Buzzy's work: Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate

Today officially kicks off Tiki Oasis. This year's festivities started out for me this morning on the set of Fox's San Diego Living. King Kukulele, Lady Borgia, and RetroDiva joined me this year. I was asked to do some on air carving, talk about the event, and bring some tikis and decor to dress up the outside stage area. Having done this last year, I knew what to expect so I came in with the aim of shamelessly maximizing my on air exposure and manipulating the layout to do some free commercials for the Factory. I didn;t take my camera, but I have a few ghetto style screen captures that I'll share and comment on now:

After working with the producer and the host, the order of the interviews and the focus of each guest was finlaized. It started with KingK giving some general information about the event:

While he was speaking, I was doing some "performance" carving. You can see my mallet hand on the right

Next it was my turn. Notice the layout here. I positioned two surfboards and tikis in the background when I arrived. I suggested to the producer that my carving stand would fit perfectly between them. She agreed and I had accomplished goal #1, getting center stage

Renee asked me a couple questions about carving and I managed to slip in a shout out to Benzart. Another one of my goals was accomplished by mentioning him. I also have the big Benzart sticker surfboard in the background on the right:

After she talked with me for a couple moments, I went back to acting like I was carving. They wanted me to carve one of my tikis live, but all my stuff is pretty much done, so I had nothing to carve on. Pat had his half finished tiki sitting in my yard, so I took it down to the show and pretended to carve it. It think it was kind of funny to be fake carving on a tiki that's not mine. I don;t think the viewers at home were any wiser to my charade.

Next was lady Borgia doing a hair demonstration. Remembering where the camera guy stood last year, I put the Benzart board with the Factory script right where he would be shooting the most. I couldn't have asked for a better shot on screen of the logo.

Finally, was RetroDiva talking vintage clothes.

That logo board and my tikis still getting free air time!

They told me to move my truck after I unloaded and set up. another goal was to get the POS on screen too, just like last year. I moved it back and hoped the camera guy would catch it in the background.
Bingo!

I parked in the head guy's spot. It had a big sign that said reserved at all times. I parked there anyway because I figured all that could happen was that some dude in a suit would yell at me and think I was stuipd. I could live with that. Best spot on the lot...

king K played a closing song as I was overcome with the urge to hula

The ladies all joined in too:

Plenty more on air branding:


Next year if I do this again, I'm going to look like a nascar guy, with all the ad space I'm going to rent out on myself.

Our promotion of the event concluded with King K playing a song...

and myself dancing away!

I made my first official sale there too. retroDiva snatched up the newest Moai that I had in the background.

And so it begins....

On 2009-08-13 07:15, TheBigT wrote:
So now the question is: which sounds better? goat or cow? Btw, are they similarly priced?

I need to do some more playing of the goat to decide. It sounds really good, but different than the really good the cow sounds like. It's more of a tactile difference than a sound difference.

the goat runs about $40 a piece
the cow runs about $35 a piece
I can only get one head from a piece because they come with imperfections that I do not want to use.
You can get a whole side of cow for about $150. you might get 5-6 heads out of that.

On 2009-08-13 09:28, big daddy wrote:
i keep looking at this one and my eyes have almost recovered from last years!

Some have told me it burned their retinas so bad it stained the image in their brains permanently. When they close their eyes real fast, they see last year's photo.
thanks for the eye candy! :wink:

As seen on TV...
Buzzy Out!

looks sweet buzzy. can't wait to bang the hell out of the drum friday eve during our show!
tony
p.s. i'll be there around 2 ish to the hotel so you can just bring her with ya!
best,
tony

Pretty slick stuff there Buzzy! Thanks for the free air time too.
"....And the Beat Goes ON..."

On 2009-08-13 13:38, Bay Park Buzzy wrote:
Having done this last year, I knew what to expect so I came in with the aim of shamelessly maximizing my on air exposure and manipulating the layout to do some free commercials for the Factory.

Hahaha! You rock man.

On 2009-08-13 13:38, Bay Park Buzzy wrote:
It think it was kind of funny to be fake carving on a tiki that's not mine.

Milli Vanilli! :lol:

Next year if I do this again, I'm going to look like a nascar guy, with all the ad space I'm going to rent out on myself.

Reserve me a 4"x4" adspace! :P

Job well done, Buzz! How about a link to the video?

I question the "tiki-ness" of white socks and shoes??

Here comes a catch up after a crazy weekend post:

After the tv gig, I had a visit from my good friends the Boos. I took the opportunity to give BambooBen a Budweiser vs. Bud Light checkers set. The pieces are labelled beer bottles and when you are kinged, there are bottle caps for them. here's me and Ben:

Later in the day, I did this year's promotional artwork and printing

Limited edition of 50 Magazine covers for autographs:


I still have a few left for some VIP House of Buzz regulars.

