Star-Bulletin file

Normally, when musicians leave a band – especially after an extended period of time – it’s not without more than a little animosity towards the remaining members.

That’s why I’m especially happy to report that former Go Jimmy Go trombone player Fernando “The Love Machine” Pacheco is back for the weekend, filling in at the band’s gigs tonight at Senor Frog’s first anniversary party and Saturday as the opening act for Smash Mouth at Aloha Tower Marketplace. Ryan Kunimura, who replaced Pacheco, is on the mainland this week playing with his other band, The Newjass Quartet.

The picture above is from January 2007, after GJG’s last Hawaii concert with Pacheco.

While I knew GJG would be playing out this week, I didn’t find out about the substitution until this morning. Pacheco posted a note to his Facebook after practicing with the guys for the first time since playing with them during last year’s European tour.

“Last night was a unique experience,” he wrote. “Many musicians don’t get another chance to get together with band that they left or that broke up.

“This week is my chance.”

Pacheco is still very active in the local music scene, earning a Hoku Award nomination this year for his solo project as Max Murdoch and performing regularly with Pimpbot at various clubs and bars on Oahu.

Still, he acknowledged it was nice to know he could still hang out with the guys he spent much of the last decade playing alongside as Go Jimmy Go built up a global following.

“I’m fortunate to still have these bastards as my friends that I can occasionally jam with,” he wrote.

Doors open at Senor Frog’s at 9 p.m. tonight; Saturday’s concert is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Be sure to check out this update for the latest info about that show.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 at 4:57 pm and is filed under Nightlife, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.