Tiki Luau Nights, artwork by Kevin Kidney

It’s time once again for tiki movies at the Egyptian! This has been an annual event for the past few years, and I’m always sad to miss it (this year I’ll be in Portland). But here’s why you shouldn’t miss it:

After the success of our Tiki events the past three summers, we’re back again with more exotic ephemera: more fun feature films, diverting oddball shorts, vendors, food, music and more! We’ll be showing old-school island adventure pics FAIR WIND TO JAVA, ALOMA OF THE SOUTH SEAS and HER JUNGLE LOVE (all in gorgeously saturated color) will screen along with artist Kevin Kidney’s collection of rare, island-themed TV surprises. Join us in the Egyptian’s Courtyard for a Royal Southern California-style Luau with exotic musical entertainment from King Kukelele and his Friki Tikis and the Polynesian Paradise Dancers. There will also be Tiki vendors and other special surprises in the courtyard on Saturday from 1:00 PM until we shut it down.

This year it’s happening over two nights, July 25-26, 2008. It all starts Saturday at 1pm at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles. Tickets will be sold at the door, but if you want to guarantee you’ll get to enjoy the luau dinner, it’s best to get tickets in advance.

• Tiki Luau Nights [American Cinematheque]

Tiki bar at the Wolf’s Lair in Hollywood

Hollywood! Dah dah dah dah!

Mentally cue up Robin Leach for this one: (Is he dead? I forget.) Nestled here on 3.3 acres of land overlooking Hollywood, a mansion fit for a Kamehameha… The Wolf’s Lair, built for and by L. Milton Wolf, one of the original developers of Hollywoodland. Former occupants include Debbie Reynolds, Efram Zimbalist Jr., Marlon Brando, and The Beatles.

The house has secret tunnels, and a whole turret was dedicated to the housing of a pet gibbon. A monkey! In a turret! How can anyone hate Hollywood when they’re keeping monkeys in turrets? I mean… they’re just living the dream. You can’t hold it against them.

Anyway… back to this tiki bar. Okay, it’s not really a tiki bar, there aren’t any tikis. But it’s gorgeous. It’s stripped a little bare at the moment, but can you imagine this space with low light and fllotsam & jetsam everywhere? And a drink in your hand?

Does anyone we know have $7.5 million? What would the down payment be, d’you suppose? Maybe if we all throw in together and start a commune?

• 2869 Durand Drive, Los Angeles, CA
• On The Market: Inside Hollywood’s “Wolf’s Lair” [Curbed LA]

Hawaiian Eye Mug by Kevin Kidney

Kevin Kidney is the A#1 lover of all things Hawaiian Eye, the 1959-63 Warner Bros. TV show… he’s also, in my opinion, the A#1 Polynesian Pop artist. No one does Polynesian Pop in true keeping with the midcentury style of the art form like Kevin does.

So this is a natural: a tiki mug, sculpted by Kevin (he paints! he draws! he sculpts! he’s unstoppable!), based on the Hawaiian Eye tiki. Kevin says this is a project in the works, with a squishy estimate of it becoming real in early 2009. It’ll have a bisque finish, and a lid with a straw hole.

Sing it with me now… HAWAIIAN EEEEEEEYE - AH!

• Hawaiian Eye Tiki Mug by Kevin Kidney [Flickr]
• Hawaiian Eye [Wikipedia]
• HAWAIIAN EYE tv show opening [YouTube]

Tiki bar by Wes Bailey

Tiki bar construction is a bit weird — it’s an effort to intentionally create something that looks a little haphazard, a little goofy, and frankly… a little ugly. Now of course, I find it beautiful — and you probably do, too — but you have to admit, it’s not likely to wind up in the pages of House Beautiful.

I just got a really nice email from a professional woodworker who normally specializes in a much more conventionally refined style, and was asked to create one of these delightful little monsters for the first time:

My name is Wes Bailey, and I am a furniture maker in Atlanta, GA. A few months back, a client came to me and requested that I design and build a Tiki Bar for his basemant renovation. I must confess that, at the time, I was woefully unaware of the well-established sub culture of the Tikiphile. So I did some internet research and came across your terrific site, which helped give me the requisite inspiration to deliver the goods! It turned out great, the customer loved it and hasn’t been sober since, so I view that as a real success.