And the "Pumped Postcard" version:

Both versions were a HUGE hit this year. They were EVERYWHERE!

There was also a pendant version. Louie the Letch of Frankie's drink named after him fame sports one in this picture:

Next, I had to go deliver the martini Kings drum. Here it is finished:

While I was there delivering the drum, I did a little stage decorating:

They premiered the drum on that stage on Friday night:

Here's a special back stage view of tiki celebrity Crazy Al playing a coconut with some bones next to the drum:

Another satisfied customer:

I then put the last coat of spar on retrodiva's new Moai. Shown finished here:

While I'm at it, final shot of this drum finished:

the drum line:

Friday night I was tired and didn't want to wait in line to get into room party so I just kicked back with Bullet for a while:

I went home early because I had to pack up all my vending stuff.

Speaking of vending, thet's what I did saturday.
Here I am in my booth:

Stuff

All day I sold stuff and talked to tiki people and friends, like Billy The Crud:

Then I partied on Saturday night with folks like these:

At my finest hour:

After that, I took cuts in front of hundreds of people in the Lemoncello Lounge line and watched the Martini kings...

...and hung out with Zaya and Ray until we had to go home.

Sunday was more vending and hanging out with friends. After packing up and going home, Bullet came over for a couple days. We went to Bosko's the next day and checked out his bar and studio. Later, we went and toured babalu's studio and hung out with Matt reese. Then we went and checked out matt's bar. It was a great way to end this year's event.

Then, like that it was all over and back to reality, and work.

I put oil on the little Pahu drum:

I left the tool marks on the pedestal part and smoothed the bell part as much as I could. I kind of like that look:

For the head, I wanted a reinforced edge because I'm using a thin piece of goat. I had to figure a way to attach the head without ripping it under the tension. I did some figuring on paper and then made a template:

This is the piece after punching in the holes:

Hole pattern:

Here's a test I did to make sure the holes were aligned correctly

After this, I put it on the drum and decided that I needed to double up on the lashing attachment points.

I cut another piece of goat and redid the layout with more holes:

After cutting a bunch of holes, I was ready to start the weave:

Half way through.

The length of the string you need to use just over twice the circumference of the head

Topside when done:

Bottom when done:

Next I measured and cut the 8 pieces that I will use to attach the head to the drum:

The head soaked for a couple hours and was ready to be stuck on.

It took about an hour to get it all lashed up:

It's drying up still and starting to sound like a drum. I think I did it right. I'll see tomorrow when the head is dry.

On my calendar, a new year started this week.
Let's see how this year's going to turn out.
Buzzy Out!

On 2009-08-19 20:03, Bay Park Buzzy wrote:

Speaking of vending, thet's what I did saturday.
Sunday was more vending and hanging out with friends.

So did you sell your Michael Jackson tribute tiki? :P

All your drums are so excellent, but I think this one is the best looking, closely followed by the Martini Kings drum.

Maybe it's the stain, maybe it's the photo, but geez it's gorgeous!

hi buzzy.....

my drum has found its new home next to the bar......

it was a blast hanging out with you guys again.....

but i lost you guys somewhere in the room parties.....its all a blurrrrrrrr

how long till next oasis?

On 2009-08-19 20:35, 4WDtiki wrote:
All your drums are so excellent, but I think this one is the best looking, closely followed by the Martini Kings drum.

Maybe it's the stain, maybe it's the photo, but geez it's gorgeous!

I 2nd that! Oh, btw, I left a comment about audio recording over on the pahu drum thread. Great pics.

i'm truly blessed to have friends like buzzy and zaya. my extended tiki oasis at the house of buzz was fantastic. buzzy's diet of pizza and pepsi is also my diet of choice. our trips to bosko's, babalu's and matt reese's were the perfect wind down from a tiring weekend. i could sit around and talk to zaya and buzzy all day. i hope i've earned a return visit next year.

[ Edited by: kingstiedye 2009-08-21 18:16 ]

oh yeah, your behind the scenes commentary on your now annual (hopefully) tv appearance was hilarious! and the drums are blowing me away. the pahu looks beatiful.

On 2009-08-21 15:07, kingstiedye wrote:
the pahu looks beatiful.

beatiful! freudian drum slip!

:music: :music: Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday Dear Buzzzzzyyyyyyy! Happy Birthday to YOU!!! :music: :music: xoxoxoxoxo Zaya

And many more..... :)

Happy B-Day Buzz!!!!!!!!!
-Johnny B.

happy birthday cuz! i hope you get some cake with your pizza and pepsi tonight.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUZZY.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!

treat yourself to a chili dog .......

