Years active (1989-present) Name Karl Jr. | Role Singer Associated acts Eric Lee, O-Shen | |
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Origin Waianae, Hawaii, Kea'au, Hawai'i, United States Genres Reggae, Island Contemporary, Hawaiian, Rock, Country Occupation(s) Musician, Singer-Songwriter, Producer, Graphic Designer, Manager, State of Hawai'i Instruments Vocals, Acoustic/Electric Guitar, Bass, Ukulele, Piano, Drums/Percussion Labels Phat Bula Records Hilo, Hawai'i(2008-present), Koops2 Records Honolulu, Hawai'i(2002-2007), Poi Pounder Records Kailua, Hawaii(1999-2002) Education Menlo College, Foothill College | ||
Karl Zinsman Jr. is a Hawaiian/ Reggae multi-instrumentalist (primarily guitar), singer-songwriter, music producer, graphic designer and manager. He is an award-winning artist/ producer and founder of the island music groups "Three Plus", "Hi-Town" and "The Brown Boys". He is also owner of CK Music Co.
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Zinsman has been featured on, performed on and/or graphically designed over 30 albums and has played alongside such international/ mainstream acts as: Shaggy, Maxi Priest, Rasun, Inner Circle, Big Mountain, Marlon Asher, Morgan Heritage, Don Carlos, Third World, Messenjah, SOJA, Fat Freddy's Drop and Janet Jackson. He has also toured with local Hawaiian acts such as: The Makaha Sons, Ho'onua, Fiji, Ten Feet, Natural Vibrations, Typical Hawaiians & Jamin "Chief Ragga" Wong, Koa'Uka, Ekolu, The Mana'o Company, B.E.T.(Big Every Time), Damon Williams, The Green, Na Palapalai, O-Shen, Kapena, Ooklah The Moc, Braddah Waltah Aipolani, The Brothers Cazimero, Ernie Cruz Jr., Sean Na'auao, Willie K, comedian Augie T. and many more. Zinsman has performed in Japan, Guam, Saipan, Tahiti and all over the United States. His music has been featured on movies, radio, television shows, commercials and award-winning albums and compilations all throughout the U.S. and other countries such as Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. He is a relative of Hawaiian music legends Henry Kapono of "Cecilio & Kapono", Billy Kaui of "Country Comfort", John and Jerome Koko of "The Makaha Sons" and Eric Lee of "Na Kama/"Ka'ala Boys". At the age of 14, Zinsman and Lee formed their own band called "Ho'onanea" and would perform together all throughout high school entering talent contests, playing at local bars and private functions and even placing second in the 15th Annual "Ka Himeni Ana" Hawaiian Song Contest.
Early life
Karl Zinsman Jr. (b. October 5, 1975) in Honolulu, Hawaii. He grew up in the town of Waianae, Hawaii, the second of four children. He got his first guitar on his twelfth birthday and taught himself to play by watching instructional videos and reading chord books. He has since taught himself to play multiple instruments. He cites the movie "La Bamba" and Michael J. Fox's guitar performance in the movie "Back to the Future" as his inspiration for wanting to become a musician.
Zinsman is a 1993 graduate of St. Louis School (Honolulu, Hi.) where he was a standout offensive lineman and played on three of The Crusaders' 14 straight State Championship teams under two-time National Coach of The Year and the most prolific coach in Hawaii high school football history, Cal Lee. During his junior year, St. Louis football was ranked as high as #7 nationally by USA Today. He was also a teammate of former New Orleans Saints/Chicago Bears center Olin Kreutz, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Chris Fuamatu-Maafala and former Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Vili Maumau. At St. Louis School, Zinsman and four of his teammates formed a vocal a cappella group called "The Soulmates" which would go on to win "Brown Bags To Stardom", Hawaii's biggest and most prestigious high school talent contest, in his junior and senior years. During his sophomore year, Zinsman also won 2nd place as a solo artist. As a senior, Zinsman earned a football scholarship to Arizona Western College (Yuma, Az.) He transferred to Foothill College (Los Altos, Ca.) in 1995, where he met future "Three Plus" bandmate Tanoa Kapana. At Foothill, both Kapana and Zinsman were JC Gridwire All-West Coast Conference offensive line football selections. Zinsman also attended Menlo College (Atherton, Ca.) for a brief period of time before receiving a football scholarship to attend NCAA Division II school West Liberty University (West Liberty, W. Va.) in 1997.
