12-16-2024 TNZ -SID ALPERT with Jason Schwartz- 12-16-2024- Jason shares conversation in a remembrance of days gone by with a Lahaina, Maui longtime resident Sid as he recalls interesting and exciting adventures of a life well lived! Fun conversation.
Summary & Transcript
- [00:44] Economic Vulnerability of Local Media: The budget crisis at AKAKU highlights how local media is financially fragile, especially when dependent on cable revenue streams that can be disrupted by natural disasters or corporate decisions. The station’s survival is critical for maintaining an independent, honest source of news on Maui. This underscores the broader challenge of funding local journalism in small communities.
- [07:15] ⛵ Personal History as a Lens to Maui’s Evolution: Sid’s journey from Ohio State protests to sailing into Maui encapsulates a shift from mainland upheavals to island tranquility. His decades-long immersion in Maui’s art and culture scene offers a unique perspective on how historical events shape personal and collective identities. His association with iconic figures like Neil Armstrong adds a layer of credibility and illustrates the global connections Maui fosters.
- [15:35] Wildfire’s Deep Social and Cultural Impact: The fires have not only physically devastated parts of Maui but also fractured the social fabric, displacing people and disrupting tourism. Sid’s description of living close to the fire zone yet witnessing normalcy underscores the complexity of perception versus reality. The economic ripple effects on tourism and local businesses reveal the island’s interdependence on visitor influx.
- [23:16] ️ Potential for Cultural-Led Regeneration: Sid’s proposal for a new architecturally designed arts and entertainment district above the burned areas reflects a forward-thinking approach to recovery. By creating a destination that integrates galleries, restaurants, and entertainment, Maui could stimulate tourism and community engagement simultaneously. This model draws parallels to successful pedestrianized cultural hubs elsewhere, emphasizing the value of placemaking in economic revitalization.
- [26:54] Operational Failures During Disaster Response: The account of the Christian School fire and the decision to leave prematurely highlights critical lapses in emergency management. These decisions, coupled with power line hazards and poor communication, contributed to the fire’s rapid spread and tragic outcomes. This insight calls for improved protocols, accountability, and investment in disaster preparedness specific to Maui’s unique environment.
- [38:25] Art Scene’s Rise and Challenges: Once a booming market with significant per capita sales, Maui’s art scene faced limitations due to logistical issues such as ferry discontinuation and expanding beyond its island base. Sid’s anecdotes about gallery ownership, international shows, and artist collaborations illustrate the complexity of sustaining a vibrant art economy in a small market. The fragmentation of art scenes in places like Las Vegas serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of centralized cultural hubs.
Additional Context and Themes
Sid Albert’s interview weaves together multiple strands: the fragility and importance of local media, the enduring spirit of Maui’s artistic community, and the island’s ongoing struggle to reconcile its idyllic image with harsh realities like natural disasters and economic shifts. His personal anecdotes—meeting Neil Armstrong, working with top entertainers, and engaging with international art markets—highlight the interconnectedness of Maui with wider cultural and historical currents.
Moreover, the discussion touches on the technological and social changes shaping communication and community engagement, from apps designed for art promotion to the evolving nature of news consumption. Sid’s reflections on generational differences, particularly the concept of “homo technicus,” underscore how technology is redefining cultural participation.
The interview closes with a sense of hope and invitation—encouraging listeners to support local arts, engage with community initiatives like the Maui Arts and Music Association (MAMA), and envision a future where art and culture serve as pillars for economic and social recovery. Sid’s holistic approach, blending architecture, art, history, and personal stories, offers a compelling blueprint for healing and growth.
Transcript
00:01
[Music] hello everyone I’m Jason Schwarz your host we are now Monday at 11: and it is the neutral zone well hello I’m taking these headphones off we don’t need them how are you it’s December of 2024 man this year ran away I wasn’t on last week and uh it wasn’t on the week before one was a holiday and one was a major thing here there’s been I want to call it an attack but let’s just say when you lose all the cable customers in the west side of Maui like happened in August of
2023 your next budget as a local TV station that’s getting 3% of the revenue coming in from that stream of customers you’re going to be impacted well they found out they’re going to be impacted better than $100,000 and while looking up there they discovered wait a minute there’s a hearing coming up soon before they had seven what is it now Spectrum cable bought from Oceanic Time Warner Cable but they sort of been running but they haven’t got the approval for the next number of years so they’re trying to do
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it and take 250,000 plus out of the money from akaku meanwhile remember around the country they get as much as 5% of cable bills but here they got three now they’re trying to take money like 20% of the budget so they Clos this place down and a bunch of people filled the room at the college and we had people from the dcca and we gave them our truth that akaku is a very important and Powerful because it’s the only local TV station that’s responsive and can give you the news what like the New York Times said you
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know we fit everything that prints all the News That’s fit to print akaku doesn’t shade and shave they have a real honest and forthright like me I’m not paid I’m here doing this because all these years everyone said to me God you must have been doing it all this time how many houses you buying what do you no this is because I care and you’ve seen me run for politics all that stuff but this one’s important so I want to give you a phone number 808 it’ll be up on screen for when we
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this is simal cast on akaku channel 55 we’re on K kuu 88.5 FM the voice of Maui and we’re also found on the web at Maui neutral zone.com if you go to YouTube and you go to dream Maui and the number one you’ll find this show and a number of shows but dream Maui 01234 is all us and those of you who know our nonprofit Maui Arts and Music Association all of it all of it is under dream maui.com so you can look at our shows from the past and you can propose shows for the future in fact that’s how I got today’s guest
