Pikake & Pearls: Helen & Randy’s Website

Abe and I have been friends since 1997, when we had a cocktail jazz trio with our friend Joe LeBlanc called Those Three Guys (T3G). Back then, he was mainly a drummer. But nowadays you might see him playing vibraphone, uke, piano, or even slack-key guitar! Over the years, we’ve joined forces to create a number of musical projects; at least 6 by my count (Mixed Plate, Mongooses, The Harx, Akamai Brain Collective, Wandy Rong Duo, WAITIKI, etc.), but my memory’s bad, and I’m probably missing a few.

Abe started at Berklee in Fall 2001, the very same year Helen moved to town to go to NEC. I remember the first time we all hung out (Abe, his big brother Eric, me and Helen); we went out for dinner to Hard Rock Café, then went to the Charles River and listened to Eric tell ghost stories. That was the beginning of 3 years of hanging out, just about every day. 

Besides music, Abe’s an amazing cook. Something I learned first hand when we lived a block from each other in Boston. Man, he and his brother Eric would always come over and make fresh lumpia (gotta love the water chestnuts inside). And one time, he and Helen teamed up to make some amazing curry udon! Oh man. Plus he can cut onions without tearing up.

At one point, Abe, Helen, and I got this crazy idea to record a Christmas album—in the middle of March. We had a hard time coming up with names for our group. I think my favorite group name was “Wong and the Egg Nogs”, but that one didn’t get chosen. We ended up calling ourselves The Harx, which is kind of an acronym for The Helen Abe Randy Xmas. The album was never released, but maybe if you’re lucky, a track from it will find its way to the streets… Here are some pictures from that project: 

Anyways, Abe’s been a good friend for years and I’m so thrilled he’s a part of our wedding party.