For my immediate family, Dec. 25th is a secular holiday of presents, food & family fun. As in years past, J10X & I arrive at my mom's house, fashionably late, with santa hats on our heads & my incredibly warm, long, heavy forest-green cloak about my shoulders. (It is of no surprise to me that people no longer wear substantial cloaks to drive- the shoehorning of myself & that garment into my car alone is a Herculean effort, never mind clearing enough room around me in a sea of wool to locate the car's gearshift.)
I have finally come to the realization that all along it is only my sister, mother & myself who get completely hysterical during the present opening. My 5 year old nephew (Jack) doesn't even get that excited, tho' he claimed to be way more excited than me. But there's just no way- he doesn't even get to drink mimosas before gifts.
But the most fun to be had was when my dad brought up an air hockey table he had purchased for my nephew - or so he thought. J10X & Jack tried it out (Jack employing the Nowyckyj Goal-Blocking Ploy- placing his forearm in front of his goal) but things really heated up when J10X & myself went head-to head. My dad was pretty sure we were destroying the table & my mom was laughing as hard as we were- air hockey can get very intense, very fast & very fun. Half the time you end up knocking the puck into your own goal by mistake, or in my case, sailing it onto the floor, into my sister's back, the walls, etc. Considering the advent of so many great computer games, Xboxes and the like, I was amazed at how intense a simple game like this could get- we were sweaty & totally crazy.
So, we finally peeled ourselves out of there & to home- we recuperated by watching 'Mr. Bean's Holiday' which was a tad disappointing- good effort made to create a story, but I expected way more silly stuff. This past weekend we also watched 'Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix' which I was only compelled to watch because I had seen all the other movies. I think with the exception of the 'Prisoner of Azkaban', they've all been disappointing. I've not read any of the books, but the movies tend to make me feel that a LOT has been left out.
So, now I have a week to create & read!
Happy Boxing Day!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Local heroes, libations, lashings of music and the lengthening of days...
Saturday night was a celebratory night for music in New London- Paul Brockett Roadshow Band's 2nd Anniversary show was opened & closed by The Reducers!
PBRB had goodies to give out- a CD of rollicking fun with music, skits and some bizarre yodelling barnyard shenanigans, a poster photo montage on the inside of the CD (with some pictures of people you know) and a fabulous pin.
PBRB wore their dress blacks onstage, looking very sharp. Their set had somethings old, something new, nothing borrowed and 'Can't Mix Gin with You' featuring the vocal stylings of Ms. Daphne Glover. It was fun, fast and fantastic!
[Note: if Paul is the Gentleman of New London, Meghan is certainly the Glamorous Spirit and both rest on the Solid Foundation that is Dave. And if that isn't enough for you, they're really terrific people, too....]
The Reducers were, as usual, their efficient, rocking selves- this band consistently over the past 20-odd years I've seen their shows just deliver the goods every time, with no fuss and exquisite form. They rock, plain and simple.
Seeing both bands in the same venue is always a treat as we always see our friends, too- everyone was filled with holiday joy and the joy of a great night of music. I was so happy to actually find that one spot in the place where I could actually hear someone talk, so I did spend that last set of the show chitchatting with, it seemed, half of the music-loving population of New London. A great night all around...
Happy Anniversary, Paul Brockett Roadshow Band!
PBRB had goodies to give out- a CD of rollicking fun with music, skits and some bizarre yodelling barnyard shenanigans, a poster photo montage on the inside of the CD (with some pictures of people you know) and a fabulous pin.
PBRB wore their dress blacks onstage, looking very sharp. Their set had somethings old, something new, nothing borrowed and 'Can't Mix Gin with You' featuring the vocal stylings of Ms. Daphne Glover. It was fun, fast and fantastic!
[Note: if Paul is the Gentleman of New London, Meghan is certainly the Glamorous Spirit and both rest on the Solid Foundation that is Dave. And if that isn't enough for you, they're really terrific people, too....]
The Reducers were, as usual, their efficient, rocking selves- this band consistently over the past 20-odd years I've seen their shows just deliver the goods every time, with no fuss and exquisite form. They rock, plain and simple.
Seeing both bands in the same venue is always a treat as we always see our friends, too- everyone was filled with holiday joy and the joy of a great night of music. I was so happy to actually find that one spot in the place where I could actually hear someone talk, so I did spend that last set of the show chitchatting with, it seemed, half of the music-loving population of New London. A great night all around...
Happy Anniversary, Paul Brockett Roadshow Band!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Vodka & Me
We had a very good year.
I discovered in Women's Health magazine that my fave summertime vodka garnish, blackberries, are even better for you after being soaked in ethanol.
I have just now read that my very favorite potable, Reyka, is processed 'green' via geothermal heat. And they have no plans to ever flavor the vodka - skál !
I discovered in Women's Health magazine that my fave summertime vodka garnish, blackberries, are even better for you after being soaked in ethanol.
I have just now read that my very favorite potable, Reyka, is processed 'green' via geothermal heat. And they have no plans to ever flavor the vodka - skál !
Monday, December 17, 2007
Adrenaline
Adrenaline rushes come in two great flavors-the fun-I can't-believe-I didn't-hurt-myself-kind and the not fun-I can't-believe-I'm-not-dead-kind.
I experienced both tonight within 10 minutes of each other -two coworkers hit me up to sled down the considerably steep hill next to Mitchell Hall on a car sun reflector....scary, but so worth it! Whee!
A few minutes later, I hopped in my car to get something delicious from Saeed's International Market and turned up the wrong street - uphill into a completely iced-over parking lot with a steep slope. My car miraculously made it up there, and as I realized my error and turned my car around, it decided to do a double basic spin and slide sideways down the hill, while stalling. It recovered beautifully and I gave my car a 9.9 for a complicated routine....
I experienced both tonight within 10 minutes of each other -two coworkers hit me up to sled down the considerably steep hill next to Mitchell Hall on a car sun reflector....scary, but so worth it! Whee!
A few minutes later, I hopped in my car to get something delicious from Saeed's International Market and turned up the wrong street - uphill into a completely iced-over parking lot with a steep slope. My car miraculously made it up there, and as I realized my error and turned my car around, it decided to do a double basic spin and slide sideways down the hill, while stalling. It recovered beautifully and I gave my car a 9.9 for a complicated routine....
Winter Zombie Night at the Aloha Alcohula (TM)
Last Friday, the Aloha Alcohula (TM)* had a little impromptu tiki drink gathering - featuring nothing less than Zombies made from the original c1938 recipe by Don the Beachcomber. And featuring nothing less than your intrepid hostess' homemade cinnamon syrup & falernum (#8) to boot.
Winter Zombie Night was dedicated to two people: the joey Zone and the lovely Adrienne at Stop & Shop who risked life & limb to retrieve the last 4 existing bottles of lime juice from the very back of the tallest shelf in the store. Your hostess wasn't able to milk enough limes for the Zombie-making without further damaging her delicate little wrists.
The joey Zone did a fine, fine job of giving an extensive tour to Mike & Sandy of 9th Wave fame, all the while explaining the provenance of every single piece of tchotchka - some of which I didn't even know, such as the fine lockers I purchased to house CDs & DVDs that apparently had belonged to a strip club in the past.....(we suspect it was probably the Log 'n' Lantern. )
So, thanks to those who came & drank and didn't throw up little fruity bits!
