August 29, 2025 • 54 mins
How do you find strength to breathe when tragedy hits SUDDENLY? Lisa Pakele, widow of beloved Hawaiian musician Kaulana Pakele of the Mana'o Company, shares her "suddenly": a sudden heart attack in 2020 during CV19 lockdown.
"I just kept breathing," Lisa reveals, describing how she navigated overwhelming grief while raising four children in the public eye. With remarkable courage, she shares the practical wisdom that sustained her: carefully selecting a "Sacred Circle" of a few friends, stepping away from social media, & finding strength in her faith. Her story isn't just about survival—it's about transformation, as she helped her son Dillon complete the "Faith EP" album they had begun with Kaulana before his passing.
Drawing from her earlier experiences as a teen Mom who refused to become "a statistic," Lisa demonstrates how past challenges prepared her for facing seemingly insurmountable grief. Now, she's channeling that resilience into building Kaulana's legacy via music collaborations with artists like High Risk, Pacific Blue, Fiji & Sudden Rush. All while supporting Native Hawaiian businesses thru InPeace's Center for Entrepreneurship.
At the heart of Lisa's story lies the Hawaiian concept of "lāhui"—community coming together. "We're not made to do this life alone," she reminds us, defining aloha as grace: extending kindness without knowing what others are going through. Her journey shows how protecting your peace, finding your tribe, and taking one faithful step at a time can transform tragedy into purpose.
Have you experienced a life-altering loss or challenge? Lisa's story may give you added courage to take that next breath—and the next step forward. E ola ka lāhui! (Long live our ohana!)
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 2 (00:12):
Aloha, and welcome to Aloha Alive, the heartbeat of
Hawaii.
I'm your host, dawn O'Brien,and this is my baby sister, lisa
Pakele.
She's mye baby sis, but let medo the formal introduction.
She is a director at InPeace,which is the Institute for
(00:32):
Native Pacific Education andCulture, a non-profit on a
mission to improve the qualityof life for Native Hawaiians.
Much needed Launched, shehelped to launch the Center for
Entrepreneurship in Kapolei tohelp family-owned
community-based businesses toincrease their capacity to
succeed.
In other words, she's a ladyboss of boss families.
(00:56):
Yes, you Slay.
You started 20-plus years agowhen your son, dylan, was just a
little baby.
You first started at In Peaceand now he's a grown man.
You are also co-owner andoperator of Pakele Entertainment
, who she co-founded this in2019 with your late husband
(01:17):
Kaulana, to help support andpromote local Hawaiian musicians
and artists.
Welcome to Aloha Alive.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Thank you for having me.
Thank you for coming.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Now some background for us.
In 2020, your husband, mybrother, kaulana because we grad
Hilo high Vikings KaulanaPakele of the Mana'o Company
died suddenly of a massive heartattack on the beach in Waianae.
It's been five years and a longroad, sis Lise, but you just
(01:50):
celebrated the third KaulanaBash in Hilo.
And catch us up, if you would,and tell us how have you been
and what's been going on since.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Thank you, thank you again for having me.
It's been interesting.
Five years and I, just today,I'm healthy and I'm just
continuing to breathe and moveforward and take steps,
navigating this journey on thisside of glory.
And so the kids, the Ohana,everybody's well doing good,
(02:23):
thriving in their own areas, umin life and um just trying to
stay really busy.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Um, you're very, very busy and we're going to get to
that, but you touched on a fewthings and I just want to kind
of zoom in a little bit.
You have four keiki, right, youhad a blended family with
Kaulana, and so they're alladults, they're all grown and
they're all doing well, and youhave not just one, but two
grandbabies, mo'opuna, yourlittle honey boy, and also
(02:52):
wonderful, the older one.
What's his name?
I'm sorry, isaac.
Okay, thank you.
Now everyone's doing well, butI want to back up and kind of
zoom in a bit.
It was what we call a suddenlywhere Kalana passed of a massive
heart attack.
You had no rhyme or reason.
He was in his late forties.
It was right during COVIDlockdown and shutdown.
(03:13):
And I want to ask you apersonal question how did you
overcome the suddenly,especially as you were in the
public eye?
I remember one day I called youand you I think.
We're at a grocery store, Iwon't name which one, and even
the cashier, as we all love you,lisa, we all knew the news, we
love Kolona.
(03:33):
You couldn't even go buygroceries without somebody
asking you what was going on.
So how, how, how did youovercome?
Speaker 1 (03:42):
The first thing is I just kept breathing, like the
choice to keep breathing, um,and just not slip out into, you
know, not out of this world, um,but yeah, the choice to keep
breathing.
Um, I did some things to helpkeep me healthy.
Um, just the people whosurrounded us, I just that was a
huge thing.
Um, we're super blessed.
(04:04):
We had so much love and support, which was which was very huge
to to.
Kalana lived such a huge life,a bold and loud life, and so
silence was really not a thingin our world.
And so it was, even though itwas, you know, a lot of people
that came around and it could beoverwhelming, and it was
(04:25):
overwhelming.
It also was very helpful tokeep, to help us keep hearing,
just hearing and feeling thelove around us.
So that was very helpful tokeep moving forward, and so I
tried.
I was selective, though, with afew people that could just
enter my space, because it wasjust so.
I was kind of I was just reallyfragile and so just making sure
(04:50):
I had just some key peoplearound me to speak life and
encouragement and just help meto keep moving forward and to
get up, sometimes when I justdidn't want to get up, and so
you were definitely one of thosekey people.
That was a huge thing is justhaving a couple it's not a lot,
(05:11):
but just a couple key peoplearound you in your life to help
you navigate and help younavigate.
That was a helpful thing.
And another thing for mepersonally was a huge thing was
just removing myself from anykind of social media.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
And just that was a huge thing.
I was off social media foralmost four years.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Wow, and I felt like that helped to keep me healthy
and just there's so much noiseout there, so that was a huge
thing to help me those are twomassive key things that you just
said and thank you, sis, thatyou said you did you really
called a number of your sacredcircle is what I call it where
(06:04):
you have a certain amount oflet's say, for me it's two or
three friends who really sustainus.
Because it's interesting thatthere's a scripture in the Bible
that you and I love that heldyou together also, and it says
though I walk through the valleyof the shadow of death, I shall
fear no evil for thou, o Lord.
I shall fear no evil for thou,o Lord.
Art with me.
But it's also the humans Jesuswalking it out in human form
(06:30):
with your friends, and you hadsome of those sisters really
close to you.
Now you also stopped with thesocial media which is why I
quoted that scripture, becauseyou walked through the valley
and a lot of mental health andwellness nowadays talks about
(06:50):
how we manage our emotions in atrauma is actually allowing
yourself to feel and process.
Was that part of shutting offthe distraction?
Speaker 1 (06:55):
that was everything.
Everything for me is um, I hadto, just uh, peace was a huge
thing for me in terms ofprotecting my peace and choosing
to protect it, like only Icould do it.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Only I could choose who's around me and what I do
and what I read and music that Iput into my head and just you
know, reading the word orgetting the word.
For me, faith is everythingLike you know, believing in the
word.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
For me, faith is is everything like, um you know,
believing in the word and yes,and praise and worship is a huge
thing for for me and my journeyand my life, um, and that would
really, honestly, that was theonly thing that could get me
through yes, it was big, and Ilove what you're saying, because
there's two things I've learnedwith you is protect your peace,
(07:45):
and I know you get that fromyour place where you worship,
which is Pastor Art and KunaSepulveda at the Word of Life.
Thank you for being a wonderfulspiritual mom and dad to Lise,
especially through that time.
I remember we were shooting aseries at the time, during 2020,
called Aloha.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Ha.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
And you folks were scheduled.
Brother Kaulana died.
He passed to glory on Mondayand you were scheduled to have
um Pakele Mele on Aloha Ha thatFriday.
It was every Friday to helpsustain the spirit of Aloha in
the state of Hawaii and to makepeople laugh, hence Aloha Ha.
And when I saw you Monday,brother had passed from that
(08:24):
heart attack out on the beachand I came to the house Tuesday.
You I'm sorry, sis, you're astunning, beautiful, drop dead
gorgeous woman, but your facelooked like you'd gotten beaten
up like a puffy, like just a bigold baseball.
It was so puffy, your eyes werealmost closed.
You were crying so hard.
Small, it was so puffy, youreyes were almost closed, you
(08:47):
were crying so hard and byFriday it wasn't much better.
But you put a smile on it andyou put aloha in your heart.
And Pastor Kuno is right thereleading with the praise and
worship.
And so two things I'm hearingfrom you as you walk through a
sudden death of your significantother.
Your husband was number onewatch who you're walking with
and number two was to cut offdistraction and really walk
(09:09):
through that.
It was overwhelming.
You said that.
But a third thing I know aboutyou that's not been spoken?
Is you also taught your son?
Dylan we close the back door.
We don't allow any practices orbeing in a place where we're
letting in confusion or divisioninto this family, and that can
(09:30):
be something as simple as a lotof drinking that that could
happen in a home and I'm notcasting any stones on anyone for
that or judging, because I'vealready walked through my place
with alcohol.
But you said there's not goingto be alcohol here.
Is that?
Would that be something you'recomfortable with sharing?
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Sorry, yeah no, no, um, I I'm today.
I'm sober free for 15 years andthat's my own choice right.
Everybody has their choice tomake, and so this is my own, my
journey in healing and andrestoring, and restoration.
And you know it's my journey,and so it started.
Before Colonna passed, we bothdecided.
Well, he decided first to besilver free and he walked it out
(10:10):
, he did.
Yeah, oh, I didn't even knowthat, through some circumstances
, but in everybody's journey,right, you have the choice that
you want to live out, and so youknow, know, navigating the
entertainment industry, and andwithout drinking and without
drugs and to be one of the topmost recognized bands beloved
(10:33):
for decades.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Right, and he, I mean I remember his last post on
social media.
He was connect correctingpeople for littering, remember
that.
And brother man is one of themost aloha people like.
He literally called me out ofthe blue one day and colonna,
he's like don don don.
And I'm like, yes, I heard youthe first time.
Aloha, colonna, and he goes.
(10:55):
Is your cousin in hilo, seano'brien, is that your cousin?
Yeah, because I went to schoolat saint joseph's with our at
the Christian Catholic schoolwith Sean.
He's a cardinal and I go, yeah,that's my cousin and he goes.
You have his number.
Can I call him?
And I'm like, sounds like him,random, random.
You're going to call?
(11:16):
And he did.
He called my cousin, seanPatrick O'Brien, and said we
went to Catholic school together.
Of course Sean remembers himbecause he's world famous, but
he was so full of aloha but Ilove that brother kept a hot red
line because it means we malamaaina, we malama each other, we
aloha kia kuwa.
(11:36):
He knew that.
He knew that he knew certainthings.
So thank you for allowing us toflashback.
Small kind with that Now.
You shared those really keytips on how to come through a
suddenly thank you for allowingus to flash back.
Small kind with that now.
Um, you shared those really keytips on how to come through a
suddenly thank you.
Watching the sacred circlearound you, you were also going
to your place of worship a lot,in fact.
Now your daughter, kamale, is aworship leader.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
She just came back from bogota.
