Post #485933 by JOHN-O on Thu, Oct 1, 2009 7:14 AM

Sabu,

Thanks for sharing your recent expedition, it was an amazing read. Also thanks for posting the uncensored images of the Foc'sle murals. I enjoyed them very much. :) I thought the hanging "Aloha" turned out to be very prophetic. It's interesting when I originally researched Bowers, it was my impression he was primarily a "square john" artist since most of his documented 1930's work was commissioned for public spaces. I figured the Embers paintings were the anomalies. I guess it was the other way around. So who was Frank Bowers really? Also is it just me but does anyone else see a similarity to the work of pulp comic book artist Wally Wood?

I'm glad that the Foc'sle felt very protective of their Bowers'. I got the same thing at Embers when I asked to take pictures. At first I thought I was just being polite, but the bartender actually paused and said that I needed to ask the owner's niece who was sitting nearby. The regulars there also felt proud about the paintings and eagerly shared "they were done by this famous guy". They also gave me their suggestions for old places (mid-century?) in the area that I'm going to check out.

One thing I want to add since this might inspire others to make the trip out to Embers, Foc'sle and the Buccaneer. These places are locals' joints (some more gritty than others) who may not be used to seeing strange people show up (especially those dressed for a Hawaiian vacation.) If you're feeling that vibe, then please treat the place with respect and ask before you pull that camera out. You don't want to piss off the wrong person who might think you're photographing them. Tiki-Ti and the Bahooka, it ain't.