Exotica group In the OC area

No, I am not leaving the Smokin menhunes, but I am finding I have room for an extra band or two.

About two years ago, i made a post looking to start an exotica band in the OC area (Orange county, Ca.) and now two years later, the offer still stands.

I have originals, in the style of Martin Denny/Arthur Lyman. I am looking to play some of those, plus lots of classic covers. I am also heavily into Bossa Nova, and am looking to collaborate in songwriting with others who dig exotica.

I have been playing the bass for about 25 years now, am a profficient reader, and have played in several Bop/trad jazz groups. I also play piano, vibes and percussion, and can double on those and many more instruments.

My influences are Denny,lyman, baxter, Esquivel, david Rose, Henry mancini, Nelson riddle, Gil evans, Don Sebesky and others.

Please PM me if interested.

Just curious, was the guy's post below mine just a joke or something? I noticed this was his third post only. I sent him a PM and two emails, and never got any reply!

You would think, that if someone puts a reply to a post advertising a genre where it is EXTREMELY hard to find qualified musician outside of New York or San Francisco, then that person might want to at least try to respond and find out what's what!

as it is, I consider it Ben's loss that he did not contact me. I can play darn near anything, and have an extensive background in jazz.

I will look elsewhere, and hope that next time people don't make fake posts like that.

it's really very sad. I thought I had finally found someone I could create exotica with, here in southern california, and it turns out to be a bogus post!

A waste of my time.

I wish I lived outside of OC sometimes!..look at all the great bands from other places, like Fisherman Vibraphonic, the Thurston Howlies, Ape, etc...all from outside the orange curtain!

You won't find any good exotica groups down here. It could be that we could have formed one, though..I was ready and able!

Lucas, please don't give up the search. The main ingredient that the Tiki movement is still missing is a contemporary Exotica music scene. There are some bands that do some good work, but it is all very scattered. There need to be more and better attempts in a.) capturing and b.) modernizing the Denny/Lyman sound.
Reading your post, it struck me how perfect you would be suited for working on the soundtrack for Mogambo's all-encompassing Armchair Explorer Tiki DVD, and I recommended you to him. He's just on the plane back to Munich, so it might be a couple of days 'til he gets to my e-mail, but I think it would be a great opportunity for you to get your work out there in the right context, and for him to get Denny-esque sounds without having to worry about rights. Hope it happens.

Seriously. He can play ANYTHING. I've heard his exotica stuff too and it sounds just like in the vein of the original masters. Amazing.

Thanks Sven, Spike...you know, I could use all the help anyone can give me!

Spike is an interesting cat..this guy is a virtual encyclopedia of roots and vintage music of all kinds, and it is a joy to work with him. He plays insanely good guitar, and more importantly, what he plays is always tasteful and appropriate..no one needs to tell him anything, because he has it down!

Sven, your book is a constant companion. In it's pages are a codification of what I think of as TIKI, and until I read it, really did not have a firm idea that there was this whole catalogued world out there. When I was 5, listening to my Mom's Arthur Lyman records, I never new what it really was, were it came from, or what it meant. I just knew that I liked it, and I liked the album covers!
She worked in a hip LA record store in 1960, and brought home many albums all stamped "demo, not for sale"..so I grew up listening to exotica, voodoo and lots of world music.

I try to put those influences in the music I create.

Plus, the music those guys were doing back then was and is extrmemly good.

Therein lies my frustration. I have met a lot of true jazzers who look down on Exotica and think of it as a campy version of pop-jazz from the late 50'2/early 60's, and I would disagree! Unfortunately, it takes advanced "chops" to play this style, and most musicians that can play it, won't because they prefer pure bebop or jazz rock fusion!

It's true that most of the exotica bands and composers focused on the wilder and exotic forms of jazz and world music, and the choice of instruments leaned toward vibes, organ, flute and even Harpsichord, but to me, it's just jazz. and love it. Jazz with a sense of humor and whimsy.

it's just very hard to find anyone that can really play it well, or who loves it like I do!

I'm not ready to play out or I'd take you up. I'm still trying to work out "Quiet Village" on the Jaw Harp & Toy Xylophone.

Lucas:

I'm no musician at all, but will be visiting OC for a few days the first week in April....any chance you'll be playing somewhere?

