Restaurant Records!

Awesome thread, guys. I collect Los Angeles location albums, but I'm sure there are some that are tiki places. I certainly wouldn't pass one up if it weren't from L.A. either. Off the top of my head, and from here at work, I know that I have a live album from the Trails restaurant in the San Gabriel Valley. ModCom's Chris Nichol's knew that place well, and Korla Pandit used to play there. Alas, the LP isn't a Korla Pandit release, and I can't remember the guy's name off-hand, but the title of the album is "Nite Life," and he indeed plays mostly '60s Hawaiian hits, including the title song.

If anyone runs across another copy of that Rancho Cucamonga album, please let me know. I spent some time on Archibald Street one day, the former home of Zappa's Z-Studio in Cucamonga.

Posted a couple of restaurant records tonight. The Hawaiian Room, NYC and The Big Bamboo, Nassau.

http://konotiki.blogspot.com/

Great!! Thanks Kono!!!!! I've been looking for that Hawaiian Room LP. I still would like to find an original LP thouugh.

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

On 2006-05-24 08:31, Jeff Central wrote:
Great!! Thanks Kono!!!!! I've been looking for that Hawaiian Room LP. I still would like to find an original LP thouugh.

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Muchos mahalos, King Kono!

Has anyone mentioned "The Island-Aires: Hawaiian Interlude"? The jacket says they are presented by "The Polynesian..Walteria, California" and were the restaurants stellar nightly attraction.
Some of the members were also performers with a group called "The Polynesians" who recorded on Crown Records, and they have a very similar sound.
It's really a beautiful vocal LP. Grab it if you ever see it, although I confess the copy I have is the only one I've ever seen and I got it on eBay a while back.

Thanks for the tip Kaiwaza! I will keep an eye out for that one. Any way you can post a picture of the front cover?

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

How about that one:

not private pressed but great covers

the second one has fab tamoure track on it but it’s nothing twisted d.i.y.

and there are the following Lps (but my scanner is to small for them):

Manuiti 3123 Taaone Ambiance avec Les Savates Jaunes LP (the Savates Jaunes are playing in the Hotel Bar of Hotel Taaone and covering beside there tahitian material Wislon Picket and Jimi Hendrix, but not interesting imo)

Tahiti EL-1025 Eddie Lund Presents...Les Barefoot Boys (at) Bar Lea LP

Tiare Tahiti TTM-8225 Quinn's Orchestra - Une Night au Quinn's LP

martin
http://www.myspace.com/hularock

Thanks for the pictures lemonsquezzer,

That first one really rocks!!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

On 2006-06-04 15:51, Jeff Central wrote:
Thanks for the pictures lemonsquezzer,

That first one really rocks!!

That’s what I call little stage room!

I have two Les Barefoort Boys LPS, different ones. One is just called “Bar Lea”, the other one “En Direct De Tahiti”. I know there’s yet another one, but has been too expensive for my budget, counting the postage from USA.

KK

Just find a .jpg of the quinns orchesrta lp (a nice live recording that has it's charm, incl Accordion, two songs are called after the Quinns: Quinn's Twist (only instrumental) and the weird up tempo vocal Quinn's Tamure)

The third Les Barfood Boys is not connected to a location and called: Encore! Avec Les Barefoot Boys et Loma

There is also
Tahiti EL-1028 Eddie Lund Presents...Marie Terangi et les Bel Air Boys: Paumotu Party au Bel Air
(studio Lp incl. Bel Air Luxus Hotel group)
(sorry no pic available)

and don't forget about the other Zizou Bar Record (Manuiti 3013)/cd with the colourful modern tikis on the cover that was posted in the 'zizou bar in Papeete' topic:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=12158&forum=1&hilite=Zizou

martin
http://www.myspace.com/hularock

[ Edited by: lemonsqueezer 2006-06-05 19:21 ]

i have a few of these lps eg
the destitues- same title 4 star records.
this lp is all steel drums except for ooh papa do which is pretty rocking. they do greensleeves , night train etc on steel drums
i got one yesterday by the chasers four . they have a cool swirly psychedlic cover on the back they look like one of those older groups with goatee's etc. they have an accordian & play by the time i get tp pheonix, yakety say etc.
can someone hook me up with that comp that vern put out?
thanks!!!
mr ed

could some be kind enough to make me a cdr of the 'hammonds & drum machines" cdr? i'd love to hear it & will pay for costs of the materials postage etc. anyone?

