I'm also a newbie to this site, very cool indeed. I'm in the Topanga Canyon area of Los Angeles and I'm wondering if there are any Tiki Lounges here or in the L.A. area to go to hear some great music.
Thanks,
Don Tiana

Hello I am Pickle, a tiki mug collector and drinker of fine cocktails...
you can find out about me here: http://www.myspace.com/punkypickle

It would be nice to hear from other tiki people in the UK as well as overseas :)

Hello Tiki Central ohana!
My name is Ken and I've been painting and drawing tikis since about 1990,first for some surf labels I used to work for,now for my own dern self! I saw Disney's tiki room when I was very young,and then later mixed that with comic books and being drawn to Oceanic arts,both from a cultural perspective and a fine art angle.It still amazes me how many primitive cultures (from the Marquesan's to early Minoan-Cyclades to Inuit-potlatch to....) really have a superb tradition of abstraction. Look at the Maori's blend of decorative and symbolic pictoral elements and you wonder if all this smog and city has robbed us of our true genius potential.Sorry! I'm just an enthusiastic new member who'd like to chat and meet with other members to share art and stories and spread the tiki love.I'm currently finishing up a tiki series I've been working on.I'll post something soon to share.Do you post artwork here or in the making tiki-other crafts area?I'm a newbie so etiquette is very important on making a lasting impression! Anyways...Glad to join the family! If you'd like to see some of my paintings,go visit http://www.kenruzic.com and tell me what you think! Mahalo!

[ Edited by: little lost tiki 2006-06-14 00:10 ]

On 2006-06-13 23:50, little lost tiki wrote:
Hello Tiki Central ohana!
My name is Ken and I've been painting and drawing tikis since about 1990,first for some surf labels I used to work for,now for my own dern self! I saw Disney's tiki room when I was very young,and then later mixed that with comic books and being drawn to Oceanic arts,both from a cultural perspective and a fine art angle.It still amazes me how many primitive cultures (from the Marquesan's to early Minoan-Cyclades to Inuit-potlatch to....) really have a superb tradition of abstraction. Look at the Maori's blend of decorative and symbolic pictoral elements and you wonder if all this smog and city has robbed us of our true genius potential.Sorry! I'm just an enthusiastic new member who'd like to chat and meet with other members to share art and stories and spread the tiki love.I'm currently finishing up a tiki series I've been working on.I'll post something soon to share.Do you post artwork here or in the making tiki-other crafts area?I'm a newbie so etiquette is very important on making a lasting impression! Anyways...Glad to join the family! If you'd like to see some of my paintings,go visit http://www.kenruzic.com and tell me what you think! Mahalo!

[ Edited by: little lost tiki 2006-06-14 00:10 ]

Kanes & Wahines... let me introduce you to the incomporable and very deeply Tiki knowledgable Mr. Ken Ruzic. He will likely call you Sir or Ma'am as he is a very traditional fellow. Ken... he rules.
Mahaloz,
Holden

Thank you sir! Many Mahalos!My tiki knowledge is mostly from an art history perspective,it's the contemporary American tiki movement that I'd like to learn a little bit more about!Nothing a little "Book of Tiki: and "Tiki road Trip" hardcore reading session wouldn't solve!I feel like I've stumbled upon an information treasure cave filled with thousands of armchair scholars and storytellers!Thanks Tiki Central,you've made life worth living!

Bottoms Up , all ! She's coming back around again !

I've had a tiki issue all my life. Sad to say that outside of the SandBar in Lawrence, Kansas so few understand. I hear voices ... on the coconut telegraph. I see monkeys ... monkeys everywhere ( ok, I work with chimps as in the commercials...big company , inc. Don't get sick, ever. Please).
My wife loves palm trees (calls from the LA airport every time .... I See Palm Trees).

My superhero secret identity is ... secret. TikiBoomBoom will have to do. However, in my custom made ( wife - hidden talent : party shirt tailor) party shirts you'll know me as TikiMan. I really am the one with the lamp shade.

My super powers include "the perfect martini" and picking up the tab. Superman might be able to fly - but girls I date like dinner and drinks.

I am building the first known tiki bar on Lake Wabakimi , Ontario this summer. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by. Bring your own tin cup, however. We're short on supplies in the cabin and you might have to share a mug with TunaRey if you aren't careful. Oh - and watch the caribou. They're sneaky.

