Tiki Musicians Unite!

Well, it seems like we have alot of musically talented folks on this board. We have had lots of posts for carvers and painters and yet we have never had a shout out for the musically inclined.

So who plays what? How long you been playing and are you in a band?

I'll start. C.B. and I had an original band a few years back called STRATTON - but it wasn't tiki music - just pop rock. I wrote most of the music for that band. If you were at Tiki Oasis 2003, we gave away some free CD's - We still have a few left for freinds if you'd like one.

I tickle the ivories now and then, but mainly compose as opposed to play. But i do love to pound out classics from a Fake Book while drunken friends sing along.

[ Edited by: Futura Girl on 2004-09-23 14:21 ]

I own two djembe's and a beautiful set of bongos. I do not play in a band, but by myself as often as the whim takes me. Sometimes with others if I can dissuade them of their self-consious drum uncertainty.

Rythm is grand, helps the tiki juju flow.

[ Edited by: Evil Mastermind on 2003-10-11 02:00 ]

Same band since 1986.

I play guitar in The Astroglides, Israeli Surf-core band.
We're releasing our 3rd album this Wednesday.
I wrote or co-wrote most of our music. I'm one of the founding members (we started it at around 1997), but unfortunately, I have to leave the band, as I'm relocating to CA. If all goes well, though, we might make a CA tour in the summer.

We even have a somewhat "Tiki" song, but I don't have an MP3 of it right now.

Ran

BTW - If anyone's interested some MP3's are at

http://astroglides.dmusic.com/

Maybe some of you can post your tiki music on the new "creating tiki" forum.

Up until a little while ago, I played guitar and sang in my rockabilly trio, "Fifty-nine Deluxe". That ended up imploding, but as most of you know, I'm now playing with Bong in the "Smoking Menehunes". If you haven't heard us, the music is mostly hapa haole and steel driven music with what I like to call a fifties spin on it. I play a Danelectro 'U2' and a Gretsch '6120'.

Hey, kick_the_reverb, what kinda guitar do you play? For surf stuff I've always loved Fender Jaguars and Mustangs but my all time favorite, of course, has to be the Moserite 'Ventures II model'. Strats sound great too.

Spike

[ Edited by: Luckydesigns on 2003-10-11 14:26 ]

Keyboardist here!
I had a latin/jazz band called YAVAZ. I have been flriting with the idea of creating an Exotica group recetnly. Its good to see other Tiki musicians out there. Too bad we all live in different parts of the country - we could start a group!
Mark

I am a horn player, mostly saxophone and low brass. I have never played tiki or exotica music but it might be fun. I have played a bit of jazz and some blues. Currently I play in a Drum and Bugle Corps, which is about as close to a band that I have played with in several years. Last season our book was latin jazz. This season I don't yet know what it will be, but since our open house and new member orientation is tomorrow I will probably find out at least some of it then.

I sing along with Yma in my studio when nobody else is in earshot.
:D

Guitar and Bass for 10 years. Still a rookie. I do it strictly for self entertainment.

My musical resume is fairly well know 'round these parts... but a brief recap:

Bought synthesizers and drum machines beginning in 1984 as a teenager, influenced by techno pop bands of the day: Numan, Ultravox, Devo, etc.

Played in several Cleveland area bands in 80s and early 90s including Evil Clowns and Flat Earth Society.

Decided I was better at creating sounds than playing, so I moved to Chicago in 1992 via 18 months in Florida to become a recording engineer.

Ended up joinging the industrial rock band Pigface in 1994 as keyboard player and sampler programmer.

Later ended up on tour with many well known bands as a sound engineer, most notably Royal Crown Revue and Ministry (could that be any more diverse?).

In the mean time, engineered many, many records for many, many bands, including my own project, Left Orbit Temple, which is experi-mental / ambient / improv weirdness.

Were there enough people in Chicago to do a REAL Exotica band (piano, congas, vibes, upright bass, and assorted ethnic percussion - no drum kit or guitars), I'd probably be involved...

Jews Harp Here!

I enjoy playing with my organ, sometimes with a band, and sometimes at home by myself. Oddly enough, I am mostly Scandinavian, but my organ is Italian. Actually, I have a portable organ for the road, and one that stays at home because it's too big to carry around. Unfortunately, my portable organ isn't functioning properly right now though - it makes a funny sound when you try to play with it. Sometimes this means I have to find someone else who will let me play with their organ.

OK, that's enough double entendres for one post, I reckon. Incidentally, the kind of music I like to play is garage-frat-stomp-surf, like the Saturn V, Fortune & Maltese, Royal Pendletons, Untamed Youth, Kingsmen, etc. Untamed Youth were great at the Las Vegas Rockaround this year - hoo-hah!!

