Nathan Aweau lives and breathes music

Jun. 25—Music is more than just a full-time job for Nathan Aweau. It is part of his life offstage as well as on, when he's awake and even when he's sleeping.

Music is more than just a full-time job for Nathan Aweau. It is part of his life offstage as well as on, when he's awake and even when he's sleeping.

"I'm always writing, I can't turn that off, " Aweau, a multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner, explained recently. "I write in my sleep. My wife always nudges me when she knows that there's a melody going on in my head. She's like, you know, 'Go to your workroom, ' because she knows that it's going on while I'm sleeping, and I keep her up. I can't stop writing."

Aweau's perpetual drive to write has helped propel him through a prolific career as a singer, musician, stage entertainer and recording artist. Among his career highlight are the years he spent working with Don Ho at the Waikiki Beachcomber hotel, a productive collaboration with Barry Flanagan as a member of Hapa and winning Hokus for three separate recording projects in 2006.

This year, Aweau and his current album, "Ho 'omana 'o, " are up for seven Hokus in five categories.

"I feel honored that my peers find my music worthy of awards and stuff, which is cool, " he said.

Aweau is a finalist for album of the year, male vocalist of the year, island music album of the year, music video of the year and favorite entertainer. The finalists and winners in most categories are determined by the members of the Hawai 'i Academy of Recording Arts or by panels of select specialists. The favorite entertainer winner is determined by public voting online.

Awards for album of the year go to the producer as well as the artist, and Aweau is one of five artist /producers in the category for whom a win would be a "two-fer." There are also the three members of Keauhou who co-produced their album, "I Le 'a "; and Keauhou member Zachary Alaka 'i Lum, who also produced "Ka Haku Mele, " his all-star project with Keali 'i Reichel, Kainani Kahaunaele and Cody Pueo Pata. Wehilei Lim-Ryder was a co-producer of her album, "Music Heals the Soul "; and Natalie Ai Kamauu has a producer credit for her album of the year finalist, "Natalie Noelani."

Another multiple-award category is music video, which recognizes the work of the artist, video director and music producer. Aweau was music producer as well as artist on his music video. Jason Honeycutt, an L.A.-based film industry veteran with deep mainland credits, served as video director.

"He was a fan, longtime fan while I was in Hapa, and so he contacted me, " Aweau said. "He wanted to put a project together, his first project of local artists, and I was lucky enough to get called."

Aweau's collaboration with Honeycutt is a rarity for an artist who usually handles all aspects of a project himself.

"I love creating, " he said. "I love writing the songs, the ideas coming to me and completing all that, then arranging them, recording them, playing all the instruments and whatnot, then getting to the point of mixing and mastering, and then finishing the very end and just ... looking at it like, 'Wow, I created that.'

"People would ask me, 'Why don't you get people to help you mix, or get musicians to record with you, or do the mastering or whatever ?' It's nothing to do with ego or anything. I just like the idea of creating, from start to finish, the whole thing."

And that's what Aweau did with "Ho 'omana 'o, " which he translates as "to remember again."

"I'm always in reflective mode when I start to write. Things can pop up in my mind, whether it's old relationships, or my father, or a friend that passed on or places that I've been, and I kind of work from there, " he said.

Perhaps ironically, whatever the outcome on awards night, Aweau won't be there. He'll be working a prior commitment. "Working " is always a good thing for a full-time musician, and Aweau has had plenty of work this year. He created the music for this year's Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawai 'i ceremony and recently completed a video with Jake Shimabukuro for Hawaiian Airlines. Next up are some short domestic concert tours, followed by almost two months in Japan.

For the immediate future, Oahu residents can see him Sundays at the Kani Ka Pila Grille in Waikiki.

Wherever he's working, Aweau's seven-string electric bass stands out. He moved up to a seven-string instrument in 1985 when he decided that six strings were not enough.

"I was always kind of thinking it'd be nice to have an extra string higher, just for the different range, " he said.

Aweau found a company in Missouri that made what it called "extended bass guitars " and has played one "for a good 20-something years." Then a Japanese company, STR Guitars, contacted him.

"They were making custom-made seven-string extended (basses ) as well, and they invited me to their place. They've been my sponsors ever since then, " he said.

"(The ) funny thing about it is there's not too many people that actually know that I'm a bassist (and ) that it's my main instrument."

And so maybe it's not surprising that a man who can compose melodies in his sleep enjoys practice sessions alone with his bass even more so than performing.

Many people find practicing to be a chore, he said, but he looks forward to being in that "certain zone " by himself. "It's one of those times of the day where it's just me and I lock everybody out."