A few years ago, I ended up over at Eddie Rothman’s house. A big, beautiful, blue-grey pitbull-looking dog greeted us at the gate, followed by Eddie, who came to the door eating rice. It was the first time I’d met him, and I felt a little nervous–the man’s reputation led me to believe that I’d get my teeth punched in for the slightest transgression. I took my shoes off at the bottom of the stairs, instead of at the door.
After a few hours, though, it became apparent that Eddie’s actually a pretty nice guy. He offered to make us a coconut, called a few people that he thought I might like to interview as well, and gave us the background on every single one of the many framed images that hang on his walls.
He’s not afraid to call someone out on their bullshit, and the way he does it can be pretty intimidating, but what is very clear is that he cares deeply for Hawaii. During that interview a few years ago, I had a hard time keeping the conversation on track. Eddie’s got a way of moving through subjects and bouncing from topic to topic that makes interviews with him hard. That’s a shame, really, because he nearly always brings up some very valid points. It’s just that he brings up so many of them in such a short period of time that it’s hard to keep track. Such is the case with the video above. It’s classic Eddie Rothman. Gruff, raw, and full of innuendo and names you might not know. But listen carefully because he’s saying some real shit, and it’s out of concern for the people of Hawaii.
