♪ i'm robert handa, yournd welcome host for our show here on." nbc bay area and cozi tv. we start with our seventh annual island reggae festival coming once again to the south bay. we'll talk about the festival as well as with one of the featured performers. then it's time to support our schools through the family giving tree. let's see how much needs to be done and how much we can all do. we'll have important information on the upcoming obon season in the bay area japantowns, the northern california soy and tofu festival, as well as redwood city's music on the square. and then we return to the island reggae festival with a live performance from one of the show's featured stars, all on our show today. well, did some of you raise an eyebrow when you heard reggae

being featured on "asian pacific america?" well, we understand, and we're here to enlighten. the key to remember is island reggae. joining me to help do that is musician sammielz, a prominent reggae artist born and raised in new zealand, who first came onto the scene as the lead singer of dss, da soul sound. this year, he released the ep "love process" and we'll start the "love process" tour on july 27 with samu and latasha lee. and also with us, fresh from his job with san jose, our old friend, the organizer of the seventh annual island reggae festival, danny osi perez, the driving force behind this unique cultural event. welcome and welcome back, good to see you. sammielz: thank you for having us. robert: give me an idea, we've been following the evolution of the festival for awhile. what's in store this year? danny osi perez: we kept it more back home. a lot of the artists that we may venture out to in jamaica, some of the other parts of the world. this year, we're going to keep more of the artists back home in the south pacific islander artists that are out there.

robert: very good. sammielz, kind of a good time, this festival? sammielz: yeah, it's a blessing to be out here, you know, and just thankful to be a part of, you know, something amazing that, you know, that danny and the team put together for only us musicians, but for the people that love the music as well. so yeah, it's always a great opportunity and a blessing to be out here. robert: from a musician standpoint, of course i just was realized earlier today, pointed out by somebody that new zealand is a pacific island, so you're technically very much a pacific islander. but for people who don't think of reggae as that kind of cultural kind of form, what do you want people to know about that music? sammielz: i guess, you know, every time people hear reggae, they automatically think just jamaica, you know what i mean? but i guess, you know, the reggae music scene, you know what i mean, has a massive influence on the pacific

islanders as well in general. you know, like i say, i'm just--i'm just happy and blessed to be a part of something awesome as in, you know, with reggae music. and yeah, man, it's something that a lot of us polynesian kids grow up with, reggae music. and i hear it in our backyards and stuff, so to be able to do it ourselves is something else, it's a blessing. robert: yeah, that's something we've talked about before, which is sort of you get into the form of the music, but then you introduce your own-- sammielz: yeah, we have a little--yeah, exactly. so, i think one thing i could pick out of that is just with harmonies, you know what i mean? we like to do harmonies in a certain way as well. and it's--yeah, i guess it's just we have our little twist to it i guess you could say to reggae. robert: people get a pretty good introduction to that, if they haven't been familiar with it, right, at the festival, danny? danny: correct. robert: what's the festival going to be like this year in

terms when you say down home? is it going to be much different than what people have seen before if they've been there before? danny: no, not a lot. i mean, it's just going to be more south pacific islander artists on the stage performing live this year, as opposed to, you know, years past we may have one, two, three, maybe four artists from around the world, jamaica, barbados. but this year, we're just only going to have one from jamaica, and everybody else is from a south pacific island somewhere. robert: little bit just to remind people of it. now, i remember when you made the move to the santa clara county fairgrounds. and that's working out pretty well, isn't it? danny: yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. robert: for space and for everybody to have a good time. danny: exactly, exactly. robert: all right. how about for you? is this festival kind of a unique thing, or are there a lot of places for reggae artists and pacific islander reggae artists to perform and to showcase themselves? sammielz: yeah. i mean, out in new zealand, they hold one of the biggest i guess reggae festivals, pacific--polynesian reggae

festivals, which is called one love festival. but every year, i believe there's quite a few festivals that happen throughout the year. not only that, i mean, there's a lot of shows happening as well and stuff. so yeah. robert: is the bay area a pretty big scene for this, or still growing? or where is it at right now for that kind of thing? sammielz: i wouldn't really know. probably danny would know, but i guess-- robert: what do you think, danny? danny: i think it's still growing. and that's the reason for the festival is to showcase the polynesian artists not only in music, but in arts and crafts, dancing and various other art forms. robert: do you think that this festival is a good place for people to kind of get an introduction into it? danny: of course, of course. i mean, if they don't know of the polynesian culture, this will give them an idea of what it--just the tipping point of it. robert: what do you think as a musician, where do you--where do you feel like you've sort