They had a mission trip, and soit's you know, as we navigate
our own journey and our ownwalks and wherever god's leading
us, kamalei for Kamalei, shefound her place in wanting to do
praise and worship Just likeher dad.
Yeah, so I'm super blessed towatch her grow and, as God uses
(12:19):
her and grows and molds her.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
She's on stage?
Well, she's at the altar almostevery sunday, when she's in
town at word of life we can seekamalele, she's really growing
into her own.
And then dylan catch us up onmy godson dylan paquele oh wait,
is this his cd?
I have right here becauseauntie's so 80s, 90s, you know I
gotta have my cd here.
It is you put out this album inthe last five years faith yeah,
(12:43):
so that was really a journey.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Um, this whole journey has been a journey album
in the last five years Faithyeah, so that was really a
journey.
This whole journey has been ajourney.
But in the beginning they wererecording.
Dylan was recording with Kolanathe first song and after he
passed to Glory, it was like nomusic, no, nothing.
You know, didn't want to doanything really honestly.
Well, it was such a shock foreveryone and just like I just
(13:06):
just I don't know, I just didn'twant to um, but through lots of
love and encouragement anddylan asking and and saying that
he wanted to um, I had some keypeople around me helping me
navigate, which was one dannykennedy and siobhan kennedy, and
just helping me navigate thebackbone of the mana'o company
(13:31):
and wonderful people, family offaith.
I just love danny and siobhan Iknow I love them, um so much
they they're a key part of thetribe, um yes, so they really,
really helped me navigate thatspace to take one step forward
in supporting Dylan, in movingforward with continuing to
record.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Girl.
They were there before KPpassed.
I mean KP was on the band withDanny and, of course, shauna
Awaw and other guys, but Dannyis always the one right.
He's that straight line, alwaysthere for you.
Before KP passed to Victory.
He was there at both of thecelebrations of life.
We had one here on oahu, thendanny and siobhan were there at
(14:10):
both of the celebrations of lifefor brother and this is his
light with his guitar.
If anybody is noticing, it'sgot the tattoo detail on it, but
this was his favorite guitarthat now his son is using, boom
shakalaka.
Thank you for that gift.
I keep it right in my home butI brought it down special for us
.
But danny and siobhan were bothservices uh, the celebration of
(14:34):
life here on oahu and then oneon the big island, and he's
still helping now with dylan'swork all the things like.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
So he really encouraged me in the beginning
to um, he said something aroundthe the point of you need to
find the things that keep youbreathing, keep you moving, keep
you going.
And I really didn't know whatthat was.
Um, but when Dylan asked youknow to, he wanted to record
again and get into the studio.
Um, what do parents do?
(15:02):
Just support our even when wedon't feel like it, you know, or
we might not.
You know, I didn't feel like it,but we dig down deep, and so
that's really what happened.
And so, as we navigated thejourney because this is, this is
a journey, we're on a journey-Absolutely yes.
And as we navigated the journeyof bringing this album together
(15:24):
, we didn't have that.
He didn't have the songs, hedidn't have the concept, he
didn't have, like we didn't havethe guitar with the etching.
It really was an act of faith,just walking it through.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Well, and you keep using the word journey and I
love that and I have God bumpsbecause you know this ain't
chicken skin.
We ain't created in the image ofno chicken.
We're created an image of theHoly Spirit.
But you use the word journeyand you took one step at a time.
I've heard faith defined assuch that it's taking one step
at a time, even when you can'tsee the whole staircase.
(15:59):
Yeah, absolutely so.
A lot of us might look at afinished product like this and
say, well, he's got sixbeautiful songs, f-a-i-t-h Faith
, right From Forgive Me toHeaven in the Sky, which he
co-sang with his father.
It's beautiful to hear it.
And then you also have BrotherFiji on the album.
I mean, there's so much faiththat went into this that you are
(16:20):
saying you didn't have theguitar, you didn't have songs
written.
You would walk into the studio,as I recall, mama juror, lisa,
and you would be praying outsidefor it to come together because
certain things were missing andgod would provide right there
jojo, and it reminds me ofproverbs 16 9, where we can make
our plans but he directs oursteps.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
And that's really what was happening as we were
going through the project andand it unfolding over.
You know that a year and a halfof it coming together, and the
ideas and the encouragement andthe praying and uh we first were
with uh langa severe, whichwe're so blessed to be able to
uh have recorded with him andhad that time before.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Yeah, to pass to glory, yeah, so wow.
And then from langa you went touh imua garza, which he
literally was heaven sent.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
I think, um, he was just perfect for dylan and me,
because it's like navigatingthis space without kolana and
not knowing you know whatquestions to ask or what to do,
or like how.
I mean, I'm just a praying mama, I'm just a mama supporting her
son and God shows up and showsout.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
He shows off for you because, if you don't know Imua
Garza, he is the Amadeus Mozartof Hawaii.
I have described him as such,since I've worked with him on
missions and ministry.
He's also a pastor at C4, buthe is the mastermind, creator in
the image of God, the creatorat Zale Recording Studios.
(17:52):
So you work with him now.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
It's been amazing.
He's literally handpicked forus to walk this journey out, to
finish the faith EP andcontinuing in the project that
dylan's working on right now.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Oh, oh, oh okay, what are we talking about here?
So see, this is more of what'sgone on in five years, because I
really look at what god isdoing in your life, sis, and we
get together and we just havelunch and I just sit and and
look at my baby sis and try tohave space, hold space for us,
and it's it's been a precioustreasure to me to get close
(18:28):
because really honestly, Ididn't feel like I knew you that
closely and I knew brotherbecause we went to Hilo High
together.
Vikings got to throw it outthere because he would always
torture the Kamehameha schools,graduate here with our Hilo High
Vikings public school.
But I didn't know you as welluntil the day after when God
(18:48):
sent me to the house.
Now we sit in, we do lunchtimes, we do birthdays, we do a lot
of big moments together.
But God has brought you to sucha place and that's why I wanted
you to come onto Aloha Alive,the heartbeat of Hawaii.
You may not feel like you havesomething to say to other people
, but just in the last five daysI sat with a sister at Queens
(19:12):
Hospital who suddenly lost herkane, her, her partner, and it
was in a tragic way.
He's in his 30s.
And I said to you, as we walkedin, and you're so humble,
humble, hawaiian, I tell you.
But I am neither Hawaiian noram I humble.
So I said you have so much toshare.
(19:32):
In fact I'm going to ask if shecould share a word.
But God works in the valley ofthe shadow of death and
sometimes we don't even walkwith him through that valley.
He carries us.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
he has been carrying, he has literally been carrying
me.
I I feel like I am walking nowon.
You know I can walk um, but Iwould say honestly, for the
first three years at least maybe, yeah, I was being carried, and
so I will be forever grateful.
(20:06):
The Lord just has carried me,brought together divine
connections, like you, and asmall tribe around me to help
carry me.
I just feel like I couldn't doit, and in the valley, when
you're just sick, you just feellike you just can't.
His love, his grace, his mercyhelps you through and it just
(20:30):
shows that you can with theFaith EP, the Project, now the
Kalana Bash.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
I mean, and you've developed a recording studio at
your own home, which was part ofthe vision that you and brother
had in making PakeleEntertainment was to open up
more opportunities for a lot ofthe native people and artists
from the west side, becausethere was nowhere to go that was
always his heart, to alwayshelp people and and figure out
how to help.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
And you know, as we navigate the journey, it's I'm
helping dylan, but it's I'mcalling in the reinforcements
and tapping into the experts andand our circle of people that
can help, like Dani, like Feej.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
The entertainment community has been amazing
Kalena the kids were takingvoice lessons with her At the of
course, kapena School of Music,which is at Windward Mall, and
that's another family that cameinto your life immediately and
that was even before.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
I mean they were taking vocal lessons before she
even had that and then they wereblessed to be a recipient of a
scholarship after to go through.
But she's been amazing.
Kimie Minor took the kids inthrough Haku Collective and
really just surrounded them withso much love but also
opportunities at the same time.
(21:49):
Love but also opportunities atthe same time, because with the
love without like direction, itkind of can get like oh okay, I
feel love, but like now, what,like what do I do Right and see
again.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
It goes back to that journey step by step.
And, lisa, last I checked in2020, you had never produced an
album before an EP.
You had never helped to recordor write a song not that you've
done that, but you were thereduring the process and many
times you would say Hi, I'venever been in this place before,
but we are walking through yousaid I'm breathing, I'm walking,
(22:24):
I'm protecting my peace.
And so to hear you talking aboutyou know you did have like
Kapena School of Music, beforeit was there was helping to
mentor Kamale and.
Dylan, that you had also.
Then it became the WaterCompany, came in as a sponsor.
You got a scholarship.
There's a lot of things that wedon't see when we're walking
through the valley of the shadowof death, because we really are
(22:46):
just trying to wake up andsurvive and breathe and walk.
But on the side, looking back,do you see how God moved
mountains for you?
Speaker 1 (22:54):
It's crazy, it's so much.
I mean, everything he broughttogether.
I see all of it.
As I was preparing to talk withyou today, I just I was
reminded about all the thingsthat God has done and brought
together and his grace, like andjust divine connections,
opportunities.
(23:15):
But he can, he can't, he can dothese things, but he needs us
to.
He needs our faith to be ableto step and and it says faith as
a mustard seed I really justhad like this, really, really,
really, really little, like itwas so little it's almost not
there, and he took that and hehelped me.
(23:37):
I mean you.
You know me and you know that Inever.
You know no recording, noconcert space.
You know everything I'm doingon the professional level at in
peace, it's like it's none of me, like it's impossible, like I
could never do all of thesethings, but like open a little
brand new center forentrepreneurship.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
So impressive we can come out there, we can have a
meeting space, a workspace,network, and I'm like lisa, I
thought you just had a newoffice, but this is like an
office for the whole, the whole,I know the whole island chain
community.
Yeah right, it's god you walk itout, sis and then you host
these makeke right and then youalso have is it the young
(24:20):
entrepreneur, um cohorts thatyou've been hosting with
teenagers who have companies andyou mentor them.
You have, and I just have totell you, family let me just
stop and pause and look right atyou because it's going to feel
awkward that I'm bragging on myHanai little sister, but this is
the power of God walking it outwith you.
(24:41):
And to recap what you just said, you felt like you only had a
faith the size of almost anmustard seed.
Yes, it might have beeninvisible Like that's how small
it was.
But I will tell you on the flipside of that, because I've been
at the house for Thanksgiving.
I've been at the house forfamily parties.
I've been at the house for lunchwith her and one time at
(25:03):
Thanksgiving we were two yearsout from brother going on to
victory and I had the kidsstanding around and you know
they all look like teenagers tome and I'm like Dylan, go get
your little friends.
Dylan is like six, five.
Okay, I don't know how tall, heis Super tall Hawaiian man.
He's 27 years old.
His friends are also grownups,but he goes and he gets the
friends with Kamale and I askedthem one question what are you
(25:27):
grateful for this Thanksgiving?
And three of the them,including your two, kamale and
dylan, said I am thankful formom and for her strength.
We wouldn't have been able todo this, we wouldn't have come
this far, and you're saying thatin three years.
You were still in shock andoverwhelmed, but your children
(25:48):
were talking about you and yourstrength.
Now, something I know that andI'm going to go this way with
you, and it's not necessarily onthe questions that I gave you.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Don't get nervous.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
I know a little bit of your story.