*Best tiki bar in Willimantic
Winter Zombie Night was dedicated to two people: the joey Zone and the lovely Adrienne at Stop & Shop who risked life & limb to retrieve the last 4 existing bottles of lime juice from the very back of the tallest shelf in the store. Your hostess wasn't able to milk enough limes for the Zombie-making without further damaging her delicate little wrists.
The joey Zone did a fine, fine job of giving an extensive tour to Mike & Sandy of 9th Wave fame, all the while explaining the provenance of every single piece of tchotchka - some of which I didn't even know, such as the fine lockers I purchased to house CDs & DVDs that apparently had belonged to a strip club in the past.....(we suspect it was probably the Log 'n' Lantern. )
So, thanks to those who came & drank and didn't throw up little fruity bits!
*Best tiki bar in Willimantic
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Of Oil Tanks, Royale Footwork and a Hula Dancer.
This past weekend started with having my house's oil tank ripped from the soil - the entire process was completed by the time I returned from a far-too-early appointment. I was a little disappointed, because it would have been fun to see the process, but when I walked down my driveway at 9:30 AM, my oil tank was dangling from a backhoe & the hole was completely filled! Hooray!
Friday night, Johnny von 10X and I were invited by Miss Wendy to attend the service she was presenting at her synagogue. This was really interesting, as there was quite a lot of interaction with the congregation (including a question-and-answer period at the end) and the text provided had the songs printed in Hebrew, English, and a transliteration of the Hebrew text; there were also annotations. Miss Wendy did a fabulous job and also contributed a very beautiful poem - I may actually start liking poetry...
Saturday night, we watched poetry in motion - we saw the Royale Brothers (yes, again, jZ) play at the Backstage Pass at Rosie's Cantina in Groton - it's a nice space, totally separated from the strip club portion of the building. There were a decent amount of people there and the bar had Laphroaig - so lovely on a chilly night. Even better, friends I hadn't seen in far too long were in attendance and we had time to catch up.
Eventually, the Royale Brothers hit the stage - two band members were dressed all in black, (perhaps in recognition of the passing of the Great American Hero, Evel Knievel), two in various shades of plaid. The addition of the fog machine & some fancy flashing lights ramped up the visuals, including much fancy footwork (a la James Brown) by Joey Royale, and the adrenaline-inducing sight of Sebastian Royale coming THIS CLOSE several times to nailing Joey in the head with his guitar (or perhaps just poking an eye out with a guitar string) and Joey coming THIS CLOSE to taking out some lights & electricals when he brandished his microphone stand in the air and howled. There's just something exhilarating about the combination of rock'n'roll, near electrocution and near ocular impalement...
As usual they did not disappoint - as Marko observed after they had finished, 'I pity the next band following THAT!' Indeed!
But the very best line of the evening was: "I've been making Feejee Mermaids...when I'm not working or making out with my girlfriend, I'm making these...things...!" Hmmm...I wonder how much it would cost the Aloha Alcohula* to obtain one for display? As for the person who uttered those fine words, please do yourself a favor and visit the NE Anomaly site!
As for All Things Tiki, there is rumored to be a tiki bar opening in Vernon very soon- of course, this will entail making an exploration into unknown territory. Hopefully the Sacred Text of The Bum will be utilized in its proper form.
And what about the Hula Dancer? Oh, that would be the tattoo that Nimble-Fingered Phil Royale sports on his forearm, merrily dancing away....
*the best tiki bar in Willimantic.
Friday night, Johnny von 10X and I were invited by Miss Wendy to attend the service she was presenting at her synagogue. This was really interesting, as there was quite a lot of interaction with the congregation (including a question-and-answer period at the end) and the text provided had the songs printed in Hebrew, English, and a transliteration of the Hebrew text; there were also annotations. Miss Wendy did a fabulous job and also contributed a very beautiful poem - I may actually start liking poetry...
Saturday night, we watched poetry in motion - we saw the Royale Brothers (yes, again, jZ) play at the Backstage Pass at Rosie's Cantina in Groton - it's a nice space, totally separated from the strip club portion of the building. There were a decent amount of people there and the bar had Laphroaig - so lovely on a chilly night. Even better, friends I hadn't seen in far too long were in attendance and we had time to catch up.
Eventually, the Royale Brothers hit the stage - two band members were dressed all in black, (perhaps in recognition of the passing of the Great American Hero, Evel Knievel), two in various shades of plaid. The addition of the fog machine & some fancy flashing lights ramped up the visuals, including much fancy footwork (a la James Brown) by Joey Royale, and the adrenaline-inducing sight of Sebastian Royale coming THIS CLOSE several times to nailing Joey in the head with his guitar (or perhaps just poking an eye out with a guitar string) and Joey coming THIS CLOSE to taking out some lights & electricals when he brandished his microphone stand in the air and howled. There's just something exhilarating about the combination of rock'n'roll, near electrocution and near ocular impalement...
As usual they did not disappoint - as Marko observed after they had finished, 'I pity the next band following THAT!' Indeed!
But the very best line of the evening was: "I've been making Feejee Mermaids...when I'm not working or making out with my girlfriend, I'm making these...things...!" Hmmm...I wonder how much it would cost the Aloha Alcohula* to obtain one for display? As for the person who uttered those fine words, please do yourself a favor and visit the NE Anomaly site!
As for All Things Tiki, there is rumored to be a tiki bar opening in Vernon very soon- of course, this will entail making an exploration into unknown territory. Hopefully the Sacred Text of The Bum will be utilized in its proper form.
And what about the Hula Dancer? Oh, that would be the tattoo that Nimble-Fingered Phil Royale sports on his forearm, merrily dancing away....
*the best tiki bar in Willimantic.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
My Wonderful New Job
[How many times must I tell the same 5 people to shut the hell up in here?!?!]
Sample conversation between 2 guys (spoken loudly across 2 computer carrels):
(I had multigrain pancakes with cheese & scallions today. La Wombat seemed to think this was blog-worthy....)
Sample conversation between 2 guys (spoken loudly across 2 computer carrels):
- Do you eat at restaurants?
- Yeah
- What kind you like?
- Yeah
- Italian?
- Yeah
- Pizza?
- Yeah
- Fish?
- Nooooo...
- Wanna eat dinner with me sometime?
- Yeah
- Do you think (name of girl here) will eat dinner with me?
- ....yeah....
- Do you like Italian food?
- Yeah
- Hi, Steph! So, are there cameras even in the parking garage at the casino (11 millionth time he's asked me this...)
- Yes, they're everywhere- if you want to chitchat, you have to go downstairs.
- Ok! SORRY!
- Ssshh!
- Do you like Italian food?
(I had multigrain pancakes with cheese & scallions today. La Wombat seemed to think this was blog-worthy....)
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Licking Stick
...that's the song that was echoing around my head this morning. Odd, because I saw two shows last night, not one of which had a single James Brown cover....
J10X, Lushy Luke & I went to see our friends Anne Castellano & Dorian James play at the Annex right in town- for once, didn't have to travel to hear good music! The Annex is a large brick-lined room above the art gallery of Main Street - and a convenient 45 second hike to the Main Street Pub. The sound is actually quite good there and we've seen bands ranging from acoustic solo performances, like Anne, to full-on noisy (the Chuck Hestons come to mind...)