of introduced yourself into the music? and where's the room for, like, growth there? where do you kind of see the whole scene going or moving toward? sammielz: it's grown a lot since i started myself in it. you know, and i'm so thankful, you know, for guys like fiji, who's paved the way for us. you know what i mean, i've seen the growth over the years. brother fiji has been in this, in this scene itself for, like, 20 plus years now. and to see the growth since when he started is crazy, like it's going to be amazing. in the years to come, it's definitely going to be something that a lot of, you know what i mean, generations to come-- robert: all right, well, we're looking forward to watching it evolve, but we're also looking forward to seeing the way it is now. thanks for being here. danny, we'll see you a little bit later, okay? sammielz: thank you. robert: all right. well, the seventh annual island reggae festival will take place july 14 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., so plenty of time to join the party at the santa

clara county fairgrounds. for more information and tickets, go to nbcbayarea.com. and again, we'll get to hear and see sammielz perform later on our show, so stay tuned for that. but next, supporting our schools with family giving tree. let's help the kids in our community get ready for school. with savings on the new sleep number 360 smart bed. it senses your every move and automatically adjusts on both sides to keep you effortlessly comfortable. and snoring.... does your bed do that? don't miss the 4th of july special. save up to $500 on sleep number 360 smart beds.

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your sneak peak of robin wright )s reaction - to the sexual assault allegations. plus: (billed ( for a repairmas mistakes! plumbing problems push an east bay family to ask for help. )today in the bay. ) 4:30 to 7. robert: well, it's summertime, a time to recover from school, and just as important to get students ready for next year because for many, it's not that easy. with us right now is paul feng, the director of family giving tree. paul is a director of project--product management at google, and remembers growing up in the bay area and his immigrant parents running a small business that helped teach him about the importance of helping the less fortunate. nbc bay area and telemundo 48 are working with family giving tree for the second annual supporting our schools initiative. welcome to the show, paul, good to see you. paul feng: thank you for having me.

robert: give us sort of a quick overview in terms of what's going to happen and how you're involved. paul: so, thank you very much for having us here. so, it's getting to be back to school season. and this back to school season, the family giving tree is focused on getting as many backpacks filled with basic school supplies, things like pencils and paper, pens in the hands of needy kids around the bay area. robert: yeah, stuff that basic, people forget it also can be expensive. paul: that's right, that's right. and especially, you know, i think there's a misconception, right, about the bay area, right? that everyone's doing so well. and the reality is that there are--there are people who are doing well, and there are people who are really, really struggling. and the cost of--you know, cost of housing and transportation and food is continuing to increase, the haves and have-nots, the delta

continues to--continues to grow. and kids are really--families are struggling to make ends meet. and sometimes, the result is that kids don't get the basic tools they need to go to school. robert: yeah, and it's also a mental thing too from having worked on programs like this before. if children don't feel like they're ready for the school year mentally, it affects them in terms of the way they approach school, the kind of enthusiasm they have, and the kind of energy they bring to the school year, huh? paul: that's absolutely right. and i think that's something that is really important for those of us who take those things for granted, right? having a nice backpack, having supplies in that backpack, it's really hard to--you know, to do well in school and to really do your best when you don't have those basic supplies. and so, that's why we're here, and that's why we're really excited to partner with nbc bay area and the supporting our schools program. robert: right, along with telemundo. also, maybe a small silver lining is that with the way the bay area and the cost of living and everything is going,

a lot more people can relate to the have-nots and the people who are in that kind of situation. so, hopefully it makes people a little bit more generous and helps you collect the resources that you need, right? paul: that's right, that's right. we're definitely hoping that people pitch in. the family giving tree has had a ton of success over the years. we're the biggest backpack donation program in california. since 1995, we've donated something like 320,000 backpacks. and our goal this year is 37,000 backpacks, which seems like a lot, right? like it seems like a pretty decent number. it happens to only be about 10% of the total need. so, we're definitely hoping that people will pitch in. robert: yeah, how are you doing in terms of getting to that 37,000? paul: so, i think we're doing great. i think people, as you point out, people are really--people are really involved. but there's always more that we can do. as i said, 10% is a pretty small number. there's just an amazing amount of need.