Happy B-day Buzzy! So good to seeya at oasis. Thanks for the goodies.
I wanted to get a signed Chippn Males poster from you, but I had my family in tow.
I cant let jr see daddies funny pictures. But if you could send one to my
PO box in a hurry I would be grateful.
Keep rockin your incredible art man! The drums are looking Killer. MP

:tiki: ________________________ :tiki: HAPPY BUZZDAY!!! :tiki: _______________________ :tiki:

Flip-flOp-fLipPp...

[ Edited by: TravelingJones 2009-08-23 08:02 ]

I was over there yesterday and Buzz didn't say anything!

Anyway, Cindy here wants you to have a **REALLY **good time....

happy birthday buzzy!!

cindy looks like she's have'n fun!

Hmmm... tryin to keep it secret, huh?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! :lol:

BUUZZZZZZZZZZZZZYYY! Happy Birthday Buddy!!

Aloha, Freddie :tiki:

PS What size cups are these ? :roll:

[ Edited by: HOUSE OF KU 2009-08-23 22:36 ]

Why, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Buzz Master!! Where's my poster?

Happy B-Day Buzzy - Best Wishes from the Valley

Happy Belated, Buzzy!! I see Rum Cakes in our future.......

Happy Birthday Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Amy

Buzzy, Have a HAPPY Belated BIRTHDAY . I was gonna chime in on how Awesome your drums Are, especially that tunable mini drum, What an Incredible engineering feat you pulled there, But the B'Day stuff was all that was going on so I figured I'd chime in with that instead, Especially since yours and Sherry's were the same day! and I've been partying all weekend without you guys. :(
HappyHappyHappyB'Bay

can I borrow a bow?

A couple days ago sunset...

and yesterday:

On 2009-08-24 18:06, Benzart wrote:
I was gonna chime in on how Awesome your drums Are, especially that tunable mini drum, What an Incredible engineering feat you pulled there, HappyHappyHappyB'Bay

Thanks for the B'day wellwishes Benzo! I forgot to post the final shots of that drum on this thread.

It wasn't quite tight enough as I'd like, so I did a little tying here and there and came up with this:

The best part is that you can now tune it. You just slide the bands in the direction of the arrows and as the triangle gets smaller, the tension increases, tightening the head:

You can read all about it over on the Youtube pahu making thread here in carving

On saturday, I carved this Moai guy for a job. He's 34" tall and will be a light color. I have to do anither matching one too:

I haven't done many tikis lately, so I cleaned a couple logs on Sunday to make some

While I was on the second log, I got struck by some inspiration and cut the log into two pieces to make....more drums.

I got on the first one right away, because I had an idea and I wanted to see if I could execute it. I started with a little tiki drafting:

It was a long run of time, but it's now over. I started carving all night in the living room again.

Kiva's says:"Damn, I liked having a floor!"

More lines and a little chopping:

The next day I had this much done:

Next was hollowing it out using my expanding star method

It goes fast if you can take out big chunks:

Took less than an hour to get it to here:

Then last night, I carved the same damn tiki head 8 times

There are notches under their chins where the lashing will go to attach the head.

Just before sunset last night, I got the layout for a new Pahu drawn on too:

I'll work on this today.

But first, I have to do a post where I thank all of you for the Birthday wishes.
Buzzy Out!

On 2009-08-19 20:35, 4WDtiki wrote:

So did you sell your Michael Jackson tribute tiki? :P

Not yet...Maybe I'm asking too much money for it?

On 2009-08-19 20:51, closettiki wrote:
but i lost you guys somewhere in the room parties.....its all a blurrrrrrrr

Not only did I cut in line in front of hundreds of mug collectors waiting to get into a room party, but once I got in, I never left. I hogged up all the space and made it so no one else could come in after me. It was great! Next year, you and Billy will have to make a special line in front of the room party line for people like me who don't wait in lines.

On 2009-08-20 09:26, TheBigT wrote:
Oh, btw, I left a comment about audio recording over on the pahu drum thread. Great pics.

talk about complicated...

On 2009-08-21 15:05, kingstiedye wrote:
i hope i've earned a return visit next year.

Sorry that Zaya broke the bathroom light and tried to blame you for it. I'll try to have that fixed by next year...

On 2009-08-22 09:35, Zaya wrote:
Happy Birthday to YOU!!! :music: :music: xoxoxoxoxo Zaya

thanks zaya

On 2009-08-22 09:36, hiltiki wrote:
And many more..... :)

Hiltiki, where are you?

