-sleeved collared shirt. Definitely something you could find in the today’s stores or see someone wearing with some vans on possibly partying the weekend away at Restaurant Row at Oceans and Bonsai.. (quick plug. lol) And the son always had on a varsity jacket and shoes that resembled the always in, classic, Conserve Chuck Taylor’s. Converse’s are back, and they just opened a store out in Waikele. A dear friend of Ecosystems is actually the footwear manager there. Shout out to the homie Kai!

Anyway, basically what I’m trying to get at is.. DINOSAURS were rocking what WE rock since ever since. 60,000,003 BC to be exact. lol. and I think that’s as “THROWBACK” as it gets…

here’s a short clip from one of the episodes that shows everything you just read about.

STAY UP!!!

TEAM-C

ENJOY. or get roundhouse kicked in the face.

Chuck Norris’ hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush

Name: Andre Davis
Occupation: Artist & Father

ROCK SOLID TATTOO is located at 655 Keeaumoku Street Honolulu, HI 96814
By appointment only! Call for a consultation 951-ROCK(7625)

Andre takes a moment from his busy day to talk with Ecosystem’s Chris Meheula about his passions, family, and how he keeps quality tattooing affordable.. Here’s the INTERVIEW word-for-word if for some reason the video doesn’t work..

CHRIS: So tell us a little about yourself, where you’re from, how long you been tattooing…

ANDRE: Okay, I’m from the Big Island. I been tattooing about 20 years already.

CHRIS: Describe your most memorable tattoo experience..

ANDRE: I think a memorable experience is when somebody gets a tattoo and it brings a tear to their eye or it means something, a lot to them. then just a random, I’m gonna get tattooed today. You know, when you can tattoo for somebody and whether it’s a portrait of one of their kids, someone who passed in their family.. just recently I did a little frog on someone’s inside of their wrist that represented one of the favorite things that their mother used to like. And she used to have little trinkets and stuff of frogs, and I did one. The expression on her face and the tears and just her excitement, how she looked at it. That’s pretty memorable when you can do art on somebody and then touch them in that way..

CHRIS: Besides tattooing, what are your other passions, as far as art?

ANDRE: Well, I have a strong passion, I love music. I love playing guitar and ukulele, I play Japanese Shakuhachi which is a bamboo flute, it’s an instrument used for meditation and praying. I play harmonica. I carve tikis and other kinds of furniture and stuff like that from Koa Monkeypod and different types of wood, all by hand. And I carve bone, hawaiian hooks, jewelry, stuff like that. So, I don’t know, there’s other things that I do besides that as well. One of my biggest passions is my wife, my family, being a father, that’s VERY important to me. I’ll be coming out with stuff for other people to see, as far as clothing and putting a lot of my designs out there so people can see it on boardshorts and other things that they can wear. So that’s something that’s gonna be coming out that’s new, that I’m kind of keeping.. on the down low for now. But it comes out, it’s gonna be big, it’s gonna be a great thing, I got a lot of great images, painting and stuff that are gonna be.. everywhere (laughs).

CHRIS: You guys do special offers and little things for your shop to help people, and kinda give back to the community.

ANDRE: Yeah.

CHRIS: What do you guys do for that?

ANDRE: Usually, almost every month or every other month, we have some kind of deal or special for people to keep tattooing affordable for people. So people that are having hard times nowadays, can really be like, “you know what, at least I can get a tattoo” and when you get a tattoo, it makes everything feel better. Whether or not this or that sucks, you can’t afford this or that, you’re like, “Wow, I just got a great deal on a tattoo.” and you got that for the rest of your life.

CHRIS: And with your shop as well, it’s kind of a little bit different, it’s kind of difficult to find honestly. Where are you guys located, and what is the best directions you can give?

ANDRE: (laughs) Yeah, the shop’s tucked away. It’s private, there’s no walk-in traffic coming in and out, in and out, like a regular tattoo shop. It’s very personal and people appreciate that. To have that one-on-one experience without having my attention taken away from somebody that just walks in through the door. So we’re kinda tucked away on Kehamoku Street, right across from Wal-Mart, in the Samsung Plaza.

CHRIS: If anyone wanted to call for appointments, how do they get in contact with you?

ANDRE: Just call 951-ROCK. 951-7625. People can call, and the best thing to do is call and leave a message. ‘Cause if I’m working, I don’t really answer the phone and get in a depth conversation with answering questions when I’m trying to give someone my quality time.

CHRIS: Alright, well thank you very much for spending some of that quality time with US. and, I appreciate it.

