Pat Simmons and Pat Simmons Jr. show set for April 27 in Maalaea
KAHULUI—Pat Simmons Jr. was around two years old when he first joined his father, Doobie Brothers’ co-founder Pat Simmons, on stage with the legendary rock band. He would sometimes walk out with a toy guitar during their finale.
“I had a little kid’s plastic guitar, and they put headphones on me to protect my ears,” Simmons recalled. “I was always on the side of the stage watching. At some point it became a real guitar and I would go out in the last song and jam. I still do to this day whenever I see the band. It’s been pretty much 30 years.”
“Later on, I ended up showing him chords, and he played along on stuff like ‘Listen to the Music,’” the elder Simmons explained. “He always was waiting in the wings and ready to play.
He just had a natural inclination to play.”
The two Maui musicians’ latest collaboration finds them performing together at Da Playground on April 27, in a benefit for the Maui Ohana Collective, a resource center for alternative education.
“It’s a benefit show for my son’s school,” said Simmons Jr., who just released a catchy new single with a sunny island groove, “Decisions,” where he is backed by fellow Maui resident, British rock legend Dave Mason on lead guitar, along with James “Hutch” Hutchinson on bass, and Willie K’s former drummer Kris Thomas.
It also features five members of the Doobie Brothers. His dad, of course, on guitar and vocals, plus John McFee on cello, Bill Payne on keyboards, John Cowan on vocals and Marc Quiñones on percussion.
The song was initially inspired by a conversation with his mother about life choices. “I was doing some work in my garden a handful of years ago and my mom came out and said, ‘what are you putting energy into your gardening? You’ve got a gift with music. Why don’t you practice your guitar?’ I said mom, I’m going to make my own decisions, and that’s how it started. I have a passion for other things other than music, including farming and being in nature and surfing. I started out writing it as a reggae tune and then my dad took it in his own production direction, which ended up being really cool and unique. People have been commenting saying it sounds like some kind of George Harrison song or like some kind of Beatles vibe.”
on new music for an upcoming album. It will include a new, remixed version of his inspiring wildfire benefit song “Lahaina,” which featured help from Mick Fleetwood, Henry Kapono and Jake Shimabukuro.
The album will mark Michael McDonald’s return to recording with the band after 44 years, and gospel legend Mavis Staples sings on the track, “Walk This Road.”
“I’ve got three songs that are all mixed and ready to go,” said Simmons. “Mike’s (McDonald) got three or four songs, and Tommy’s (Johnston) got three or four songs. Mike played some great keyboards and everybody’s singing great. John McFee played some fiddle and dobro and some great slide guitar.”
For their Playground show, Simmons said they will include songs from his son’s album, the Nā Hōkū nominated “This Mountain,” and a few Doobie Brothers’ classics. “We’ll probably do tunes from his album and he’s got this new song ‘Decisions.’ We’re going to do a couple Hawaiian tunes, and Jack Johnson’s ‘Rainbow.’ I’ll do the usual, ‘Blackwater’ and ‘Long Train Runnin.’ I’m going to do some oddball stuff, Doc Watson’s ‘Deep River Blues.’ And I’m doing ‘Cannonball,’ off our last record, and the song for Lahaina.”
Simmons Jr. has a new band and some members will likely join them at the Playground. It includes drummer Duke Gadd, son of drumming legend Steve Gadd who tours with James Taylor, bassist Noah DeLea, Al Torre on lead guitar, and saxophonist Alex Keeney.
Besides the Playground show, Simmons Jr. will join Henry Kapono and Kala‘e and Kalena Parish at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Friday. They all just played together at the Blue Note on Oahu.
In a Facebook post, Kapono wrote: “I’ve had the privilege of performing with Pat Simmons Jr. and was totally impressed with his laid back down to earth style. Pat Simmons Jr. is definitely shaping the future of music here in the islands.”
Pat Simmons and Pat Simmons Jr. perform at Da Playground on Saturday at 7 p.m. Orion Hitzig and Matt Del Olmo will open. General admission is $25 and $35 for VIP table seating. Tickets are available at www.tixr.com/groups/ daplayground.