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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, July 10, 2009

Anna Bannana's


by Kawehi Haug
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Gary Budlong, the original owner of Anna Bannana's, opened the joint in 1969. It hasn't changed much since.

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UPCOMING EVENTS AT ANNA BANNANA'S

Ooklah the Moc

10 tonight; $10 for 21 and older; $12 for 18 and older

Roshan & the Santana Tribute Band

9 p.m. Saturday; $5; 21 and older

40th Bannanaversary Party

Barbecue with live music and prize raffle; 1 p.m. Sunday; free; all ages

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Go Jimmy Go still plays at Anna Bannana's.

Richard Walker

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Bad Religion played at Anna Bannana's in the 1980s and 1990s.

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

The bar hasn't changed much since 1969, with the same sign out front (below) and hippie decor inside.

Advertiser library photo

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Kent Nishimura

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Though the news that longtime Mo'ili'ili dive bar Anna Bannana's won't be around this time next year isn't shocking, it still sends a pang of loss through the hearts of Honoluluans who've known and loved her over the years.

The bar's lease expires on April 30, 2010, and the property will then be turned over to the Bishop Estate. There's been no word from estate reps that indicates that the lease is being renewed.

This year, the bar celebrates its 40th and final year, and after four decades of giving this city a reason to raise a glass to everything from visiting punk rockers to home-grown music fests to pau hana gatherings, Anna's will go out almost exactly like she came in, because if there's one thing everyone knows for sure, it's that Anna's is endearingly resistant to change.

"I've been a regular here since Day 1," said Denny McPhee, an overnight radio disc jockey for KSSK radio who spends about two hours every afternoon at Anna's with friends and a Budweiser. "Not much has changed, which is part of the joy of it. It's still a neighborhood dive bar — a good place to hide out."

Opened in 1969 by entrepreneur Gary Budlong, Anna's started out as a dive whose walls, furniture and light fixtures paid serious homage to the 1960s.

That hasn't changed. The place is a hippie museum, if nothing else. But it's more than just a time capsule. It's home to a loyal pack of daily regulars. It's the frat house of Honolulu punk rock. It's a breeding ground for local indie music. It's where the young 'uns cut their teeth on raw rock 'n' roll and gritty, sweaty all-day music gantlets.

It's Anna's. Groovy, grungy, hip, homey Anna's.

"It's the place where everyone gets together," said McPhee. "Now we're all going to be scattered. That's going to be sad."

On Sunday, the beloved bar celebrates its four decades the way it always has: With an outdoor barbecue and live music.

The only thing that's different this year is that this "Bannanaversary" party is the last one.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES, ANNA

Three members of the Anna's live-music family of regular performers share their most memorable Anna's moments.

Eric White, saxophone player for Go Jimmy Go:

I remember selling the first ever Go Jimmy Go "release" right on the street in front of Anna's. It must've been 1997, and we had just played our first KTUH live show, and we got the recording of the performance from the DJ.

Cam, our former bassist, and I used to have an apartment on Wai'alae Avenue, and we spent several nights dubbing a "master" of the recording on cassette tape and then duplicating it on high-speed dub for days and days until we had about 30 copies! We made the cassette cover at the Kinko's across the street from Anna's. We announced on the mike, "Take us home with you tonight ... we're cheap, only five bucks!" Sure enough, our first-ever release was a sellout — all 30 of 'em! — and I think we even did a second run.

Josh 86, guitarist for 86 List:

In 2003, Unity Crayons put on the Punkrock Marathon at Anna Bannana's — 25 bands all day long, all on one stage. I remember seeing a line of kids down the sidewalk all the way across the front of the Japanese Cultural Center.

We started the show at noon, and each band played a 15-minute set, blasting through four songs and then rejoining the crowd of bodies crammed onto the tiny dance floor covered in spit, sweat, blood and beer. By the time 86 List played it was a zombie fest of drunks and exhausted and dehydrated punk rockers still flailing fists and hanging from the rafters. By the end of the night, two kids had been taken away in an ambulance and a dozen others had split their faces or head open.

The legendary Cro-Mags visited Hawai'i under then name Fearless Vampire Killers around 2005. When I met John Joseph, the singer, he had a stern and serious look in his eyes. He came from the New York hardcore scene and had been through the hells of drugs and violence, and you could see it in his face.

I knew the show was gonna go off.

I had been listening to Cro-Mags albums for weeks straight, getting myself ready for the show, and when they took the stage, the room changed. Old faces of men came out of the cracks and mixed with the young punk kids on the dance floor. As the band struck their first chords, an electric surge pulsed through the room, and the dance floor erupted. I got smashed into the pool table by some huge skinhead and got the wind knocked out of me like I was an 8-year-old who just had fallen off the jungle gym.

The pit wound itself into a knot of speed and violence. By the third song, the band was destroying Anna's. The entire sound console got pulled into the pit somehow, and everything went mute. The mixer was literally being kicked across the dance floor and Rick, the sound man, was freaking out.

At this point, John Joseph began hurling threats at the the poor sound guy who was doing his best to plug things back in. Mike stands were getting set up to be used as spears just as Rick got things going again.

The show continued and despite my possibly fractured rib, I remember having one of the best nights ever at Anna Bannana's.

Michael Camino of the now disbanded Hell Caminos, currently with the A.K.A.s:

Anna's has always held a special place in my heart. There has always been few venues available that support all-ages music in Hawai'i. When I first started getting involved in the underground scene in Hawai'i and promoting shows, I sought after venues that would cater to the under-18 crowd.

Unfortunately venues like that come and go because, let's face it: Kids are kids, and there's a lot of liability (underage drinking, etc.) when it comes to throwing all-ages shows.

Anna's was always very punk rock in the way they threw shows. And when I approached them about doing all-ages shows, they were very open to the idea. Years later, they're still doing all-ages shows — I hope they continue doing them until the day they finally close their doors.

• • •


A short history of Anna Bannana's

1969: Gary Budlong opens Anna Bannana's. He accidentally misspells "banana's," but the extra letter adds character. Budlong covers the building with its signature ivy vines to mask the stucco exterior. Now, the foliage is like the bar's calling card. You know Anna's by her ivy.

1970s: Anna's is known as much for its pizza as its beer. The most popular: the pineapple peanut butter pizza.

1980: Budlong acquires the lease to the upstairs room and makes it a pool hall. Later, the room is transformed into a live music venue.

1980s-1990s: Anna's becomes one of Honolulu's premier live music venues, hosting both local and visiting acts — everyone from Bad Religion to Cro-Mags to Go Jimmy Go.

1990s: Anna's becomes a venue for all kinds of creative expression, from open-mike nights to hip-hop nights to slam poetry events.

Local ska band Go Jimmy Go sold its first recording — 30 copies on cassette tape — outside of Anna's in 1997. The band now has a big following in Japan and Europe.

2000s: Anna's becomes one of the only all-ages venues on the island. While most bars and clubs don't want the liability of hosting all-ages events, Anna's takes the risk every time.

2005: Anna's hosts the first Metalfest. The event becomes a tradition and is held twice a year. The last Metalfest was held last month. Over the years, the bar hosts a number of similar all-day music events — mini music fests that deliver tons of tunes for a really low cover charge. There are punk fests, reggae fests, blues fests, classic-rock fests — you name it, Anna's hosted it.

2008: Local rockabilly band the Hell Caminos shoots its first music video at Anna's. Directors, camera men and make-up artists from the set of "Lost" volunteer their time to help the band make and shoot a zombie-themed music video that was later screened at the Hawaii International Film Festival.