Hawaiian music station celebrating 20 years in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Paul Pu’ukani Sebala moved to Las Vegas from the island of Oahu in 2002. With a background in radio, Paul wanted to stay involved in the business.

“I love Hawaiian music. I love the island culture, and I figured what better way to keep me close to the island community, I mean the culture as far as music, food, the people. The radio station would bring that all together,” Paul said.

When coming up with a name for his station, Paul wanted something to connect him back to his home. July 2003 was when “Pipeline 2 Paradise” was born. The 24-hour Hawaiian and Island music station is run out of Paul’s home. The studio is covered floor to ceiling with elements of the islands including ukuleles, University of Hawaii logos and vintage Hawaiian art. A stark contrast across the hall is his man cave exploding with Dallas Cowboys memorabilia.

Besides melodic tropical tunes morning through night, Pipeline 2 Paradise also promotes Hawaiian small businesses, pop-ups, festivals and artists coming into Las Vegas for concerts and shows. “A lot of people are constantly moving from the islands or just recently moved, and they’re looking for the restaurants that serve up the local food. They’re looking for the concerts and the music and I’m just blessed to have this vehicle to get the word out to them,” Paul said.

Besides the Pipeline, Paul also helps unite the island community through a Facebook group called 9th Island Connections. Paul said in 2006, the vision of the group was an online community to share businesses and ideas. Today, Paul calls it a vital resource for people moving to Las Vegas. “So people will come in on a daily basis and say ‘Hey, I’m selling Lau Lau this weekend for my son’s football team’ and everybody because of that sense of pride wants to support one another and it really is living Aloha, it’s that Aloha spirit and it’s just so heightened up here.”

You can listen to Pipeline 2 Paradise’s live show Tuesdays through Fridays from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Music streams 24 hours a day.

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