-Randy

Before falling in lust with the steel guitar, I was a full-metal shreader for years even though I didn't particularly like metal. It just came about by continually running scales and modes for hours on end.

I have almost every type of guitar from hot-rodded Strat to Gibson ES 135 archtop. But I don't touch the 6 string standard tuned stuff anymore.

My current ax is a 1952 Rickenbacher double neck steel guitar console.

In addition, I play bass, some ukulele, and some mandolin.

Spike mentioned our current band - The Smokin' Menehunes in his post above.

The weirdest thing about the band practicing Hawaiian music in my gargage is you never hear the neighbors scream "turn that damn Hawaiian music down - I'm calling the police!"

Blah, blah, blah...

I've comp-ed in a lot of bands playing keys and shrieking vocals. Sang in a lot of jingles - to my utter dismay. Done a lot of studio work.

Built a studio in Tampa in 1989.
We've recorded a lot of the greatest jazz musicians in the world - some already gone. Bob Berg (sax) loved our place. So did Eddie Baker (sax).

Just today - we finished shooting a DVD for drummers with Joe Morello (Dave Brubeck Quartet) and Danny Gottlieb (Pat Metheney, John Mclaughlin, et al).

As it ever was - there's no money in jazz - only love and drugs and personality disorders.

So, I play the Uke.
Just got a new koa one from Island Uke in Kauai. It's very sweet and takes me out of the world of "adult chords" for a while.
I'm getting pretty decent on it. Looking forward to recording some eventually so that I can torture people into doing my bidding.

I'm thinking of CD distribution with a bottle of Pyrat - I sound a lot better when the listener has been drinking Pyrat... 'bout 4 shots with 1 shot of lime and 1 of pineapple.

"Yeah, that was me singing that Dennis Pavao tune...but... how did I look?"

I have a name for an Exotica/Tiki band:
The Hinky Dinks.

Whaddya' think?

Luckydesigns - I'm almost ashamed to say I use a Charvel, because that's what I have...I bought it when I played only "metal". It sounds pretty good though with 13-56 strings. I also have a Danelectro Hodad, and when I'll have money I'll buy a Fender Jazzmaster, which is my favorite Surf guitar.

Ran

I've been a horn player since about 1980. Picked up a synth in high school (1984-ish) and attended to Berklee College of Music.
DJ'd for years.

In 1991 I started INDX Records producing a number of Detroit Techno & House releases. had a fairly successful underground record, "Bliss" by HALOGEN. It's been bootlegged more than I care to remember (ouch!)

I actually sampled the "Drums of Bora Bora" LP once (maybe 1994?) and made a pretty cool track with it, but never released.

Well, that's the short version...

-Z

Jack of all trades, master of none -- slightly better than average player of keyboards, bass, guitar, and now, uke.

Started as a synth boy with a Juno 60 (why did I ever sell it?) and added on as time progressed.

I have a nice desktop recording studio that I use for voiceovers and multimedia sound design, and I too, one day, plan to unleash the horror that is my uke playing and singing on the unexpecting masses -- working a cover of Prince's "Kiss" right now. :)

Tampa Bay area ukers -- unite and dominate!

Sounds like we have a nationwide band here. Any of you guys planning on attenging the Tiki Oasis in 2004? I'll be there. We should have a tiki jam session.

*On 2003-10-11 14:24, Luckydesigns wrote
Strats sound great too.

Spike

Here's midnite's birthday present. Too cool, had to buy it for myself, though.

Surf Pearl Fat Strat Texas Special.

I got no skills...
midnite

Grew up listening to bossa and Afro-Cuban in the early 60s as my parents were dance teachers at the time. Played bass, synth, guitar, drums, finally settled on percussion (Brazilian and Cuban, naturally, also funk-jazz, reggae, funk). Had a funnyh band in Edmonton that played twisted stuff not unlike Morphine or Lounge Lizards. Moved to Vancouver and joined an Afro-Brazilian percussion ensemble in '90. Obtained first computer same year. Now making music mostly on computer because it gives me - nyah, hahahahaaa - total control of all the instruments, just like I've always wanted.

The downside: miss playing live with other people. Looking forward to rebuilding percussion collection when Mrs. emspace, emspace Jr. and I have more room. Have a uke and am hoping to get a little more serious with it this winter. I sing too.

aloha,
em.