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who who’s here this is Sid Albert you’re G to find him very interesting I’m just going to report a couple of things like the governor’s phone number 808 586 0034 586 0034 cable TV at dcca hawaii.gov if you want to send a letter about this Kaku and give them your opinion and now is good they’re going to be making their determinations imminently we hope they weren’t pre-done sort of like we see sometimes at the council meetings oh that’s another story anyway very important 586 z34 tell them
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you don’t want to take any more money from akaku in fact you’d like to give them more that’s up to you at the library coming up the 18th in MAA 5:30 to 6:30 there is let’s see if I’ll read it correctly I think I will vampires oh oh there’s going to be a presentation from Barry worst who also we’ve seen Barry here he does reviews of films talking about Dracula Barry is amazing that’s how he started all his stuff was when he was doing the horror stuff he’s a good
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guy 5:30 on the 18th that’s a couple of days from now 5:30 to 6:30 and then also Santa Santa is going to probably watch that but he’ll be on the 20th from noon till 3:00 where you can come to the Mawa library and visit Santa he has a I don’t know if he has a Maserati but he’s when he’s here he doesn’t use quite the heavy get up you might see him lighter dress but Santa will be from 12: to 3: in mawell library on the 20th all right and I was going to just mention these stories because on a national level
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that’s a whole thing I’m sure we can’t get away from that one but slow progress ahead for Maui’s County with tourism lagging is a worthwhile go to Maui now and read that story that’ll put hair on your chest as they say or if you’re not so inclined we have a long drive and way back and we have ideas a lot of us have ideas to make things happen without even people coming here yet so that’s a story revocable permit granted revocable for East Maui stream water being diverted to
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uh Maui they’re not Maui they’re Maui Pono and they’ve got 10,300 acres and we know they’re growing crops and there’s a lot of uh issues about granting something permanently as things are changing and there’s light that’s a good story those are important to see I only did that because we’re kind of catching up for a couple of weeks you might have seen me bring my other guy my co-host Scott Bushnell who comes from a different slant and so he likes to think it’s Buckley
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and Buckley and Vidal talking here so I don’t know if that’s it but some people don’t who Buckley and gdal Vidal if if you’re old enough to know who William F Buckley and Gore Vidal are those way back in the80s that last century I know I I don’t look that old but I’m you know I’m ancient history almost that’s so funny I sailed with Buckley’s Skipper on the boat he wrote the book about Celestial let’s begin you know that’s an interesting question I have Sid Albert
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in front of me and if I I met Sid because I asked a friend if you ever know anyone he said I know a guy who’s interesting who’s in the art business and we’re going to un I like to say this is a flower that’s blooming in front of me here sit up and Welcome to our show thank you so much I appreciate it um I know that in 2024 you’ve probably been here a long time how’ you get to Maui well you know it’s interesting I’m writing a book now and the the first thing in the book I say Maui is a great
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place to come after a riot I did it twice the first time I was teaching at Ohio State and um people don’t know this most people don’t but the riots at Kent State what happened and the tragic ending there really started at Ohio State Ohio State uh had a student strike uh but it was all about just uh hiring and firing teachers on campus and um uh rather than a state house and uh the the government totally overreacted they uh they brought in you know you know eventually the National Guard we
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had but they closed uh the students closed one gate to the of 21 to the university and uh just as a symbolic gesture and uh all of a sudden it was Riot police and everything shooting teargas and and what happened to Kent State it was a sympathy strike for what happened and then it escalated to get out of Cambodia and you know it got really crazy as we know but that drove me uh my buddy was uh tripping around Asia living on the beach in Goa and he sent me a uh aragam and basically uh said let’s buy a
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sailboat you know and uh we did it it all happened um it’s an amazing story but we sailed to Maui we got here in 71 we bought the boat in aahu and we uh subsequently that was the first boat in Maui classic Charters my partner Peter Jones and I and um uh you know I’ve I’ve crossed the ocean 14 times on sailboats I’ve done all these amazing things and the sailing industry the last 31 years I’ve been in the art business I came back to Maui why because of the Rodney King riots I was in the
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entertainment Biz I was director of opsa the largest entertainment laser company in the world and um we were tripping around the world with Pink Floyd Michael Jackson George Michael Paul m i could go on for half an hour really oh you were doing the the laser light shows all the exactly top rock and whatever and and special effects in film and some cor I got the meet and Ne alarms I did a corporate show for uh uh National Aeronautics and Space Workers Union if you had said Quincy Jones I mean when I
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think of different worlds I think of the music Biz but Neil Armstrong you’ve been wow you’ve had a full life I actually have a photo he gave me of um the whole Hawaiian island chain taken from outer space from Midway to the big island and the punchline when I tell the story and there’s a whole lot to the story but I’m not going to but um the punchline is I never asked him to sign it and the reason is I was in the if if I asked Michael Jackson to sign my tour jacket he certainly would have but
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the next day I’d get a call hey you’re off the tour it’s just not protocol so but you know Neil would have done it and uh I I always tell the story because I have it framed now over my computer up on the wall well I have over my wall his stepping first step for mankind you remember an artist out there named davo I’m friends with davo I I worked in the gallery piece or one of them piece of Neil Armstrong stepping down onto the moon I have on my w okay I’ll tell you I’ll tell you a very interesting thing I
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will tell you that I shared with Neil So at first it was Mr Armstrong and uh I shared with them how I was on a fellowship at Ohio State uh through National Defense for NASA and uh you know um I was gearing my life towards working for NASA designed space capsules and so forth I had an undergraduate degree in architecture and I just kind of but um uh when I did this thing and this was way back in the 80s with with Neil um after we got familiar started out as as Mr Armstrong and eventually I was calling him Neil he’s calling me S I