and so, we definitely encourage people to get involved. robert: and how do they get involved if they want to? paul: there's a lot of ways to get involved, but maybe the easiest way for your viewers to pitch in is just to go to our website at familygivingtree.org, and click on the donate a backpack link. it's just that simple, you can see the backpacks that you--that we'll be distributing to the kids, and you can quickly make a donation. robert: i was intrigued by your background in terms of you doing well at google, and yet you can draw from your upbringing, and your family, and your parents in terms of understanding, you know, helping people and things like that. how did that evolve? what was it that made you decide to get involved in this particular way? paul: well, so i think that--so yeah, as you noted, my parents are immigrants from asia. and they, you know, when i was growing up, really struggled to make ends meet, and worked really, really long hours. so you know, i'm very sympathetic to, you know, to the struggles that many people have to make it

possible for their kids to do well and to succeed. i joined the family giving tree partially because i had kids, right? and so, i have young kids. and as you say, you know, like some of us are doing better than others. and i wanted to make sure that my kids understood what it meant to give back to the community, to volunteer-- robert: to appreciate what they have. paul: that's right, and to build a better community. i think that's one of the great things about the family giving tree is that we really foster a sense of kindness, and also volunteerism and philanthropy. robert: well, we're proud to be a part of that. and thanks for being involved the way you are. paul: thanks for having me. robert: all right. well, nbc bay area and telemundo 48 will partner with family giving tree in supporting our schools july 9 through the 27th. to donate, go to nbcbayarea.com /supportingourschools.

donations are received and handled by family giving tree. and stay with us, some news about upcoming cultural events, and then our island reggae performance, that's all next.

we have a live reggae performance coming up, but first some important community events, including some we profiled on our show before. the northern california soy and tofu festival, a fundraiser for nichi bei foundation to support the publication of the nichi bei weekly will be on saturday, june 30 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the event center at st. mary's cathedral in san francisco, with cooking demonstrations, soy and tofu vendors, competition, and live performances, all to educate the public on the health benefits of soy and tofu. for more details, go to nbcbayarea.com. and early summer marks the return of spirits from the grave as families welcome departed ancestors into their homes. the obon festival is a time for family reunions in a celebration of song and dance. my family goes every year for the dancing, food, and fun.

the san jose japantown event is july 14 and 15. the san francisco j-town festivities will be july 21 and 22. and mountain view's will also be on july 21 and 22. see a list of all the obon festivals in the bay area at nbcbayarea.com. and don't miss the redwood city music on the square every friday through august 31 at 6 p.m. in the courthouse square in downtown redwood city. the free music features top quality local and national performers from rock, blues, pop, latin, and more. and how about some reggae? we've got it here when sammielz takes our studio stage next.

reggae festival here. we talked earlier about the upcoming seventh annual island reggae festival being held at the santa clara county fairgrounds. and with us right now is--back with us is sammielz as well as samu, who has been a guest on our show before. thank you for coming back to do this. what's the song we're going to hear? sammielz: this song is called "let us be." it's basically the song that kind of started my career off as a solo artist. basically the song that kind of took me around the world. so, and yeah, it was basically written--i like to write a lot about what really happens in life and, you know, in terms of families, relationships. and this is just one of them songs where the girl and the guy love each other, find it hard to stay with the family--the girl's

family--or the guy's family because they worry that she's a different nationality or she's--you know what i mean? just a lot different from the type of people they are. so, that's basically what the song's about. robert: very good. and then a little later on too, you're going to play a little bit from your new ep. sammielz: new ep, yes, "love process." robert: all right. yeah, which is going to be part of your basis for your tour, right? sammielz: yes. robert: all right, looking forward to it. all right, sammielz and samu. enjoy. ♪ ♪ ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah, ♪ yeah, yeah, yeah.