Three Plus
Formed in late 1998 by Zinsman, Kapana and ukulele virtuoso Marcus Malepeai (a former standout offensive lineman and All-WAC performer at the University of Hawaii 1994–95), Three Plus exploded onto the Hawaiian music scene with their 1999 debut album Honeybaby. In April 2000, Honeybaby charted at number 6 on Billboard Magazines World Music and Pacific charts. The album produced six number one singles ("Two Person Party", "Mystic Man", "Honeybaby", "Driving Me Pupule", "Don't Have To Think Twice" and "Cool Operator"). In 2000, the album was also nominated for two Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (Hawaii's equivalent to 'The Grammys'), for Most Promising Artist and Island Contemporary Album of The Year. Soon thereafter, with sponsorships by Miller Lite, Da Hui, Young Ukulele's and Butigroove Clothing, Three Plus embarked on their "Honeybaby" tour through California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Guam and Saipan, as well as the Hawaiian islands, for over three years to promote the album. The title song "Honeybaby", written by Zinsman and Kapana, was featured in the original theatrical version of the Farrelly Brothers 2001 hit comedy movie Shallow Hal, starring Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow. The song is also featured in the 2012 biographical surfing film Chasing Mavericks, starring Gerard Butler. The movie details the life and death of American surfer Jay Moriarity, an accomplished soul surfer and waterman from Santa Cruz, California.
In 2001, "Three Plus" recorded the single "Crusin' ", written by Hawaii recording artist Glen Medeiros, for the soundtrack of the T.V. series Baywatch Hawaii. Also in 2001, Three Plus were featured as guest artists on Spread A Little Aloha, the four-time Na Hoku Hanohano award-winning album by The Mana'o Company, as well as the two-time Na Hoku Hanohano award-winning album Portraits by Ernie Cruz Jr. Three Plus are also mentioned in the November 26, 2001, issue of ESPN Magazine under the article entitled "Rockstar", a featured story about 6 ft 4 in, 363 lb. fellow Polynesian and former Nebraska Cornhusker-San Diego Chargers offensive guard Toniu Fonoti. On February 16, 2002, Three Plus performed as the opening act for the final show of Janet Jackson's "All For You Tour" at Aloha Stadium before a crowd of 32,000 people. The concert also featured a special appearance by hip hop performer Missy Elliott on the song "Son of A Gun". The concert was broadcast live on HBO the following day on February 17, 2002 and attracted 4.4 million viewers. The concert was released as a 2-disk DVD package entitled Janet Jackson - Live In Hawaii on September 3, 2002 and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries.
Over the years, Three Plus has performed alongside some of the most renowned and top reggae music acts in the world, including: Maxi Priest, Shaggy, Inner Circle, Morgan Heritage, Third World (band) and Messenjah.
On February 19, 2002, "Three Plus" released their second album, entitled For You, which was another commercial success, winning the 2003 Na Hoku Hanohano Award for Reggae Album of The Year. In March 2002, For You debuted at number 3 on Billboard Magazines World Music and Pacific charts (the highest placement by an artist from Hawaii on this respective chart since Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's 2001 number 1 chart position with Alone in Iz World), as well as charting at #45 on its Independent Label charts. The album featured more number one hit singles like ("Undercover Lover", "Jah Music", "Do What Lovers Do" and "Love To Love You") and prompted another few years of touring for the band to promote the album. In December 2002, "Three Plus" performed at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California to a crowd of over 10,000. 'The Fairgrounds' is best known for hosting the annual Monterey Pop Festival, which embodies the themes of California as a focal point for the counterculture. It is also the event and venue which popularized artists like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Ravi Shankar and The Who in America, and launched the beginnings of the 1967 "Summer of Love". Due to their large population of Pacific Islanders, Polynesians and "transplanted" Native Hawaiians (people of Hawaiian ancestry or former Hawaii residents that now live on the U.S. Mainland), "Three Plus" has become enormously popular among the states along the West Coast of the United States.
In 2010, Three Plus's version of Bob Marley's 1978 hit song "Is This Love", performed by Zinsman, was featured on the compilation album Putamayo Presents: "A Tribute To A Reggae Legend: Bob Marley". The album, released in the Netherlands, is currently available in 10 different countries and has sold close 200,000 copies to date. In 2009, the song "Shade On Me" was featured on several episodes of the A&E Network's television show Parking Wars, which is syndicated in five different countries. Most of their music are still in heavy rotation on a variety of radio stations across the states of Hawaii, Nevada, California as well as Guam, Tahiti, New Zealand and Japan.
However, in 2007 Zinsman left the group to pursue other endeavors and re-located to the Big Island of Hawaii.
