Timing Is Everything: My Journey with Cool Sound Records
Cool Sound Records changed my career in ways I never could have imagined. What began as a chance introduction eventually led to albums, collaborations, and friendships that helped shape my life as a songwriter. As I write this in 2026, after releasing more than one hundred original songs for myself and for other artists, I can see more clearly than ever how much of that journey was guided by one simple truth: timing is everything. Looking back, I’ve realized there’s always been one constant in my music—a deep love for melodic ballads and AOR (Album-Oriented Rock).
When I think about how this journey unfolded, one thought always comes to mind:
Timing is everything.
Ironically, my story with Cool Sound Records began years before I ever met anyone connected with the label.
In the early 1990s, I met my first songwriting partner, Galen Takushi. Together we formed At Second Glance and recorded an album that eventually found its way to Japan through Hawaii’s Zip FM. One song in particular, Leaving Tomorrow From Maui, found an audience among Japanese AOR fans and quietly developed a loyal following.
One of those listeners was an AOR enthusiast named Tadayoshi Iwaki, who would eventually become one of my closest friends.
While browsing Tower Records in Shibuya during one of his many record-hunting trips, Tadayoshi came across our album. After hearing it, he reached out to me, and during one of my visits to Tokyo, we arranged to meet in Shibuya.
What I didn’t realize at the time was how familiar he already was with my music—not only At Second Glance, but several of the other projects I’d been involved with over the years.
During that first meeting, Tadayoshi told me he wanted to introduce me to someone he deeply respected: Toshi Nakada, President of Cool Sound Records.
Little did I know, I had already been a fan of Cool Sound for years.
Every trip to Japan included at least one afternoon spent digging through record stores in search of rare AOR CDs. Time and again, I discovered beautifully remastered albums by artists connected to Bill Champlin, Jay Graydon, David Foster, and so many other legends. I eventually realized that many of those treasured reissues all had one thing in common—they had been released by Cool Sound Records.
When Tadayoshi told me I would be meeting Toshi, I couldn’t wait.
A few months later, during another trip to Tokyo, the three of us met at TGI Fridays in Shibuya. Looking back, that lunch became one of the most important moments of my musical career.
Toshi shared the story behind Cool Sound Records and his passion for preserving classic AOR music. By then, the label had already reissued well over one hundred classic albums. But he wasn’t finished.
He had a new vision.
He wanted to build Cool Sound Hawaii and introduce Hawaii’s incredible AOR artists to Japanese audiences.
At the time, the Hawaii roster included artists such as Mackey Feary, Island Band, Ray Gooliak, Tenderleaf, and a handful of others. Toshi asked if I would help introduce him to more musicians from Hawaii who deserved to have their music heard again.
I didn’t hesitate.
After returning home, I began reaching out to friends and fellow musicians throughout the islands. Over the following months, I arranged meetings with many legendary Hawaii artists, including Johnson Enos, Ben Vegas, Toma/Natto, George Street, Nohelani Cypriano, and many others.
When Toshi visited Hawaii, we spent several days meeting with these artists and discussing the possibility of reissuing their classic recordings on CD for the Japanese market. Many of those releases also included exclusive bonus tracks created especially for Japanese fans.
Over the next several years, Cool Sound Hawaii continued to grow.
Artists including Nightwind, George Street, Audy Kimura, Phase VII, Aura, Michael Lundy, and many others became part of the Cool Sound family.
One of the greatest honors Toshi gave me was asking me to compile and select the songs for the Island Now and Then series for three consecutive summers. Those albums gave me the opportunity to showcase some of Hawaii’s finest artists while introducing their music to an entirely new audience.
As our friendship grew, so did our collaborations.
Through Toshi, I met incredible musicians, writers, producers, and friends—not only in Japan and Hawaii, but in Los Angeles and around the world. Many of those relationships continue today, and we’re still writing, recording, and creating music together.
Then came what, at the time, felt like the opportunity of a lifetime.
Toshi proposed producing an album built entirely around my original songs, featuring musicians and vocalists from Los Angeles, Honolulu, and Tokyo.
That dream became LA • Honolulu • Tokyo.
It was my first major original project with Cool Sound Records and remains one of the accomplishments I’m most proud of.
That album opened the door to many more projects, including Pacific Rendezvous and numerous collaborations with artists from around the world.
Eventually, Toshi and I even began writing songs together ourselves. Those collaborations became Rendezvous – Collaboration Volume 1, allowing us to share another side of our friendship—as songwriting partners.
The journey kept growing.
Jeff Pescetto and I began writing together under the name LJP (Lance Jyo & Jeff Pescetto), eventually releasing our ENSO project through Cool Sound Records. Around that same time, I was introduced to Japanese songwriter Mumon Toyama, and we began a songwriting partnership that continues today.
Toshi also encouraged me to recommend more Hawaii artists for the label.
One of those recommendations was Kevin Iwamoto (Kevin I.).
Cool Sound released Kevin’s album, and through that experience we became close friends. Years later, Kevin asked me to produce his comeback album after nearly forty years away from recording.
That project became My Continuum—five songs carefully selected and arranged specifically for his voice and his story.
Today, we’re continuing that journey with his newest project, Keep Believing: Now and Then.
Looking back now, it’s remarkable how naturally each chapter led to the next.
If Tadayoshi hadn’t discovered an At Second Glance album sitting on a shelf at Tower Records…
If he hadn’t decided to reach out…
If he hadn’t introduced me to Toshi…
None of what followed would have happened.
That’s why I believe timing isn’t just important.
Sometimes, it changes your life.
As Toshi begins a well-earned retirement, I simply want to say thank you.
Thank you for believing in Hawaii’s artists.
Thank you for believing in my music.
Thank you for opening doors that changed the course of my career.
But most of all, thank you for your friendship.
Some opportunities become careers.
Others become lifelong friendships.
I was fortunate enough to experience both.
If this journey has taught me anything, it’s that you should never stop creating. Keep writing. Keep learning. Keep believing in your dreams. Work hard, stay open to new opportunities, and never underestimate the power of a simple introduction or a chance meeting.
You never know which conversation, which song, or which person will quietly change the direction of your life.
Music has a remarkable way of bringing people together at exactly the right moment.
As I continue my own Dreamwalking journey, I’m grateful for every song, every collaboration, every friendship, and every unexpected turn along the way.
The music continues.
And so does the dream.
LJ