Unfortunately we had to leave halfway through Dorian James' set in order to get Luke to New London for the Gamma Rays gig. The Rays recently acquired the fantastic Johnny Customs on bass, and that man can play! His presence has really charged up the rest of the band and they were fast & loose! Opening for the Gamma Rays was a duo from Maine called Meantone - they were loud, punkabilly & very rock'n'roll (a double bill of Meantone & The Royale Brothers in the future would be just divine). The singer/guitar player 'Meantone' was a fantastic player & during their set wore a gas mask with a mike inside. The drummer, Little Brett was terrific and part way through the set, Johnny Customs played with them for a few songs- too bad so many people missed such great shows last night - both places were pathetically short on audiences.
Levez-vous et dansez!
J10X, Lushy Luke & I went to see our friends Anne Castellano & Dorian James play at the Annex right in town- for once, didn't have to travel to hear good music! The Annex is a large brick-lined room above the art gallery of Main Street - and a convenient 45 second hike to the Main Street Pub. The sound is actually quite good there and we've seen bands ranging from acoustic solo performances, like Anne, to full-on noisy (the Chuck Hestons come to mind...)
Unfortunately we had to leave halfway through Dorian James' set in order to get Luke to New London for the Gamma Rays gig. The Rays recently acquired the fantastic Johnny Customs on bass, and that man can play! His presence has really charged up the rest of the band and they were fast & loose! Opening for the Gamma Rays was a duo from Maine called Meantone - they were loud, punkabilly & very rock'n'roll (a double bill of Meantone & The Royale Brothers in the future would be just divine). The singer/guitar player 'Meantone' was a fantastic player & during their set wore a gas mask with a mike inside. The drummer, Little Brett was terrific and part way through the set, Johnny Customs played with them for a few songs- too bad so many people missed such great shows last night - both places were pathetically short on audiences.
Levez-vous et dansez!
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Who I'm Hatin' On: Bank of America- Incompetent Jerks or Evil Empire?
It's both! BoA is loaded with terrible, horrible attributes.
Sit 'round the fire, children, and let me tell you a story:
I was rewarded with a letter from BoA after paying off my unsecured cauldron loan that not only was the loan was paid in full, they were canceling a lien on my mortgage......?!!?!
Boys & girls...unsecured means I had the loan with no collateral and I had only held my castle's mortgage for two weeks at that point- pretty fast work on their part, considering they only have pig's feet with which to write!
So, I decided I would merely place a friendly call to the customer service village to find out what was going on. Two days and no less than FOURTEEN customer service trolls later, I still did not have an answer. Not surprising, as the completely unhelpful a**holes (a.k.a CUAs) spent a great deal of time transferring me around to the auto loan department, the 'we-only-take-applications-for mortgages-department', various flying monkey 'supervisors' (who were thinly disguised CUAs), the broken broom department, etc.
Now thoroughly irritated, as any Queen would be, I decide to send a message via magical email to BoA. Wow, if telephoning wasn't bad enough, the four CUAs I've contacted can only respond to my request for information via cut-an-paste scripts - the poor people working at BoA aren't even allowed to think for themselves! The final email I receive informs me I need to go to one of their branch offices in the deep, dark woods. As if I don't hate them enough already, I will have to get my slippers-of-silver-cloth dirty!
At this point, I have now reported them to the CT Banking Commission office. I want my grievance on record, recorded by our ogre-scribes.
So, I head to my local BoA branch, in the deep, dark woods. And you know what? It only took the very pleasant young fairy princess I spoke with for 5 whole minutes to inform me that it was all 'just a mistake'....
And if you're all very, very good, I will tell you the end of the story another day....
Sit 'round the fire, children, and let me tell you a story:
I was rewarded with a letter from BoA after paying off my unsecured cauldron loan that not only was the loan was paid in full, they were canceling a lien on my mortgage......?!!?!
Boys & girls...unsecured means I had the loan with no collateral and I had only held my castle's mortgage for two weeks at that point- pretty fast work on their part, considering they only have pig's feet with which to write!
So, I decided I would merely place a friendly call to the customer service village to find out what was going on. Two days and no less than FOURTEEN customer service trolls later, I still did not have an answer. Not surprising, as the completely unhelpful a**holes (a.k.a CUAs) spent a great deal of time transferring me around to the auto loan department, the 'we-only-take-applications-for mortgages-department', various flying monkey 'supervisors' (who were thinly disguised CUAs), the broken broom department, etc.
Now thoroughly irritated, as any Queen would be, I decide to send a message via magical email to BoA. Wow, if telephoning wasn't bad enough, the four CUAs I've contacted can only respond to my request for information via cut-an-paste scripts - the poor people working at BoA aren't even allowed to think for themselves! The final email I receive informs me I need to go to one of their branch offices in the deep, dark woods. As if I don't hate them enough already, I will have to get my slippers-of-silver-cloth dirty!
At this point, I have now reported them to the CT Banking Commission office. I want my grievance on record, recorded by our ogre-scribes.
So, I head to my local BoA branch, in the deep, dark woods. And you know what? It only took the very pleasant young fairy princess I spoke with for 5 whole minutes to inform me that it was all 'just a mistake'....
And if you're all very, very good, I will tell you the end of the story another day....
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Authors Day!
A happy, inspiring Author's Day to my brilliant friends who write about everything from Tombstones to The Mangrove Legacy to Terry & the Pirates to Totoro Bento lunches to The Goth Scouts!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Update
And for those of you who don't think I update my blog enough, I had eggs & toast for breakfast today.
Boojumhaus Hallowe'en Extravaganza 2007!
What better way to celebrate Hallowe'en than at the Boojums? Good friends, good food, great costumes, friendly rivalry with costumes! This year's Supreme Costume Master was Raggedy Andy Warhol. 'Twas a frightfully weird ensemble....
Among the fab get-ups were Baron Samedi, Wolf, Candy Corn, Donner Party-of-One, Shriners, Man in a Shower (3rd place winner), Tippi Hedren from 'The Birds' (2nd place winner) and more! Our host and hostess looked superb as always, respectively dressed as a clown and a belly dancer.
Both the host and myself were congratulated for landing new jobs by the Shriners bringing cake & champagne!
Cranky Yankee's photos here!
Among the fab get-ups were Baron Samedi, Wolf, Candy Corn, Donner Party-of-One, Shriners, Man in a Shower (3rd place winner), Tippi Hedren from 'The Birds' (2nd place winner) and more! Our host and hostess looked superb as always, respectively dressed as a clown and a belly dancer.
Both the host and myself were congratulated for landing new jobs by the Shriners bringing cake & champagne!
Cranky Yankee's photos here!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Royale Brothers Royally Rock & Slim Cessna Lands in CT!
This past week we were blessed with two fantastic shows: Slim Cessna's Auto Club at the B&G Lounge in South Windsor & The Royale Brothers at Bank Street Cafe in New London.
Bernie, Marko, friend Matt & I went to South Windsor on Wednesday (a school night!) and found ourselves in a real hick dive tucked away in a strip mall. We walked in and I was kind of relieved to see quite a few people there listening to the local opening band, who were kinda punk/rock & roll. I was even happier getting a hug from Slim Cessna on the way in....