I'll post photos from the mission. I found this site doing research for "field expedient tiki bar construction." Gotta love Google.

On 2006-06-13 22:15, Pickle wrote:
Hello I am Pickle, a tiki mug collector and drinker of fine cocktails...
you can find out about me here: http://www.myspace.com/punkypickle

It would be nice to hear from other tiki people in the UK as well as overseas :)

Pickle, there's plenty of UK-based Tikiphiles here. Look up on the top right of this page, just below where it says "New Topic" & "Post Reply" and click on [Member List]. Reorder the list by clicking on "From," then click on page 64/65 to find the members from London, then you can look at some of their posts, send a PM or email to say "Hi," or check out their home pages.

Ship Ahoy Tiki-lovers!
In the frost-bitten land of Sweden Tiki-philes have a hard existence. In ten years of high frequent thrift store and flea market shopping I have so far found 3 tiki-mugs. Recently I travelled to California, the heartland of this culture, and came home with mugs, exotica vinyl, fond memories of Bali Hai, Hanalei Hotels Island restaurant, Tiki-ti etc, all in all a much needed refill of Polynesian pop mana.

When I came home I remodeled my room from "Shanghai 30s opium den" to "Shanghai 30s opium pad of a pacific ocean sailor" (to carefully blend in more tikiness in the theme) and also decided to join this community. The user name is a sailor/adventurer from a song cycle of Swedish pre-exotica bard Evert Taube.

If anyone lives in San Diego, check out Kobey's swap meet. I had to leave a absolutely beautifully carved Maori club there (it was to expensive at around 250USD)

Nice to be on the inside,

Fritiof

Yo Fritz, welcome aboard! Grab a drink and sit down...lots goinz on 'round here....

-Gman

Howzit tiki fiends! I'm a noobee here (just registered) and I'm trying to figure out how I did not discover this secret society sooner. I hope to meet many of you during the crawl, pre crawl, post crawl, anywhere you like it crawl. Hopefully I'm not to late to join the Sat bus-Oh baby!! If there's a need for bus bartenders I will gladly apply and will not disappoint.

Also is anyone going to be in Monterey this weekend for the spam jam at Laguna Seca? What tiki bars are there in Monterey/Seaside area. Aloha

Just wanted to say hi to the community here. It's been sort of a secret of mine that I've always been interested in Tiki this and Tiki that, and decided recently to purchase my own Tiki Bar/hut for my backyard.
After pricing several, I decided it was an expensive investment for something of decent quality.
Im very impressed with some of the home made tiki bars Ive seen on this site.
Very impressed.
I'm not much of a woodsman, not even remotely qualified to call myself any type of craftsman, but I decided to make a simple Tiki hut, using simple tools, and my limited knowledge and talent when it comes to building anything.
I could cut a straight line, and hammer a nail in straight, but thats about my limits, so my tiki will be rather square, and simple, but I will take pride knowing that I built it.
I will post a pic if I figure out how later in the week of my progress.
This looks like a great place to pick up some decorating ideas, and Ill have my reading cut out for me.
Thanks to the moderators and site organizers for having such a great place to visit.

Hi, I live in Arlington, VA but am originally from Modesto, California and have been interested in Tiki culture for over a decade. Now that I'm older and bit settled, I plan to become more active (previous participation has been limited to visiting bars and purchasing the occasional trinket). The grand scheme is to convert my screen porch into a Tiki hut. This will take a couple of years, however. As things develop, I'll post picture. Thank you for establishing this forum.

On 2006-06-19 06:21, Zombieki wrote:
Hi, I live in Arlington, VA but am originally from Modesto, California and have been interested in Tiki culture for over a decade. Now that I'm older and bit settled, I plan to become more active (previous participation has been limited to visiting bars and purchasing the occasional trinket). The grand scheme is to convert my screen porch into a Tiki hut. This will take a couple of years, however. As things develop, I'll post picture. Thank you for establishing this forum.

You're missing Minnie's, aren't you? :wink:

Hello all! I practically tripped over this website a couple days ago. After reading many of your posts and reading about The Hukilau coming up, I feel like I have a new home with perhaps some familiar faces. Back in the late 70's, I was a seating captain in the Mai Kai when Mr. Thornton was still alive. The maitre'd was Eddie Tatton (who owns a popular Thai restaurant now)and I worked at the Mai Kai for several years. Many great memories and stories! I have a couple pics that I can scan of me on the job that I will gladly share with you. Who knows? I may have even sat some of the members here at their table in the Bangkok Room or even in the Garden! Anyway, I'm glad to have found this place and I hope to meet you soon!