Before Kaulana you werepregnant in high school and you
had some childhood trauma ofyour own, growing up in a single
parent family, and we know someof the issues of abandonment
and other things that come withchildhood trauma.
You kept the baby.
(26:23):
We have Chantel and we thankGod for Chantel who has your
little maopuna.
She saved my life, she savedyour life.
But at that time, you know, wewere all in high school and this
was you graduated 91 um, thatkind of wasn't a thing.
So you kept the baby and yougrew strong and you had to leave
(26:45):
your home.
You did move in with thatgentleman, the father of your
child, and then you haven't everlooked back and you never asked
for help.
Do you think that played a partin how you were able to be
resilient and overcome with thissuddenly?
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Yes, yeah, I do, I think.
Sorry, my brain just got messyso much.
I come from a loving family,right, I have a lot of support,
and I made some choices and innavigating life at that point as
a teenage parent, you just, youjust think the world's ending
(27:21):
and and you, just, I just had topress in and I knew I needed to
.
I didn't want to be a statistic, I didn't want to, you know, be
a high school dropout or not,you know, be on the system, or
to be on the system and not goto college.
I just didn't want to be astatistic.
And so.
I just made some choices thatyou know.
(27:43):
Maybe I could have donedifferently, but I, you know, I
moved away and decided to go tocollege with having my daughter.
That really, really shifted thenarrative of my whole entire
life.
I mean, that's where I metColana, you know, and I
graduated.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
I graduated UH Hilo UH.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Hilo.
But as a single parent, youknow, I graduated from high
school and college with a lot ofsupport from high school and
college with a lot of support.
But as a teenage parent goingto college, I had to dig deep
and look for resources andsupport and, you know, not do a
(28:22):
lot of things.
I mean I didn't do my nails, Ididn't go shopping, I didn't.
You know, I didn't do all thefun things, but the fun things
is just with my daughter andbeing a mom and going to college
.
But I felt like it did prepareme for this time in my life to
be able to dig deep again, tolook internally a person so like
(28:46):
I'm the only one who can make adecision, to get on or to eat
when I didn't want to eat, or toum, you know, let everything
just go to shambles, like justnot pay bills or not go back to
work, or like I'm the only onewho could make the decisions to
be better for me myself, like Ihad to be healthy.
(29:07):
Yes, like that was my number onegoal.
My boss had asked at that timelike what?
You know, what did I want?
They said I just I just want tobe healthy.
Yes, like, because if I'm not,then I can't.
I can't be there for my kids,like I.
I just couldn't get out of bed.
And I wanted to get out of bed,yeah, and I wanted to, um, you
(29:27):
know, be healthy for my grand.
I had a grandson at the time,so just be healthy for him.
And when he came over, I didn'twant to be crying all the time
you know so it's like makingthose choices for yourself to be
healthy, right so that you can.
You can then be there forothers.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
And that's amidst you .
You had to find the passcodesfor his cell phone, for the
computer.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
That was a nightmare.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
You, had to find the paperwork for right.
Everything was being processedand, mind you, this was amidst
May 2020, everything was closed.
We you I was there when you gotthe call Do we take him to the
mortuary, to the morgue?
We can't.
You know, there were so manythings that couldn't be done
with a body at that time.
(30:12):
Thank you, lisa, for lookingfrom that time when you were a
pregnant teenager, not wantingto be a statistic and there's
power to saying that because you, you didn't let yourself be
sidelined.
You overcame powerfully with atiny little baby and the keyword
.
And then it went forward towhen KP passed in 2020.
(30:32):
But back to when you were thatteenager, the keyword I heard
there in that part of thejourney was resources.
You found people to comealongside and, of course, we
love your dad, your mom.
They're both wonderful.
There was a divorce there, butyour dad is almost 50 years on
the police force right, lawenforcement, uncle Val and
(30:54):
auntie Vina, your step-mom.
You have half siblings rightwho came in strong.
Of course, you have your oldersister from the same mom, kim,
and so there was an extendedOhana that came around.
But resources and tribe.
You said it when the 2020tragedy happened, but you also
just said it there, you had atribe, and when I look at your
life now with In Peace, as wellas with Pakele Entertainment and
(31:18):
pretty much everything thatyou're doing, you find resources
for the lahui.
I didn't actually know whatthat word meant.
Okay, so it's a Hawaiian word.
Can you tell us what does lahuimean?
Because the first time I heardit really was from you and I
went to UH Hilo with her husband.
We were, you know, he didn'tactually attend classes at
(31:40):
college but he attended everyparty there was at this college.
But you recently, a few yearsago, said supporting the lahui,
and it caught my ear.
What does that mean?
Because I kind of want toalways perpetuate culture and
teach the language here, onAloha Alive.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Lāhui.
Everything for me that it meansis just community, ohana,
together Like we're strongertogether.
We're not made to do this lifealone, and when we, you know,
retreat and we pull ourselvesback from being with others,
then we're not meant to be there.
You know.
That's when the depressioncomes in.
(32:16):
The mental health is a hugething that I didn't really
experience.
Any kind of mental health forme wasn't like a thing, like I
just didn't think depression,depression, I really didn't
think depression was a realthing I don't think a lot of us
who grew up in the 80s, 90s wedidn't, really we weren't as
aware of it as we are now.
(32:38):
Thank you, I would just be likeget up, you can get up and make
a choice.
It's yeah just tough it out.
You know that's how I grew uplike.
Just get up, wipe your dust offyour knees and right, pick
yourself up by your nostraps andkeep marching forward, no
crying big fanatting.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
I mean we can use a lot of terms how we grew up, but
that didn't really work Like,how's that working out for you?
Yeah, so to give yourself spaceand awareness, to have mental
wellness, right.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Right, and so that's for me.
The Lahu'i just is there to wesupport, we kākou.
One another, support oneanother.
And there's a lelano'ea thatsays I'm just going to read it
Yay.
A'ohe hananui ke alu'ea.
And it means no task is too bigwhen done together, and life
(33:24):
can be so overwhelming.
There's so many thingshappening and happening super,
super fast.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
And just like tasks, it's like one after another and
it can just feel so overwhelming, but like today, it was so
overwhelming for me.
But God gives us, Allah gave meyou to do this task together.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
Yes, and it's better together, like it's better
together, supporting one another, and on's better together, like
it's better together supportingone another and on my side of
the table, it's overwhelming tohave a podcast to be wanting to
perpetuate our host culture.
I'm not Hawaiian but I know itis part of the key that Atsipi
Lahipaki said in the 21stcentury, the whole world's going
to be searching for peace andin fact, we are a world looking
(34:10):
at world war, but we search forpeace and the key to peace is
aloha.
So they're going to look to us.
Thank you for being there forme on this one.
Like I needed you to be here asmuch as you needed me.
Recently, another example of thelahui was we had a graduation
party and on Kauai, I'm here onoahu, we're centered here in
(34:32):
honolulu and um, my sister saiddon, I know you're gonna help us
find the palaka print so thatour family can all be matching
at this family party.
It's kind of a hawaiian thingand I'm like I don't even wear
palaka.
What are you talking about?
Why do what I don't wear?
Gingham is the English word forit and so I was praying and the
(34:54):
Lord said Lise.
And I went oh my gosh, liseknows all of these small
businesses and these families.
I text you and within a minuteyou texted right back and said
oh hui, palaka girl, and theysell it over here at Ward and
you can go to Nammea, hawaii.
So it is, is that a goodexample?
Speaker 1 (35:11):
of lahui.
Yes, absolutely Thank you forbeing there for me.
Yeah, I'm going to give thatbusiness a shout out.
Kuhui Palako, max Mukai is theowner and just through
relationships, you know, I couldjust text the owner Right and
he texts me right back, and Ijust text him today too for
something else that we'resupporting working together.
But yeah, that's the Lahuwe andcommunity and being able to tap
(35:36):
into our people To help oneanother, to help one another.
Did they get the plaka?
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Yes, and they looked amazing Super, super zhuzh,
super boujee.
But here's where I was saying.
It's about resources, and theresources are people.
Yes, and we are a small islandchain with huge hearts.
And so one of the things Ilearned early I had a mentor
tell me Dawn, don't burn bridgeson an island.
(36:01):
And that makes a lot of sense,because if you fire somebody and
you burn a bridge and you burnsomebody, or you trash them on
social media or you bad talkthem or gossip, it will come
back to you.
Absolutely.
That's a god, garrons, ballbarons guarantee in the bible
that says what you sow, youshall reap, and that anything
(36:21):
that's whispered in the housewill be shouted from the
rooftops, especially on anisland.
So we also and I hear a lot ofvoices saying this now always
support, support local, becauseif we don't support locals,
there won't be any more localsto support.
We're seeing a mass exodus,especially of Native Hawaiians,
off of our own islands, right?
(36:43):
So thank you for helping withthat.
And here's where I'm going toshift over to In Peace.
I love In Peace because youwork there and also because I
love many of the people.
Um, how does it help localpeople and local businesses?
Speaker 1 (36:56):
in peace is amazing, um, so it's a native.
It's a native hoi, anorganization, non-profit, that
supports our people, our la huicommunity, um, through a place
of empowerment and strengthening, and so they they have.
There's 11 programs under InPeace.
They've been around, for wejust celebrated 30 years.
We're going into the 31st yearof celebration, so amazing.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Wow, that's a good long time.
That's faithfulness.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
Lisa.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
And I've been blessed to work there for 23 years.
I actually started 25 yearsbecause the first two years I
was a parent in a program, kikiSteps, and so I really am that
parent that was empoweredthrough their program, kiki
Steps, and then there wasopportunity to work and 23 years
later now I oversee one of the11 programs which is called
(37:46):
Center for Entrepreneurship,supporting small businesses, and
that really is reallysupporting a person in their
journey of business, whetherit's their idea phase or going
international and everything inbetween.
But it comes back to thepartnerships and resources that
are out there, because I'm notthe expert.
(38:06):
You know we're still buildingout Kepa, kele Entertainment and
KP Studios, and what does thatmean?
You know I'm still the expert.
You know we're still buildingout Kepa, kele Entertainment and
KP Studios, and what does thatmean?
You know I'm still a smallbusiness owner trying to
navigate our space, and so myrole in this is really I'm a
connector and I'm a hugecheerleader.
Yes, you are, I will justencourage, you know, in the
journey, because it's tough,it's really tough, especially
for young small businessesstarting out and trying to get
(38:30):
launched.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Yeah, there's a whole process to that.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
Yeah, and it's interesting to see that it's
happening in your life withPaquela Entertainment, but then
it's happening for the rest ofthe people you're helping at In
Peace right, yeah, so reallythat journey and connecting them
to the different resources,connecting these small
businesses to the resources thatare out there, and so I really
(38:55):
develop a lot of partnerships,and that's really what the
program has been built aroundand connecting the small
businesses to the resources thatare out there and then
cheerleading them, holding theirhand through the process until
they overcome each step, likegetting their GE license,
getting their product getting to, taking it to market expansion.
You know all the things thathappen.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
Social media marketing right Photography.
Even you have Nick therehelping with those things, yeah.
Networking and I always foundout that there are four true
treasures that we all have ashuman beings.
That includes your time, howyou spend your time, your talent
.
So what is your God-giventalent that you do?
