Kalapana comes over from Hawaii for a special Golden State show.

It would be tempting to think the Hawaiian pop band Kalapana so-named itself to memorialize the eponymous village on Hawaii’s Big Island that was buried by lava when the Kilauea volcano erupted in 1990. But the band’s lead singer and co-founder Malani Bilyeu says otherwise.

“We just blindfolded [fellow co-founder] DJ Pratt,” Bilyeu says. “We gave him a push pin and led him over to a map of the islands. He pinned Kalapana. That was that.”

The band was formed via mutual friends in 1975. “Some people had heard us all playing in different groups and thought there might be good chemistry,” Bilyeu says. “We sat down one day and played. The vocals clicked, and we sounded really tight. The friends were right.”

A steady stream of hits like “Nightbird,” “The Hurt,” “Naturally,” “You Make It Hard,” and “When the Morning Comes” ensued, making the band a household name during the renaissance of Hawaiian pop music in the ’70s. The music is pop, but with a Hawaiian twist.

“All of us grew up with traditional Hawaiian music with our families,” Bilyeu says. “It’s in our blood. It comes out in the sound of our music, but we’re different from the old style. Still, you could throw a ukelele into our music and it would match. I like to call it lava rock.”

His rhythm axe is joined by Pratt’s lead guitar, Gaylord Holomalia’s keyboards, drummer Garin Poliahu and guitarist John Valentine. A special guest for this tour is Michael Paulo, arguably one of the best smooth jazz saxophonists ever, who spent decades in Al Jarreau’s touring band. The show benefits Seaside’s Monterey Peninsula Buddhist Temple.

KALAPANA 
7pm Friday, Oct. 6. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $30-$75.
649-1070, goldenstatetheatre.com