We girded our loins with drinks and I was desperately hoping we'd see a really great show because the place was so cruddy. Apparently the band decided to play there because they had a 'day off' between gigs and we were happy because it meant we didn't have to drive to Providence a couple of days later to see them. When I mentioned to Slim we had never been to the B&G Lounge, he looked around and said 'Yeah, I'd never go here, too..'' Hee!
We were certainly not disappointed by the show! This is a great band, great musicians & really entertaining- and there were only about 30 people at MOST and we were right at the 'stage'. It was a really fast, energetic show and many of the shaved-headed weird guys (did I mention S. Windsor is infested with KKK?) were virtually worshipping the band- a big ole redneck homoerotic experience. It was a sweaty time.
(Oddly, we saw Cortlandt from The Witch's Dungeon there and he had been filming the opening band & stuck around for the headliner.)
I thought that show was all the stress-relief I needed in this horrifically stressful month, but I had forgotten about The Royale Bros. CD Release Show!
The Bank Street Cafe was PACKED! We arrived to see the last bit of the opening band's set and then The Royale Brothers hopped on stage and kicked out the jams.....this was also a sweaty time!
The Royale Brothers are one band that gets rock & roll RIGHT. There's a lot of musical history in their sound- country, metal, punk, blues, 60s, you name it. They have a fantastic bass player and you can actually hear him- the kind of sinful, sexy, sinister, thumping bass that is supposed to exist in rock 'n' roll! The drummer is magic. The guitarists are amazing. The lean, mean, New London's Man in Black singer is the perfect frontman, for many reasons. The new CD is righteous- it actually reflects their sound well, which is not always the case with smaller pressings for local bands- nice production, very full sound.
And Joey Royale, how can you be so young and yet sound like a 65-year-old-man? It's a little freaky.
All I can picture listening to the CD is a group of weather-beaten, crag-faced, leather-wearing, long-haired older men playing atop a mesa, baking in the sun & getting beaten by the wind....
My ears are still ringing.
Bernie, Marko, friend Matt & I went to South Windsor on Wednesday (a school night!) and found ourselves in a real hick dive tucked away in a strip mall. We walked in and I was kind of relieved to see quite a few people there listening to the local opening band, who were kinda punk/rock & roll. I was even happier getting a hug from Slim Cessna on the way in....
We girded our loins with drinks and I was desperately hoping we'd see a really great show because the place was so cruddy. Apparently the band decided to play there because they had a 'day off' between gigs and we were happy because it meant we didn't have to drive to Providence a couple of days later to see them. When I mentioned to Slim we had never been to the B&G Lounge, he looked around and said 'Yeah, I'd never go here, too..'' Hee!
We were certainly not disappointed by the show! This is a great band, great musicians & really entertaining- and there were only about 30 people at MOST and we were right at the 'stage'. It was a really fast, energetic show and many of the shaved-headed weird guys (did I mention S. Windsor is infested with KKK?) were virtually worshipping the band- a big ole redneck homoerotic experience. It was a sweaty time.
(Oddly, we saw Cortlandt from The Witch's Dungeon there and he had been filming the opening band & stuck around for the headliner.)
I thought that show was all the stress-relief I needed in this horrifically stressful month, but I had forgotten about The Royale Bros. CD Release Show!
The Bank Street Cafe was PACKED! We arrived to see the last bit of the opening band's set and then The Royale Brothers hopped on stage and kicked out the jams.....this was also a sweaty time!
The Royale Brothers are one band that gets rock & roll RIGHT. There's a lot of musical history in their sound- country, metal, punk, blues, 60s, you name it. They have a fantastic bass player and you can actually hear him- the kind of sinful, sexy, sinister, thumping bass that is supposed to exist in rock 'n' roll! The drummer is magic. The guitarists are amazing. The lean, mean, New London's Man in Black singer is the perfect frontman, for many reasons. The new CD is righteous- it actually reflects their sound well, which is not always the case with smaller pressings for local bands- nice production, very full sound.
And Joey Royale, how can you be so young and yet sound like a 65-year-old-man? It's a little freaky.
All I can picture listening to the CD is a group of weather-beaten, crag-faced, leather-wearing, long-haired older men playing atop a mesa, baking in the sun & getting beaten by the wind....
My ears are still ringing.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Update - New England Tiki Tour Photos
New England Tiki Tour 2007
Most of the photos were taken at the first few stops of the Tour.....
Thanks to my pootie-pie, Johnny von 10X for the pics!
Most of the photos were taken at the first few stops of the Tour.....
Thanks to my pootie-pie, Johnny von 10X for the pics!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Kathy Lay, 19?? - 2007
I am absolutely stunned to learn that a friend of mine has passed away from ovarian cancer. Rest in Peace, Kat, or create as much havoc and fun as you can where you are!
(Obituary from the New London Day: http://www.legacy.com/TheDay/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=94084407)
(Obituary from the New London Day: http://www.legacy.com/TheDay/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=94084407)
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Northeast Tiki Tour 2007
Aloha!
This past weekend saw the big send-off of the very first and hopefully, annual, Northeast Tiki Tour!
Friday night was dinner & a show at the Hukelau in lovely Chicopee, MA, where Johnny von 10X & I met about 25 of our future busmates on the tour. We met a lovely couple, Paige & Jill, who live a scant mile or so from the Aloha Alcohula and sort of waved down the table at everyone else.
I've been to the Hukelau before, but much to my dismay, they're dismantling the majority of the Tiki decor. As for the show, it was both bizarre and cheesy. The band was very good (and the keyboard player looked an awful lot like Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats fame, but with Leif Garrett's hair...no, THIS Leif Garrett hair!) but the drinks were pretty much alcohol-free...
The band was playing when the dancers came out, and instead of some really great drumming, the instruments were guitar, keyboard, regular drums and bass.....so the show had a 'Hair'-like, 60's musical sound to it. And the female dancers were wearing skin-colored bodysuits at some points. Welcome to the Puritan Polynesian Experience!
After dinner, the group pretty much broke up, kinda chit-chatted a bit, and then the majority of them went to the hotel for a room crawl- by the looks of the pictures on Tikicentral, it was very successful....
Saturday found us at the Super 8 Motel in N. Attleboro for the commencement of the tour. We already had fabulous swag donated/created/generously provided by several folks on the tour: nametags with the official logo on a tropical lanyard, personalized drinking mugs, burlap bags to hold said swag that were stenciled with the logo, stickers, bracelets, cards, etc. There were also raffle tickets for many fabulous items and our first cocktail of the day- something delicious that won second place on the Tikicentral website - the Tiki Torch. It was an opportunity to finally meet those we waved to the night before! There were people from CT, RI, MA, NJ, NY and PA. Most knew each other from the Tikicentral forums, so this was a chance for many to meet face-to-face.
So, we boarded the (thankfully air-conditioned) bus and it was off to our first stop: the Mon Kou!
The Mon Kou has fabulous tiki/tropical decor and good, strong Mai Tais - with a hint of cherry juice- possibly the maraschino kind. So we all scrambled for seats, had drinks, feasted from the pu-pu platters & other delectable, delightful dishes. This was to be the m.o. for the entire tour: bus-stagger-restaurant-stagger-drinks & food-stagger-bus.....