I have to admit, it makes me warm & squishy. I get lots & lots of really wonderful emails along the lines of this one, and they always make my day… but this one is a favorite because, well, I just really like the bar he built. A lot of credit goes to the owner, who has done a great job decorating the room. But the bar itself is really nice, especially for a right-out-of-the-gate effort. Tikis: check. Not too clean in the design, but still with a sense of balance: check. Organic feel: check. I especially like the detour from the standard thatch roof: wood slats that look like they’ve been through a hell of a storm, and loved it. It floats my outrigger.

• Wes Bailey, Fine Craftsman

Time to wake up from a long summer’s nap… and this is just the sort of thing to get me hummin’ again!

Rendezvous in Okonkoluku
Waitiki

This gorgeous cover should help to answer your first question — “Is this cutesy moderne Exotica?” Nope. This album is a straight-on visit to classic Exotica. Most of the songs are new compositions, and they fit right in with the classics. Waitiki’s earlier album, Charred Mammal Flesh was a fun party album, and did a great job of showcasing Waitiki’s fun spirit and musical chops — but it didn’t really illustrate just how well these guys know classic Exotica. And they know Exotica.

Perhaps my favorite song on this new album is “L’Ours Chinois,” composed by Professah Humming Flower himself, Randy Wong. It’s just beautiful — I can easily picture this song being picked up for use on a film soundtrack. Another favorite of mine is “Cave of the Tarpon,” composed by The Mayor of Exotica, Tim Mayer. In a nod to Waitiki’s legendary kookiness, there’s the smooth-flavored song “Pineapple Lilt,” a tribute to the Molokai Bar at the Mai-Kai, with velvety vocals.

Listening to this album, I’m reminded about my favorite aspect of Waitiki: they bring this stuff to life. They’re a healthy reminder of where this music came from — lounges in Waikiki, where the intention was to entertain a small group of happy souls, on vacation, falling in love with each other, Mai Tais, and this music.

In a very cool and unusual move, Waitiki is also releasing this album on vinyl. The CD has room for more songs of course, but vinyl purchasers are rewarded with a song not available on the CD, “Akaka Falls.”

I simply cannot get enough of Waitiki — as a matter of fact, I am so in need of a proper Waitiki fix, that I’m on my way to the airport right now to see them…

• Rendezvous in Okonkuluku [Waitiki.com]

Kahiki Idol’s Cast, for sale on eBay

Right now, there are three — three! — Kahiki Idol’s Cast bowls up for sale on eBay. This is generally regarded as one of the more rare mugs, and has been some people’s “holy grail” … there are only four in Ooga-Mooga — three have a straight-lined design like the ones currently available on eBay, and there is also a wavy-lined version. It was created by Hoffman Pottery for the famous Kahiki Supper Club in Columbus, Ohio. They only very rarely have come up for sale in the past, and have gone for hundreds and hundreds of dollars. According to Ooga-Mooga, one went for $560 a couple of weeks ago; perhaps that is what sparked the current flood. Even though these are very rare, having three up at once means that they’re likely to go for much less money than they have in the past. Good luck and happy bidding to those who have always wanted one of these! (Thanks to Sven Kirsten for the heads-up, via Tiki Central.)

• Hoffman Pottery COLS, OH Kahiki Tiki Footed Pot RARE [eBay]
• Rare Early Hoffman Art Pottery Kahiki Vase Columbus, OH [eBay]
• Kahiki Rare Hoffman Ceramic Tiki Cup-Idol’s Cast [eBay]
• Kahiki Idol’s Cast [Ooga-Mooga]
• Kahiki Idol’s Cast Wavy [Ooga-Mooga]
• eBay: Kahiki Idol’s Cast bowl flood [Tiki Central]
• Kahiki Supper Club, Columbus [Critiki]

Momma Monkey, by Atomikitty

Susannah Mosher, a.k.a. Atomikitty, has started a coconut monkey refuge:

Captured and brought to the states as souvenirs of exotic tropical vacations, or with servicemen after their tours of duty in the pacific, these coconut monkeys took up residence in american homes and became an icon of the tiki and cocktail culture of the 50’s and 60’s.

