Post #697019 by White Devil on Tue, Oct 22, 2013 8:32 AM

I'd like to register a formal request for Hukilau 2014, re: musical entertainment. Past Hukilaus have been exemplary in presenting a wide variety of exotica in all its manifestations, and we've enjoyed everything from the stalwart Intoxicators to Los Straightjackets, Robert Drasnin & Orchestra to the Sweet Hollywaiians and Ixtahuele. But I sense a bit of an over-reliance both here and elsewhere on surf band music, at the expense of diversity and historic tradition. Nothing against surf music, except that it tends to be overrepresented in tiki culture.

I'd like to see more of the sophistication suggested in the phrase "sophisticated savage", in the form of jazz and jazz-influenced bands, as well as hapa haole. Since West Coast events are abandoning this tradition, perhaps it's time Hukilau embraced the likes of The Smokin' Menehunes and the less-savage options available out there. Who knows, maybe even a Cuban conga band, in light of Florida's geographical & cultural proximity to Cuban culture.