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said hey Neil I have proof you were on the moon and he says I know I was on the moon I said yeah I know you know but you know how those idiots who and he stopped me he didn’t even let he says yeah well they’re idiots and you know he was actually starting to get a little annoyed but uh I said yeah but I have the proof he said okay okay what’s the proof I said well you know when you uh when you stepped on the moon you were supposed to say one small step for amen one giant leap from mankind but you kind
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of muffed your line he and he just now he’s get he says you know I’ve heard that from people every day since you know really so so I I said he says what’s a proof get to the proof so I said I said well look I’ve done a lot of video production in my life and uh if you guys were Faking It On A Sound Stage they would have shot it again so you could get your line right he goes I’m going to use that come here and he walks me over to this little file cabinet and that’s when he said pick one and that’s
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when I picked the photo from outer space Oh funny yeah Neil Armstrong he passed away recently he’s gone he’s done that means all of us going someday we all have a checkout time but we don’t know what it is I have a theory that I share quite regularly pleas everybody born after Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon is a new species homo technicus I’m old species I use all the stuff I got this thing here you know you use it but but but I’m not hard wired for it like these kids you know
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it’s like I know they’re born with it yeah I think I used to do and the first time I did it was at the old L of coolers which is no longer oh yeah dick walk in there which is no longer dick back well the streets there the pavement but nothing else and the church across the corner yeah yeah that’s there the church surv his church made it Heart to Heart filmed an episode in that church a long time ago Stephanie Powers I have a story of her when we were living in Laurel Canyon William Holden was with
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Stephanie Powers next door to this gal I met who wrote the theme for Beretta see when you live in Los Angeles you know amazing Morgan names so I walked into into L coolers and everybody’s at the bar texting right so I just went like this I held it up I said you see this and everybody looked up I went worse than heroin and someone invariably would always when I do this this was the first time they said why is that and I said because you can quit heroin we’re stuck with this were you above the bar from your gallery I’m
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sorry were you above the bar like at Moose’s you had a gallery you were the last Gallery I worked in was heart International galleries I was for 17 years well they were more than a local artist Gallery they were a global artist showcaser I remember yeah and we also were had the exclusive rights to Anthony Hopkins work actually right um in December after the fire my last harah with heart we did a show for Anthony Hopkins in Vegas and uh at the win and it was crazy successful and uh I’ve just
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been spending the money I made and um uh you know I’m I’m been trying to piece together the future I am now actually involved with the Sheran uh their U their producing this meet the artist format event for the next four months uh a bunch of local artists who were really uh impacted thank you that’s the perfect word impacted and and not positively uh by uh what happened here you know you know the fire um all these people from my life who I knew from sailing boats years ago from doing the lasers years ago that I
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haven’t talked to some of them in 20s something years I would some way they found me I’d get texts I’d get uh emails emails some phone calls and they’d go Sid what the hell’s going on there you know and I always had the same line I’d say you know it’s like now we sold Salvador dol’s artwork i’ say it’s like living in a Salvador Dolly painting that he did on LSD cuz it was so surreal you know I live three miles from the fire my house have a beautiful architect designed home
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it’s fine and sitting where I am looking at at Leni looking at at mikai you never know anything happen now you know the boats out there you know and three miles away it’s uh you know it’s I was sitting at the Dunes Golf Course on the other side the next day looking back at the beautiful Hill knowing that right over that hill this major fire was going on yeah yeah it’s great but people from people that aren’t from here don’t really in my opinion I have opinions don’t realize I have my own theories on
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every there we go the whole Island’s been impacted when they talk about tourism is economy lagging Maui you here he’s three miles everything’s normal you don’t even know anything’s different something’s different we’re not getting the guest going through we we’re hearing story stories that people say oh they told us not to come we all car kinds of stories but all of you out there that are on Maui bless you all and you know if you’re homeless and in the fire zone
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or out of the fire zone now we have classes of homelessness here you know what really interesting I meet people visitors now I’ll be sitting in a bar or whatever and hey wa you you visiting you yeah and I and I say to them so uh you’ve been here before and and if they say no I say say you’ve never seen laa they go no no we’ve never seen and it’s a weird thing because it’s kind of like I I I we were just talking about this before the show but it’s kind of like trying to explain the 60s to uh
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people who are you know 20 years old today and uh you know I try you know you know it’s you just can’t explain I sell my my Schooner into that Harbor actually um it’s funny because Dave Hudson who later created finest kind Charter Business and he was the Harbor Master when we laugh about it still you know he was the Harbor Master uh yeah Dave’s quite a guy he in the last year or so he sailed a boat down to Tahiti and Marquees isn’t back uh he’s 80 he’s 83 now I think you know I have a lot of
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respect for Dave Huts um but uh you know the people that I meet are the tourists that have been here before and seen you know it’s a different conversation oh yeah I got here in 88 and uh I told you I lived in the house that Chris lasson just moved out it was like he suddenly had a break and he was moving out of the the Poor Side of Front Street you’re not talking about 144 front by shark pit uh no it was uh down the street from the Chart House on the corner oh that I was a bunch sure and he was I mean we’re