On 2009-08-22 13:47, jab tiki wrote:
Happy B-Day Buzz!!!!!!!!!
-Johnny B.

Thanks Jab since birth!

On 2009-08-22 14:58, kingstiedye wrote:
happy birthday cuz! i hope you get some cake with your pizza and pepsi tonight.

You know how I enjoy the finer things in life!

On 2009-08-22 19:41, closettiki wrote:
treat yourself to a chili dog .......

I was going to until I found I had no Weinerschnitzel coupons. Weinerschnitzel is great, but never at full price.

On 2009-08-23 00:27, mp wrote:
I cant let jr see daddies funny pictures. But if you could send one to my
PO box in a hurry I would be grateful.

As usual, it will be shipped in a plain brown envelope and will appear as "CocoJoeBrady Ripoff Idols" on your credit card statement.

On 2009-08-23 06:58, TravelingJones wrote:
HAPPY BUZZDAY!!!

Missed you this year Jonesey. Bullett had to have twice the fun to make up for it. Hope to see you soon...

On 2009-08-23 07:17, Cammo wrote:
I was over there yesterday and Buzz didn't say anything!

We were too busy discussing page 46 of the BOT.

On 2009-08-23 12:57, tikithomas08 wrote:
happy birthday buzzy!!

Thanks TTom08! I hear you ain't moving. Guess I'll be seeing you again afterall...

On 2009-08-23 15:02, Watango productions wrote:

cindy looks like she's have'n fun!

I think Cindy knows how to PARTY!

On 2009-08-23 15:54, TheBigT wrote:
Hmmm... tryin to keep it secret, huh?

It was no secret. In fact, we had a giant party for my birthday last week at a hotel in San Diego. A whole mess of tiki people showed up. Some people even lined up outside the doors of rooms that I would be spending time in that evening to make sure they would get the opportunity to party with me. We nicknamed my party Tiki Oasis, named tongue in cheek after some event that used to take place out in the desert a few years ago. The only difference is that my party is a lot bigger than the old Oasis gatherings.

On 2009-08-23 22:33, HOUSE OF KU wrote:

PS What size cups are these ? :roll:

Perfect sized?

On 2009-08-24 07:46, Babalu wrote:
Why, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Buzz Master!! Where's my poster?

It's in the Babalu pile, right next to the Freddie pile.

On 2009-08-24 08:23, TikiG wrote:
Happy B-Day Buzzy - Best Wishes from the Valley

Thanks G!

On 2009-08-24 12:13, Billy the Crud wrote:
Happy Belated, Buzzy!! I see Rum Cakes in our future.......

Why can't you see lottery numbers?

On 2009-08-24 16:23, Queen Kamehameha wrote:
Happy Birthday Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Amy

Thanks Amy! And thanks for throwing me a two day long birthday party in your suite last weekend. That was a blast!

On 2009-08-25 06:00, Grand Poobah wrote:
can I borrow a bow?

Take Cindy's, I think she's done with it...

Back to work now, thanks all.
Buzzy Out!

Yesterday's sunset:

I got all the holes done on the drum yesterday:

That's a long day of boring carving, right there...

Today will be much more exciting.

Buzzy Out!

I'm working on making the pedestal a little fancier. Here's a step by step look at the progress:

I have to round the bottom edge next, and then it's a hollowing time.

Buzzy Out!

On 2009-08-27 14:55, Bay Park Buzzy wrote:
I'm working on making the pedestal a little fancier. Here's a step by step look at the progress:

Yeah, gittin all fancy with tha pahus now?

Now this is NICE. Killer idea.

Buzzy you ever slow down. Some nice work happen down there.

Some recent fire affected sunsets:

I did my last week at the hotel for the season. Here's the sun setting on another summer:

I pretty much ran out of stuff to sell. I can't even fill up a card table:

I haven't done a Hawaiian tiki in a long, long time. If I don't count the Frankie's chairs, it's been over a year since the last one that I finished. I forgot where the trouble spots were in that time so I'm doing a refresher piece so I can remember all those little tricks that I learned how to do so long ago.
Started with a split log. i want it to be a wall hanger when I'm done:

On 2009-09-02 19:56, seeksurf wrote:
Buzzy you ever slow down.

Only when the temperature goes above 80. So yes, I slowed to a stop all week! It's cooler now. forcast is in the low 70's on the coast so it looks like I'll get some stuff done.

On 2009-09-01 12:55, TheBigT wrote:
Yeah, gittin all fancy with tha pahus now?
Now this is NICE. Killer idea.

