Prologue: REVENUE FROM THIS SONG WILL GO TO CAUSES THAT HELP VICTIMS OF THE MAUI FIRES!!! The devastation: https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/deadly-wildfires-maui-hour-hour-102384869 Mechanics of the drop: The efforts to rebuild lives, infrastructure, residential, retail, commercial, and hotel buildings will take years. Thus, this song has a open duration of a year and will continue indefinitely. This song and information was uploaded before the Maui fires and after much reflection, the decision was made today, August 21, 2023, to offer all the funds of this song to victims of the fires. Lahaina was definitely hit the worst but some may not know that there were other fires on Maui including the towns of Kula and Kihei. Fortunately, my family in Kihei returned safely after being evacuated. My brother's home in Kula was burnt down but his family is safe. Obviously, Rich and I are from Kihei and are grateful that our immediate families were spared their lives. As far as I know, I still have relatives from the Lahaina area that are still unaccounted for. I definitely am concerned and am patient for definitive and positive news. I'm sure some tourists were impacted as well as residents. Prayers and positive thoughts are needed for all the casualties of the fires. It's so early in the recovery process that I'm unsure how the funds from this song will be used to assist the victims. My brother stated that there are many donations coming to the island and the people are very grateful but the funds are not always well distributed to where it needs to be prioritized. It is still early in the coordination efforts. Certainly, there are a plethora of worthy causes so presently all options are being considered. My initial thoughts are that because this is a music and creative platform, somehow it can be used in music or audio as a healing source. A possible avenue is that the funds help the locals tell their stories of suffering and hopefully healing in a documentary and that be used as a fundraiser or fund local musicians and songwriters to create songs for a fundraiser. This is a decentralized community and the creativity and equity is here so maybe this could demonstrate our hive mind. We are an open book as far as ideas so if you participate so maybe you can write it in the timeline of the song. As far as the song itself, it may seem out of place....it's an upbeat tempo and the topic is not about helping people. However, it does represent a part of Hawaii that tourists and locals normally associate with this tropical paradise. I could have decided to upload another song but this one is ready to go and of course it is the thought that matters. We have reduced the price so hopefully more people can participate. It will coast about $1 fiat (not including minting fees of the platform and network). Please tell others about this song and that the funds will be used to assist in some way to the casualties of Maui. We are dealing with blockchain so it will be transparent as far as how much money is collected. To be totally upfront, this platform doesn't allow the original author of this site on Sound.xyz not to be listed as an owner. I thus had to split it 1% to the creator of this site and 99% to the Maui Fire Victims. The 1% will also be donated but on the contract the split had to be done as such. This platform does not currently provide a systematic way to communicate to all the NFT aka digital collectible holders but I can just update this section or through my Twitter account. I want to update the community at frequent stopping points about their money creating value through healing. It definitely wouldn't make sense for me to use it for anything else but victims of the Maui fires....my reputation would be mush and that is definitely not my goal. I and we want to find our small way to help those in need. I am born and raised on Maui and Maui people need all kinds of help now. Mahalo nui loa to all of you! There is hope in an historic Banyan tree I know well: https://beatofhawaii.com/after-two-fires-in-100-years-banyan-tree-maui-remains-in-coma/ About the song: Sugarcane Sweet is an island fantasy trip of attraction on the beaches of Kihei, Maui, Hawaii. The genesis of the song came from many inspirations, but mainly from observing guys and gals getting together on the beaches and in bars in the general area. Its everyone's dream to enjoy the perks that are yours when in paradise. Romance and island drinks in the natural beauty of the sun, ocean water, and sizzling sand await you! About Ransom Kong: Ransom Kong was initially comprised of lifelong friends Richard Zeuch and Ransom Kong from Kihei, Maui. They wrote some stinkers early in their career including a laugher called, 'Essence of Cesspool Scum' (Punk genre of course). Ransom went to LA and Richard to Baltimore among other places to pursue music, performing with bands and writing songs. After many years, they reconnected upon their return to Maui to hone their songwriting style and sound. Some of their songs have been commented on having inklings of Death Cab for Cutie, The Pixies, The Beatles, Harry Styles among others. They're fans of most genres and let their eclectic tastes shine in the music. Later, Sylvain Audet, bass extraordinaire and hard working engineer-producer joined them to bring an extra polish to the sound. Likewise, he is a lover of many music genres, especially funk. Sylvain has played and studied with master bass teachers and serves as music director for side music projects. This trio creates studio delights and are just itching to stretch their combined creative powers. New music is slated for release in late fall to winter of 2023.