Whenever I find a group or artist that I enjoy, I ask my friends and co-workers if they have heard of them. The answer, "I think my dad has that CD, but I've never heard of them," is what led to the beginning of this article.

This article is about Kalapana, a local group founded in the 1970s, which radio disc jockey Kamasami Kong calls "The Beatles of Hawai'i."

It all started in Hawai'i Kai in 1973, when two childhood friends, D.J. Pratt and Kirk Thompson, decided to form a band with Malani Bilyeu, a performer at the Oar House. The three of them, along with Mackey Feary, another performer at the Oar House, got together in Pratt's garage, and the band was born. Feary and Bilyeu were the lead singers and played guitar, Pratt was the lead guitarist on electric guitar and Thompson played keyboards.

The band began rehearsing and writing songs, but they did not have a name. Each member was challenged to think of a name for the band. Pratt, however, could not think of one, so he pulled out a map of Hawai'i, closed his eyes, spun in a circle several times and pointed to a random place on the map. That place was Kalapana.

Kalapana became the headline act at the popular Toppe Ada Shoppe club, located near Ala Moana Center. In 1975, they released their first album, simply titled "Kalapana." All but one song were originals, mainly written by Feary and Bilyeu.

The album was a big hit, featuring up-tempo acoustic numbers such as "The Hurt" and "When the Morning Comes," guitar rock songs "Kona Daze" and "All I Want," and beautiful love ballads "Nightbird" and "You Make it Hard." The album also produced their signature song, Bilyeu's "Naturally," a haunting tune about rising above it all.

After a tour of the Hawaiian Islands and parts of the West coast, they recorded their second album. "Kalapana II" was released in 1976. It was another hit album of all original material again written by Feary and Bilyeu. "Kalapana II" featured the band's expanding musical styles while staying true to the sound of the first album. There was one major difference between the two albums: while the first was mainly acoustic, the second was more rock-oriented, with Pratt's electric guitar igniting five of the 12 songs.

Also adding to the music were two new band members: Alvin Fejerang on drums and Michael Paulo on saxophone and flute. Fejerang would stay with the band until the 1980s, while Paulo has appeared on every American Kalapana release since. "Kalapana II" produced the hits "(For You) I'd Chase a Rainbow," "Dorothy Louise," "Moon and Stars," "Juliette" and the instrumental jam "Black Sand." "Black Sand," written by Thompson, became the opening number at most of their concerts.

The group launched a large tour on the mainland, on Japan and through the Islands. When the tour reached the Islands, a three-concert event at the Waikīkī Shell was held from June 25-27, 1976, which drew a record 25,000 people.

On Dec. 26, 1976, Kalapana held a concert at the newly opened Aloha Stadium with Cecilio and Kapono. A record 30,000 people attended that concert, a crowd still considered large by today's standards.

They were "Hawaii's Beatles," and as world-famous disc jockey Kamasami Kong pointed out, "The local fans here reacted with the same fanatical fervor as those Liverpoolians did back in the early '60s."

"Kalapana II" won several Nani awards in 1976 (the precursor to the Na Hoku awards €" Hawaii's version of the Grammys), including the award for "Best Group."

At the end of 1976, Feary left Kalapana to pursue a solo career. Randy Aloya joined the band, and they released the album "Kalapana III" in 1977. In Feary's absence, the other members began writing more songs with Thompson and Pratt, each contributing two songs and singing lead vocals. The album produced the hits "Girl," "Another Time," "Inarajan" and "Alisa Lovely."

Kalapana closed out the 1970s with the soundtrack album to the surfing documentary "Many Classic Moments" in 1978. The title song was a big hit and became a staple of graduation parties. Michael Paulo contributed the instrumental, "The Ultimate," and co-wrote another instrumental, "Uptown Country," with Thompson. Thompson also wrote the catchy "Down by the Sea." These four albums were the peak of Kalapana's creativity, with the group disbanding in 1979.

Bilyeu emerged as a solo star in 1980 with the hit album, "Islands." This album gave him his signature song, "Moloka'i Sweet Home," written for the late George Helm and has since become part of Kalapana's catalogue. One night in December 1982, Feary, Bilyeu, Pratt and Thompson, along with Paulo and Fejerang, got together for a reunion concert at a near-capacity Waikīkī Shell.

After recording several albums in Japan, Thompson and Fejerang permanently left the group. In 1986, Kalapana re-emerged as a quartet with Feary, Bilyeu, Pratt and new addition Kenji Sano, a famous Japanese studio musician, on bass guitar.

Another soon-to-be official member, Gaylord Holomalia, would be the record producer, engineer, mixer and keyboardist. Holomalia was a well-known studio technician who had worked with big-timers like "Crosby, Stills and Nash." This quintet (Paulo from this point on was listed as guest artist and not band member) would become the official version of Kalapana. From 1986 to 1987, they released two more albums, "Hurricane" and "Lava Rock," which sold better in Japan than in Hawai'i. Despite that, the concerts always drew a big crowd.

The 1990s brought four more albums, but none were as popular or as impressive as their 1970s counterparts. Much like "Hurricane" and "Lava Rock," the 1990s' albums often sold better in Japan, where Kalapana remain superstars. In 1998, they celebrated their 25th anniversary with a big concert tour and a TV special on KGMB. That would be the last time Feary performed with Kalapana.