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talking about a little house I had this little single that I’m sure I don’t want to say illegal rental but I don’t know anything from now it was a beautiful little yeah but those days and I shared it with a beautiful lady we shared the shower now that was great thing right but those days were different I try to explain that when I got here I tried to explain my and and I say this people don’t believe it but I think you know if we could go back in the time machine we could verify you could walk down the
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center line of Front Street in the middle of the day with a beer in one hand and a joint in the other hand and walk up to a cop and say can you give me a light and he’d light you up and he could care less we we were living in the lost continent of L Moria you know that’s what what we called it and the other thing is we would have parties you know we’d go to a party in McKenna or Hau or Hana it didn’t matter where it was always the same 200 people it was a this this tribal thing you know
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and um look Maui is still an amazing place you know it’s it is but but it’s a different place now now the biggest change that’s happened to this island when I got here I’ll never forget this we’re I lived uh had my boat in the harbor but I lived way up in Olinda way up uh top of poolo Road p p Holo thank you yeah yeah yeah and and we drive down and uh some guy put a fence post in the ground and he put a it wasn’t even a rectangular piece of wood it was a ripped out piece of wood he he nailed it
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on and slashed with a paintbrush 14 acres uh 4,800 bucks or something you know basically land up there was going for $2 $300 an acre for the most and um now it’s $500,000 and and and is it that much better now it was better then so you know Maui’s gone through changes but and and and the thing that now I’m focused on is how this fire has affected the art business and um see we should have been talking long before cuz when we speak maybe Maui Arts and Music Association is to promote art music and culture and educate people
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about this stuff and bring in money for Environmental Solutions to be a self- sustainability model sounds like we artists could lead and generate the whole world to be supporting art and all that’s going on to rebuild Maui you know I mean and here you’re doing it with one Hotel can you imagine it I remember 93 you just came back here ‘ 93 the second Riot I was January 1st 93 I kissed the tarmac when I got off the plane I bet you know when I got here I I came in uh 87 to visit my ex-wife who was and as I
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got off the plane I I said I wonder what it would like to be mayor I don’t know why I thought of that way back I thought about it ran for mayor in ’94 was a green party did oh yeah I was a green party guy so I was 92 I living in Lina I loved Lina Laina you know it’s hard to describe it is Indescribable you can’t take a whole city and I don’t want to say Crush condense it down into an area that is so full of life and like you say you Front Street and the whole thing was much quieter okay but it was just
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a unique experience I got to preface the next thing I’m going to say with uh something one of my best clients who manufactures all the balling equipment for cocacola told me in the gallery once and uh this guy was in the CIA I I call him up and he goes Sid let me call you back on a secure line that’s how he so he was in the gallery once and I was standing there and someone uh started talking politics and he he like puts his arm around my shoulders and manhandles me away and I was in my 60s then and he was he
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was quite a bit older he was our he’s like 83 num and um he uh he just says to me and he enunciates Every Word by poking me in the chest almost you know he goes sit never mix politics with anything but drinking or fighting but now that I’ve said that you know this the whole concept of ever seeing art scene on Front Street again you know and I’m going to share with uh my my vision and um and it’s probably going to take someone like black uh black rock or uh Elon Musk or someone who says uh
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here’s the money just do it you know but the problem is and I have a degree in architecture and L was designed as an 1800 City you know Town yeah and to rebuild that and try to recoup what it would cost to do but my alternative is I know a lot of the local energy and uh they want to turn it into a Memorial Park and um you know and uh I’m not going to argue for or against that I I do think that I don’t think they’ll ever let them build uh commercial buildings on the water side it seems to be
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what but uh what I EnV vision is here’s the thing we have a chicken and egg problem uh we have the the tourist tourism’s way down and we have there’s nothing for them to come to on the west side like they used to be like L which had the art galleries the restaurants so why not build a facility architect designed beautiful facility overlooking where way up above above the burn center above above all that um you know with with all GL people could look from the center out the down to mikai
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and Lai and you know see the Memorial Park and know if if that’s what it is and have their Galleries and restaurants and entertainment center uh all kinds of you know and just have an an a destination place so that would draw people to come back to because could we call it Disneyland because it would have to be built uh like you say above but it’s designed to just just take a Comm you know like going to montelo in New York or M Vern in Washington restaurants uh yeah the whole thing uh art galleries uh
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entertainment you know what about a dome over the whole thing well I’ve got some unusual ideas too well you know the truth is we have like a who created this open space that’s another whole conversation of what started the fire and kept it going it is extraordinary this this fire if you say Wildfire some people jumped through the roof and if you say it was a laser people jumped through the other way I’m a laser tech it wasn’t a laser let me just tell you you know but but first of all it’s a paranoid it you know
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I mean it’s ridiculous you know I can tell you uh what burn Lina down I heard it from one of the firefighters that was there and and the real truth is you know I don’t I mean of course the electric company has some liability be but but it really was an act of God and uh there were some very bad decisions made I’ll tell you I’ll tell you something where I got personal information from a firefighter so I had a friend who lived on luini he lost his house he lost a few friends in the fire and I heard just
