Post #455295 by procinema29 on Wed, May 20, 2009 9:59 PM

I mentioned before in another thread, or two, that I grew up in Monterey Park, on top of a hill that overlooked Danny Balsz's "The Tikis" club. I was never lucky enough to go into that place at the bottom of the hill--although a lot of my neighbors did. On weekends especially, they put on some really loud shows, and the neighbors across the street had a good vantage point on some of this from their backyard...you could occasionally see movement down there at night, and the flickering of volcano flames and torches, very eerie. And most weekend evenings in the 70's there was the ever-present pounding of tribal drums. Haunting to think about such things! Along with Halloween and a few local monster nuts, The Tikis contributed to making the neighborhood a fantasy world.

The first thing I heard about the BOT was that it had coverage--nay, a whole chapter--on this club, and I was pretty well chomping on the bit until I got my copy, and wow, finally, after all those years, I was able to see images of this very special place. The images and the story did not disappoint, and I went around showing the chapter to any family and friends who remembered that this place existed at one time. In one neat package, the chapter is a connection to a part of my childhood that I never saw directly, but of which, once upon a time, I caught tantalizing glimpses.

The rest of the book is just as much a treasure trove. It is a special volume, indeed.