Tikitank welcome to TC. We would love to see some of your pictures.

Aloha,

I am new to this forum. What attracted me was I see items of Frank Schirman posted buy some members. I recently came across this artist and his items and wanted to know more about him. If anyone has any info about this artist or knows where I could get more info would be awesome.

Mahalo

Were's Grog???

Aloha all, brand new here and I've been Tiki hunting for about 7 years now. I finally joined the board because I'm hosting a retro Tiki Lounge party 4th of July weekend and was trying to find a perfect recipe for 'Zombie Punch.' I've been reading this board for about a year now and I just got bored at work and decided to join. I've also just become obsessed with Tiki lifestyle design and have been going mad on photoshop creating menus, album covers and flyers for this party.

GROG here B-Ben.

GROG long-time lurker, artist, and likes chocolate.

It's late, screwed up my first post, and not going type all
that again tonight. Bigger introduction later.

Glad to be here, love Bungy's stories, looking forward to
posting. Mahalo.

GROG

Kia Ora! Long time browser, first time poster. I've been collecting Polynesian ephemera for few years and also have an extensive library on Pacific material culture. I make a living carving stone, shell and glass. I'm looking forward to contributing in future, particularly in the carving subforums.

Hello TCers, and especially those of you I met last night at Forbidden Island. You guys are great fun! Since I'm fairly new to the tiki culture (although I've loved the Enchanted Tiki Room since I was three), I expect my posts will be rather limited for a while, but I do expect I'll be dropping by FI most Wednesdays for a beverage or two! CongaMike -- I'll see you tonight with a bunch of my rum-swillin' gal pals!

On 2006-06-22 01:31, GROG wrote:
GROG here B-Ben.

GROG long-time lurker, artist, and likes chocolate.

It's late, screwed up my first post, and not going type all
that again tonight. Bigger introduction later.

Glad to be here, love Bungy's stories, looking forward to
posting. Mahalo.

GROG

E'Komo Mai Mr. Grog!!!

E' Komo Mai Tai Mr. Ben

Kia Ora Paipo,
Welcome aboard. I've spent some time in NZ and my kid sister is currently living in Kuaotunu on the Coromandel. One of my favorites places in the world.

Hop on over to the carving section and show off your work. There is some great talent and some of the carvers have been making some beautiful Maori items.

Hi, I'm Rev. Griz. Been lurking for a long time, figured it was probably time to step out of the jungle into the firelight. You guys have a great thing going here, thanks! If you need a description, you can think of me as the Jimmy Buffett of Utah.

On 2006-06-22 11:11, Rev. Griz wrote:
Hi, I'm Rev. Griz. ... you can think of me as the Jimmy Buffett of Utah.

Welcome Rev. Griz.

Around these parts (...that would be TC), Jimmy Buffett is often derided as the "Anti-Tiki". Are you sure you want to be thought of as the Jimmy Buffett of Utah?

Strange things happen.

I was reading a random Yahoo 360 blog and someone had posted a bit about their perfect porn name. So I decided to google up some name quizzes to see what mine would be, and I never got that far because this tiki central forum pops up and I'm like "Whoa, what a great forum idea." Ironically, I never found it in my tiki googling, but up it pops in my porn name googling because there is a thread here somewhere on porn names. The universe is a strange place. Soooo, my first name choice was Tikigoddess, which was taken. So I went with tikimermaid, figuring it had to be taken, but since I like to make tikis and mermaids, it was worth a shot. So here I am. I hope there isn't a Tiki_Mermaid or something...not meaning to step on any tiki toes here.

Getting my tiki freak on.

[ Edited by: tikimermaid 2006-06-22 13:20 ]

[ Edited by: tikimermaid 2006-06-22 13:28 ]

Welcome Rev. Griz.

Around these parts (...that would be TC), Jimmy Buffett is often derided as the "Anti-Tiki". Are you sure you want to be thought of as the Jimmy Buffett of Utah?