♪ oh yeah. ♪ have you ever fell in ♪ love with someone so much? ♪ ♪ she is everything you ♪ ever wanted and more. ♪ but it seems that she can't be ♪ ♪ accepted by the people that i ♪ ♪ love for some reason. ♪ could it be all the time i'm away with her? ♪ ♪ or could it be something they ♪ ♪ see or something they've heard? ♪ ♪ yeah, baby, but i know that she loves me, ♪ ♪ and i don't see nothing wrong with her at all. ♪ ♪ they say she's bad news, ♪ how can you love her? ♪ what do you see in her that keeps you so close? ♪

♪ does she provide for you? ♪ would you know if she lied to you? ♪ ♪ please tell me, son, it's only 'cause i care. ♪ ♪ she's been there for me more than i've asked. ♪ ♪ she chooses to love me despite my past. ♪ ♪ i know that you're there for me, ♪ ♪ but if you really care for me, ♪ ♪ then please let us be. ♪ yeah. ♪ i couldn't bear the fact if ♪ ♪ i had to go 'cause leaving her ♪ ♪ after all these years we shared ♪ ♪ together would only mean that ♪ ♪ all the promises we ♪ made is no longer forever. ♪ lord, please tell me, ♪ tell me what to do. ♪ my heart is torn apart in two, ♪

♪ and i'm lost trying to figure ♪ ♪ out why it is, why are ♪ they all up in my biz. ♪ but they don't know what it is or how it ♪ ♪ feels to be loved by you. ♪ yeah, they say she's bad news, ♪ ♪ how can you love her? ♪ what do you see in her that keeps you so close? ♪ ♪ does she provide for you? ♪ would you know if she lied to you? ♪ ♪ please tell me, son, it's only 'cause i care. ♪ ♪ she's been there for me more than i've asked. ♪ ♪ she chooses to love me despite my past. ♪ ♪ i know that you're there for me, ♪ ♪ but if you really care for me, ♪ ♪ then please let us be.

robert: that was excellent. that was really nice, nice job. we are again talking about the seventh annual island reggae festival, july 14 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the santa clara county fairgrounds. and you can find out more about the festival and all our other guests and events at nbcbayarea.com. and we are also on social media, twitter and facebook, so check us out there and tell us what you think. and we want to thank all of our guests. please support their groups and events. that's it for "asian pacific america" for this week. please join us again next week. we go out with more from sammielz and samu, and his song "all mine" that is from your upcoming ep, right? sammielz: yeah, my ep that i just released is called "love process." you can cop that on itunes or them online digital stores. but yeah, it's my latest ep called "love process." robert: and when does "love process" tour start? sammielz: that starts next month, or july 27.

robert: july 27. sammielz: and we basically carry on from the irf right through. robert: great. all right, well, thank you for coming here. sammielz: thank you for having us. robert: all right. again, thanks for watching, everybody. sammielz will take us out. ♪ ♪ mmkay. ♪ yeah, yeah. ♪ yeah, she's on my mind, yeah ♪ ♪ every morning, she's the first thing that i see, yeah. ♪ ♪ i'm so blessed she's mine, my definition of ♪ ♪ the woman fit for a queen. ♪ ♪ we have our ups and downs now, but tell me ♪ ♪ anybody that don't now. ♪ all we can do is try,

♪ love more than anything. ♪ ♪ her smile, her personality ♪ ♪ making any man fall in love. ♪ ♪ let me tell you more about, ♪ ♪ about why i love her. ♪ she's always been there for me, ♪ ♪ and i never had to worry. ♪ when i'm in need, she's always on time. ♪ ♪ yeah, she's all mine, yeah, yeah. ♪ ♪ mm, oh oh, yeah. ♪ don't get me wrong, ♪ i ain't saying that she don't argue and fight. ♪ ♪ isn't that what brings the best out of lovers in life, ♪ ♪ trust me. ♪ been through it all before now, break up to make up, ♪ ♪ back to finding games like we done, ♪ ♪ about to break up.

♪ but i won't change anything, ♪ ♪ anything about her 'cause ♪ through it all, ♪ there's really no me without her. ♪ ♪ she's always been there for me, ♪ ♪ and i never had to worry. ♪ when i'm in need, she's always on time. ♪ ♪ yeah, she's all mine, yeah, yeah. ♪ sammielz: thank you. ♪

jord . very talented people. >> lebron james has a new team. good morning, welcome to sunday today on this july 8 i'm willie geist. following breaking news out of thailand and we are happy to report this morning, the first boys have emerged