I think about 45 minutes later, we were herded back on the bus, given more swag & as we sped down the road, the raffling ensued! And someone (I believe Hula Cat) made a couple o' kegs of very delicious Mai Tais - your royal guide did not heed Pappy the Sailor's words: 'This isn't punch- this is really strong!' Oh, yes they were strong. So strong, I was pretty 'faced by the time we reached the South Pacific in Newton...this was in a dingy strip mall, but the inside had one dining section that had murals & a peaked roof....Mr. Ho from Waitiki gleefully pointed out to us that one of the Polynesian fishermen was wearing a not-so-Polynesian swimmer's face mask.....
Next stop, the New Tiki in Westford! The manager, Brian, was beaming the whole time we were there, making sure his staff were very good to us (and they were!) I should mention here that each place we stopped at was presented with a tiki mask by Sully, our Grand Master of Planning and Ceremonies. Waitiki played in the lounge area, so it was more socializing, eating & drinking- by this point I was all done with rum & switched to the kinder, gentler vodka.
(The tour and Waitiki were mentioned in the Boston Herald on Aug. 24! )
So, back on the bus (and everytime we got back on, we got more swag!) and off to the Bali Hai - absolutely no tiki decor, but very strong drinks. There was also an insane amount of mug-and-menu purchasing being done- I ended up with 3 mugs and a menu (a reproduction of a 1974 menu with a fabulous tropical drink centerfold.) I think they made about a gazillion dollars just from that!
Our final stop was at the fabulous Kowloon - I believe we were in the Volcano Bay Room which feels like you're eating outside at night on a boat. The food is really good here (I had some very delicious sushi) and there's quite a variety.
So, full of delicious food and many, many cocktails, we all hopped back on the bus to go back to the motel. I know I fell asleep, and when I peeled my eyes open, I noticed the entire bus was as quiet as could be - a far cry from the rowdiness all day long! The video screens were playing some black and white Hollywood/Hawaiian shorts, and all the little tiki angels were asleep.
This tiki tour was a blast and it was a great bunch of people, all there for the same reason, to have fun and share their love of all things tiki.
Mahalo nui loa to Sully and all the others who were so generous and to all the tourmates who made this a worthwhile experience!
Queen of Exotica
This past weekend saw the big send-off of the very first and hopefully, annual, Northeast Tiki Tour!
Friday night was dinner & a show at the Hukelau in lovely Chicopee, MA, where Johnny von 10X & I met about 25 of our future busmates on the tour. We met a lovely couple, Paige & Jill, who live a scant mile or so from the Aloha Alcohula and sort of waved down the table at everyone else.
I've been to the Hukelau before, but much to my dismay, they're dismantling the majority of the Tiki decor. As for the show, it was both bizarre and cheesy. The band was very good (and the keyboard player looked an awful lot like Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats fame, but with Leif Garrett's hair...no, THIS Leif Garrett hair!) but the drinks were pretty much alcohol-free...
The band was playing when the dancers came out, and instead of some really great drumming, the instruments were guitar, keyboard, regular drums and bass.....so the show had a 'Hair'-like, 60's musical sound to it. And the female dancers were wearing skin-colored bodysuits at some points. Welcome to the Puritan Polynesian Experience!
After dinner, the group pretty much broke up, kinda chit-chatted a bit, and then the majority of them went to the hotel for a room crawl- by the looks of the pictures on Tikicentral, it was very successful....
Saturday found us at the Super 8 Motel in N. Attleboro for the commencement of the tour. We already had fabulous swag donated/created/generously provided by several folks on the tour: nametags with the official logo on a tropical lanyard, personalized drinking mugs, burlap bags to hold said swag that were stenciled with the logo, stickers, bracelets, cards, etc. There were also raffle tickets for many fabulous items and our first cocktail of the day- something delicious that won second place on the Tikicentral website - the Tiki Torch. It was an opportunity to finally meet those we waved to the night before! There were people from CT, RI, MA, NJ, NY and PA. Most knew each other from the Tikicentral forums, so this was a chance for many to meet face-to-face.
So, we boarded the (thankfully air-conditioned) bus and it was off to our first stop: the Mon Kou!
The Mon Kou has fabulous tiki/tropical decor and good, strong Mai Tais - with a hint of cherry juice- possibly the maraschino kind. So we all scrambled for seats, had drinks, feasted from the pu-pu platters & other delectable, delightful dishes. This was to be the m.o. for the entire tour: bus-stagger-restaurant-stagger-drinks & food-stagger-bus.....I think about 45 minutes later, we were herded back on the bus, given more swag & as we sped down the road, the raffling ensued! And someone (I believe Hula Cat) made a couple o' kegs of very delicious Mai Tais - your royal guide did not heed Pappy the Sailor's words: 'This isn't punch- this is really strong!' Oh, yes they were strong. So strong, I was pretty 'faced by the time we reached the South Pacific in Newton...this was in a dingy strip mall, but the inside had one dining section that had murals & a peaked roof....Mr. Ho from Waitiki gleefully pointed out to us that one of the Polynesian fishermen was wearing a not-so-Polynesian swimmer's face mask.....
Next stop, the New Tiki in Westford! The manager, Brian, was beaming the whole time we were there, making sure his staff were very good to us (and they were!) I should mention here that each place we stopped at was presented with a tiki mask by Sully, our Grand Master of Planning and Ceremonies. Waitiki played in the lounge area, so it was more socializing, eating & drinking- by this point I was all done with rum & switched to the kinder, gentler vodka.
(The tour and Waitiki were mentioned in the Boston Herald on Aug. 24! )So, back on the bus (and everytime we got back on, we got more swag!) and off to the Bali Hai - absolutely no tiki decor, but very strong drinks. There was also an insane amount of mug-and-menu purchasing being done- I ended up with 3 mugs and a menu (a reproduction of a 1974 menu with a fabulous tropical drink centerfold.) I think they made about a gazillion dollars just from that!
Our final stop was at the fabulous Kowloon - I believe we were in the Volcano Bay Room which feels like you're eating outside at night on a boat. The food is really good here (I had some very delicious sushi) and there's quite a variety.So, full of delicious food and many, many cocktails, we all hopped back on the bus to go back to the motel. I know I fell asleep, and when I peeled my eyes open, I noticed the entire bus was as quiet as could be - a far cry from the rowdiness all day long! The video screens were playing some black and white Hollywood/Hawaiian shorts, and all the little tiki angels were asleep.This tiki tour was a blast and it was a great bunch of people, all there for the same reason, to have fun and share their love of all things tiki.
Mahalo nui loa to Sully and all the others who were so generous and to all the tourmates who made this a worthwhile experience!
Queen of Exotica
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Shriners!!!
This post is a little after-the-fact, but on July 4th we went to the Columbia parade and were rewarded with not only my nephew handing out candy in the parade, but Shriners galore! Shriner Klowns dressed like Keystone Kops, Shriners on little cars doing some finely choreographed, intricate patterns and more Shriner Klowns with a paddy wagon.....
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Hukilau 2007!
I had originally written this in the week following my return: not only did this site lose my draft, the powers that be claimed they couldn't restore it. Better late than never....