On 2006-11-30 14:51, mr ed wrote:
could some be kind enough to make me a cdr of the 'hammonds & drum machines" cdr? i'd love to hear it & will pay for costs of the materials postage etc. anyone?

Aloha mr ed,

I can make you a copy. :) I can also make you a copy of my compilation called "Trader Jeff's Restaurant Compilation Volume 1. It is freakin' hilarious!!! PM me your mailing address.

Do you have anything to trade? I would love to hear the two albums you mentioned above.

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

les barefoot boys etc-
are there any cds of les barefoot boys early records?. i have two lps by them. but would be cool to have a cd of their material. love the cover where they have their gibson amps on the beach too.

i got a resturant lp from steve's gay 90's here in tacoma. that was like an old ragtime resturaunt . anyway its mostly polka sounds buts not that bad. i guess one of the girls would sing happy birthday to you if you turned 16. must have been mighty embarassing for the kid.

Does anyone have MP3s of the Ernie's Loune LP? I am dying to hear that one. I love the cover!

I just picked up a copy of the Bama hit Parade (previously mentioned by Jeff). Thought I'd post a pic of the cover:

I love that cover . Thanks for posting.

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

I almost had that cover in my new book as an example of "nice tropical decor-but not Tiki" --but it was edited out...I am reserving the nitpicking to Tiki Central :)

And now folks, eat your heart out, the hero of the Restaurant Record genre, Paul Page:

This is the same album, with three different titles, all taken from LA Tiki restaurants that were part of the same chain, complete with their typefaces:

The Castaway in Burbank

The Ports O' Call in San Pedro

The Pieces of Eight in Marina Del Rey

The interesting thing is that, except for the "Pieces of Eight", all of these places still exist, albeit in a completely de-tikified form. One more from the same chain that is still around is The Reef in Long Beach:

Now considering the fact that this album has either classical (Ports of Call) or newly written (Castaway, Pieces of Eight) song titles that refer to each of these places,

...with two titles in the track listing that have the word "Reef" in them, I am betting that there is a fourth album out there that bears the distinctive "Reef" typeface, as seen on the beautiful match book

WOW!!! Thanks for the great pics Bigbro!!!

I have never seen a picture of ALL three cover variations before. Very nice!

Who has the elusive 4th cover? And while I'm at it who has one for sale? This album is extremely difficult to find in ANY version.

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

..and so it is:

[ Edited by: lemonsqueezer 2007-05-13 13:11 ]

Wow, I swear I had no idea that cover existed. It was just an assumption, a deduction based on the evidence at hand. That's urban archeology in action, folks. :D

AWESOME!!!! :)

Thanks lemonsqueezer!!!

On 2006-02-07 06:08, Jeff Central wrote:
Well, between eBay and the recent Record Convention here in Columbus, Ohio I managed to find a total of 13 more restaurant records.

Here are just a few......

1. An Evening at Johnny Lee's (Hilarious cover with 2 guys eating Chinese food complete with tiki salt and pepper shakers on the table).

2. Bill Dean; Live from the "Terrace". (includes a version of "Quiet Village."

3. Richard Lemus at The Islands. (Sadly no pictures on this. The front and the back is a generic white cover with text only. Sounds like studio recording as well.) This was The Islands restaurant in Phoenix.

4. Mike "Malihini" Scott live at the Waikiki Restaurant in Kitchener, Ontario in Canada.

5. Los Pinguinos at El Shrimp Bucket (Roughly translated as The Penguins at the Shrimp Bucket) Great stuff!!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Jeff, my mom had a copy of Los Pinguinos at el shrimp bucket. I believe this record is extremely rare! I have always been intrigued by the record, as the vocal harmonies are exceedingly awesome-do you have any idea what style this is?

The only time I have heard anything similar was a trio of musicians at Acapulco, a themed restaraunt (Like El torito)-upright bass, two guitars, and similar sound and feel. It's not mariachi for sure, as they wear suits, not mariachi outfits. A group with a similar sound was Los Panchos-

Any information, (or extracts from liner notes) would be very helpful!

Aloha Lucas,

Here are pics of the front and back cover as well as the song titles and liner notes.