Thanks, Hakalugi! Although lurking about here I've seen some anti-JB sentiment, I'm puzzled as to why he'd be thought of as the anti-tiki. In fact Buffett has very little to do with Tiki other than covering "The Tiki Bar is Open". As a musician, I idolize the man for one simple reason: he's spent his entire life doing exactly what he wanted to do: play music and entertain. Anyone else who has done the same thing can feel free to cast the first stone, but it's still something to which I aspire :) He's a mediocre musician, a questionable singer, a functional songwriter with occasional flashes of extreme brilliance, but he knows how to help people have a good time and he puts on a hell of a show. In between albums and concerts he flies his boatplane to exotic locales or sails his boat to far away islands. His businesses and followers do a lot of good charity work.

Now as to philosophical issues, I don't give a hoot about those. He's a shrewd and sometimes ruthless businessman. He's not above whoring his newfound popularity out to the Nashville machine that rejected him in the '70s. For money, fame, power, who knows? All I know is he flies in the face of the music industry, puts on a good show, and does his own thing like any good Beachbum. Why that would be regarded as an afront to the Tiki community, a good many of whom embrace the many tentacled and far more insidious Disney monster, is a mystery to me.

As far as me comparing myself to him, I flatter myself. I'm more of a JB in training :) I write and sing funny songs about beaches and palm trees and hope some day to be the performer Jimmy is and to live the life I dream of rather than the one dictated to me by the rat race. He's more Caribbean and I'm more Pacific, but there's room on the island for everyone.

On 2006-06-22 13:56, Rev. Griz wrote:

Welcome Rev. Griz.

Around these parts (...that would be TC), Jimmy Buffett is often derided as the "Anti-Tiki". Are you sure you want to be thought of as the Jimmy Buffett of Utah?

Thanks, Hakalugi! ... In fact Buffett has very little to do with Tiki other than covering "The Tiki Bar is Open". ...

Exactly!

On 2006-06-22 14:05, Hakalugi wrote:

On 2006-06-22 13:56, Rev. Griz wrote:

Thanks, Hakalugi! ... In fact Buffett has very little to do with Tiki other than covering "The Tiki Bar is Open". ...

Exactly!

I just did a search and read the thread about What's Wrong with Jimmy Buffett and I understand a little better. It never ocurred to me that anyone would not see Buffett and Tiki as mutually exclusive things but I also understand the general disgust of "tiki" themed places and people mixing Caribbean and Polynesian in their ignorance. That's not Jimmy's fault, though. Whereas Tiki is specific to the South Pacific (and that's a song title if I ever heard one!) as long as there's a beach, Jimmy doesn't much care where it is. In Jimmy's music, marketing, and decoration you'll see polynesian, african, caribbean, mexican, and south american themes side by side, all places he's been and written about.

On 2006-06-22 10:31, Loki wrote:
Kia Ora Paipo,
Welcome aboard. I've spent some time in NZ and my kid sister is currently living in Kuaotunu on the Coromandel. One of my favorites places in the world.

Hop on over to the carving section and show off your work. There is some great talent and some of the carvers have been making some beautiful Maori items.

Thanks Loki - your thread in the carving forum was one of the many I spent hours reading through last night, before deciding I should register!

Hello -- just posting an intro as requested. :) I'm a long-time tiki aficionado (I have fond memories of living almost within sight of a tiki restaurant for a while as a child). In the 80s I started having yearly "Hawaiian Nightmare Parties" which featured as much tiki decor as I could manage on my student budget. I would buy tiki mugs for a buck or two at the local thrift stores.

In the 90s I had to put my small tiki mug collection in storage, and so for the last few years my collecting bug has been mostly dormant. (It didn't help that the darn things started to disappear from the thrift stores!) But recently I got my collection back out of my mom's attic and I can feel the bug starting to hit again. :) I've put my collection up on Ooga-Mooga and I've got my eyes open for new stuff to add.

I think I stopped collecting right after the Seattle Trader Vic's closed... and now that the new one is open in Bellevue, I'm starting up again! Coincidence, or...?

(I have a pair of tiki salt & pepper shakers from the Seattle TV's; my mom and I went there to see the place a last time before they closed. I told her I wished I could have those shakers. Then she mortified me by asking the waiter if I could have them! To my surprise (since the restaurant still had a couple of weeks left to closing day) he said yes! So I have a little piece of the Seattle Trader Vic's in my dining room.)

Glad to be here. I'll probably mostly lurk, but this is a great board!