**New addition! See more pics here.....
Hukilau 2007 was the 6th annual installment of one of several Tikiphile conventions in the US that c
elebrate MidCentury Polynesian Pop culture. This phenomenon started in the 1930s and was intended to evoke a feeling of faraway, exotic locales and was a creation of Mainland USA. Obviously, some of the imagery is appropriated from Polynesian & Oceanic artifacts, but the “Isle of Tiki” lifestyle is its own entity. I could write a long essay about this distinction, but better writers than I have already done so: Sven Kirsten (author of The Book of Tiki) and James Teitelbaum (author of The Tiki Road Trip.)
Bernie & I arose at the unexotic hour of 3 AM to make an early flight to Fort Lauderdale. We picked up our guide and headed off to Bradley International Airport, had a nice, short flight and were in Ft. Lauderdale by mid-morning. This was the first time Bernie had flown, and the excitement in his eyes (fueled by a few nips of Bacardi in his Coke) was a beautiful thing to behold. ( Almost as beautiful was the flight attendant who looked EXACTLY like Patsy from AbFab....same hair, smile, height, age....it was hard not to giggle every time she passed by...)
There is nothing that firmly places the idea ‘I’m on vacation!’ in your mind than to arrive at a destination that has a landscape completely different from what you just left: we arrived in a land of sun, palm trees, beach, turquoise colored ocean….very tropical indeed….
We scored a hotel right next to the Yankee Clipper Hotel, which is where most of the events were to take place. Not only that, it was mere steps to the beach! We checked in and popped next door to the Wreck Bar in the Yankee Clipper – nautically themed with tables that had sand, shells, keys and doubloons imbedded in them & then coated within an inch of their lives with resin…arrr, mateys. There were worked copper tableaux everywhere in the hotel. One wall of the bar had ‘port windows’ that made it seem as though you were submerged in the hotel pool so we could watch the nether limbs of swimmers in the hotel and the famous Mermaid Show later on.
We went for a dip at the beach and we saw pelicans flying above us- they look a lot like pterodactyls when flying in the distance. Throughout our stay, the beach was a great place to spend an hour or two in between events. During one visit, we saw a school of fish swimming within a few feet of us, being chased by seagulls – some of the fish shot out of the water right next to us! Very cool, but not nearly as interesting as the severed head bobbing around in the surf.
Thursday was also our first visit to the Mai Kai. Tiki heaven. Mere words cannot fully describe this place – it really needs to be experienced to be appreciated. The outside is chock full of waterfalls, torches, tropical plants, and tiki statuary. Once inside, we were greeted by the mâitre d’ who directed us to the very dark and moody Molokai Bar – actually, all of the Mai Kai is dark and moody, which only enhances the decor. We had pre-prandial drinks here – I had the amazingly delicious Mai Tai while looking around at all the nautical and Polynesian decor and enjoying the ambience. The drinks menu has ‘Light’, Medium’ & ‘Strong’ sections- of course, we went right to “Strong’…. Bernie captured a buzz on the ‘Shrunken Skull’, which was a whole bunch of rum in a tiki mug, natch.
After drinks, we were shepherded by another wonderful mâitre d’ (I later found out he was from Hartford, CT!) and seated in yet another amazing room with a view out to the tiki gardens. The staff at the Mai Kai were so fabulously warm and professional – even during a far busier night the following Saturday, the same wonderful service was accorded. The food was excellent, the menu ranging from sushi to pan-Asian to ‘Polynesian’ fare.
After dinner we skipped the “Hukilau Kickoff Party” and the Bahia Cabana and hit the sack- we were beat and full of rum….
Friday morning we were up and off to the Tiki Treasures Bazaar- shopping time! This was not open to the public until Saturday, so those of us not hungover or still sleeping from the previous night’s festivities had first dibs! DJ Dr. Scopitone provided exotica music to enhance the atmosphere. All the merch was only Tiki, Oceanic, Hawaiiana & Floridiana items with some vintage clothing thrown in- no crossover into hot rod/zombie/B-movie kulture. We never saw the same Hawaiian shirt twice and no one had the same shirt as anyone else - I had no idea of the range of colors & designs of the textiles. Quite a few of the women had vintage –styled dresses with bold flower patterns, wedge sandals and a flower tucked behind their ear.
The eye candy at the merch tables was overwhelming at first – I could feel my wallet getting lighter with each glance. It was nice to see that the Artists and Authors were present and were happy to sign prints and books. Here’s a short list of vendors: Dr. Cardoo, Fraternal Order of the Moai, Adrift Clothing, Doug Horne (we liberated a few cards, prints and mugs from his table), Monkey Man Design, Jared Davis (purchased a print and a t-shirt from the artist and his lovely lady), Thor (all the way from Hawaii!), Tiki Magazine, Tiki Squad, Jorubo, Bodhi Glass, some vintage clothiers, and others.
Done with the Bazaar, it was back to the Wreck Bar for the Mermaid Show – the Wr
eck Bar was the first place to have mermaid shows back in the day, and they recently started booking them again now that mermaids are no longer over-fished. Marina and her, um, mermaidettes coquettishly swam back and forth in front of the windows, blowing kisses, doing back flips and generally riling up the menfolk who were already sufficiently riled up by their drinks…it was kitschy and fun. Dr. Cardoo kindly posed for pictures with us 
after the show - ooga
booga!
We hopped the elevator to the first seminar of the weekend- “The Wonderful World of Exotica” presented by Jeff Chenault, who has been researching this subject for about 20 years. We saw a slide show of many fantastic album covers, heard some great music, (which we took great pains to emulate all weekend long, everywhere we went) and learned a more about the history of this music and Korla Pandit..... The only downside to this seminar was the impression that some of the attendees were trying to ‘one-up’ Mr. Chenault with their comments…but all in all, it was very interesting.
We didn’t attend all the seminars during Hukilau because that would have entailed being inside all day - when you can see the beautiful seascape beckoning, you go!
That evening, we attended the “Friday Night Main Event” at the swanky Bahia Mar hotel (and Yachting Center.) This was a big party with great entertainment- we saw great sets by The Crazed Mugs, The Intoxicators (from Tennessee), Waitiki (from Boston) and a bit o’burlesque by Trixie Little and Her Evil Hate Monkey. The event was emceed by King Kukulele, who some people find entertaining. There were some other vendors there, too, and I bought cookbooks by the Rum Reviews guys who were very charming and had delicious samples. I also picked up Tiki Road Trip 2 - Mr. Teitelbaum was somewhat dismayed when we told him the Tiki Room in Boston had just closed this year, and he made a verbal note on his voice recorder.
The highlight of the evening was a performance by the legendary Robert Drasnin conducting an exotica orchestra playing his own compositions, old and new. Mr. Drasnin released Voodoo about 48 years ago, and the Tiki Kiliki Productions people raised funds to afford him the opportunity to record a new album, Voodoo II – much love there! We purchased a copy and Mr. Drasnin graciously signed it and let us take photos with him.