Los Pinguinos at El Shrimp Bucket, Dorado Records, no #
(La Bamba, La Mucura, Serenata Huasteca, Yo Vendo Unos Ojos Negros, Pintado de Azul, La Malaguena, Triana Morena, Saca La Botella, El Gustito, La Sitiera, Cielito Lindo Huasteca, La Jirafa, Capri, Novia Mia, Colaz, El Pastor)

Liner Notes:

Down the West Coast of Mexico, about 800 miles south of Los Angeles, lies the enchanting port city of Mazatlan. Here among its picturesque callas and across from the strong breakers of the Pacific is located El Shrimp Bucket. It is at this fine restaurant that the quartet Los Pinguinos performs nightly to the delight of its guests.

The Penguins were discovered one evening by Carlos Anderson, the genial “gringo” restaurant owner, as they strolled along the malecon offering to serenade anyone interested.

The quartet has one of those rare combinations of voices which blends magnificently into one, and yet retains the individuality of each singer. Furthermore, they possess the delightful quality of versatality—which they so ably demonstrate here with such fiery selections as La Bamba and Colaz—such poignant Mexican ballads as El Pastor and Cielito Lindo Huasteca.

Los Peguinos are comprised of three brothers—Jose Luis, Hijinio, and Julian Ornelas who come from Concordia, about 14 miles north of Mazatlan, and Alvaro Robles, whose home is the Pacific coast city of Los Mochis. None has studied music—not one reads a note, but for some inexplicable reason about thirteen years ago, each picked up a guitarra and because of a tenacious desire, persisted in perfecting his natural talents—so that today, not only the visitor to Mazatlan may thrill to their delightful rhythms, but those “stay-at-home” gringos also can be charmed—and perhaps persuaded to finally take that trip to Mexico.

Throughout this country of contrasts one finds many outstanding groups of musicians. Those of us fortunate enough to pick Mazatlan for our adventure south of the Rio Grande—and also to have the pleasure of hearing Jose Luis, Hijinio, Julian and Alvaro—will know they’ve heard the very best!

Cover design by Duane Wiens

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

[ Edited by: jeff central 2007-09-06 20:14 ]

[ Edited by: jeff central 2007-09-24 17:15 ]

Here's another one to add to the list. And it's just down the street from Bigbro's "Pieces of Eight":

I've found several De Wayne Fulton lps in my garage-sale hunts, because he played at several restaurants in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. But this is the first one from a bona-fide South Seas restaurant. Luckilly, the Warehouse still exists in all its tropical splendor, while the Pieces of Eight is now "Shanghai Reds" and has lost it's beachcomber atomosphere. Here's the text from the back of the album:

"They come from Hawaii and San Francisco, from Chicago, New York and as far away as Syndey, Australia to dine at The Warehouse, the unique Los Angeles restaurant overlooking the waters of the Marina Del Rey. But they come for more than just the continental cuisine... they have heard of the exciting atmosphere which has caused The Warehouse to be called the "Disneyland of the Marina". And they have heard of the unusual sounds of De Wayne Fulton, international pop harpist, who nightly provides entertainment to capacity audiences.

Burt Hixson, The Warehouse's young owner, first heard De Wayne 11 years ago at the Surfrider Hotel in Waikiki, Hawaii, when The Warehouse was in its first stages of planning. Mr. Hixson decided then that De Wayne would play in his restaurant, and when it opened 10 years later, De Wayne was an immediate success.

He has since played the longest steady engagement in the Marina... 18 months... and developed a remarkable rapport with the audiences that fill The Warehouse lounge to hear a repertoire that he constantly updates with "now sounds" but that features standards and classical pieces as well.

Such versatility and skill is the result of serious study that began in 1948, when De Wayne began studying under the direction of Kajetan Attl, harpist with the San Francisco Symphony. He went on to the Julliard School of Music, where he studied under NBC Symphony Harpist Edward Vito for a year. In 1950, De Wayne entered the Academy of Music in Vienna, Austria and was graduated four years later. He then spent two summers at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Following that period, he accepted the position of Professor of Harp at the Conservatory of Music in Istanbul, Turkey, and continued in that capacity for three years.

During this time, De Wayne appeared with the Instanbul Symphony as first harpist. He then joined the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in the same postition and remained a year. In 1959, De Wayne joined the Honolulu Symphony and a year later made his night club debut at the Surfrider Hotel in Waikiki, where he continued his engagement for an unprecedented eight years.