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shortly after he’s handing out free food working uh you know across from what was the health food store which unfortunately closed down not because of the fire but you’re talking right there in town then in huk Kawai yeah and he was working there and I went I heard that and I went to S I said hey Don I’m putting you up for sainthood because here he was he lost everything he was an artist he lost all his art he lost his house and yet he’s he says Sid I’m fine but look at that guy and there’s a guy
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sitting there he’s not dressed bad he doesn’t look homeless but he’s got a look on his face like he lost his whole family right so we walk over to him how you doing okay man he says not really so his story is he was a firefighter and he says he was at the Christian School which was the first fire he says the first fire that was reported that the fire department went to put out that day where’s the Christian School roughly up it’s either up L Luna or up the street next to it up a Dickinson but
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way up gotcha and uh right at the highway I’m not I’m not sure I couldn’t tell you I mean I’m just telling you a story I’m listening I’m sorry and uh it’s affiliated with a with with a church but it’s a Christian School and um they went uh is blowing like 70 knot Gus you know but they hadn’t had a fire yet and I don’t know if it was electric line it started I don’t know that’s not the point I yeah but um they put it out and then the guy in charge whether he was the the chief
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or the lieutenant whoever said okay wrap it up we’re leaving and one of the guys that was there fighting the fire says don’t you think someone ought to keep an eye on it’s blowing 70 knots and he gets an answer like uh getting the truck yeah like what what what are you in charge now you know and uh the guy we’re talking to who was there he’s not the one who said that but he he says you know I made a commitment right there and then I’m going back I’m getting off shift and I’m going back in my own car
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and I’m going to keep an eye on the fire keep an eye on it and but he ended up going drinking with his buddies and he was feeling so guilty because he’s convinced that fire flared up and that’s it took he says eight minutes to go half a mile down to L so um you know there were a lot of bad decisions made turning off the water um hey we have a guy um what’s his name Bosco who worked in my G he’s an ex uh Staff Sergeant in the military and he would do our maintenance and Framing and creating all kind of
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stuff and he was there when the fire broke out and uh he he tried with it you know and then he realized we’re all going to die we don’t get out of here and I got in their car and he got to the end of front and a cop was stopping I’m saiding you can’t go through here because uh power lines are down and uh you know being the the balls of the wall kind of guy he was he uh he he just he just basically gave the cop the finger and drove around the barricade and he’s still alive there are people who burned
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up in their cars because they you know because the police wouldn’t let them through yeah the left hand didn’t know what the right hand didn’t know what was going you know it was just so it was a lot of a lot of fault we’re going to continue in a second this is Jason Schwarz with Sid Alpert K kuu 88.5 FM the voice of Maui we are at the neutral zone continue you know like the stories of that I number 100 or 99 was my friend Michael who was the cobbler in the in the war of Cinema Michael I’d see
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Michael at the the uh Amigos all the time he his shop he could watch his shop he sat at the bar all day and and Michael Michael had a past had some stories and he died you know that I know I know I know I lost four friends in the fire so he’s the one that put me in touch with the architect in Japan way back when I formed my nonprofit in 1991 a solar architect in Japan see there’s such history that people don’t know here you know Michael used to chauffeur I not going to remember who know a real super famous rock star oh
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yeah yeah guy with a beard like him like well I don’t know this a long time ago I don’t know if he had the beard oh he he always seem had a sandal shop right there yeah yeah yeah Michael man myth yeah that’s right yeah he he was an interesting guy and a nice guy he had some interesting things in his little enclosure there things from the you know all kinds of oneoff art things yeah yeah well I’m excited about just every you know when you’re talking what I was gonna when I heard your name in art I
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was thinking ah someone who understand the gallery Without Walls way back one no one ever bought anything from my online Gallery I was just starting didn’t know the IRS liked that they ordered me twice oh my God so I knew it was a good idea so it’s still a good idea so we should talk offline and you guys will be listening in um how did you get into were you in the art business you in laser you were here the the only thing I ever did in the AR business before I moved back to Maui when I was in Santa Monica I hooked up
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with this group uh the Moscow Art Gallery in Toronto I think it was and don’t quote me because I’m it’s a long time ago in a galaxy far away but um uh they this when the Soviet Union first opened up and all of a sudden they were sending they were sending uh art supplies to artists in in in Russia there are some amazing artists in Russia some we’ve never heard of that that have already died you know never but they were doing shows in in uh trying to promote so they had me because I was in
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the laser business and I was doing all these venues in in the Hollywood area and I knew I was hanging out with the jet sitters so you know I was Finding venues for them to do these shows and that was it that was my whole involvement so that but then I moved to moved to Maui and um Maui youth ambassadors were you involved with that when they going to Moscow no no not not at all before this is not at all yeah no I mean I I I I really I I shared pretty much my whole relationship in the art I got my degree in architecture I can
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certainly paint but wasn’t an artist right but um when I when I got to Maui and what I was doing was um basically I was living on my friend invited me on his property up in Linda cutting the prodia bringing it down to Lina selling bouquets for like five bucks you know and I I’d walk down the street uh of flowers from outer space but you know because no one ever saw these things you know and and and anyway I I went to a show at the Hyatt and uh there it was a show uh this artist David Lee David Lee yeah hold on I’m going and