What is your treasure, which ismoney.
(39:36):
And the last one that I addedwas tribe, and you include all
four of those when you'rehelping other people walk
through that process.
How can people get moreinformation about In Peace?
Speaker 1 (39:46):
Sure, so you can find us on all social media
platforms inpeacehawaiiorg, orvisit us at our website
inpeaceorg, and all of ourprograms are up there and
through that you can getconnected through email me at
lisap at inpeaceorg.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
But yeah, and it's really that journey Wait lisap
for Pakele at inpeaceorg andwe'll have that information in
the show notes as well as thereon the screen.
But go ahead.
I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
I wanted to highlight it and just supporting somebody
in their journey and whateverthat could look like.
And so it's really excitingwe're going into.
There's a Ho'oma'o event comingup and a Made in Hawaii
festival.
Oh, hey, and so those are twohuge events coming up that
support Ho'oma, specificallysupports Native Hawaiian
businesses, and it's the journeyagain, the lahui, the community
(40:38):
, supporting one another as younavigate your own journey and
whatever that is.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
And what I love about it and I've said often,
especially when it was 2020 anda lot of us were learning what
is hybrid learning or what isdistance learning.
A lot of us were learning newsystems, how to do business in
this new world, and I would say,you know as much as we think we
have a certain COVID curve.
We are all doing the samelearning curve.
We're learning together.
It's a Kako thing.
It's a Kako thing.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
It is a Kako thing 's a cock hole thing.
It is a cock hole thing and ahuge thing.
Um in not in not having to knoweverything before you start or
before you do anything.
It's like starting where you'reat and growing as you're going
and the main thing is just start, whatever that is.
and so, even you know, throughthe faith ep, it's like I didn't
want to go back into the studio, but it's like just start, and
(41:28):
we have a project.
Now we're doing a legacyproject that honors Colano and
puts Dylan on his continued pathin his own, you know, journey
of music.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
You know that it's a huge project that we didn't know
how to do.
The legacy project, which hassome pretty big name artists.
Yeah, can we drop at least twonames or three?
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Yeah, sure.
So Dylan Lee's the third songoff this project.
It'll be a full length, atleast 10 song project, which
we're at about seven songs, buthe dropped three songs already,
the last one on my birthday andso, and then, and we're going to
continue the journey, butthere's working with key bands
(42:17):
that were very special to andPolona worked with.
So we have High Risk is a bandthat they did, Chillaxin that
song Chillaxin.
Pacific Blue has did acollaboration on there with a
fun song that's going to comeout, Of course, Mana'o Company,
Thank you.
We have a special song thatFeej had wrote for Colin and I
(42:39):
back, you know 15 years ago whatand Dylan he is going to, he is
remaking the song.
It's very, it's very specialand we'll have a guest artist on
that song.
Speaker 2 (42:51):
Oh my gosh, I got total God bumps everywhere.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
Yeah, there's so much special things.
It's such a beautiful song,it's a love song if you didn't
guess already.
So much special things.
We just confirmed Sudden Rushwill be partnering on one of the
songs, woo yes, hilo, oh, hiloconfirmation.
So gotta give a shout out tokoi chang um, who wrote the song
(43:15):
and then shane from sudden rush, dylan will be collaborating
with him and so still goingafter all these years, you know
what we were back in college.
Speaker 2 (43:22):
We were partying when keola was inventing hawaiian
rap back in the day and we werejust talking about that at your
birthday party.
We're like, girl, remember, wewere just like there at the
party and he started doing thatand we're like, oh okay, and
he's like it's now making thishuge resurgence Hawaiian rap.
So we were there when itstarted.
Yeah, wait, did that just ageus?
Speaker 1 (43:44):
Now him and Kalana are rapping in heaven.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
Amen.
And one thing I want to throwin there, as you're talking
about the legacy project, but aquick insertion is she, she came
and I love my brother kawalana.
I've known him since I was inhigh school and, um, we say rest
in victory, rest in victory.
Kp was where we landed, notrest in love, because of course
(44:07):
we all say that, we all knowthat, but it was part of the
redemption, for the absolutesheer shock.
I mean, it made not just localnews, it made national news, it
even went worldwide.
Kaulana Pakele, lead singer ofWanao Company, dies of a heart
attack and there can be a lot ofyou when you just hear that.
(44:27):
You land in that pit of pain.
Grief is a thief and a robbercompletely.
But we as the people of god, askaulana was a worship leader of
keakua, we land in the promisesof god, we land in the goodness
(44:48):
of god and that's where Godgave us rest in victory, because
it turned our heads down fromthe pit and the grave and the
grief and we looked up becausehe is seated at the right hand
of Jesus, seated at the righthand of the father, and they're
worshiping.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
And so you, hi, thanks for bringing that up,
because in my devotion time overthe past five years I think
maybe about my third year goinginto my fourth year God placed
on my heart as I was workingthrough some, you know,
overcoming a dark place again.
He just reminded me.
He replaced the rest withrejoice and he reminded me that
(45:24):
Kolana is rejoicing in victory.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
And he's like singing and what he's just like
rejoicing.
Speaker 1 (45:27):
He's at the seat of the Father, you know, rejoicing
in victory.
And he's like singing, and whathe's just like rejoicing.
He's at the sea of the father,at the, you know, rejoicing with
jesus and it's just like joy,pure joy, pure joy.
Speaker 2 (45:37):
And if you knew kaulano, or you know somebody
who is just buckaloos for broke,just this boy could party like
he, and he loved the lord, heknew the joy of the Lord as his
Superman, superpower, superstrength.
I mean, it's just so.
Speaker 1 (45:51):
You're right, sis, so it gave me, like it literally,
in that moment, strengthened meand that in Nehemiah 1.8, right,
the joy of the Lord is mystrength.
And so it just reminded me,like it literally encouraged me,
refreshed me, and walking intomy fourth and now my fifth year,
I really feel like I'm in thisplace of strengthening and
aligning with purpose,intentionally aligning with
(46:14):
purpose, and that was the Wordof God.
Try my tribe and just a loveand support, continued love and
support, with the, the last callon a bash.
It just really was all of God.
It was pretty tough that one tobring, to bring out, but just
God reminded me that he's got me.
I'm moving forward.
(46:34):
Some fun highlights is we'llrelease the legacy project.
Dylan will start on his project, where we will be recording in
New Zealand.
What and then we're going to Do?
Speaker 2 (46:47):
you need Godmother cheerleader there as well.
Speaker 1 (46:50):
I love Aotearoa and that's two resources, that's,
the resources and connections,hallelujah.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
And we're going to expand Kalanabash Island wide
and so those are just somelittle fun things that God's
doing Little sneak peeks forpreviews of what God's doing in
your near future the miracles,thank you.
Last couple of questions whatis aloha to you?
(47:19):
We always ask our guests hereon Aloha Alive, because we want
to always have the heartbeat,but we can't beat it if we don't
know it.
So what is aloha to you, lisa?
Speaker 1 (47:26):
If I just had to say one word, I would say grace.
Aloha is grace to me ineverything.
The way that we can show alohais having grace to others, for
others In life.
There's so much going on.
(47:47):
And we never know what someone'sgoing through Through the happy
smile face or the crying faceor whatever it is.
We really truly don't know.
And I feel like, um to justhaving aloha is just having
grace and walking it out, um, byjust like holding someone's
hand, buying a coffee, sittingwith somebody bringing a lay,
(48:08):
bringing some food, uh, going tothe movies, just whatever that
is.
And if somebody hurts us forwhatever reason, we can choose
grace and that's covering itwith aloha and maybe one day
they'll say sorry for maybe theyhurt us, maybe they won't, but
we have the choice to justmalama our own heart so that we
(48:32):
can cover in grace, so that wecan move forward.
Speaker 2 (48:35):
Because if we don't and we allow that to you- know
the bitterness to come in theunforgiveness, and it just gets
like yucky.
Speaker 1 (48:45):
So if I just had to say you know one word with a
little explanation, it would begrace.
Speaker 2 (48:50):
And that's how to show aloha, love, that Grace,
and often in the Bible.
When we read the New Testament,the Apostle Paul wrote half of
it and he would always start offwith greetings in God's grace.
And he would end with and Iimpart grace and peace to you.
So thank you for that, because,like the aloha culture in
(49:10):
Hawaii, we say Aloha to sayhello, aloha as we leave.
So a big part of Aloha is grace, much needed.
Last, last question who is yourAloha hero, either past or
present, somebody who lives true, pure Aloha, and why?
Speaker 1 (49:27):
When I you gave me you're graceful enough to give
me some questions in advance,and so I was thinking about that
and praying about that, and Ijust the only one that kept
coming back to me is Kaulana, soI don't want to cry, but, um,
he truly uh, exemplified Alohain just his vibrant life, in the
(49:52):
life that he lived.
And, um, I think about legacy aswe work on the legacy project.
Um, it's every everything thatwe have like, every everything
that's coming back to us todaynow, from resources to love, to
donations, to whatever it is.
It's because the life kolanalived and that the impact that
(50:14):
he made, all of that is comingback to us.
And, um, I also think about thewords that people spoke to us
and shared about what, whatkolana meant to them, and it was
never like, it wasn't anythinglike, though.
It wasn't about the hokus, itwasn't about like nothing else.
(50:35):
It all of it was how he madethem feel, and I know there's
somebody that says something, Iforget what, something about, um
, it's not what you do or say,but it's it's how you make
people feel.
And maya ang.
Speaker 2 (50:51):
Yeah, maya Angelou, people will almost never
remember what you said.
They may not remember what youdid, but they'll always remember
how you made them feel.
And you're right, that wascalled Lana.
Speaker 1 (51:01):
That was called Lana.
Speaker 2 (51:03):
He made you feel aloha in the purest, truest form
.
And the neat thing about mybrother if I can help brag on
that and I love that you pickedhim as your aloha superhero,
because I thought, man, I don'tknow who she's gonna pick, but
it better be my brother um, hewas a man of vision and passion.
He lived both really well.
(51:24):
I remember once he called mewhen I was on the radio and he
said don don Don.
I heard you the first few times.
But he said I just see, youknow what God told me.
He said we're going to do amassive Christian concert at the
Waikiki Shell and I was likethis little podunk girl from a
little podunk town, right, I'mlike what are you talking about?
(51:46):
I rebuke you, polona.
And I hung up on him and henever.
He just kept calling me andsaying Don, like he didn't get
why I couldn't see the samevision that God had given him.
And his vision is stillreaching lives and impacting and
influencing people for the trueheart of Hawaii which is Aloha.
In fact, it's the song that weuse as the intro and outro of
(52:09):
Aloha Alive.
It's A-L-O-H-A.
A little aloha in our day.
This has been our time talkingstory and just having a
heartbeat, breathing, walkingand space with Lisa Pakele.
Lisa, hooey hooey Pakele.
Lisa, hooey hooey pa'kele.
(52:29):
Lisa hooey hooey pa'kele.
She loves that song.
She loves when people from HiloHigh sing to her.
Just walk up and do it.
No, she doesn't.
This is why she keeps me around.
Or the other thing I like to dois Lise, lise, lise, Closet
door.
Kalana used to do the same.
(52:50):
The Lord promises that my graceis sufficient for you, that his
power is made perfect inweakness.