After all that fun and excitement and lack of food, we were famished and headed to the White Trash Cabana hoping we could find a bite to eat. This place was excruciating– our waitress, who was ‘English’, was also incredibly rude and proceeded to fling an ashtray, utensils and condiments onto our table. But there’s more! The food was disgusting – I ordered grilled fish that was so greasy and smelly I thought the fish might have been sponges used in the clean up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Bernie’s mozzarella sticks could have been used as support beams in a mansion, and our intrepid guide, Leilani Luke, had ordered the conch fritters, which were inedible. (A note about procuring a Hukilau guide- be sure your guide can secret about a gallon's worth of rum on his/her person while wearing nothing more than a hawaiian shirt and shorts....)
The ‘entertainment’ consisted of a saxophone player, who played and sang, accompanied by pre-recorded backing vocals and other aural detritus. The other customers (very drunk other customers) loved this guy- he wisely refrained from straying over to our table, possibly because we were entertaining ourselves by menacingly stabbing the conch fritters and making them into mini-sputniks. We left halfway through “Sweet Home Alabama”...
Saturday entailed another seminar and another trip to the Mai Kai! The seminar we attended was “Sippin’ Safari” presented by Jeff ‘Beachbum’ Berry. This seminar was to be an hour long with a book signing afterwards, but unfortunately, the books hadn’t arrived. Instead, we enjoyed a two-and-a-half hour seminar, which consisted of Mr. Berry speaking and yummy samples o
f freshly-made cocktails: Pearl Diver’s Punch and the famous Zombie – the real one, which was tasty, as opposed to the undrinkable mixes usually foisted upon the public. Mr. Berry knows the entire history of the inception and subsequent bastardization of tropical drinks and is a true connoisseur. We learned that using the proper ingredients makes all the difference in the world and that spiced rum is the devil’s own putrid spittle (my words, not Mr. Berry’s.) Note to New England bars: grenadine and sugary premixes are not the secret ingredients for decent tropical drinks….
Mr. Berry was kind enough to sign our programs and then we made our way to the hotel restaurant for some much-needed food, which was some relief from the fresh pineapple juice and rum that was burning a hole in my stomach. Big surprise, we went back to the beach to rest up and then it was time to go back to the Mai Kai for the “Magical Evening at the Historic Mai Kai”!
When we arrived at the Mai Kai, we took plenty of pictures before going inside- and it was packed! But as I mentioned before, the staff were pleasant, efficient and made sure everyone was happily seated in the Molokai Bar while waiting for their tables. It was Happy Hour, which was one of the reasons it was packed, I’m sure- buy one drink and the second is free. I sampled one of the original Mai Kai drinks, the Derby Daiquiri, which was really refreshing – it was pretty toasty in there with all the people, but we sat back and enjoyed The Haole Kats!
We sat down to dinner and while waiting for our food, we played our own exotica compositions with chopsticks on glassware, lamps and tabletop. Some other Hukilau attendees were mightily impressed and invited us to their room for an encore presentation later on….
The after dinner show- traditional Polynesian dances mixed with a little kitsch – was fantastic even if the fire dancers were a little scary, what with all the thatching in abundance around them. The emcee had some interesting historical back
ground regarding the dances, but he was speaking with auctioneer-like intensity to keep up w
ith the pace.
After the show, we wandered around, inside and out, to take more pictures - I thought we had a lot of mermaid pictures, but nothing compared to what we shot in the gardens! We chatted with other attendees and it was a nice relaxed ending to our last big hurrah for the trip.
Mahalo nui to the Tiki Kiliki Productions people- this event was amazing and really well planned. One of the things I realized over the course of events was that there are a core group of about 100 people (mostly from CA & FL, it seems) that grew up with the ‘Isle of Tiki’ around them and when the Great Tiki Decline began in the 1970s, these people really wanted to preserve this pop culture aesthetic and are successfully doing so. If you are interested in learning more, there are many websites and links to check out: Tiki Central is a great place to start.
Aloha,
QoE
**New addition! See more pics here.....
Hukilau 2007 was the 6th annual installment of one of several Tikiphile conventions in the US that c
elebrate MidCentury Polynesian Pop culture. This phenomenon started in the 1930s and was intended to evoke a feeling of faraway, exotic locales and was a creation of Mainland USA. Obviously, some of the imagery is appropriated from Polynesian & Oceanic artifacts, but the “Isle of Tiki” lifestyle is its own entity. I could write a long essay about this distinction, but better writers than I have already done so: Sven Kirsten (author of The Book of Tiki) and James Teitelbaum (author of The Tiki Road Trip.)Bernie & I arose at the unexotic hour of 3 AM to make an early flight to Fort Lauderdale. We picked up our guide and headed off to Bradley International Airport, had a nice, short flight and were in Ft. Lauderdale by mid-morning. This was the first time Bernie had flown, and the excitement in his eyes (fueled by a few nips of Bacardi in his Coke) was a beautiful thing to behold. ( Almost as beautiful was the flight attendant who looked EXACTLY like Patsy from AbFab....same hair, smile, height, age....it was hard not to giggle every time she passed by...)
There is nothing that firmly places the idea ‘I’m on vacation!’ in your mind than to arrive at a destination that has a landscape completely different from what you just left: we arrived in a land of sun, palm trees, beach, turquoise colored ocean….very tropical indeed….
We scored a hotel right next to the Yankee Clipper Hotel, which is where most of the events were to take place. Not only that, it was mere steps to the beach! We checked in and popped next door to the Wreck Bar in the Yankee Clipper – nautically themed with tables that had sand, shells, keys and doubloons imbedded in them & then coated within an inch of their lives with resin…arrr, mateys. There were worked copper tableaux everywhere in the hotel. One wall of the bar had ‘port windows’ that made it seem as though you were submerged in the hotel pool so we could watch the nether limbs of swimmers in the hotel and the famous Mermaid Show later on.
We went for a dip at the beach and we saw pelicans flying above us- they look a lot like pterodactyls when flying in the distance. Throughout our stay, the beach was a great place to spend an hour or two in between events. During one visit, we saw a school of fish swimming within a few feet of us, being chased by seagulls – some of the fish shot out of the water right next to us! Very cool, but not nearly as interesting as the severed head bobbing around in the surf.
Thursday was also our first visit to the Mai Kai. Tiki heaven. Mere words cannot fully describe this place – it really needs to be experienced to be appreciated. The outside is chock full of waterfalls, torches, tropical plants, and tiki statuary. Once inside, we were greeted by the mâitre d’ who directed us to the very dark and moody Molokai Bar – actually, all of the Mai Kai is dark and moody, which only enhances the decor. We had pre-prandial drinks here – I had the amazingly delicious Mai Tai while looking around at all the nautical and Polynesian decor and enjoying the ambience. The drinks menu has ‘Light’, Medium’ & ‘Strong’ sections- of course, we went right to “Strong’…. Bernie captured a buzz on the ‘Shrunken Skull’, which was a whole bunch of rum in a tiki mug, natch.
After drinks, we were shepherded by another wonderful mâitre d’ (I later found out he was from Hartford, CT!) and seated in yet another amazing room with a view out to the tiki gardens. The staff at the Mai Kai were so fabulously warm and professional – even during a far busier night the following Saturday, the same wonderful service was accorded. The food was excellent, the menu ranging from sushi to pan-Asian to ‘Polynesian’ fare.
After dinner we skipped the “Hukilau Kickoff Party” and the Bahia Cabana and hit the sack- we were beat and full of rum….