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uh and uh I’m just looking at it was kind of impressive and I had a real bent towards Asian philosophies and stuff you know you see I’m wearing a Buddha my wife’s Japanese oh okay um this is actually a 400y old Tibetan Buddha given to me by a very special Tibetan girl but but uh and I’m just admiring the art and this slight you know Chinese gentleman works up to me and we start having this conversation not necessarily about the art but it got very deep you know and then I realized this is someone I want
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to know I said hey I’m Sid Albert I’m Sid Albert and uh he said hold on I have a phone call no he said uh he and he just goes I’m DAV Lee that’s how he talked I couldn’t believe I’m talking to the artist for 15 minutes I didn’t never never said and then he said you should come work for me you know then I ended up I mean it’s a it’s a long really crazy story but then um you did I did and uh we had our first gallery on Front Street now David had been in galleries
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he he was uh you know had been in U oh uh Center art gallery and uh oh he here you mean no no in New York in aahu oh okay and um you know uh he he he was selling his paintings on the zoo fence in the 60s he came over from uh China and born in Canton but then Hong Kong and um you know and I and look just to share if you know who David Lee is yeah uh all the phone numbers I have for him in Hong Kong uh the funniest thing is his his lawyer uh who um you know uh in in a walk has no idea what happened
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to him I know that he moved back to China he moved to Hong Kong and my theory is I this is a joke really because I it has nothing to but just knowing David he opened his mouth to the Chinese Communists and they locked him up you know because it’s not like living in Maui and uh but I worked for Dave for years tripped all over the world with him and uh um did a show for the sulan of brunai in brunai for the RO family uh yeah I mean I I got such Amazing Stories you know I mean I’m writing a book but uh
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they’re amazing experiences um we you know we did uh shows in Singapore we did but mostly in the United States and so did you hook up with a show producer and did lights or you pretty well ran a whole show no no we we produced our own events but we hired one of the things I ended up doing my architecture background we we would hire whatever City we to we go to Chicago we’d hire a company walls and lights and you know they’d set it up for us and we rent and it would cost us uh it’s funny because I
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was telling the story I said it would cost us like you know 1518 $20,000 for the weekend and someone says to me 40,000 today man you know you know but I ended up designing designed a system 100,000 today yeah I designed a system of uh traveling uh you know breakdown walls really uh had it built in LA aluminum uh aluminum with fabric on it and they all interconnected you only had to plug in the last one was all electrically connected and you know David David left him in a storage unit that got seized or something when he
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left left here I wish I had them because uh very valuable today and instant gallery yeah right popup no at hard International we built uh Glenn he built his own walls and lights and everything but they’re really crude they look great but they’re heavy and uh you had to plug each light you know when you look behind the wall you see no right pay no attention to the full behind the curtain that is I knew that Wizard of Oz would come in well you know I’m having a lot of fun which is great but you’ve been I mean
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when I think of the art business in the H and seeing where we are now it’s like we were like what is it third or sixth largest Art Market in the world well well you know yeah I mean uh per capita yeah it it was one of the largest in the world per capita but you know not you know in terms of the amount of art sold I mean you can’t you know really truthfully just Honest Engine you can’t compare it to New York or you know I mean you know or Paris but it was a great story no but the thing about the
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thing about Front Street okay so Glenn Hart who owned the gallery at one point some years before I left before before the fire um he he he had a dinner for all of us and he says H we go to aahu we’re we’re taking over all of Chris Lassen’s galleries in aahu we’re taking one at the Royal U oh God major Hotel on no in aaho Roy Hawai but so we all of a sudden we’re going to have three galleries in aahu and uh I remember I uh I stood up and I said uh I made a toast I said well Glenn either you have
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a lot more money than I thought you did or you’re smoking more pot than me but uh and years later he says God man that was a mistake you know what it worked kind of because we had the ferry then the ferry and we could we could fill up a truck full of Art and and just for the cost of taking the ferry right you know but then when the ferry stopped transportation we were it was a nightmare so so it just and and there’s no Center to the art scene in aahu It’s kind of like Vegas now now uh you know
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the owner of the gallery I’m talking about he’s based in Vegas they are back you mve back and and the thing is he explained this to me there’s like 53 different art scenes in in Vegas because there 53 Hotel you know people don’t people shop for art in the hotel they’re staying in typically with exceptions but it’s not like you know hey we did a show Once with David Lee at The Forum Shops in Chris Lassen’s Gallery at The Forum Shops and it’s unbelievable the amount
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of people walking through that it’s like a sea of people you know but but they’re they’re individual places you know for art and uh and the the Space is really expensive so uh yeah you see that was my idea years ago brand Maui art Maui art and Music Association Mama around the world everybody knows mama and uh Mama M well that’s so funny you know it’s like here we are I don’t know how many years later 30 years I think it’s more than 30 a few but these ideas it’s not like
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they’re recycling them they never had a chance to grow because they in my example they were repressed because of the local police itical scene yeah well I’ll tell you one of the things I did the last thing at the at because there are limitations and and we had thousands and thousands and thousands of clients we had a newsletter yeah but what I was reaching out to I created an App uh I spent a year and a half doing it um to uh and then we never got to Market it because of the fact but where
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we would and I would do it myself except I don’t have the money it’s expensive and I but uh you know we had we were Glenn was buying Masterworks Rembrandt Picasso had good sources totally authenticated you know hey Alon musk you give 250 million to Trump we don’t need that much no and you can make money here again no what are they what are they saying he’s threatening to buy now uh MSNBC oh God what are we doing World well excuse me I think it’d be a good we got another guy here uh the Google guy