Word of De Wayne's talent spread to far reaches of the world and in 1964 he played an engagement at the Palace Hotel in Tokyo. During one of the two subsequent engagements at the Palace Hotel, in 1966, he was asked to play a command performance for Ambassador Reischauer at the American Embassy in Tokyo. In the same year, De Wayne was the only entertainer to perform for President Johnson during the Summit Conference in Honolulu. He made his Carnegie Hall debut on June 11, 1968 when he joined singer Charles K.L. Davis.

De Wayne now makes his home in Los Angeles and continues to expand his reputation as the first harpist to perform publicly with an electrically amplified harp. LOS ANGELES magazine said of The Warehouse: "For many, the biggest attraction is the entertainment... De Wayne Fulton, a pop harpist whose melodies fill the rafters with romance." Another magazine, PICTORIAL CALIFORNIA AND THE PACIFIC, echoed that praise, calling De Wayne "a superb harpist who was schooled in the classics and spellbinds his audiences with all types of selections."

In this, his seventh album, De Wayne offers a collection of his most requested numbers with a variety of effects, including tremolo, reverb and echoplex. The songs range in variety from such contemporary numbers as "Theme from Love Story" and "Scarborough Fair" to the ethnic music of Japan in "Sakura', in which De Wyne emulates the sound of the koto, the traditional Japanese 13-string harp, by plucking the strings of his own harp with the tips of his fingernails.

Whether the songs are old or new, of this or other cultures, they are given universal appeal by De Wayne Fulton, whose talent transcends time and geographical boundries --- John Morgan"

On 2007-09-05 18:41, Jeff Central wrote:
Aloha Lucas,

Here are pics of the front and back cover as well as the song titles and liner notes.

Los Pinguinos at El Shrimp Bucket, Dorado Records, no #
(La Bamba, La Mucura, Serenata Huasteca, Yo Vendo Unos Ojos Negros, Pintado de Azul, La Malaguena, Triana Morena, Saca La Botella, El Gustito, La Sitiera, Cielito Lindo Huasteca, La Jirafa, Capri, Novia Mia, Colaz, El Pastor)

Liner Notes:

Down the West Coast of Mexico, about 800 miles south of Los Angeles, lies the enchanting port city of Mazatlan. Here among its picturesque callas and across from the strong breakers of the Pacific is located El Shrimp Bucket. It is at this fine restaurant that the quartet Los Pinguinos performs nightly to the delight of its guests.

The Penguins were discovered one evening by Carlos Anderson, the genial “gringo” restaurant owner, as they strolled along the malecon offering to serenade anyone interested.

The quartet has one of those rare combinations of voices which blends magnificently into one, and yet retains the individuality of each singer. Furthermore, they possess the delightful quality of versatality—which they so ably demonstrate here with such fiery selections as La Bamba and Colaz—such poignant Mexican ballads as El Pastor and Cielito Lindo Huasteca.

Los Peguinos are comprised of three brothers—Jose Luis, Hijinio, and Julian Ornelas who come from Concordia, about 14 miles north of Mazatlan, and Alvaro Robles, whose home is the Pacific coast city of Los Mochis. None has studied music—not one reads a note, but for some inexplicable reason about thirteen years ago, each picked up a guitarra and because of a tenacious desire, persisted in perfecting his natural talents—so that today, not only the visitor to Mazatlan may thrill to their delightful rhythms, but those “stay-at-home” gringos also can be charmed—and perhaps persuaded to finally take that trip to Mexico.

Throughout this country of contrasts one finds many outstanding groups of musicians. Those of us fortunate enough to pick Mazatlan for our adventure south of the Rio Grande—and also to have the pleasure of hearing Jose Luis, Hijinio, Julian and Alvaro—will know they’ve heard the very best!

Cover design by Duane Wiens

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

[ Edited by: jeff central 2007-09-06 20:14 ]

[ Edited by: jeff central 2007-09-24 17:15 ]

Dude, you rock! That brings back so many memories!!

Thanks for posting that Sabu. I love any Wayne de Fulton album. He is a classically trained harpist who is not afraid to throw out hit tunes of the day on his records as well as Hawaiian songs too! A great compilation could be made with the following records..................

Notice the different photo used in this album. It's the same record as Sabu's but Wayne looks a few years older! Weird!

This one is one of my favorites and also one of the most elusive Wayne de Fulton records.

Another great record. This one was recorded at the Captain's Galley in the Surfrider Hotel on Waikiki Beach.

