Street roots., February 05, 2016, Page 6, Image 6

Vendors
Page 6
VENDOR PROFILE
o
Damein Awana
C EN TR A L C IT Y
C O FFEE
BY LEONORA KO
SWnku/elL ¿Do-yood.
Sourcing & roasting craft coffee to
benefit programs at Central City Concern.
New Seasons Market, Whole Foods, Food Front
Cooperative Grocery, Green Zebra, Chuck's
Produce and Will Leather Goods.
AT YOUR OFFICE
Interested in serving Central City Coffee at your
office? Get in touch with us and We can help you
make that happen. 503.226.7387
ON OUR WEBSITE
Buy Central City Coffee online and have it
shipped directly to you or a friend.
Follow our Facebook page for updates and specials.
centralcitycoffee.org facebook.com/CentralCityCoffee coffee@ccconcem.org
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weather, so I’m going to have to have it
fixed. Any money I make is going to improve
that.”
His first Street Roots earnings went
toward a memory cable, which records the
music he composes on the guitar.
“I got a memory cord on sale for $40, and
I put it on layaway for $10,” Damein said.
“(Earnings are) going to go to the guitar.
But I might go out and splurge on myself
and get a big hamburger or something.”
Damein said his goal is to never stop
playing.
“If it wasn’t for the music heroes
that I had, I would have gave up
l
hope a long time ago. There
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hen Damein Awana sits down in the
Street Roots office, he carefully lays
his guitar case nearby.
“I’m working for the guitar,” Damein said.
“I’m trying to be a professional musician, no
matter what. If everything in the world goes
against me to not do it, at least I’m still
trying and playing. I know at the end of my
lifetime, I’ll have one of the greatest guitars
in the world. If no one wanted it hear it, it’s
not my troubles.”
Damein was born in Tacoma, Wash., and
grew up in California, with a Hawaiian
father and a “mainland” mother.
“I was always playing music since my
childhood,” he said. “As a kid, everybody
had ukuleles and guitars.”
When Damein was in high school, his
grandmother let him use her garage for jam
sessions.
“I went to all the different high schools
and got like five, six bands together,”
Damein said. “Made a little rock ’n’ roll
orchestra. We wouldn’t practice at the same
time; too many people. We’d just put the
equipment in there, and we’d all take turns
and jam with each other.
“Our original concept was to make the
best music in the world,” Damein said.
“Hawaiian music, rock ’n’ roll and
everything combined, so we had music for
everybody to listen to.”
High school ended, the bands broke up,
and Damein traveled the states, playing '
music.
Most recently, he was in Hawaii.
“Most of my memories are mainland,”
Damein said. “But I go (to Hawaii) once
every so many years and stay on Molokai,
Oahu, different islands. (There) I was
recording with a bunch of Hawaiians, older
men - all of them retired, in their 60s and
■
IN STORES
3
STAFF W RITER
70s. We were all doing music video, playing
some jazz and everything. These were top-
notch players.”
Damein plays the electric guitar, creates
his own music and tries to avoid song
requests.
He explained, “I don’t play anyone else’s
music. I could, but it’s not going to be like
on the radio because things change, times
change, songs change. Songs grow, they
develop, the music becomes better. You’ve
got to play music relevant to today.”
Damein arrived in Portland in
August and began selling Street
Roots newspapers in
December. He likes to
meet and greet people,
whether they buy a
paper or n o t
At the moment, he
doesn’t play at his
newspaper spot: “The
weather’s not good for
(the guitar) now, so it’s
been in the case. I take
it out every now and
then, check if rust got on
the strings, change
the strings. It’s
kind of
warped in
the neck,
though,
because of jflH
Street Roots • Feb. 5-11,2016
m an works.
So does
Street Roots.