I play a Fender Jaguar in The Surfites. I also have an Eastwood Specter XII (VOX Phantom XII replica) and a pair of bongos :)

Mrs. Fury is the talented one. She grew up in the Bay area and was invited to audition for the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (Flute), but did not for some reason. In the 15 years we have been together she has only played one time. She thought it was bad but sounded good to me. If my Bongo playing was as good as her playing...........I was the sound tech for Orange County-Huntington Beach trio "Back Alley" (Where are you Jim Holt?). Regular weekend gig at Shakey's in HB, some clubs that would alternate 45 minutes of Disco with 30 minutes of live band, and a couple of gigs at the Cuckoo's Nest on some Punk bills. They would just speed up the rock songs and play a heavy metal version of "My Sharona" to keep the punkers at bay. Bad time to be a hard rock band. Also wrote a song for Brazilian Blues guitarist Nuno Mindelis that was recorded with SRV's Double Trouble for his "Blues On The Outside" cd. My 15 minutes of fame........spend more time listening than playing. Shameless plug...I sell Blues, Rockabilly, and rock cds on Amazon.com (Bluesource) to fund the Tiki habit......

I come from a background of early industrial bands like Throbbing Gristle, SPK, Nocturnal Emissions, Maurizio Bianchi, Nurse With Wound, Coil, etc. I made my own primitive electronic noise beginning in the early eighties under various names. View my catalog at http://www.exoteque.com I actually got started listening to Martin Denny and Les Baxter via Throbbing Gristle who used to play his records after their gigs back in the late 70's and from Chris and Cosey who dedicated an album to both Martin Denny and Les Baxter in the early eighties. I have never been the same since. Hey did you guys know that there is a 2 CD compilation being put together by Otis Fodder of the best tracks submitted from people on the Exotica Mailing list? It will be for download only and will be avilable in November. Lots of great artists on this like Don Tiki, Brother Cleve, Tipsy, Skip Heller and a slew of others. I'm on it as well. Maybe someone can tackle a compilation here from the Tiki Central site. Sounds like we have lots of talent here.

I play guitar since the age of 11. In 1985 I started my own rockabilly/psychobilly band. We oriented us along The Cramps, The Stray Cats and The Meteors. I was getting more into 60s surf and in 1988 that band disbanded. That’s when I started recording instrumental surf on my own, with a little 4track cassette tape deck. I released 5 tapes via reviews in fanzines. In 1992 I got a band together again, playing live. In 1993 we released our first album COOL SURFIN’, we were called The Looney Tunes by then. We recorded 3 albums until 1998, when that band broke up due to musically different directions, again. So I went back to homerecording and recorded an albums worth of lounge/surf sounds, this time on a G3 computer. That project is being called Kahuna Kawentzmann.
A very little sideproject with more modern/experimental sounds is Marble. One Marble track is going to be on the Exotica Mailing List compilation Two Zombies Later.
Kahuna Kawentzmann tracks have been released on 7'' by Stark Reality and on compilations: Mojo Club – Never Felt So Free (Universal Music), Amercian Grafitti Revisited (Omom), Oriental Club (Universal Music) and the next one is going to be on Hair Revisited (Omom).

For the techheads: I play a 65 Jaguar guitar, a 64 Bandmaster amp, a Kendrick reverb unit, a Coral sitar copy, a late 60s Mosrite Combo guitar among other mostly cheap old German gear. Hopf, Framus, Klira, jen Fuzz, Jen Wahwah, Schaller tremolo, Schaller WahFuzzVolume (Wah broken), Hohner organ and elPiano, Bongos, melodica. I also like to sample drums from old records.

KK

[ Edited by: Kawentzmann 2007-08-01 09:19 ]

I play keys, started at age 9 on the sax (still have my soprano & alto) Age 17 I started piano, took lessons and did my first gigs in the classic "garage bad". Studied jazz & latin piano. I started a salsa band in San Diego in '94, still runnig today (http://yavaz.com/. I currently have synthesizers and keyboard controllers like Kurzweil K2500RS, Roland XP80, Sound Canvas, Yamaha KX88, Yamaha TX802, etc.
My first taste of exotica was when I was 5 and I found my mother's Arthur Lyman album "Bahia" (which I still have today). The exotic bird sounds and forest rain effects totally captured me. I also discovered her "Mambo with Cal Tjader" lp in red vinyl (which I still have to). Those 2 LPs were my favorites! Haven't been able to find "Bahia" on CD yet though.

On 2003-10-14 08:27, Kawentzmann wrote:
...we were called The Looney Tunes by then.

Cool, I remember seeing you guys open for Dick Dale in Hamburg sometime in the mid 90's.

I've been a musician of some sort most of my life. I started playing the drums in third grade, and then picked up guitar in my late teens after hearing The Clash and The Ramones. I had a brief career as a singer songwriter where I played mostly around Portland, opening for the occaisional touring act. I even did some British gigs-one opening for Billy Bragg.

I put together a band that tortured Portland audiences for a couple of years with my own brand of heavy dirge oriented tribal postpunk, and when that wore out I joined the Northwests premiere supersonic psychedellic circus known as Hitting Birth for a brief stint. Other projects were The NW Secessionist Choir, The Ed Sisters, and Tour Manager for the L.A. band The Sugarplastic.
I have always toyed with home recording, 4 and 8 tracks,keys, and samplers, and now this f..ing computer that, like others have stated, keeps me hostage and forbids me from playing with others. My music has (d)evolved into soundtrack type wanderings and ambient noise. I am currently attempting to learn the art of lowbudget filmaking in order give my music someone to play with!