ANDRE: Always, my pleasure

(handshake)

ANDRE: Auriiight

CHRIS: A pleasure man.

ANDRE: Shoot

TEAM-C

Name: Christian Mochizuki
Age: 22
Occupation: Sound Engineer. Disc Jockey. and full-time daddy

Ecosystem’s Chris Meheula sits down with Christian to talk about being a new daddy and how he likes working with Kanye West.. Sorry we had to delete the video, but here’s the INTERVIEW through text…

Chris: When did you first start getting involved with music?

Christian: I first started with music back in high school, started playing with a band. Did the whole “indie” band thing. Then I decided to take things a little further, so I went to audio engineering school. There I got more into the electronic stuff, and then I moved back to Hawaii. Started up my career at the AVEX Recording Studio, and that’s when I got into the hip-hop, after working with a lot of hip-hip artists. Here I am now.

Chris: Now you’re working at a studio. And you had the pleasure to work with lot of big names already, who are some of the artists that you’ve been working with?

Christian: Within the last year or two.. I’ve been mostly working with Kanye West. He brings down a lot of other artists such as; Rihanna, Jay Z, T-Pain, Young Jeezy. Pretty much everyone you see him working with will come out here.

Chris: So a bunch of people who are big deals then?

Christian: Yeah

Chris: So you’re kind of a big deal? (laughs. purposely referring to a movie quote from “Anchorman”)

Christian: (shrugs)

Chris: Didn’t you just have a child, you’re now a proud father, correct?

Christian: Yeah, I have a 9 month old son. His name is Riley, good boy. Mohawk.

Chris: (laughs) Mohawk?

Christian: Mohawk baby, naturally. It’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I can’t imagine it any other way, then how it’s happened. It was unexpected, but you know, that’s how blessings come. Blessings come unexpectedly. And sometimes you don’t expect things to work out the way they do, but everything works out in the end. That’s what I’ve come to realize, that no matter what happens, everything always works out in the end.

Chris: So what about your life? Like, who have been your major influences on your life?

Christian: Major influences in my life? I’ve always had friends but I’ve always kinda been a loner actually.. in my own head. Like I’m always been doing my own thing in my own head. Whatever I wanted to do, I kinda always just did it. I didn’t really fucken look to anyone else to do things, I kinda just like, if I thought something was cool I’d be like, fuck you guys I’ll do this. You know, I was a weirdo in high school, and a lot of people probably know that. I was like, a fucken weirdo. And I’m still a weirdo.

Chris: (laughs)

Christian: You know what, and that’s part of me! I fucken do whatever I wanna do, and I don’t care about what other people think or say.

Chris: Maybe that’s the reason why you’ve become more successful than a lot of people..

Christian: I believe success is two things, it’s the amount of talent you have, and it’s the amount of work you’re willing to put in.

Chris: It’s the ambition.

Christian: Ambition, exactly! I think that there’s a lot of people out there with a lot more talent than me, that haven’t gotten as far as me, just because they’re not willing to push themselves..

Chris: Some people just lack that drive..

Christian: Yeah, exactly.

Chris: Speaking of talent. You have an eye for very artsy things, and you do a blog called ChristianTheLion.com, right?

Christian: Yes.

Chris: I personally enjoy the blog. You’re a very versatile artist, and seem to capture a lot of different views.. There’s a lot of creative and edgy things that you normally wouldn’t see on casual blogs. Such as architecture.. You have a thing for architecture, don’t you?

Christian: Yeah, I like a lot of modern architecture. I like good modern designs, you really appreciate the thought process that goes into what it takes to build something simple. Like stairs for instance, you know what I mean? That’s what good design is, taking a simple concept and making it so that your eyes see it and it’s like, “Wow, that’s amazing.” That’s a good design. Taking something that’s just normally plain and standard that you wouldn’t really care too much about and then making it something where most people would be like, “Hey, that’s kinda Fresh!”

Chris: Makes sense. And since we’re on the topic of FRESH.. I gotta bring this up.. your shoes. I love your shoes man. I love your shoes.

Christian: (laughs) These things, huh?

Chris: Yeah, where’d you get them?

Christian: I actually got these from when I first started working with Kanye. After his sessions were done, after we were done making 808’s and Heartbreak, they came back one day from shopping. I guess him and a bunch of the guys from his crew, bought me these shoes.

Chris: Wait, wait, wait… So Kanye West, bought you those shoes?

Christian: Yeah, him and his crew got me these, so.. (laughs)

Chris: I don’t even have to say anything more, we’re done here. (stands up and begins to walk away) We’re done. (laughs)

Christian: Fucken asshole. (laughs)

TEAM-C