Post #81644 by Rattiki on Fri, Mar 19, 2004 6:28 AM

Welllll...this could be said about American Tiki bars (compared to, for example, "Quinn's" in Tahiti) and Tiki style in general.
But it is exactly this "white washed, gobbly goop" (or in-authenticity) why we like Tiki. It's FUNNY.

Yes I understand that, but I wondered if others actually do (your company excluded of course). To be quite honest with our romatisizing of all things Tiki (bar) I am sure there is a mentality among many that all patrons of the 'golden Tiki era' were just enamoured and satisfied with the lush, faux tropo surroundings of the classic Tiki bars. I, on the other hand, believe that many were quite disappointed in it's somewhat comparitive banality to the great nightclubs of their previous city life. Just as many here turn their noses up at all things Jimmy Buffet. Don't get me wrong, Tiki is super cool IMO and I LIVE in a totally Tiki/jungle style hut (it's not in my basement to just drink with my friends), I just wanted to bring in a bit of perspective about the relationship between Tiki Bars and it's pre-Tiki parents, the 40's tropo style Nightclub.

....And nobody is comparing Exotica to "the rip roaring jazz of the former big city nightclub era", why would we? The Tiki vibe is not about rockin', jumpin, jivin, but about lounging.

Many people just don't "get" Exotica (not a value judgement here!), and we bemoan that, because it is, without a doubt, THE fitting sound environment for the classic Tiki bar of the 50s and 60s (not 20s/30s, and as we witness, neither 90s/2000s), and we like to experience the Tiki concept in it's completeness.

Exotica musik, with it's bird calls, volcano rumblings and wave crashing sound effects provides the ideal "glue" to unite all the faux elements of the Mainland Polynesian Pardise into a cohesive alternate reality...
If one let's it, that is.

Personally I think one would find it hard to sell the cell phone, internet, 15 tv montors blaring at all times, generation (and that includes us middle agers too) tropical rain and mood music for much longer than a 1 hour dinner. We are a changed society, hell classic films such as Casablanaca or 'To Have or have not' would now BOMB at the box office without a hundred explosions and computer grafic animation special effects. Big businesses carry large overheads and it is my experience that the over 35 crowd generally don't stay out too late, even in a place like here in Key West. It is the 20 something crowd that lights the midnight oils and spending gobs of cash on over priced high % profit drinks (food is generally a 30% costing, booze 15%-20% or less), so it is this market that one must woo to stay alive. Personally I would compromise by mixing Sixties surfer music, with 40's Latin Jazz, and contemporary hits that fit the genre after the dinnner hour in order to get and keep a 'broad spectrum market share', BUT these are biz buzz words that are considered sacreligous amongst many Tikiphiles who wish to refuse to accept that in the end (as cool as it is) this is just a style of postwar B&G decor in a business that must return the expectant investor a profit.

[ Edited by: Rattiki on 2004-03-19 06:37 ]