As rumpus rooms and home tiki bars fell out of fashion, so too did the coconut monkey. For decades they have been discarded by their owners, stranded on garage sale and flea market blankets, and forgotten in dusty attics as their coconut husks fray.

Over the past 10 years I have made it my personal mission to seek out these weary travelers and to open my home as a sanctuary for them. Here they are restored to a place of honor among the bamboo, tiki mugs, and exotic rum bottles to be enjoyed and appreciated by all.

Portrait and subject

A saintly effort, and worthy of support. How can you help the Coconut Monkey Project? You can buy Atomikitty’s fabulous coconut monkey portraits — each print that is purchased can support up to five coconut monkeys for a year! You can also commision your own coconut monkey portrait, for that special coconut monkey in your life.

Of course, if you know of a coconut monkey in need of a home, you can send it to Atomikitty’s refuge, and rest well in the knowledge that it is leading a better life. If you have any doubts about Atomikitty’s sincerity, and her ability to provide a good tiki environment for these monkeys, know this: aside from being a stellar artist, she is a spiffy tiki bartender, and has served time behind the bar at both the Lucky Tiki and now the Tonga Hut in Los Angeles.

If you’d like to purchase one of Atomikitty’s truly lovely varnished and bamboo-framed coconut monkey prints, they’re available for sale at Yessy.com. If you’d like to keep up with the latest goings-on with the Coconut Monkey Project, check out the official MySpace and blog.

• The Coconut Monkey Project Portait Gallery [Yessy.com]
• The Coconut Monkey Project [MySpace]
• The Coconut Monkey Project Blog

Forbidden Island

The best thing to happen in the world of tiki during the last year is Forbidden Island. It’s shown how tiki should, and can be done. It has set the standard for new tiki bars. Where most new tiki bars out there have struggled to survive (as all bars do — starting a new business is never easy), Forbidden Island has found tremendous success, for one straightforward but often overlooked reason: attention to quality. From the interiors to the drinks to the music to the service, nothing has been overlooked, and it has paid off with national reknown, glowing write-ups and a lot of customer loyalty.

This Sunday, Forbidden Island will have been open for one year. It feels like it’s always been there, and we should be celebrating its fifth, fifteenth, twenty-fifth anniversary, but it’s only been a year. May there be many, many more. Congratulations!

The party this Sunday is going to be a real humdinger — a passel of tikiphiles are coming up from southern California, which is always a treat. There will be live performances by:

• The Maikai Gents
• Meshugga Beach Party
• The Atomic Lounge Show
• Cari Lee & the Saddle-ites
• Apocalypso Now

… plus The Jab will be DJing.

Vendors include:

• Tiki Diablo
• Jungle Trader
• Retro Diva
• Tiki Hunter

Forbidden Island Skull Mug,
by Munktiki

… plus, a brand new Forbidden Island mug, from Munktiki — a special two-tone skull. It goes on sale at 2 p.m., for details on how the mug sale works, check out this thread on Tiki Central.

It’s all happening this Sunday, rain or shine (there will be tents & heaters, if neccessary, and delicious rum makes it all just fine anyhow). There will be a taco truck, too, from Alameda’s beloved La Pinata restaurant. It starts at 2pm. I’ll be helping out serving Mai Tais at the beginning of the day, be sure to come by and say hi!

Forbidden Island One Year Anniversary
2pm ’til close, Sunday April 22
1304 Lincoln Ave
Alameda, CA

• Forbidden Island One Year Anniversary Party April 22nd, 2007! *Details Pg 1* [Tiki Central]
• Forbidden Island Summer of Mug Phase One: Munktiki FI Anniversary Mug 4/22/07 REVEALED! [Tiki Central]
• Forbidden Island

Pokop Kambang, by Munktiki

I lovelovelove this new mug from Munktiki. It’s called Pokop Kambang; only Munktiki can say for sure, but it looks to me like they were heavily influenced by Papua New Guinea designs, which is probably a big part of why I am so enamored of it. They’re creating 100 of these in the color shown, which go for $50, to be followed by a very limited run of 25 more in a yet-to-be-announced glaze. WANT.