Mahalo,

Scott

Lucas,
check your in box, I sent you a message

New2tiki, not as of yet..my hawaiian band is in it's seasonal practice phase, as we usually start booking gigs after May....

However, soon, we will get a guestbook going, where we can notify people of shows...and will have a website up one day...

Digi, I PM'ed you today.

Oh why couldn't I have read this post when I still lived in OC?????!!!! Now I'm living in Hawai'i and too far away to make your rehearsals!!!I'm a vocalist and percussionist and for the past several years I was thinking about doing exactly what you are proposing, but most of my fellow musicians weren't interested. I had a discussion about it with Lee Rocker about four years ago, but it never really went any further than that.

Please keep me posted on your progress - it would be great to hook up with you when I visit the mainland to see you play live.

Aloha

Hi MaiTaiMafia!

I have been gone from the board for a while...yeah, I wish I had linked up with you too!

as it is, the Smokin Menehunes are going full tilt, with some added suprises.

We have a major gig coming up, but I am not at liberty to discuss it. I am sure a post is coming up soon, though!

I have met Lee Rocker as well, recently at the NAMM show..I play the same kind of bass, made by the same company he is an endorsee for: King DoubleBass...

Gotta tell you, Jason Burns, the owner, really knows how to make a quality product. This upright is a slap monster, that's for sure!

I also use a steel strung Czech upright too, for more mellow stuff.

On 2005-04-08 12:45, lucas vigor wrote:

I have met Lee Rocker as well, recently at the NAMM show..

Yeah, and after listening to Lee play and talk for an hour, lucus asks this guy "are you in a band?"

Yep, he is absolutly right!

it was really embarrassing..

This nice guy in the booth, was giving me some pointers on how to slap, and talking and demonstrating this killer bass for me...after a while, I told him "brother, you are really good! What's your name?"

He goes, "Lee"

I then ask, "what bands have you played with?"

He goes, "stray cats, and my solo band"

Duh. Sometimes I really amaze myself with my own stupidity!

In my defense, he did not quite look the same as the teenagers I listened to in the early 80's.I mean, the guy is about my age now, and I look very different as well..

He was a very nice and humble guy, and just about the best rockabilly bassist there is.

What I will say though is that Lucus aka Tiki Mick is one the the BEST bassist/musicians I have ever worked with. The man has an inate feel for all things music.

"I'm ashamed to be here, but not too ashamed to leave..."

Celebrate 'International Tiki Day' the second Saturday in August - hau'oli la tiki!

[ Edited by: Tiki_Bong on 2005-04-08 22:46 ]

I've been thinking about doing the same thing, as soon as I score some vibes and get practicing! My dream is to have a slow money gig doing lyman/denny lounge every couple weeks at the continental or something. Don't really have an ounce of jazz chops, but that never stopped me before.

On 2005-02-16 16:06, lucas vigor wrote:
Just curious, was the guy's post below mine just a joke or something? I noticed this was his third post only. I sent him a PM and two emails, and never got any reply!

You would think, that if someone puts a reply to a post advertising a genre where it is EXTREMELY hard to find qualified musician outside of New York or San Francisco, then that person might want to at least try to respond and find out what's what!

as it is, I consider it Ben's loss that he did not contact me. I can play darn near anything, and have an extensive background in jazz.

I will look elsewhere, and hope that next time people don't make fake posts like that.

it's really very sad. I thought I had finally found someone I could create exotica with, here in southern california, and it turns out to be a bogus post!

A waste of my time.

I wish I lived outside of OC sometimes!..look at all the great bands from other places, like Fisherman Vibraphonic, the Thurston Howlies, Ape, etc...all from outside the orange curtain!

You won't find any good exotica groups down here. It could be that we could have formed one, though..I was ready and able!

As embarassing as it to say, I actually know this Ben guy...he's a huge flake. A good musician (I've heard him play) but ultimately a flake. He had his roommate (that's who DollFacedDame is) set all this up for him in the desire to start some form of tiki band because he was too lazy to do so himself...she did pass all the info along to him and he didn't do a thing with it. So I'll apologize for him, because I don't think he cares enough to do so himself. It'd probably only get between him and his bottle of Jack anyways.

[ Edited by: BryanDeanMartin on 2005-06-02 15:13 ]