This one was recorded at the LaRonde restaurant in Honolulu. It was America's first revolving restaurant. I wonder if it is still there?

Cool Japanese import album on Columbia Records.

Like the first record at the Warehouse, this album was released on Safari Records.

Enjoy,
Jeff

[ Edited by: Jeff Central 2007-09-24 18:01 ]

Just found this too............

http://www.harpmusic.com/Bio_DF_8003.htm

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Jeff, you're nuts! :D

:P

Here is a short story on the first revolving restaurant in the world (as mentioned above).

http://hawaiirama.com/2007/04/first-revolving-restaurant-in

Pretty cool!!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Unfortunately the LaRonde revolving restaurant no longer revolves, nor is it a restaurant. It's an office building, and where I've gone since 8th grade for orthodontic surgery and, more recently, adult dentistry.

Although not a restaurant album, the cover photo was taken in 1958 inside the Don The Beachcomber restaurant in Hollywood, CA.

On 2007-09-24 17:53, Jeff Central wrote:
... I love any Wayne de Fulton album.

Jeff

Jeff, Holy Sh*t... and I thought I was somebody 'cause I owned ONE Wayne de Fulton LP.... I'm goin' home now with my tail between my legs...

Yeah, I'm a nerd. :D

I went on a Wayne de Fulton kick for awhile. His stuff is very interesting especially if you like harp music. Robert Maxwell is another favorite of mine that still hasn't seen any proper release on CD except for some tracks on the Ernie Kovacs disc.

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Thanks for the information regarding that Outriggers album Digitiki. I was unaware that the cover was shot at Don's. Very Cool!!!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Here's some more visual eye candy..............

That's all for now!!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Well, I have gotten really lucky lately(and I have been willing to open my wallet)- picked up these Paul Page titles in the last couple weeks. The Pieces of Eight and Big Island were both sealed. The Reef Is Calling is signed. I have been looking for these for quite a while and all of sudden BAM!

Here is a completely non-tiki "restaurant" record. Classic...

[ Edited by: TIKI KAIMUKI 2007-11-14 17:49 ]

WOW!!!

Great score on the Paul Page records. I have been looking for many years and still have yet to acquire even one!!!

The "Pickin for Pizza" album is great!! Thanks for posting!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

That's a mighty fine album you have there.
That's my father, George on that album.
He made it when he was playing at the Hotel Lexington in New York. I think it was mid fifties.

Hi,
That's my father, George Hines, on the album.
He had the band at the Hotel Lexington for a while in the mid-fifties.
He also had the band at the original Roney Plaza in Miami Beach when they had a Polynesian show and dinner outside in the gardens.
They even built a stage with a large volcano that covered it.
They would open the show with one of the knife dancers blowing a conch shell at the top of the volcano. By the way, Kui Lee (I'll Remember You) was one of the knife dancers.
He later had the show at the Yankee Clipper in Ft. Lauderdale for several years (when it was still MAI KAI) and recorded an album.(my two brothers and I sang harmonies on several of the tracks)
He and I(I got a small portion of his talent) were the first haoles to play there.
We did the show and also played in the Molokai bar.

That album cover looks like it's in excellent condition!!!
How's the vinyl???

What album are you talking about nibblegribitz?

Four different organists doing their thing @ the Grinder, c.1975. One guy whom I can only think of as a prankster actually does the theme from The Exorcist! Having pesto dribbling off your chin while thinking of Linda Blair - must've been great for the appetite!

Mentioned earlier, but I came across this recently, so here's a bigger pic:

ch

On 2006-01-18 13:31, thejab wrote:

Just picked this record up at a garage sale here in Minneapolis. A couple of good tunes: Pineapple All Around, Shells, Tiny Bubbles (upbeat version), More. The lady at the garage sale said to me after I bought it "Enjoy your nite cap with Larry." And I DID!

A side note: the tune SHELLS is really really ripe for a new exotica band to pick up and do a cover of. I don't run across it much, but when I do I always enjoy it. If anyone out there is in a band looking for a tune that's not as well known but is pretty interesting, check it out.

glen
http://www.kfai.org/jetsetplanet

Larry Rivera is also Ernie Menehune's younger brother!!

Who knew!!! :)

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

hey Jeff, do you know if there is a Brother named Barry,
there is a Barry Rivera that was in surf bands back in the 60's

Jeff(btd)