• Newest stuff [Munktiki]
• Pokop Kambang [Ooga-Mooga]

Sippin’ Safari, by Jeff Berry

Tikiphiles have been anxiously awaiting Jeff “Beachbum” Berry’s new book, Sippin’ Safari, for many months now. The release is finally drawing near, and Berry will be giving seminars at both Hukilau and Tiki Oasis this summer. Now comes another exciting development: Beachbum Berry’s Grog Blog. Yep, Jeff has added a blog to the site. Welcome to blogland, ‘bum!

I’m incredibly excited for Sippin’ Safari. Jeff has put incredible effort into rooting out the history of Polynesian Pop. It’s a colorful history, and has been well-documented in images — but there are a lot of stories to be told, and Jeff has been finding them, and documenting them. Those who were at Jeff’s seminar at last year’s Hukilau got a taste of what Sippin’ Safari holds. This is not a recipe book (though some recipes are included — thanks to his tireless efforts to track down original bartenders). This is a book about how tiki came to be — not about the world it grew up in, but how it actually, really came to be — how Don the Beachcomber built his dream into something that sparked the imagination of the era.

So, it’ll be really cool. You can preorder it now at SLG Publishing, and be sure to catch Beachbum Berry in person at Hukilau or Tiki Oasis if you can. And read his blog!

• Grog Blog [Beachbum Berry]
• Beachbum Berry’s Sippin’ Safari [SLG Publishing]
• Tiki Road Trip, 2nd Edition Coming in May [Humu Kon Tiki]

Papua New Guinea tiki at Xanadu Gallery

This past weekend, we stumbled across a little gallery that has a wonderful collection of Papua New Guinea art. It’s called Xanadu Gallery, and it’s in Menlo Park, just north of Stanford University. It’s owned by the same fellow who is part owner of the Palo Alto Trader Vic’s, and he was responsible for the Papua New Guinea art on display there. That makes three different spots full of Papua New Guinea art, all within just a couple of miles: the Trader Vic’s, the sculpture garden at Stanford, and Xanadu Gallery. The Stanford sculpture garden is unrelated to the other two.

Most of the art was from Papua New Guinea, but there were also examples of Tahitian and Marquesan art, including a gorgeous outrigger canoe. There were tikis, masks, war clubs, drums, canoes… just an overwhelming array of gorgeous tiki art. About 1/2 - 1/3 of it was for sale, the rest is part of the owner’s private collection. I’ve posted a bunch of pictures in a thread on Tiki Central, and also at Humuhumu’s Life in Photos. There is another Xanadu Gallery location in San Francisco with even more art, hopefully I’ll get a chance to check it out soon.

• Xanadu Gallery
• Trader Vic’s, Palo Alto [Critiki]
• Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden, Palo Alto [Critiki]
• Xanadu Gallery, Menlo Park [Critiki]
• Xanadu Gallery — more PNG art on the San Francisco Peninsula [Tiki Central]
• Papua New Guinea Art in Menlo Park [Humuhumu's Life in Photos]
• Papua New Guinea Tikis at Stanford University [Humu Kon Tiki]

The Chongo Brush

A genius idea! Chongolio has designed this nifty little brush, to help you clean your tall, narrow tiki mugs. That clever little monkey. Tiki Farm is producing them, and they’ll go on sale sometime this summer.

• Chongo The Tiki Bottle Brush Cleaner [Barefoot Bloggin']
• New and Unique from Tiki Farm [Tiki Central]
• Tiki Farm

Lushy, at the Polynesian Room in Vancouver, B.C.

Lushy, a darling bossa/exotica, loungey-but-dancey band based out of Seattle, is playing a show at Hula Hula on Wednesday, February 7. Lushy sounds so good in nice, intimate spaces, and Hula Hula’s space is probably just about perfect for them. It’s a great opportunity to give Hula Hula a whirl — early reports are that Hula Hula is a neat space, but that the modern/rock music played there is a mismatch — and my guess is that Lushy will give the place the mojo it may be missing.

Lushy’s eponymous album

Vocalist Annabella Kirby leads the gang of stylish pop musicians through infectious songs that sound like they could have come off a ’60s European soundtrack. Two of my favorite songs of theirs are “French 75,” a cheeky ode to the francophone life, and “Bella Beretta,” an homage to Annabella’s kick-ass, Vespa ridin’ momma (as seen pictured on the cover of their album). If you can’t make it to hear them in Seattle, I recommend picking up their self-titled album, put out by Dionysus Records.