And if there's one thing thatLisa Huihui Pakele and Mr Rest
in Victory no, I'm sorry,rejoice in Victory Kaulana
Pakele would give us, is that healso gave us.
Speaker 1 (53:11):
He loved the scripture out of Proverbs 3, 5,
and 6, which says what Trust inthe Lord with all your heart and
lean not on your ownunderstanding, but acknowledge
him in all your ways and heshall direct your steps.
Speaker 2 (53:24):
Family.
The Lord is with you.
The spirit of God is the spiritof Aloha and we know that
Kaulana's living legacy thatcontinues to this day through
Pakele Entertainment, through InPeace, through Lisa and the
children and the Mo'opuna andgenerations to come, is the
heart of a beating Aloha, theheartbeat of Aloha.
(53:44):
We love you and Aloha.
Aloha, and welcome to Aloha Alive, the heartbeat of
Hawaii.
I'm your host, dawn O'Brien,and this is my baby sister, lisa
Pakele.
She's mye baby sis, but let medo the formal introduction.
She is a director at InPeace,which is the Institute for
(00:32):
Native Pacific Education andCulture, a non-profit on a
mission to improve the qualityof life for Native Hawaiians.
Much needed Launched, shehelped to launch the Center for
Entrepreneurship in Kapolei tohelp family-owned
community-based businesses toincrease their capacity to
succeed.
In other words, she's a ladyboss of boss families.
(00:56):
Yes, you Slay.
You started 20-plus years agowhen your son, dylan, was just a
little baby.
You first started at In Peaceand now he's a grown man.
You are also co-owner andoperator of Pakele Entertainment
, who she co-founded this in2019 with your late husband
(01:17):
Kaulana, to help support andpromote local Hawaiian musicians
and artists.
Welcome to Aloha Alive.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Thank you for having me.
Thank you for coming.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Now some background for us.
In 2020, your husband, mybrother, kaulana because we grad
Hilo high Vikings KaulanaPakele of the Mana'o Company
died suddenly of a massive heartattack on the beach in Waianae.
It's been five years and a longroad, sis Lise, but you just
(01:50):
celebrated the third KaulanaBash in Hilo.
And catch us up, if you would,and tell us how have you been
and what's been going on since.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Thank you, thank you again for having me.
It's been interesting.
Five years and I, just today,I'm healthy and I'm just
continuing to breathe and moveforward and take steps,
navigating this journey on thisside of glory.
And so the kids, the Ohana,everybody's well doing good,
(02:23):
thriving in their own areas, umin life and um just trying to
stay really busy.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Um, you're very, very busy and we're going to get to
that, but you touched on a fewthings and I just want to kind
of zoom in a little bit.
You have four keiki, right, youhad a blended family with
Kaulana, and so they're alladults, they're all grown and
they're all doing well, and youhave not just one, but two
grandbabies, mo'opuna, yourlittle honey boy, and also
(02:52):
wonderful, the older one.
What's his name?
I'm sorry, isaac.
Okay, thank you.
Now everyone's doing well, butI want to back up and kind of
zoom in a bit.
It was what we call a suddenlywhere Kalana passed of a massive
heart attack.
You had no rhyme or reason.
He was in his late forties.
It was right during COVIDlockdown and shutdown.
(03:13):
And I want to ask you apersonal question how did you
overcome the suddenly,especially as you were in the
public eye?
I remember one day I called youand you I think.
We're at a grocery store, Iwon't name which one, and even
the cashier, as we all love you,lisa, we all knew the news, we
love Kolona.
(03:33):
You couldn't even go buygroceries without somebody
asking you what was going on.
So how, how, how did youovercome?
Speaker 1 (03:42):
The first thing is I just kept breathing, like the
choice to keep breathing, um,and just not slip out into, you
know, not out of this world, um,but yeah, the choice to keep
breathing.
Um, I did some things to helpkeep me healthy.
Um, just the people whosurrounded us, I just that was a
huge thing.
Um, we're super blessed.
(04:04):
We had so much love and support, which was which was very huge
to to.
Kalana lived such a huge life,a bold and loud life, and so
silence was really not a thingin our world.
And so it was, even though itwas, you know, a lot of people
that came around and it could beoverwhelming, and it was
(04:25):
overwhelming.
It also was very helpful tokeep, to help us keep hearing,
just hearing and feeling thelove around us.
So that was very helpful tokeep moving forward, and so I
tried.
I was selective, though, with afew people that could just
enter my space, because it wasjust so.
I was kind of I was just reallyfragile and so just making sure
(04:50):
I had just some key peoplearound me to speak life and
encouragement and just help meto keep moving forward and to
get up, sometimes when I justdidn't want to get up, and so
you were definitely one of thosekey people.
That was a huge thing is justhaving a couple it's not a lot,
(05:11):
but just a couple key peoplearound you in your life to help
you navigate and help younavigate.
That was a helpful thing.
And another thing for mepersonally was a huge thing was
just removing myself from anykind of social media.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
And just that was a huge thing.
I was off social media foralmost four years.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Wow, and I felt like that helped to keep me healthy
and just there's so much noiseout there, so that was a huge
thing to help me those are twomassive key things that you just
said and thank you, sis, thatyou said you did you really
called a number of your sacredcircle is what I call it where
(06:04):
you have a certain amount oflet's say, for me it's two or
three friends who really sustainus.
Because it's interesting thatthere's a scripture in the Bible
that you and I love that heldyou together also, and it says
though I walk through the valleyof the shadow of death, I shall
fear no evil for thou, o Lord.
I shall fear no evil for thou,o Lord.
Art with me.
But it's also the humans Jesuswalking it out in human form
(06:30):
with your friends, and you hadsome of those sisters really
close to you.
Now you also stopped with thesocial media which is why I
quoted that scripture, becauseyou walked through the valley
and a lot of mental health andwellness nowadays talks about
(06:50):
how we manage our emotions in atrauma is actually allowing
yourself to feel and process.
Was that part of shutting offthe distraction?
Speaker 1 (06:55):
that was everything.
Everything for me is um, I hadto, just uh, peace was a huge
thing for me in terms ofprotecting my peace and choosing
to protect it, like only Icould do it.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Only I could choose who's around me and what I do
and what I read and music that Iput into my head and just you
know, reading the word orgetting the word.
For me, faith is everythingLike you know, believing in the
word.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
For me, faith is is everything like, um you know,
believing in the word and yes,and praise and worship is a huge
thing for for me and my journeyand my life, um, and that would
really, honestly, that was theonly thing that could get me
through yes, it was big, and Ilove what you're saying, because
there's two things I've learnedwith you is protect your peace,
(07:45):
and I know you get that fromyour place where you worship,
which is Pastor Art and KunaSepulveda at the Word of Life.
Thank you for being a wonderfulspiritual mom and dad to Lise,
especially through that time.
I remember we were shooting aseries at the time, during 2020,
called Aloha.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Ha.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
And you folks were scheduled.
Brother Kaulana died.
He passed to glory on Mondayand you were scheduled to have
um Pakele Mele on Aloha Ha thatFriday.
It was every Friday to helpsustain the spirit of Aloha in
the state of Hawaii and to makepeople laugh, hence Aloha Ha.
And when I saw you Monday,brother had passed from that
(08:24):
heart attack out on the beachand I came to the house Tuesday.
You I'm sorry, sis, you're astunning, beautiful, drop dead
gorgeous woman, but your facelooked like you'd gotten beaten
up like a puffy, like just a bigold baseball.
It was so puffy, your eyes werealmost closed.
You were crying so hard.
Small, it was so puffy, youreyes were almost closed, you
(08:47):
were crying so hard and byFriday it wasn't much better.
But you put a smile on it andyou put aloha in your heart.
And Pastor Kuno is right thereleading with the praise and
worship.
And so two things I'm hearingfrom you as you walk through a
sudden death of your significantother.
Your husband was number onewatch who you're walking with
and number two was to cut offdistraction and really walk
(09:09):
through that.
It was overwhelming.
You said that.
But a third thing I know aboutyou that's not been spoken?
Is you also taught your son?
Dylan we close the back door.
We don't allow any practices orbeing in a place where we're
letting in confusion or divisioninto this family, and that can
(09:30):
be something as simple as a lotof drinking that that could
happen in a home and I'm notcasting any stones on anyone for
that or judging, because I'vealready walked through my place
with alcohol.
But you said there's not goingto be alcohol here.
Is that?
Would that be something you'recomfortable with sharing?
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Sorry, yeah no, no, um, I I'm today.
I'm sober free for 15 years andthat's my own choice right.
Everybody has their choice tomake, and so this is my own, my
journey in healing and andrestoring, and restoration.
And you know it's my journey,and so it started.
Before Colonna passed, we bothdecided.
Well, he decided first to besilver free and he walked it out
(10:10):
, he did.
Yeah, oh, I didn't even knowthat, through some circumstances
, but in everybody's journey,right, you have the choice that
you want to live out, and so youknow, know, navigating the
entertainment industry, and andwithout drinking and without
drugs and to be one of the topmost recognized bands beloved
(10:33):
for decades.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Right, and he, I mean I remember his last post on
social media.
He was connect correctingpeople for littering, remember
that.
And brother man is one of themost aloha people like.
He literally called me out ofthe blue one day and colonna,
he's like don don don.
And I'm like, yes, I heard youthe first time.
Aloha, colonna, and he goes.
(10:55):
Is your cousin in hilo, seano'brien, is that your cousin?
Yeah, because I went to schoolat saint joseph's with our at
the Christian Catholic schoolwith Sean.
He's a cardinal and I go, yeah,that's my cousin and he goes.
You have his number.
Can I call him?
And I'm like, sounds like him,random, random.
You're going to call?
(11:16):
And he did.
He called my cousin, seanPatrick O'Brien, and said we
went to Catholic school together.
Of course Sean remembers himbecause he's world famous, but
he was so full of aloha but Ilove that brother kept a hot red
line because it means we malamaaina, we malama each other, we
aloha kia kuwa.
(11:36):
He knew that.
He knew that he knew certainthings.
So thank you for allowing us toflashback.
Small kind with that Now.
You shared those really keytips on how to come through a
suddenly thank you for allowingus to flash back.
Small kind with that now.
Um, you shared those really keytips on how to come through a
suddenly thank you.
Watching the sacred circlearound you, you were also going
to your place of worship a lot,in fact.
Now your daughter, kamale, is aworship leader.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
She just came back from bogota.
They had a mission trip, and soit's you know, as we navigate
our own journey and our ownwalks and wherever god's leading
us, kamalei for Kamalei, shefound her place in wanting to do
praise and worship Just likeher dad.
Yeah, so I'm super blessed towatch her grow and, as God uses
(12:19):
her and grows and molds her.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
She's on stage?
Well, she's at the altar almostevery sunday, when she's in
town at word of life we can seekamalele, she's really growing
into her own.
And then dylan catch us up onmy godson dylan paquele oh wait,
is this his cd?
I have right here becauseauntie's so 80s, 90s, you know I
gotta have my cd here.
It is you put out this album inthe last five years faith yeah,
(12:43):
so that was really a journey.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Um, this whole journey has been a journey album
in the last five years Faithyeah, so that was really a
journey.
This whole journey has been ajourney.
But in the beginning they wererecording.
