Post #610456 by congawa on Mon, Oct 17, 2011 12:38 PM

I need to post to state the obvious, but Chuck Tatum's words about one person being able to kick another person's ass regarding musical knowledge are definitely not mine, and all my years of listening and I know far too many people who know much, much more about music than I do anyway even if I was into such ridiculous musical one-upmanship (which I'm definitely not).

And I take a lot of issue with any suggestions of The Ding Dong Devils doing what we do for purposes of "coat-tail riding," "to be part of a scene" and particularly to make money. We formed the band organically because of the things we all mutually already enjoyed, and were inspired to write songs about it. And if we're doing it for money, we're extremely miserable failures because the band is 100% a hobby that costs us more money than it takes in, but we do it for the same reason I know I've done every band I've been in since my first one almost 30 years ago--because it's a lot of fun and I love the music we make. I lived (courtesy my mother) through the "original" Tiki/exotica period, was then exposed to the "pre-Tiki revival period" of the late 80's/early 90's, via Steeve and Josh (later Shag) of the Swamp Zombies (and later Tiki Tones), then Otto's contributions to Exoticon and Lee's Dionysus Demolition Derbies (in fact I originally met Randy/aquarj during that period, and I appreciate his well-reasoned words on this subject), and then Sven's book, but it took me many years to become more than an occasional attendee at Tiki events (Tiki has remained just one of many historic and Mid Century Modern design schools I enjoy, just as it is one of many musical avenues I enjoy) and on this forum (I originally signed up in 2004 and forgot my original name and password, and didn't even discover it until I had started posting as Congawa)--really until hooking up with the members of the Ding Dong Devils in our previous band the Fleagles and being inspired by our mutual enjoyment of Tiki and Tiki events. The band was a natural organic process that was fueled by what we were experiencing around us.

I can fully understand the idea of "purism" when it's tied to traditional folk music forms (including slack key and traditional chanting, in the case of Hawaiian), but I don't quite understand the point in drawing a line to restrict forms that were intended as evolving pastiches of different forms, such as Hapa Haole and exotica. Most of the original 1920's/early 1930's Hapa Haole steel guitars such as Sol Hoopii and Andy Iona quickly branched into becoming jazz artists, even evolving their original tunings to do so. Dick and Lani McIntyre started playing with Bing Crosby, and it became a different (but no less great) thing altogether (know Lucas knows all this, because he knows and plays with a musician who made this kind of transition, and who were continuously fortunate to have with us, Bill Tapia). I am a huge western swing fan, and originally learned guitar 30 years ago to form a rockabilly band (though it never exactly happened as such), and I really enjoy bands such as the Lucky Stars and the Dave & Deke Combo who can play the music exactly as it was originally done. I also very much enjoy what the Smokin' Menehunes do. However, just as much, I enjoy bands who come up with new ideas and new combinations, such as the Hula Girls' melding of rockabilly and Hapa Haole (which makes a lot of sense, because one of the main antecedents of rockabilly was western swing, which in turn was influenced by Hawaiian steel guitar). I'm glad I don't have to restrict myself to only liking one or the other, because I'd probably then also have to stop liking Spike Jones, Captain Beefheart, Thelonious Monk and the Angry Samoans, because that would also get in the way of musical purity.

There is a special magic about seeing an exotica group playing in an original Polynesian palace (such as Tikiyaki at the Mai Kai earlier this year, or at Dons in a few weeks), without the taint of that loud rock and roll that these kids seem to listen to these days (I blame that damned Elvis Presley myself, with his long hair and pink suits--he ruined everything, including the very moral fiber of this once-great country!). This year at my first Hukilau, I also saw the great Milwaukee surf band The Exotics at the Mai Kai, just hours before Tikiyaki, and they also blew me away as they always do--even though in 1963 such a band playing that loud rock and roll those long-haired pimply surfer kids are listening to would not have been allowed in the place.

So ultimately, Emspace, I'm not sure what your goal is in trying to restrict what can and can't be called "Tiki Music"? Do you want to have an official arbiter, in the way that only sparkling wine from a certain region can be called Champagne, or only rum made in a specific process in Guyana can be called Demerara? Besides musical groups, you'd also have to restrict audiences for said groups so that they're more in line with audiences during the original era as well. Audiences would have to be restricted to businessmen (briefly discarding their suits and ties for an Aloha shirt) and their meekly-complying, stay-at-home wives (except when they're on a business trip of course--that's when Steve Crane takes care of things) would be allowed. Personally, I far prefer today's Tiki crowds with a bunch of crazy beatniks, highlighted by the opinionated, smart, obnoxious, wise-ass women who fortunately populate today's "Tiki scene" (oops, there's that word "scene" again).

I agree with everything Randy said in his post two days ago, with one exception: the line about the Ding Dong Devils being in it for the chicks. Rama Lama and Nepheria are a couple, and Puka von Pele and myself are both married (though not to each other), so that reason for doing it is also ruled out. (And in the cases of Nepheria and Puka, even if they were single, they still wouldn't be doing it for the chicks--though, let me firmly establish that, from my point of view, there would be nothing wrong with it if they were.)

Caltiki Brent