Friday morning we were up and off to the Tiki Treasures Bazaar- shopping time! This was not open to the public until Saturday, so those of us not hungover or still sleeping from the previous night’s festivities had first dibs! DJ Dr. Scopitone provided exotica music to enhance the atmosphere. All the merch was only Tiki, Oceanic, Hawaiiana & Floridiana items with some vintage clothing thrown in- no crossover into hot rod/zombie/B-movie kulture. We never saw the same Hawaiian shirt twice and no one had the same shirt as anyone else - I had no idea of the range of colors & designs of the textiles. Quite a few of the women had vintage –styled dresses with bold flower patterns, wedge sandals and a flower tucked behind their ear.
The eye candy at the merch tables was overwhelming at first – I could feel my wallet getting lighter with each glance. It was nice to see that the Artists and Authors were present and were happy to sign prints and books. Here’s a short list of vendors: Dr. Cardoo, Fraternal Order of the Moai, Adrift Clothing, Doug Horne (we liberated a few cards, prints and mugs from his table), Monkey Man Design, Jared Davis (purchased a print and a t-shirt from the artist and his lovely lady), Thor (all the way from Hawaii!), Tiki Magazine, Tiki Squad, Jorubo, Bodhi Glass, some vintage clothiers, and others.
Done with the Bazaar, it was back to the Wreck Bar for the Mermaid Show – the Wr
eck Bar was the first place to have mermaid shows back in the day, and they recently started booking them again now that mermaids are no longer over-fished. Marina and her, um, mermaidettes coquettishly swam back and forth in front of the windows, blowing kisses, doing back flips and generally riling up the menfolk who were already sufficiently riled up by their drinks…it was kitschy and fun. Dr. Cardoo kindly posed for pictures with us 
after the show - ooga booga!
We hopped the elevator to the first seminar of the weekend- “The Wonderful World of Exotica” presented by Jeff Chenault, who has been researching this subject for about 20 years. We saw a slide show of many fantastic album covers, heard some great music, (which we took great pains to emulate all weekend long, everywhere we went) and learned a more about the history of this music and Korla Pandit..... The only downside to this seminar was the impression that some of the attendees were trying to ‘one-up’ Mr. Chenault with their comments…but all in all, it was very interesting.
We didn’t attend all the seminars during Hukilau because that would have entailed being inside all day - when you can see the beautiful seascape beckoning, you go!
That evening, we attended the “Friday Night Main Event” at the swanky Bahia Mar hotel (and Yachting Center.) This was a big party with great entertainment- we saw great sets by The Crazed Mugs, The Intoxicators (from Tennessee), Waitiki (from Boston) and a bit o’burlesque by Trixie Little and Her Evil Hate Monkey. The event was emceed by King Kukulele, who some people find entertaining. There were some other vendors there, too, and I bought cookbooks by the Rum Reviews guys who were very charming and had delicious samples. I also picked up Tiki Road Trip 2 - Mr. Teitelbaum was somewhat dismayed when we told him the Tiki Room in Boston had just closed this year, and he made a verbal note on his voice recorder.The highlight of the evening was a performance by the legendary Robert Drasnin conducting an exotica orchestra playing his own compositions, old and new. Mr. Drasnin released Voodoo about 48 years ago, and the Tiki Kiliki Productions people raised funds to afford him the opportunity to record a new album, Voodoo II – much love there! We purchased a copy and Mr. Drasnin graciously signed it and let us take photos with him.
After all that fun and excitement and lack of food, we were famished and headed to the White Trash Cabana hoping we could find a bite to eat. This place was excruciating– our waitress, who was ‘English’, was also incredibly rude and proceeded to fling an ashtray, utensils and condiments onto our table. But there’s more! The food was disgusting – I ordered grilled fish that was so greasy and smelly I thought the fish might have been sponges used in the clean up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Bernie’s mozzarella sticks could have been used as support beams in a mansion, and our intrepid guide, Leilani Luke, had ordered the conch fritters, which were inedible. (A note about procuring a Hukilau guide- be sure your guide can secret about a gallon's worth of rum on his/her person while wearing nothing more than a hawaiian shirt and shorts....)
The ‘entertainment’ consisted of a saxophone player, who played and sang, accompanied by pre-recorded backing vocals and other aural detritus. The other customers (very drunk other customers) loved this guy- he wisely refrained from straying over to our table, possibly because we were entertaining ourselves by menacingly stabbing the conch fritters and making them into mini-sputniks. We left halfway through “Sweet Home Alabama”...
Saturday entailed another seminar and another trip to the Mai Kai! The seminar we attended was “Sippin’ Safari” presented by Jeff ‘Beachbum’ Berry. This seminar was to be an hour long with a book signing afterwards, but unfortunately, the books hadn’t arrived. Instead, we enjoyed a two-and-a-half hour seminar, which consisted of Mr. Berry speaking and yummy samples o
f freshly-made cocktails: Pearl Diver’s Punch and the famous Zombie – the real one, which was tasty, as opposed to the undrinkable mixes usually foisted upon the public. Mr. Berry knows the entire history of the inception and subsequent bastardization of tropical drinks and is a true connoisseur. We learned that using the proper ingredients makes all the difference in the world and that spiced rum is the devil’s own putrid spittle (my words, not Mr. Berry’s.) Note to New England bars: grenadine and sugary premixes are not the secret ingredients for decent tropical drinks….Mr. Berry was kind enough to sign our programs and then we made our way to the hotel restaurant for some much-needed food, which was some relief from the fresh pineapple juice and rum that was burning a hole in my stomach. Big surprise, we went back to the beach to rest up and then it was time to go back to the Mai Kai for the “Magical Evening at the Historic Mai Kai”!
When we arrived at the Mai Kai, we took plenty of pictures before going inside- and it was packed! But as I mentioned before, the staff were pleasant, efficient and made sure everyone was happily seated in the Molokai Bar while waiting for their tables. It was Happy Hour, which was one of the reasons it was packed, I’m sure- buy one drink and the second is free. I sampled one of the original Mai Kai drinks, the Derby Daiquiri, which was really refreshing – it was pretty toasty in there with all the people, but we sat back and enjoyed The Haole Kats!We sat down to dinner and while waiting for our food, we played our own exotica compositions with chopsticks on glassware, lamps and tabletop. Some other Hukilau attendees were mightily impressed and invited us to their room for an encore presentation later on….
The after dinner show- traditional Polynesian dances mixed with a little kitsch – was fantastic even if the fire dancers were a little scary, what with all the thatching in abundance around them. The emcee had some interesting historical back
ground regarding the dances, but he was speaking with auctioneer-like intensity to keep up w
ith the pace.After the show, we wandered around, inside and out, to take more pictures - I thought we had a lot of mermaid pictures, but nothing compared to what we shot in the gardens! We chatted with other attendees and it was a nice relaxed ending to our last big hurrah for the trip.
Mahalo nui to the Tiki Kiliki Productions people- this event was amazing and really well planned. One of the things I realized over the course of events was that there are a core group of about 100 people (mostly from CA & FL, it seems) that grew up with the ‘Isle of Tiki’ around them and when the Great Tiki Decline began in the 1970s, these people really wanted to preserve this pop culture aesthetic and are successfully doing so. If you are interested in learning more, there are many websites and links to check out: Tiki Central is a great place to start.
Aloha,
QoE
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