Dylan was recording with Kolanathe first song and after he
passed to Glory, it was like nomusic, no, nothing.
You know, didn't want to doanything really honestly.
Well, it was such a shock foreveryone and just like I just
(13:06):
just I don't know, I just didn'twant to um, but through lots of
love and encouragement anddylan asking and and saying that
he wanted to um, I had some keypeople around me helping me
navigate, which was one dannykennedy and siobhan kennedy, and
just helping me navigate thebackbone of the mana'o company
(13:31):
and wonderful people, family offaith.
I just love danny and siobhan Iknow I love them, um so much
they they're a key part of thetribe, um yes, so they really,
really helped me navigate thatspace to take one step forward
in supporting Dylan, in movingforward with continuing to
record.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Girl.
They were there before KPpassed.
I mean KP was on the band withDanny and, of course, shauna
Awaw and other guys, but Dannyis always the one right.
He's that straight line, alwaysthere for you.
Before KP passed to Victory.
He was there at both of thecelebrations of life.
We had one here on oahu, thendanny and siobhan were there at
(14:10):
both of the celebrations of lifefor brother and this is his
light with his guitar.
If anybody is noticing, it'sgot the tattoo detail on it, but
this was his favorite guitarthat now his son is using, boom
shakalaka.
Thank you for that gift.
I keep it right in my home butI brought it down special for us
.
But danny and siobhan were bothservices uh, the celebration of
(14:34):
life here on oahu and then oneon the big island, and he's
still helping now with dylan'swork all the things like.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
So he really encouraged me in the beginning
to um, he said something aroundthe the point of you need to
find the things that keep youbreathing, keep you moving, keep
you going.
And I really didn't know whatthat was.
Um, but when Dylan asked youknow to, he wanted to record
again and get into the studio.
Um, what do parents do?
(15:02):
Just support our even when wedon't feel like it, you know, or
we might not.
You know, I didn't feel like it,but we dig down deep, and so
that's really what happened.
And so, as we navigated thejourney because this is, this is
a journey, we're on a journey-Absolutely yes.
And as we navigated the journeyof bringing this album together
(15:24):
, we didn't have that.
He didn't have the songs, hedidn't have the concept, he
didn't have, like we didn't havethe guitar with the etching.
It really was an act of faith,just walking it through.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Well, and you keep using the word journey and I
love that and I have God bumpsbecause you know this ain't
chicken skin.
We ain't created in the image ofno chicken.
We're created an image of theHoly Spirit.
But you use the word journeyand you took one step at a time.
I've heard faith defined assuch that it's taking one step
at a time, even when you can'tsee the whole staircase.
(15:59):
Yeah, absolutely so.
A lot of us might look at afinished product like this and
say, well, he's got sixbeautiful songs, f-a-i-t-h Faith
, right From Forgive Me toHeaven in the Sky, which he
co-sang with his father.
It's beautiful to hear it.
And then you also have BrotherFiji on the album.
I mean, there's so much faiththat went into this that you are
(16:20):
saying you didn't have theguitar, you didn't have songs
written.
You would walk into the studio,as I recall, mama juror, lisa,
and you would be praying outsidefor it to come together because
certain things were missing andgod would provide right there
jojo, and it reminds me ofproverbs 16 9, where we can make
our plans but he directs oursteps.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
And that's really what was happening as we were
going through the project andand it unfolding over.
You know that a year and a halfof it coming together, and the
ideas and the encouragement andthe praying and uh we first were
with uh langa severe, whichwe're so blessed to be able to
uh have recorded with him andhad that time before.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Yeah, to pass to glory, yeah, so wow.
And then from langa you went touh imua garza, which he
literally was heaven sent.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
I think, um, he was just perfect for dylan and me,
because it's like navigatingthis space without kolana and
not knowing you know whatquestions to ask or what to do,
or like how.
I mean, I'm just a praying mama, I'm just a mama supporting her
son and God shows up and showsout.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
He shows off for you because, if you don't know Imua
Garza, he is the Amadeus Mozartof Hawaii.
I have described him as such,since I've worked with him on
missions and ministry.
He's also a pastor at C4, buthe is the mastermind, creator in
the image of God, the creatorat Zale Recording Studios.
(17:52):
So you work with him now.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
It's been amazing.
He's literally handpicked forus to walk this journey out, to
finish the faith EP andcontinuing in the project that
dylan's working on right now.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Oh, oh, oh okay, what are we talking about here?
So see, this is more of what'sgone on in five years, because I
really look at what god isdoing in your life, sis, and we
get together and we just havelunch and I just sit and and
look at my baby sis and try tohave space, hold space for us,
and it's it's been a precioustreasure to me to get close
(18:28):
because really honestly, Ididn't feel like I knew you that
closely and I knew brotherbecause we went to Hilo High
together.
Vikings got to throw it outthere because he would always
torture the Kamehameha schools,graduate here with our Hilo High
Vikings public school.
But I didn't know you as welluntil the day after when God
(18:48):
sent me to the house.
Now we sit in, we do lunchtimes, we do birthdays, we do a lot
of big moments together.
But God has brought you to sucha place and that's why I wanted
you to come onto Aloha Alive,the heartbeat of Hawaii.
You may not feel like you havesomething to say to other people
, but just in the last five daysI sat with a sister at Queens
(19:12):
Hospital who suddenly lost herkane, her, her partner, and it
was in a tragic way.
He's in his 30s.
And I said to you, as we walkedin, and you're so humble,
humble, hawaiian, I tell you.
But I am neither Hawaiian noram I humble.
So I said you have so much toshare.
(19:32):
In fact I'm going to ask if shecould share a word.
But God works in the valley ofthe shadow of death and
sometimes we don't even walkwith him through that valley.
He carries us.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
he has been carrying, he has literally been carrying
me.
I I feel like I am walking nowon.
You know I can walk um, but Iwould say honestly, for the
first three years at least maybe, yeah, I was being carried, and
so I will be forever grateful.
(20:06):
The Lord just has carried me,brought together divine
connections, like you, and asmall tribe around me to help
carry me.
I just feel like I couldn't doit, and in the valley, when
you're just sick, you just feellike you just can't.
His love, his grace, his mercyhelps you through and it just
(20:30):
shows that you can with theFaith EP, the Project, now the
Kalana Bash.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
I mean, and you've developed a recording studio at
your own home, which was part ofthe vision that you and brother
had in making PakeleEntertainment was to open up
more opportunities for a lot ofthe native people and artists
from the west side, becausethere was nowhere to go that was
always his heart, to alwayshelp people and and figure out
how to help.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
And you know, as we navigate the journey, it's I'm
helping dylan, but it's I'mcalling in the reinforcements
and tapping into the experts andand our circle of people that
can help, like Dani, like Feej.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
The entertainment community has been amazing
Kalena the kids were takingvoice lessons with her At the of
course, kapena School of Music,which is at Windward Mall, and
that's another family that cameinto your life immediately and
that was even before.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
I mean they were taking vocal lessons before she
even had that and then they wereblessed to be a recipient of a
scholarship after to go through.
But she's been amazing.
Kimie Minor took the kids inthrough Haku Collective and
really just surrounded them withso much love but also
opportunities at the same time.
(21:49):
Love but also opportunities atthe same time, because with the
love without like direction, itkind of can get like oh okay, I
feel love, but like now, what,like what do I do Right and see
again.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
It goes back to that journey step by step.
And, lisa, last I checked in2020, you had never produced an
album before an EP.
You had never helped to recordor write a song not that you've
done that, but you were thereduring the process and many
times you would say Hi, I'venever been in this place before,
but we are walking through yousaid I'm breathing, I'm walking,
(22:24):
I'm protecting my peace.
And so to hear you talking aboutyou know you did have like
Kapena School of Music, beforeit was there was helping to
mentor Kamale and.
Dylan, that you had also.
Then it became the WaterCompany, came in as a sponsor.
You got a scholarship.
There's a lot of things that wedon't see when we're walking
through the valley of the shadowof death, because we really are
(22:46):
just trying to wake up andsurvive and breathe and walk.
But on the side, looking back,do you see how God moved
mountains for you?
Speaker 1 (22:54):
It's crazy, it's so much.
I mean, everything he broughttogether.
I see all of it.
As I was preparing to talk withyou today, I just I was
reminded about all the thingsthat God has done and brought
together and his grace, like andjust divine connections,
opportunities.
(23:15):
But he can, he can't, he can dothese things, but he needs us
to.
He needs our faith to be ableto step and and it says faith as
a mustard seed I really justhad like this, really, really,
really, really little, like itwas so little it's almost not
there, and he took that and hehelped me.
(23:37):
I mean you.
You know me and you know that Inever.
You know no recording, noconcert space.
You know everything I'm doingon the professional level at in
peace, it's like it's none of me, like it's impossible, like I
could never do all of thesethings, but like open a little
brand new center forentrepreneurship.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
So impressive we can come out there, we can have a
meeting space, a workspace,network, and I'm like lisa, I
thought you just had a newoffice, but this is like an
office for the whole, the whole,I know the whole island chain
community.
Yeah right, it's god you walk itout, sis and then you host
these makeke right and then youalso have is it the young
(24:20):
entrepreneur, um cohorts thatyou've been hosting with
teenagers who have companies andyou mentor them.
You have, and I just have totell you, family let me just
stop and pause and look right atyou because it's going to feel
awkward that I'm bragging on myHanai little sister, but this is
the power of God walking it outwith you.
(24:41):
And to recap what you just said, you felt like you only had a
faith the size of almost anmustard seed.
Yes, it might have beeninvisible Like that's how small
it was.
But I will tell you on the flipside of that, because I've been
at the house for Thanksgiving.
I've been at the house forfamily parties.
I've been at the house for lunchwith her and one time at
(25:03):
Thanksgiving we were two yearsout from brother going on to
victory and I had the kidsstanding around and you know
they all look like teenagers tome and I'm like Dylan, go get
your little friends.
Dylan is like six, five.
Okay, I don't know how tall, heis Super tall Hawaiian man.
He's 27 years old.
His friends are also grownups,but he goes and he gets the
friends with Kamale and I askedthem one question what are you
(25:27):
grateful for this Thanksgiving?
And three of the them,including your two, kamale and
dylan, said I am thankful formom and for her strength.
We wouldn't have been able todo this, we wouldn't have come
this far, and you're saying thatin three years.
You were still in shock andoverwhelmed, but your children
(25:48):
were talking about you and yourstrength.
Now, something I know that andI'm going to go this way with
you, and it's not necessarily onthe questions that I gave you.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Don't get nervous.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
I know a little bit of your story.
Before Kaulana you werepregnant in high school and you
had some childhood trauma ofyour own, growing up in a single
parent family, and we know someof the issues of abandonment
and other things that come withchildhood trauma.
You kept the baby.
(26:23):
We have Chantel and we thankGod for Chantel who has your
little maopuna.
She saved my life, she savedyour life.
But at that time, you know, wewere all in high school and this
was you graduated 91 um, thatkind of wasn't a thing.
So you kept the baby and yougrew strong and you had to leave
(26:45):
your home.
You did move in with thatgentleman, the father of your
child, and then you haven't everlooked back and you never asked
for help.
Do you think that played a partin how you were able to be
resilient and overcome with thissuddenly?
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Yes, yeah, I do, I think.
Sorry, my brain just got messyso much.