Lushy at Hula Hula
9:30 pm, no cover
106 1st Ave. N.

• Lushy
• Hula Hula, Seattle [Critiki]
• Hula Hula, New Tiki Bar in Seattle [Humu Kon Tiki]
• Lushy [Amazon.com]

Aloha Tiki Aquarium

So, if you’re one of those sorts who wades waist-high in the Internet, you’ve probably seen a Tiki Aquarium making the rounds all over the place during the past few days. You might also be scratching your head, wondering why you aren’t reading about this li’l wonder on Humu Kon Tiki. Lest you think that I’m slow on the uptake: I posted about it already. In 2005.

Boo yah!

• Aloha Tiki Aquarium [Humu Kon Tiki]

Tiki Road Trip, 2nd Edition,
by James Teitelbaum

A newly updated 2nd edition of James Teitelbaum’s very popular Tiki Road Trip is due out in May of this year. The world of tiki has changed very much, mostly for the better, since James’ book originally came out in 2003, and fans of the book are very eager to get a more up-to-date version of their road bible. The new TRT features many revised and re-written entries, more photos, and a design that will make it a bit easier to find what you’re looking for.

I’ve pointed many, many people to Tiki Road Trip over the years, here on Humu Kon Tiki, on Tiki Central, and on Critiki. As a matter of fact, for the first year Critiki was available to the public, I required you to prove you owned Tiki Road Trip before you could access detailed information like addresses, maps, websites and phone numbers (now, this information is available to anyone who registers, for free, on Critiki). However — and this may shock some of you — I have never actually read Tiki Road Trip. I know! Can you believe it!?

The thing is, I’d love to. I own several copies of it. I’ve skimmed it a bit, but always very briefly, and very cautiously. You see, when I started work on Critiki in late 2002, James’ book hadn’t been announced yet. In the course of collecting information about tiki places for Critiki’s database, I realized how much effort had gone into the creation of James’ Tiki Bar Review Pages (Tiki Road Trip’s online ancestor). The last thing I wanted to do was poach someone else’s very hard work, and so even though it meant re-inventing the wheel a bit, I didn’t use any of the information he’d collected, only information I’d collected myself. I steered completely clear of the Tiki Bar Review Pages, though they’d been a great initial inspiration to me in my personal search for tiki when it was new to me. When I learned that James had a book coming out, I wasn’t sure what to do: I knew the power of what a good database-driven site could do, not just for my own travel plans, but for others’, but I also didn’t want to do anything that would steal James’ thunder. In the end, I decided I couldn’t shelf Critiki, I was far too excited about it, and I’d put far too much effort into constructing it. I gave James some advance notice that Critiki was underway, so he wouldn’t feel sideswiped, and when I launched Critiki, I did everything I could to encourage folks to support James’ book. Not that it needed my help — James’ book really sells itself.

James and I became dear friends — he came to visit me in Seattle, and he showed me the sights in Chicago — and naturally our shared passion for tiki travel has formed a strong bond. As time has marched on, I continue to update Critiki on a very regular basis, and there sits James’ book, with all my other tiki books, spine uncracked. It’s a very hard temptation to resist — after all, how could a book possibly be more up my alley?!? But, I can’t take the risk that James’ hard work would influence my own research. So, I don’t use it. It’s probably silly of me.

I can’t conclusively say what’s different about James’ book vs Critiki, beyond two pretty salient points: his is paper, and much more portable; and it’s James’ voice, not mine. Multiple voices & viewpoints always make the general understanding better. Even though I haven’t read it myself, I feel very, very comfortable recommending it, and it’s great news that a new edition is coming out.

This is going to be a banner year for tiki books: I’ve already mentioned Sven Kirsten’s new Tiki Modern book, and there are two more books on their way in the coming year: Sippin’ Safari by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, and another book that I don’t think has been announced yet, so I’m going to keep quiet about it. Tiki Road Trip is due in May 2007, from Santa Monica Press.

• Tiki Road Trip (1st Edition) [Amazon.com]
• Tiki Road Trip II [Tiki Central]
• Critiki
• Tiki Bar Review Pages
• Sven Kirsten’s Tiki Modern Coming in 2007 [Humu Kon Tiki]