Hi-Town
Upon relocating, Zinsman decided to take a lesser "up front" role as an artist and focused more on producing, managing and developing other acts. In 2008, he formed the island reggae music sextet Hi-Town (short for Hilo town) and in 2010 they released their self-entitled debut album to rave reviews. Produced by Zinsman, the Hi-Town album would go on to win the 2010 Hawaii Music Award for Island Contemporary Album of The Year, as well as produce five number one singles, ("You're Beautiful", "All We Need", "Run & Hide" ft. O-Shen & Damon Williams, "He Come, He Go" and "Lose Your Love"). On August 12, 2010, "Hi-Town" released a follow up single to their debut album entitled "With You". The single obtained moderate success on local radio stations in Hawaii, peaking at #2 on some charts. Their single "Sunshine In My Life" is featured on the Las Vegas, Nevada based radio station, Pipeline 2 Paradise: Paradise Pa'ina Vol.1 CD Compilation.
The Brown Boys
The Brown Boys perform in the Island Contemporary/ Country Music genre and are currently based out of Puna, Hawaii. The group released their debut single "Kalapana Way" on August 1, 2014 to help push the release of their upcoming album. The up tempo "hapa-haole" single, which speaks of the humble way of life residents live in the peaceful community of Kalapana, Hawaii; charted respectably well on most statewide radio stations and continues to be in heavy rotation. The Brown Boys released their self-entitled debut album on June 15, 2015. The album features 7 original tracks and an array of talented guest musicians from the Big Island of Hawaii. Their single "Riding The World", written by Zinsman, was featured on an episode of Hawaii Five-0. The Brown Boys have been a staple of the island music scene on The Big Island for over 8 years performing at all major events, concerts and club venues; even sharing the stage with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend Neil Young at his home in Puako, Hawaii. Their second single "You're All I Need" charted on several radio stations across the Hawaiian Islands earning the #1 spot Aug.-Oct.2015.
Personal life
Zinsman currently resides in Kea'au, Hawai'i with his wife and children. He annually donates his time, money and efforts to no-profit organizations such as The American Cancer Society, The Lokahi Giving Tree (Children of Hawaii Charity), Keiki 'O Ka Aina, The Japan Disaster Refief Fund, D.A.R.E., Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii, Toys for Tots, Relay For Life and also to the children and families in need throughout his community. Zinsman works for The State of Hawaii and is currently under Damon Williams' "Phat Bula" Record label as an artist, producer and as a studio musician.
Discography
1994 -Kanile'a Collection - 'Nahenahe' -"He Mele Lahui Hawai'i""
1998 -Na Kama - 'Ke Ala Hou' -"Prelude", "Island Woman"
1999 -Three Plus - 'Honeybaby' - Album
2001 -Mana'o Company - 'Spread A Little Aloha' -"Stepping Out/ Hawaiian Children" ft. Three Plus & Fiji, "Rock Me" ft. Three Plus & Damon Williams
2001 -Sean Na'auao - 'Still Pounding' -"Two Person Party", "Driving Me Pupule", "Don't Have To Think Twice", "Cool Operator"
2001 -KCCN FM 100 All-Star Band: Young Generation - 'Various Artists' -"Me & You", ft. Three Plus
2001 -Ernie Cruz Jr. - 'Portraits' -"Where Are The Brothers" ft. Three Plus
2001 -Baywatch Hawaii - 'Soundtrack' -"Cruzin" ft. Three Plus
2002 -Island Roots Vol.1 - 'Various Artists' -"Cool Operator"
2003 -Three Plus - 'For You' - Album
2003 -Sean Na'auao - 'Still Pounding 2' -"Mystic Man", "Who The Cap Fit"
2003 -Island Roots Vol.3 - 'Various Artists' -"Driving Me Pupule"
2004 -Kani Makou - 'Easy Stylin' -"I Wanna Be Her Man" ft. Karl Zinsman of Three Plus
2004 -Island Roots Vol.5 - 'Various Artists' -"Honeybaby"
2005 -Hawaiian Style Vol.4 - 'Various Artists' -"Don't Have To Think Twice"
2008 -Three Plus - 'The Best of Three Plus From Honeybaby to For You'
2008 -Hawaiian Style Vol.5 - 'Various Artists' -"Honeybaby"
2009 -Hi-Town - 'Hi-Town' - Album
2010 -Tribute To A Reggae Legend: Bob Marley - 'Various Artists' -"Is This Love" ft. Three Plus
2010 -Pipeline 2 Paradise - 'Paradise Pa'ina Vol.1' -"Sunshine In My Life"
2010 - Hi-Town - 'Single' -"With You"
2014 - The Brown Boys - 'Single' - "Kalapana Way"
2015 - The Brown Boys - 'The Brown Boys' - Album