I come from a loving family,right, I have a lot of support,
and I made some choices and innavigating life at that point as
a teenage parent, you just, youjust think the world's ending
(27:21):
and and you, just, I just had topress in and I knew I needed to
.
I didn't want to be a statistic, I didn't want to, you know, be
a high school dropout or not,you know, be on the system, or
to be on the system and not goto college.
I just didn't want to be astatistic.
And so.
I just made some choices thatyou know.
(27:43):
Maybe I could have donedifferently, but I, you know, I
moved away and decided to go tocollege with having my daughter.
That really, really shifted thenarrative of my whole entire
life.
I mean, that's where I metColana, you know, and I
graduated.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
I graduated UH Hilo UH.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Hilo.
But as a single parent, youknow, I graduated from high
school and college with a lot ofsupport from high school and
college with a lot of support.
But as a teenage parent goingto college, I had to dig deep
and look for resources andsupport and, you know, not do a
(28:22):
lot of things.
I mean I didn't do my nails, Ididn't go shopping, I didn't.
You know, I didn't do all thefun things, but the fun things
is just with my daughter andbeing a mom and going to college
.
But I felt like it did prepareme for this time in my life to
be able to dig deep again, tolook internally a person so like
(28:46):
I'm the only one who can make adecision, to get on or to eat
when I didn't want to eat, or toum, you know, let everything
just go to shambles, like justnot pay bills or not go back to
work, or like I'm the only onewho could make the decisions to
be better for me myself, like Ihad to be healthy.
(29:07):
Yes, like that was my number onegoal.
My boss had asked at that timelike what?
You know, what did I want?
They said I just I just want tobe healthy.
Yes, like, because if I'm not,then I can't.
I can't be there for my kids,like I.
I just couldn't get out of bed.
And I wanted to get out of bed,yeah, and I wanted to, um, you
(29:27):
know, be healthy for my grand.
I had a grandson at the time,so just be healthy for him.
And when he came over, I didn'twant to be crying all the time
you know so it's like makingthose choices for yourself to be
healthy, right so that you can.
You can then be there forothers.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
And that's amidst you .
You had to find the passcodesfor his cell phone, for the
computer.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
That was a nightmare.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
You, had to find the paperwork for right.
Everything was being processedand, mind you, this was amidst
May 2020, everything was closed.
We you I was there when you gotthe call Do we take him to the
mortuary, to the morgue?
We can't.
You know, there were so manythings that couldn't be done
with a body at that time.
(30:12):
Thank you, lisa, for lookingfrom that time when you were a
pregnant teenager, not wantingto be a statistic and there's
power to saying that because you, you didn't let yourself be
sidelined.
You overcame powerfully with atiny little baby and the keyword
.
And then it went forward towhen KP passed in 2020.
(30:32):
But back to when you were thatteenager, the keyword I heard
there in that part of thejourney was resources.
You found people to comealongside and, of course, we
love your dad, your mom.
They're both wonderful.
There was a divorce there, butyour dad is almost 50 years on
the police force right, lawenforcement, uncle Val and
(30:54):
auntie Vina, your step-mom.
You have half siblings rightwho came in strong.
Of course, you have your oldersister from the same mom, kim,
and so there was an extendedOhana that came around.
But resources and tribe.
You said it when the 2020tragedy happened, but you also
just said it there, you had atribe, and when I look at your
life now with In Peace, as wellas with Pakele Entertainment and
(31:18):
pretty much everything thatyou're doing, you find resources
for the lahui.
I didn't actually know whatthat word meant.
Okay, so it's a Hawaiian word.
Can you tell us what does lahuimean?
Because the first time I heardit really was from you and I
went to UH Hilo with her husband.
We were, you know, he didn'tactually attend classes at
(31:40):
college but he attended everyparty there was at this college.
But you recently, a few yearsago, said supporting the lahui,
and it caught my ear.
What does that mean?
Because I kind of want toalways perpetuate culture and
teach the language here, onAloha Alive.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Lāhui.
Everything for me that it meansis just community, ohana,
together Like we're strongertogether.
We're not made to do this lifealone, and when we, you know,
retreat and we pull ourselvesback from being with others,
then we're not meant to be there.
You know.
That's when the depressioncomes in.
(32:16):
The mental health is a hugething that I didn't really
experience.
Any kind of mental health forme wasn't like a thing, like I
just didn't think depression,depression, I really didn't
think depression was a realthing I don't think a lot of us
who grew up in the 80s, 90s wedidn't, really we weren't as
aware of it as we are now.
(32:38):
Thank you, I would just be likeget up, you can get up and make
a choice.
It's yeah just tough it out.
You know that's how I grew uplike.
Just get up, wipe your dust offyour knees and right, pick
yourself up by your nostraps andkeep marching forward, no
crying big fanatting.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
I mean we can use a lot of terms how we grew up, but
that didn't really work Like,how's that working out for you?
Yeah, so to give yourself spaceand awareness, to have mental
wellness, right.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Right, and so that's for me.
The Lahu'i just is there to wesupport, we kākou.
One another, support oneanother.
And there's a lelano'ea thatsays I'm just going to read it
Yay.
A'ohe hananui ke alu'ea.
And it means no task is too bigwhen done together, and life
(33:24):
can be so overwhelming.
There's so many thingshappening and happening super,
super fast.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
And just like tasks, it's like one after another and
it can just feel so overwhelming, but like today, it was so
overwhelming for me.
But God gives us, Allah gave meyou to do this task together.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
Yes, and it's better together, like it's better
together, supporting one another, and on's better together, like
it's better together supportingone another and on my side of
the table, it's overwhelming tohave a podcast to be wanting to
perpetuate our host culture.
I'm not Hawaiian but I know itis part of the key that Atsipi
Lahipaki said in the 21stcentury, the whole world's going
to be searching for peace andin fact, we are a world looking
(34:10):
at world war, but we search forpeace and the key to peace is
aloha.
So they're going to look to us.
Thank you for being there forme on this one.
Like I needed you to be here asmuch as you needed me.
Recently, another example of thelahui was we had a graduation
party and on Kauai, I'm here onoahu, we're centered here in
(34:32):
honolulu and um, my sister saiddon, I know you're gonna help us
find the palaka print so thatour family can all be matching
at this family party.
It's kind of a hawaiian thingand I'm like I don't even wear
palaka.
What are you talking about?
Why do what I don't wear?
Gingham is the English word forit and so I was praying and the
(34:54):
Lord said Lise.
And I went oh my gosh, liseknows all of these small
businesses and these families.
I text you and within a minuteyou texted right back and said
oh hui, palaka girl, and theysell it over here at Ward and
you can go to Nammea, hawaii.
So it is, is that a goodexample?
Speaker 1 (35:11):
of lahui.
Yes, absolutely Thank you forbeing there for me.
Yeah, I'm going to give thatbusiness a shout out.
Kuhui Palako, max Mukai is theowner and just through
relationships, you know, I couldjust text the owner Right and
he texts me right back, and Ijust text him today too for
something else that we'resupporting working together.
But yeah, that's the Lahuwe andcommunity and being able to tap
(35:36):
into our people To help oneanother, to help one another.
Did they get the plaka?
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Yes, and they looked amazing Super, super zhuzh,
super boujee.
But here's where I was saying.
It's about resources, and theresources are people.
Yes, and we are a small islandchain with huge hearts.
And so one of the things Ilearned early I had a mentor
tell me Dawn, don't burn bridgeson an island.
(36:01):
And that makes a lot of sense,because if you fire somebody and
you burn a bridge and you burnsomebody, or you trash them on
social media or you bad talkthem or gossip, it will come
back to you.
Absolutely.
That's a god, garrons, ballbarons guarantee in the bible
that says what you sow, youshall reap, and that anything
(36:21):
that's whispered in the housewill be shouted from the
rooftops, especially on anisland.
So we also and I hear a lot ofvoices saying this now always
support, support local, becauseif we don't support locals,
there won't be any more localsto support.
We're seeing a mass exodus,especially of Native Hawaiians,
off of our own islands, right?
(36:43):
So thank you for helping withthat.
And here's where I'm going toshift over to In Peace.
I love In Peace because youwork there and also because I
love many of the people.
Um, how does it help localpeople and local businesses?
Speaker 1 (36:56):
in peace is amazing, um, so it's a native.
It's a native hoi, anorganization, non-profit, that
supports our people, our la huicommunity, um, through a place
of empowerment and strengthening, and so they they have.
There's 11 programs under InPeace.
They've been around, for wejust celebrated 30 years.
We're going into the 31st yearof celebration, so amazing.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Wow, that's a good long time.
That's faithfulness.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
Lisa.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
And I've been blessed to work there for 23 years.
I actually started 25 yearsbecause the first two years I
was a parent in a program, kikiSteps, and so I really am that
parent that was empoweredthrough their program, kiki
Steps, and then there wasopportunity to work and 23 years
later now I oversee one of the11 programs which is called
(37:46):
Center for Entrepreneurship,supporting small businesses, and
that really is reallysupporting a person in their
journey of business, whetherit's their idea phase or going
international and everything inbetween.
But it comes back to thepartnerships and resources that
are out there, because I'm notthe expert.
(38:06):
You know we're still buildingout Kepa, kele Entertainment and
KP Studios, and what does thatmean?
You know I'm still the expert.
You know we're still buildingout Kepa, kele Entertainment and
KP Studios, and what does thatmean?
You know I'm still a smallbusiness owner trying to
navigate our space, and so myrole in this is really I'm a
connector and I'm a hugecheerleader.
Yes, you are, I will justencourage, you know, in the
journey, because it's tough,it's really tough, especially
for young small businessesstarting out and trying to get
(38:30):
launched.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
Yeah, there's a whole process to that.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
Yeah, and it's interesting to see that it's
happening in your life withPaquela Entertainment, but then
it's happening for the rest ofthe people you're helping at In
Peace right, yeah, so reallythat journey and connecting them
to the different resources,connecting these small
businesses to the resources thatare out there, and so I really
(38:55):
develop a lot of partnerships,and that's really what the
program has been built aroundand connecting the small
businesses to the resources thatare out there and then
cheerleading them, holding theirhand through the process until
they overcome each step, likegetting their GE license,
getting their product getting to, taking it to market expansion.
You know all the things thathappen.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
Social media marketing right Photography.
Even you have Nick therehelping with those things, yeah.
Networking and I always foundout that there are four true
treasures that we all have ashuman beings.
That includes your time, howyou spend your time, your talent
.
So what is your God-giventalent that you do?
What is your treasure, which ismoney.
(39:36):
And the last one that I addedwas tribe, and you include all
four of those when you'rehelping other people walk
through that process.
How can people get moreinformation about In Peace?
Speaker 1 (39:46):
Sure, so you can find us on all social media
platforms inpeacehawaiiorg, orvisit us at our website
inpeaceorg, and all of ourprograms are up there and
through that you can getconnected through email me at
lisap at inpeaceorg.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
But yeah, and it's really that journey Wait lisap
for Pakele at inpeaceorg andwe'll have that information in
the show notes as well as thereon the screen.
But go ahead.
I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
I wanted to highlight it and just supporting somebody
in their journey and whateverthat could look like.
And so it's really excitingwe're going into.
There's a Ho'oma'o event comingup and a Made in Hawaii
festival.