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lives in West yeah sure uh no not Google guy the uh Amazon Amazon well Bezos he’s down in P who’s the Google the GU there’s a guy that one of the owners of Google Larry Pig and the other guy I forgot his name I have to Google him yeah you’ll see he lives in West Maui you know dropping the bucket these are the guys that could help make giant change happen we’ll put their name right on the top l Dash will give you a big credit see I was sure that Bezos when he moved over here I made a prediction I have one
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nickname Camas right so I made a prediction that he’s going to buy the Maui News just like he bought the Washington Post you know because he wants he wants to talk himself up you know he would you know um that’s not a bad I was shocked to see that the Maui News is once a week publication and it’s $3 now it’s a sad State of Affairs no I me it is but but the thing is no one reads the paper anymore you know we’re living in we’re living in this you go online you watch five stories wait wait you’re not a
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subscriber I know no no hey you know what’s amazing about this thing I get 150 emails every day and there’s only three that I really want to see you know and uh people are telling me now there’s these ways you can do you can screen out everything you don’t want but the new Apple operating system it’s primary uh transactions they got they’re starting to do the Sorting on the way in now into different so it’s happening yeah yeah now I I text when I communicate with my friends I just text
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because I’m not yet getting any texts from people I don’t know not yet you know I’m not really I do yeah do you really yeah well you know my number is nice and round I had a guy that went to New York with some bogus check and he got into jail they thought he was a terrorist CU he had an $80,000 fake check that someone had given him you know things that were here and then he remembered my number and called me and I called people to help bail them out of jail so there was an artist by the way another artist
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you know a guy named Sabo or local art no no davo I know real well Sao I don’t davo is a good friend he’s a beautiful guy you know I this I almost thought we we should have a six-hour show maybe you want to come you be my new co-op well I’ll tell you one thing I was going to ask you I should really ask you after the show but you know um Tara Alexandro Alexandro she’s an artist yeah Taran and she is one of the principles her and this lady Jessica and I’m embarrassed I don’t remember her last name Mara Dum or
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something I’m getting it wrong but they’re the ones who are doing this thing at the Sheran and they would love to uh come here and talk to you great love to talk to that yeah I just wanted to say uh so that I don’t get u a beat up when I uh when I go see them uh I’m working with two artists at U the Sheran one is Rascal who uh look the guy guy’s got an amazing history he designed a watch for Swatch uh back in 1998 called moonchild and uh it was about the fastest selling Swatch watch Ever I’m
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actually going to start negotiating with Swatch to let him do another one he was in our Gallery uh in hard Galleries and he was selling 20 Originals a month wow and uh and look Rascal this guy is perseverance personified two days before the fire he had a quadruple bypass at the hospital emergency had no idea he had any and he says to me he said if I if he was feeling short of wind so he went to the doctor they get six he says we got to get you to the hospital so um he would have never made it out of the
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fire and um and then two days later his play you know Place bring and the gallery’s gone and yet he’s he’s painting again and uh he’s uh you know so we’re we’re we’re doing this thing at the high the other artist I’m working with um uh James Noel um who is U you know you said you knew right James Nole no I don’t Oh I thought that was you before Oh that was the gentleman oh that we’re a small group here but that’s good James no yeah and he’s uh here’s a guy who’s just got
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that shops now Rascal Rascal was a street artist in New York and he was tagging buildings and uh he kept appearing stuff huh when you say tag and building graffiti oh oh and uh he kept going before the judge and the fin the judge said to him because the judge kind of liked them you know but he said you know why don’t you why don’t you get some canvas yeah exactly and it’s really how it happened but he did this watch for Swatch when he he married a Brazilian girl was living in Brazil and had a show
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at the national museum it’s the greatest cuz we had a picture in the gallery cuz we were selling Rembrandts too right so the front of the national museum of Brazil and there’s a big banner Rascal and on the other side rembrand you know so I I tell rasc he’s not quite in Rembrandt’s category yet but he’s wow this is a a fortuitous meeting made great things happen from all the we’re talking about hey for you too yeah well I mean uh you know that thing this really is like one I’m
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hearing it it’s one idea I’m been seeing this a long time how to link all people up under a common Vision because the whole world not only do they know Maui and the fire but they know mama and papa these are things that 30 years ago like when we go to the cultural center we see pundi we all have our different stories about pundy the Statue who was a real man years ago yeah my wife sat next to him at a uh at a dinner uh for an artist uh and and you know she just happened to be sitting next to him
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I was next she didn’t even know who he was after the show she says oh that man my wife’s Japanese she says that man very nice very nice I said you don’t know who that is Yoshi you know right Rich history and I’m amazed that you and I had not met before now that is because it’s a small island it is but uh you know like Trum and capot had a great line yeah he said uh it’s always the same 500 people you know but yeah I understand you know you go all over the world and and and you know
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I uh I just and I just remember I had a j remember great Janes that used to do lunch delivery no oh you know well they were up on cross from McDonald’s I had a little scooter and one of my first jobs fun here was riding on a scooter and delivering lunch through the on a scooter oh wow talk about great memories I got to know every alley every side every where the art business guys and when they came in and left okay and now I’m going to blow your mind when I got here in 71 there was a marine hardware store
