by Tracy Chan and Loraine Ho
“What in the hell is it? It’s so good. It’s not punk, it’s not metal, it’s not anything that I’ve ever really heard,” said Lee Miyashiro, manager of A Hollow Union, about the band’s music.
After one of their tri-weekly rehearsals, the band sat down in a circle with us on the floor, calmly relating their stories. One would never guess that just a few minutes ago, this small room in the Vibe Asylum studio was wracked with howling screams, while gleaming instruments lurched back and forth in a tortuous symphony.
A Hollow Union induces involuntary head-banging. The urge to dance may explain why our photographers found it difficult to get clear and coherent pictures of these local metal virtuosos.
And yes. These guys rock the fuck out.
"We know what our purpose is, and it's reaching out to that kid in the back of the club, in the corner,” said front man vocalist Michael “Haji” Higa, who also writes the lyrics.
“The kids who did take to us were like us,” Haji confided. “You know, the homeless kids, the kids that are all fucked up on drugs.” He said that A Hollow Union is in a unique position to reach out to these youth. “When we play, they understand.”
Lately, the band has been trying to make contact with abuse clinics and homeless shelters like Hale Kipa. Their intentions border on activism – last semester A Hollow Union played at the police brutality concert with Mass Dissent, a political punk band that has played several times on the UH campus. They have also appeared at Campus Center for an open-air show.
A Hollow Union is made up of fragments from other local bands. Born and raised in Honolulu, drummer Garrick Yogi used to play in a band called “Begging for Change.” He sheepishly attributed his interest in drums to DrumMania, a video game simulation. His virtual education has paid off though– his fervent playing is now the backbone to the songs of A Hollow Union. Much of Garrick ’s musical inspiration comes from death metal and the band Disturbd, which he’s been known to play bright and early while working at the Campus Center coffee shop.
“Biohazard!” chimed in Garrick, as Haji showed us his microphone, which has doubled as a hammer he’s turned on himself at shows. It is encrusted with skin flakes from being smashed against his head.
“I have a really bad anger problem,” explained Haji. “This is my way of doing something productive with my life. And I’m not smoking dope, and I’m not drinking myself to death.”
Alex Monico’s mouth warps into a scream as he takes over the vocals. He and Haji founded A Hollow Union after meeting each other at Foodland. “I play guitar out of necessity,” he explained. Originally, he only wanted to contribute vocals. His musical influences include Mastodon and Slayer.
Camille “Milla” Yago is an enigmatic guitarist and backup vocalist. During rehearsals, she sways in a haze of distortion, with deep purple hair obscuring her face. Hailing from Waipahu, she attended high school in Illinois before coming back to the islands and falling in with A Hollow Union. She met the band while attending their show at Coffee Talk in Kaimuki. Her influences run the gamut of heavy metal bands like Dimmu Borgir, Otep, and Lamb of God.
“I hadn’t really started listening to metal until I joined this band,” explained bassist Fernandino “Freddy” Pedro III. “I was all southern rock before ... Lynard Skynard,” he said with a smile as his friends laugh. “My musical tastes were far off from all these guys.” It took him about four months to get used to playing metal. “That’s all I listen to now,” he said. Freddy, who grew up with Haji in Kalihi, learned to play guitar from his grandfather when he was 10.
In addition to bass playing, Freddy has earned the title of “lead spammer” for the band's Myspace account. He leads a double life, working as a preschool teacher when he’s not rocking out.
At least four members of A Hollow Union are considering a move to California in about a year. Jeremy Lee, their other guitarist, already lives there.
The band members repeatedly deny any interest in making money off their shows – they’ve only been paid for one show in the year they’ve been working together. "We want to help, not be selfish with our gift," said Haji.
Their songwriting process is highly collaborative, where members bring ideas to the studio and work off one another.
With the slew of diverse musical styles influencing the members, A Hollow Union is in no rush to fall into a genre. Even Lee Miyashiro, the band’s manager and number one fan, wasn’t quite sure what to call the genre. “It’s like a fucken’ rage,” he said.
“We are A Hollow Union”, added Garrick . “That’s our classification. These guys are like my family.”
For more information or to contact the band and hear a sample of their music, check out their Myspace pageat http://www.myspace.com/ahollowunion .
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