Oh, hey, and so those are twohuge events coming up that
support Ho'oma, specificallysupports Native Hawaiian
businesses, and it's the journeyagain, the lahui, the community
(40:38):
, supporting one another as younavigate your own journey and
whatever that is.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
And what I love about it and I've said often,
especially when it was 2020 anda lot of us were learning what
is hybrid learning or what isdistance learning.
A lot of us were learning newsystems, how to do business in
this new world, and I would say,you know as much as we think we
have a certain COVID curve.
We are all doing the samelearning curve.
We're learning together.
It's a Kako thing.
It's a Kako thing.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
It is a Kako thing 's a cock hole thing.
It is a cock hole thing and ahuge thing.
Um in not in not having to knoweverything before you start or
before you do anything.
It's like starting where you'reat and growing as you're going
and the main thing is just start, whatever that is.
and so, even you know, throughthe faith ep, it's like I didn't
want to go back into the studio, but it's like just start, and
(41:28):
we have a project.
Now we're doing a legacyproject that honors Colano and
puts Dylan on his continued pathin his own, you know, journey
of music.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
You know that it's a huge project that we didn't know
how to do.
The legacy project, which hassome pretty big name artists.
Yeah, can we drop at least twonames or three?
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Yeah, sure.
So Dylan Lee's the third songoff this project.
It'll be a full length, atleast 10 song project, which
we're at about seven songs, buthe dropped three songs already,
the last one on my birthday andso, and then, and we're going to
continue the journey, butthere's working with key bands
(42:17):
that were very special to andPolona worked with.
So we have High Risk is a bandthat they did, Chillaxin that
song Chillaxin.
Pacific Blue has did acollaboration on there with a
fun song that's going to comeout, Of course, Mana'o Company,
Thank you.
We have a special song thatFeej had wrote for Colin and I
(42:39):
back, you know 15 years ago whatand Dylan he is going to, he is
remaking the song.
It's very, it's very specialand we'll have a guest artist on
that song.
Speaker 2 (42:51):
Oh my gosh, I got total God bumps everywhere.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
Yeah, there's so much special things.
It's such a beautiful song,it's a love song if you didn't
guess already.
So much special things.
We just confirmed Sudden Rushwill be partnering on one of the
songs, woo yes, hilo, oh, hiloconfirmation.
So gotta give a shout out tokoi chang um, who wrote the song
(43:15):
and then shane from sudden rush, dylan will be collaborating
with him and so still goingafter all these years, you know
what we were back in college.
Speaker 2 (43:22):
We were partying when keola was inventing hawaiian
rap back in the day and we werejust talking about that at your
birthday party.
We're like, girl, remember, wewere just like there at the
party and he started doing thatand we're like, oh okay, and
he's like it's now making thishuge resurgence Hawaiian rap.
So we were there when itstarted.
Yeah, wait, did that just ageus?
Speaker 1 (43:44):
Now him and Kalana are rapping in heaven.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
Amen.
And one thing I want to throwin there, as you're talking
about the legacy project, but aquick insertion is she, she came
and I love my brother kawalana.
I've known him since I was inhigh school and, um, we say rest
in victory, rest in victory.
Kp was where we landed, notrest in love, because of course
(44:07):
we all say that, we all knowthat, but it was part of the
redemption, for the absolutesheer shock.
I mean, it made not just localnews, it made national news, it
even went worldwide.
Kaulana Pakele, lead singer ofWanao Company, dies of a heart
attack and there can be a lot ofyou when you just hear that.
(44:27):
You land in that pit of pain.
Grief is a thief and a robbercompletely.
But we as the people of god, askaulana was a worship leader of
keakua, we land in the promisesof god, we land in the goodness
(44:48):
of god and that's where Godgave us rest in victory, because
it turned our heads down fromthe pit and the grave and the
grief and we looked up becausehe is seated at the right hand
of Jesus, seated at the righthand of the father, and they're
worshiping.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
And so you, hi, thanks for bringing that up,
because in my devotion time overthe past five years I think
maybe about my third year goinginto my fourth year God placed
on my heart as I was workingthrough some, you know,
overcoming a dark place again.
He just reminded me.
He replaced the rest withrejoice and he reminded me that
(45:24):
Kolana is rejoicing in victory.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
And he's like singing and what he's just like
rejoicing.
Speaker 1 (45:27):
He's at the seat of the Father, you know, rejoicing
in victory.
And he's like singing, and whathe's just like rejoicing.
He's at the sea of the father,at the, you know, rejoicing with
jesus and it's just like joy,pure joy, pure joy.
Speaker 2 (45:37):
And if you knew kaulano, or you know somebody
who is just buckaloos for broke,just this boy could party like
he, and he loved the lord, heknew the joy of the Lord as his
Superman, superpower, superstrength.
I mean, it's just so.
Speaker 1 (45:51):
You're right, sis, so it gave me, like it literally,
in that moment, strengthened meand that in Nehemiah 1.8, right,
the joy of the Lord is mystrength.
And so it just reminded me,like it literally encouraged me,
refreshed me, and walking intomy fourth and now my fifth year,
I really feel like I'm in thisplace of strengthening and
aligning with purpose,intentionally aligning with
(46:14):
purpose, and that was the Wordof God.
Try my tribe and just a loveand support, continued love and
support, with the, the last callon a bash.
It just really was all of God.
It was pretty tough that one tobring, to bring out, but just
God reminded me that he's got me.
I'm moving forward.
(46:34):
Some fun highlights is we'llrelease the legacy project.
Dylan will start on his project, where we will be recording in
New Zealand.
What and then we're going to Do?
Speaker 2 (46:47):
you need Godmother cheerleader there as well.
Speaker 1 (46:50):
I love Aotearoa and that's two resources, that's,
the resources and connections,hallelujah.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
And we're going to expand Kalanabash Island wide
and so those are just somelittle fun things that God's
doing Little sneak peeks forpreviews of what God's doing in
your near future the miracles,thank you.
Last couple of questions whatis aloha to you?
(47:19):
We always ask our guests hereon Aloha Alive, because we want
to always have the heartbeat,but we can't beat it if we don't
know it.
So what is aloha to you, lisa?
Speaker 1 (47:26):
If I just had to say one word, I would say grace.
Aloha is grace to me ineverything.
The way that we can show alohais having grace to others, for
others In life.
There's so much going on.
(47:47):
And we never know what someone'sgoing through Through the happy
smile face or the crying faceor whatever it is.
We really truly don't know.
And I feel like, um to justhaving aloha is just having
grace and walking it out, um, byjust like holding someone's
hand, buying a coffee, sittingwith somebody bringing a lay,
(48:08):
bringing some food, uh, going tothe movies, just whatever that
is.
And if somebody hurts us forwhatever reason, we can choose
grace and that's covering itwith aloha and maybe one day
they'll say sorry for maybe theyhurt us, maybe they won't, but
we have the choice to justmalama our own heart so that we
(48:32):
can cover in grace, so that wecan move forward.
Speaker 2 (48:35):
Because if we don't and we allow that to you- know
the bitterness to come in theunforgiveness, and it just gets
like yucky.
Speaker 1 (48:45):
So if I just had to say you know one word with a
little explanation, it would begrace.
Speaker 2 (48:50):
And that's how to show aloha, love, that Grace,
and often in the Bible.
When we read the New Testament,the Apostle Paul wrote half of
it and he would always start offwith greetings in God's grace.
And he would end with and Iimpart grace and peace to you.
So thank you for that, because,like the aloha culture in
(49:10):
Hawaii, we say Aloha to sayhello, aloha as we leave.
So a big part of Aloha is grace, much needed.
Last, last question who is yourAloha hero, either past or
present, somebody who lives true, pure Aloha, and why?
Speaker 1 (49:27):
When I you gave me you're graceful enough to give
me some questions in advance,and so I was thinking about that
and praying about that, and Ijust the only one that kept
coming back to me is Kaulana, soI don't want to cry, but, um,
he truly uh, exemplified Alohain just his vibrant life, in the
(49:52):
life that he lived.
And, um, I think about legacy aswe work on the legacy project.
Um, it's every everything thatwe have like, every everything
that's coming back to us todaynow, from resources to love, to
donations, to whatever it is.
It's because the life kolanalived and that the impact that
(50:14):
he made, all of that is comingback to us.
And, um, I also think about thewords that people spoke to us
and shared about what, whatkolana meant to them, and it was
never like, it wasn't anythinglike, though.
It wasn't about the hokus, itwasn't about like nothing else.
(50:35):
It all of it was how he madethem feel, and I know there's
somebody that says something, Iforget what, something about, um
, it's not what you do or say,but it's it's how you make
people feel.
And maya ang.
Speaker 2 (50:51):
Yeah, maya Angelou, people will almost never
remember what you said.
They may not remember what youdid, but they'll always remember
how you made them feel.
And you're right, that wascalled Lana.
Speaker 1 (51:01):
That was called Lana.
Speaker 2 (51:03):
He made you feel aloha in the purest, truest form
.
And the neat thing about mybrother if I can help brag on
that and I love that you pickedhim as your aloha superhero,
because I thought, man, I don'tknow who she's gonna pick, but
it better be my brother um, hewas a man of vision and passion.
He lived both really well.
(51:24):
I remember once he called mewhen I was on the radio and he
said don don Don.
I heard you the first few times.
But he said I just see, youknow what God told me.
He said we're going to do amassive Christian concert at the
Waikiki Shell and I was likethis little podunk girl from a
little podunk town, right, I'mlike what are you talking about?
(51:46):
I rebuke you, polona.
And I hung up on him and henever.
He just kept calling me andsaying Don, like he didn't get
why I couldn't see the samevision that God had given him.
And his vision is stillreaching lives and impacting and
influencing people for the trueheart of Hawaii which is Aloha.
In fact, it's the song that weuse as the intro and outro of
(52:09):
Aloha Alive.
It's A-L-O-H-A.
A little aloha in our day.
This has been our time talkingstory and just having a
heartbeat, breathing, walkingand space with Lisa Pakele.
Lisa, hooey hooey Pakele.
Lisa, hooey hooey pa'kele.
(52:29):
Lisa hooey hooey pa'kele.
She loves that song.
She loves when people from HiloHigh sing to her.
Just walk up and do it.
No, she doesn't.
This is why she keeps me around.
Or the other thing I like to dois Lise, lise, lise, Closet
door.
Kalana used to do the same.
(52:50):
The Lord promises that my graceis sufficient for you, that his
power is made perfect inweakness.
And if there's one thing thatLisa Huihui Pakele and Mr Rest
in Victory no, I'm sorry,rejoice in Victory Kaulana
Pakele would give us, is that healso gave us.
Speaker 1 (53:11):
He loved the scripture out of Proverbs 3, 5,
and 6, which says what Trust inthe Lord with all your heart and
lean not on your ownunderstanding, but acknowledge
him in all your ways and heshall direct your steps.
Speaker 2 (53:24):
Family.
The Lord is with you.
The spirit of God is the spiritof Aloha and we know that
Kaulana's living legacy thatcontinues to this day through
Pakele Entertainment, through InPeace, through Lisa and the
children and the Mo'opuna andgenerations to come, is the
heart of a beating Aloha, theheartbeat of Aloha.
(53:44):
We love you and Aloha.
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