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right on Front Street right like across the street from uh where kemos was oh yeah but Kos wasn’t there yet no and and uh and they were all okazuya sh there were no galleries no no jewelry stores nothing High Line you know uh so the streets really gone through a metamorphosis went through and then you know um so much you know um yeah the the and the thing about Front Street which is different than like for instance the the the um the mall they built the L Gateway yeah total mistake the one it got no because they designed
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it not you would ever walk through the mall from store to store people have one store to go to they park in front of it they go in they come out but Front Street was an exception that cuz people went and walked the length of Front Street you know and I I I’ve been saying for years for years um you know uh since I started working since 93 I’ve been saying they need to get all the cars off Front Street turn it into a walking Mall put up uh you know art sculpture on the street um you know um turn into a park
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yeah just the street yeah and and have uh you know have some electric vehicles that hold 10 people for people that can’t walk you know that could jump on for fre and drive them down you know but but open up the street get the cars off the street get the fumes and but it never happened and uh maybe we were punished who knows no we don’t know but although I don’t think it was God’s fault I think it was the devil that burned L down so I saw something yesterday surprised me there’s a new
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movie uh Santa if you spell it wrong is Satan I thought well that was really how did that happen yeah yeah that some overactive imagination but no but it’s interesting when you look at words and all that way the movie I want to see is this movie they made about the first five years of Dylan’s career coming up with Timothy sham yeah I don’t know who he is but but what what’s it called I don’t know it’s it’s a line from his uh from one of his songs one of his songs yeah yeah but or you have to put in the
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computer it’s obviously not memorable because I’m sitting here like a well but we’re going to know once we hear it it’s not blowing in the wind no no it’s um something but it’s not yet on Netflix or any of those you got to go to the movie theater and spend 20 I wonder if it’s going to make it to Maui you think it’ll make it to Maui oh yeah but I now at these big screen to theaters but I’d go see that one yeah I’m Cur hey I’ll tell you real quick nothing to do with what
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we’re talking about 1962 I was in in high school and I went to uh it might have been 63 but I I went to my I went to a Joon bayz concert at the farest Hills Country Club she says after a few songs she says I have a special friend I want to bring out please be kind to him Bob Dylan he sings It’s A Hard rain gonna fall first he takes 10 full minutes to get his harmonica thing and tun his guitar now when Jon bayz played after every song Everybody thunderous Applause Bob Dylan sings Hard Rain’s going to
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fall and there’s silence everybody was so no one ever heard a song like that no one wrote songs like that and and and then after about 10 12 seconds everybody started clapping but it changed the world wow and and um later in my life here on Maui I became friends with Sarah Dylan who had broken up with Bob I used to bounce Jacob her son who became wallf flowers you know he had to group wall I used to bounce him on my knee give him my pony right um you know it’s just uh Sarah was a trip and um but I I was so
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influenced by Bob Dylan I mean uh uh I got to say you know and and the fact that he won the Nobel Prize for literature I think is absolutely was the right thing extraordinary yeah I mean uh he he he he I had someone I email with all the time recently and um they uh they the way radio listeners this is Sid Albert you’re listening to go ahead I guess we’re done huh we’re almost done isn’t that amazing we’ve been speaking almost an hour I hope you’ll come back I didn’t tell you about
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my visit to the Mothership which mother no I’m just kidding obviously we’re going to have sit back and if he’ll come except now we’re going to learn how to he’s going to teach me how to monetize wouldn’t that be fun I love those words monetize I’ve been doing this now 30 years here at Public Access someone said you’ve been doing all these things for all these years either you know who I am or you don’t you know it’s one of those things it’s like when I it’s like you’re
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talking about finding the 60s this has been such a rich and exciting life on Maui it’s Indescribable you know living here it isn’t like the 60s but it surely was like the time we’ve spent here has been just super precious and I got to tell you Jason I over steered for getting prepared to come here cuz I shaved off my beard you did really yeah how big was the beard oh it just you know I go through the my my wife always tells me when it gets to this point she says Sid you got to shave it’s like
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Sadam Hussein so I’m in my Sodom Hussein face I always thought why are they having me sing Santa Claus is coming to town because I look like Santa Claus you know it’s funny well this has been fun I hope it’s been fun I mean it’s been fun for all of us right you guys can say that you can’t stand up and cheer yet but I hope that you’ll look at dream maui.com or look on the YouTube and find dream Maui one whatever you want to look and also Maui neutral zone they all go to the same place you see
55:15
because I’m a holistic guy it all fits together in one giant all roads lead to Jason well you know I call it this idea about mama is not you know how long people call it’s Jason the broken record the broken record it’s the broken record you should have set up at Mama’s Fish House well could come though Floyd is gone now I know I know do you know that was originally called uh wooden ship’s juice stand it was the and it said last thing before Hana and it was true we only have 55 seconds I want you audience to uh
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welcome him back make it known but I want to have Sid back Sid you’ve been a great guest I hope you had a good time I didn’t know what to expect I was I’ve spent a lot of my life on the other side of the microphone H but um well I’m I’m not sure which side I’m on yeah I shouldn’t say microphone on the other side of the camera yeah you know we have now 30 seconds it’s been a pleasure Sid Albert you’re welcome guest Yoshi I love you if you’re listening even if you’re
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not it’s my that’s right you’ll listen to the replay you can find it all over blessings to you everyone thank you for joining us today can you imagine imagine we’re out of there right thank you all for joining us Aloha thank you s that was an hour huh wow
