Around sundown, Chinatown shops close up and the day crowd heads home. The restaurants begin dinner service. Bouncers take up their roosts outside bars and nightclubs.
The whole soundscape of the neighborhood changes at the old Blaisdell Hotel, where Chinatown meets downtown. There is a night and day difference in the building's occupants.
The Conversation followed a handful of local music groups that practice and play in Chinatown.
Tyler Yogi holds the lease for a practice studio in the old hotel that a bunch of the local bands use. He said cheap rent draws an assortment of lessees to the space.
“A bunch of small businesses and stuff. You have the music studios. There's like lawyers up there, tailors up there. There's like a little burlesque studio or something," he said.
Other tenants aren't concerned about the noise since signs permit specific "noise time" throughout the week.
Bandmates Kevin and Reef Weaver told HPR that the cost of studio space is split amongst everyone, averaging them $25 or $30.
Kevin said that he's seen a lot of community come together in the studio. He reflected on the threat of redevelopment in the area.
"Being in a band is an escape. People want to just have fun, and people just want to make music. I feel like, in the end, it's important because I'm part of it. ... If they're just going to keep popping up condos that no one can afford unless they're moving here, pushing other people out, and literally pushing out just a bunch of people who aren't hurting anybody."
This story aired on The Conversation on Oct. 22, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