Yo BigT! Onwards and upwards! I wanted to make sure the pahus work before I spend too much time on the fancing up part. I've seen the problem areas now and am confident I can work my way around them.
That drum in the picture, I'll call it a "Tambour", is one of my favorites so far. It's survived the drying process with no checking, so it's just about ready for finishing. I can't wait, and i hate the waiting part.

Happy Labor Day!
Buzy Out!

[ Edited by: Bay Park Buzzy 2009-09-07 09:59 ]

Wall hanger sounds great.

Mu-mm me like the Ku.

Yesterday's Sunset:

Today's sunset:

On 2009-09-08 19:48, seeksurf wrote:
Mu-mm me like the Ku.

Hey Seeks:Here's some progress on the wall hanging Hawaiian Ku guy. Enjoy!

Getting the legs skinnied up:

More leg work, hands moved back,starting the chest, and putting a bend at the elbows:

More arms,feet and hand work; some work done on the sides of the legs, and the stomach started:

Mouth started, legs done:

More mouth work, the nose done, and chin details done:

I also have the back hollowed out a couple inches.

On 2009-09-07 10:12, hiltiki wrote:
Wall hanger sounds great.

Extra added bonus is that he stands up too!

Now on to the headdress, teeth, and fine tuning.
Buzzy Out!

That's a cool dude there. Looks like you didn't forget any of the tricks. :wink:

Hey Buzz!

Happy Belated Birthday!

Your stuff is lookin' awesome as always, but ya know what I like the best? The beautiful smooth LOGS. Man, it must be great to be able to carve something into the wood and have it STAY there! I don't know how you get 'em so smooth without hours and hours of work. Must be the glory of California wood. The crappy logs from out here just keep "fraying" all the way down to the split-apart centers.

Anyway, all is looking super-cool, especially the Hawaiian "refresher course".

Later!

WOW~ You're busting that Ku out toot sweet, Buzzy. Looks fantastic!

-Andy

Buzzy Way Kool carves and Incredable Drums!!! Keep slayin the wood it all looks Sweet!!!, Aloha, Mooney

We're getting into good sunset season:

Tiki update:

I started working on the headress. here is some early progress:

And now finished:

All hollowed out in the back:

There's Kiva the good dog back there. She's had a rough week or so. The cancer has now spread to her lungs and one of them doesn't work anymore. She's a little short of breath and doesn'r eat much, but she's still rolling along...

I was just asked if I really carve in my living room. The answer is yes and I do it on the carpet in front of the televison:

Tools, rulers, and trash, all in one neat pile:

that's how I roll...

On 2009-09-09 09:31, TheBigT wrote:
That's a cool dude there. Looks like you didn't forget any of the tricks. :wink:

the big problem area was where I only left myself with about 1.5 inches of depth for the face. I wasted too much log on the headress. I worked through those areas, but they were a little shaky.

On 2009-09-09 16:41, Tiki Lee's wrote:
I don't know how you get 'em so smooth without hours and hours of work. Must be the glory of California wood. The crappy logs from out here just keep "fraying" all the way down to the split-apart centers.

The logs I've been using lately are the best of the best from the old log pile. I lucked out on the last load I got. They definitely are not all like this. I've been running crappy logs to the dumpster for weeks now.

On 2009-09-09 16:44, Tiki Joe's Pop wrote:
WOW~ You're busting that Ku out toot sweet, Buzzy. Looks fantastic!
-Andy

thanks Andy. I'm going to try to do a few more hawaiians in the next few weeks. Unless I get sidtracked on another tangent...

On 2009-09-11 12:46, MooneyTiki wrote:
Buzzy Way Kool carves and Incredable Drums!!! Keep slayin the wood it all looks Sweet!!!, Aloha, Mooney

thanks Mooney! thise drums have been drying just fine and I'll be finishing up the two new ones later this week. take care!

I'm almost out of bad logs.
Buzzy Out!

""""I was just asked if I really carve in my living room. The answer is yes and I do it on the carpet in front of the televison:"""""

See Sherry, It doesn't leave much mess? It would be SO Much cooler and the mutts would Love it.

Buzz, I love your tool storagesolution, Keeps them All right there within your of Kiva's reach, easy to put back, "Kivss, the chisels don't go Under the house"... well a few kinks maybe. I'm Loving this KU? you sre doing. When you are stuck and have to work your way ouy of situations, the thought process registers in your brain deeper and you become a better carver for it. See it's working already, see how nice and orderly everythin is, justPerfectQ
yOU'LL HAVE TO DO WITH THE q SINCE i WAS TOO LAZY TO REACH ALL THE WAY UP TO THE EXPLAINATION MARK THINGIE/... and the caps lok thingiie that too.
Nice stuff

!

Dig your style and flow.