Uncle Wayne and the Howling Dog Band plays children’s music with aloha. The band primarily plays preschools, public libraries, special events, and the ever so popular family happy hour. The Bands' mission is to create positive music that kids can enjoy.
Uncle Wayne and the Howling Dogs is the hardest-working band in keiki showbiz
Story by Kamal Kapadia. Photos by Elyse Butler.
Uncle Wayne and the Howling Dog Band might be the only musical act in Hawai‘i that formed in preschool. Wayne Watkins (center) met bandmates Girish Varma (left) and Jason Pfahl (right) when he headed the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Children’s Center.
Click below to read the band featured in the December 2018/ January 2019 Issue of Hana Hou Magazine:
THE THREE EDITORIAL PICKS FOR THE BEST FAMILY FUN IN THE CITY.
BY ROBBIE DINGEMAN, MICHAEL KEANY, STACEY MAKIYA, NATALIE SCHACK, BRIE THALMANN, CATHERINE TOTH FOX, KATRINA VALCOURT, DON WALLACE, CHRISTI YOUNG AND JAMES CHARISMA
Chasing your kids (and dealing with scornful hipsters) at a downtown bar isn’t the best way to unwind. Thank goodness for Uncle Wayne’s Family Pau Hana at Mission Social Hall and Café. Chef Mark Noguchi and wife, Amanda Corby, are parents of two little girls, so they created this party on the lawn every third Wednesday of the month. Kids can run around while you grab a glass of wine or ‘ōlena lemonade and one of Noguchi’s famous burgers or other family-friendly fare. Childrens’ band Uncle Wayne and the Howling Dogs Band perform live, so, if your kid has a tantrum, no one will hear it. Even if they do, at least you’ll have a drink.
Fatherhood brings with it an interesting new set of challenges — some I was prepared for, others not so much.
Among the surprises was discovering the new, ever-present dilemma of finding something fun for me and my wife to do when I’m not working and we can’t find a sitter for our six-month-old daughter. Before last fall, I didn’t have to worry about much more than myself, but everything changes when there’s a crying, pooping bundle of cuteness now permanently part of the picture.
Good thing is, I’m not the first parent to face this issue. And for Honolulu husband-and-wife team Mark “Gooch” Noguchi and Amanda Corby Noguchi of the Pili Group, problems like these are meant to be solved — even if it means rolling up their sleeves and doing something about it themselves.
That’s exactly what happened in 2014, when the Noguchis were in the process of finalizing their move into the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives to open Mission Social Hall and Cafe, which celebrates its one-year anniversary this week. With one daughter at home and another eventually on the way, Amanda found the options lacking for her and her celebrity chef husband to go after work as a family.
“There seem to be few places these days where kids can run around freely,” she said. “I wanted to create something where we could spend time with our friends who also have kids while the little ones run around.”
That desire spawned the launch of Mission Pau Hana, which features food and drink by Mission Social Hall and Cafe to go with live entertainment by Uncle Wayne and the Howling Dog Band. Every third Wednesday of the month a rear courtyard fills with anywhere from 80 to 100 people ranging in age from newborns to retirees, many of them dancing or lounging atop blankets spread out on the grass. Beer and wine are also available for families with a designated driver who are looking to cut loose a little bit.
“It’s a one-stop shop,” said Noguchi. “You can bring the kids, get something to eat and then wear them out so they’re ready to go to bed when you get home. As a parent, it’s nice to have two hours where you can relax a little with your friends and not worry about what the kids are getting into.”
MISSION PAU HANA
» Where: Mission Social Hall and Cafe, 553 S. King St. » When: 5 to 7 p.m. every third Wednesday of the month » Cost: Free » Info: (808) 240-1096,www.missionhouses.org ———
Jason Genegabus has covered the local entertainment, nightlife, music and bar scenes since 2001. Contact him via email at jason@staradvertiser.com.
We welcome you to Family Happy Hour!
“Family Happy Hour” sounds like a contradiction in terms, but add Uncle Wayne and the Howling Dog Band to the mix—something that’s been happening over on Oahu for the past three years—and it not only works, it draws families back week after week after glorious week for food, fun, and fellowship.
Just ask the 150-200 grown-ups and kids who regularly show up at Uncle Wayne’s Family Happy Hour shows at the Mission Social Hall and Café on Oahu, and at the Manoa Gardens on the University of Hawaii campus.
Or show up yourself. You won’t be able to sit still as you see Uncle Wayne and his band kicking it, kids strumming along on their own ukuleles, parents sipping beer and connecting with other families, everybody eating and having a good time as late afternoon gives way to cool, rocking evening.
And everybody, young and old, dancing the night away.
Ask parents and they’ll tell you it’s all about the music–Uncle Wayne’s up-tempo blend of original kids’ songs and traditional covers that adults can rock out to as well, all richly influenced by bluegrass, Hawaiian, and other musical traditions.
Ask kids and they’ll tell you they love Uncle Wayne—and they especially love it when the Howling Dogs play The Motorcycle Song and they get to rev their engines and race in delirious circles around and around the dance floor. Parents, too.
Uncle Wayne, longtime director of the UH-Manoa Children’s Center, has been an important figure on the Hawaii music scene for the past twenty years, and this summer he’s leaving the university and moving to Maui, right back where he began all those years ago. Many Uncle Wayne kids are now parents themselves, with their own kids who are also diehard fans.
The move to Maui means the Howling Dog Band will be starting up Family Happy Hour 2.0, and Uncle Wayne is looking for the right location to host it.
If your restaurant or venue is interested, check out a few videos on the Uncle Wayne and the Howling Dog Band Facebook site, then to get in touch with Uncle Wayne himself for more information at howlingdogband@gmail.com or 808-349-1902…
And if you want to check Uncle Wayne’s references that’s easy: ask just about any kid on the islands.
Uncle Wayne and the Howling Dog Band 