When I'm in my shop making Tikis, I am usually listening to The Swank Pad, some sort of Exotica, OR Irish punk like The Pogues and Flogging Molly.

In the 80's I played guitar in 3 or 4 bands around NJ/PA area. We relocated to NC in '88 and the band split in '91. During the 90's I recorded at home and in the studio but didn't do any live playing. Then we started having kids and I lost the time and the space to continue.

:drink:

I started playing bass in 1992. For a few years I kicked around some crappy bands in college while I figured out how to play. Now I'm been the bass player for The Cowslingers.

The band has been touring around regularly for about ten years. We're based out of Cleveland but play pretty much anywhere East of the Mississippi and once in a while we'll make a trip across the Atlantic or to the West Coast.

http://www.cowslingers.com

Jaw harp, kazoo, toy xylophone, guiro frog...

I'd been a roadie for several small time bands in New York & L.A. back in the '80s, Someone's gotta carry the P.A. around!

I play drums/percussion in the vibraphonic tiki exotica trio "Fisherman." We play every Monday night at Otto's Shrunken Head (E. 14th St. bet. Ave's A & B) in New York City. I've seen several tiki centralites there including Inkylouise, Manic Cat, and Humuhumu. If you're ever in town, come check us out! We also have a recording featuring some exotica classics, as well as some original music, which can be purchased at our website: http://www.fishermansburlesque.com
Hope to see you all at Otto's soon!

Tikidrummer

I was a percussionist in high school, and my older accordion playing brother recruited me to play drums in his polka band. I hated it at the time, but now think it was neat I did it.

I no longer play percussion, except for a middle-eastern dumbek that I will tap on now and then. I used to do a zine from 95 to 00 called 'Cannot Become Obsolete' that was based on old vinyl LPs, and have since then done some more writing for other publications (Scram, Cool and Strange Music, etc)

VErn

Been playing the drums since age 13. Copied all the great drummers when I was learning to play, (Neil Peart, Bill Bruford, Tommy Aldridge). I'm 38 now and am still very much a student, but my influences are more along the lines of Jazz Drummers (Dave Weckl, Vinnie Colaiuta, Greg Bissonette). I play in a top 40 band at Casa Rea on Friday nights in Agoura. I can play all styles (Jazz, Latin, Funk, R&B, Soul, Rock, etc.). I love to hit hard and love to rock (love alternative music-i.e. KROQ), but I'm just as happy playing ballads, surf or dance music. I'm always looking for talented players to play with if anyone is interested. Just post here or e-mail me.

*On 2003-10-16 13:59, freddiefreelance wrote:*Jaw harp, kazoo, toy xylophone, guiro frog...

uh oh! looks like we're gonna have to have a kazoo jam!

I sing once in a while with the Thurston Howlies! Freddie, you're gonna have to sit in with them on that toy xylophone!

Oh, and I also like to play tambourine and shake my marraccas!

http://www.cherrycapri.com

Bass player since 1967. I first started playing with a surf band in Long Beach, CA. Our third gig was at Sam's Seafood in the banquet room for a private party (no joke). I currently play a 1996 Fender P-Bass (50th anniversary) My favorite bass was a 1965 P-Bass I used all through the '70's and sold in 1982. When I got rid of it, the finish was completely worn off the back of the neck & the frets were down to the fingerboard. Not bad for a bass I payed $125.00 for in 1971 in brand new condition w/ original Fender hard case! I'm working on mastering ukulele. Have limited experience on theremin playing in Jerry Kreagle & the Cadillacs in 1970/71. Kick_the_Reverb...Surf bands in Israel!?! There's hope yet! I used to play in a band with a guitarist/songwriter from Lebanon who split the country when the sh*t hit the fan and moved to South Africa and scored a hit record there in the early '70's called "Atomic Woman". What a long, strange trip it's been.

[ Edited by: Shipwreckjoey on 2003-10-19 17:58 ]

Shipwreckjoey - yep, a Surf band in Israel. The first one. Another band even started to copy our stuff (including trying to recruite all former and current memebers except for me, of course)...
But alas, this Wednesday was the last time I played with the band (until they join me for a CA tour), but what a great time it was.

Ran

freddiefreelance, what is a guiro frog? My curiosity has gotten the best of me once again.

I'm the utility guy. Not a virtuoso on any instrument, but certainly able to sit in or fill a need on rhythm guitar, bass, drums, keys and ukulele. If you've ever seen The Maikai Gents, Mika'ele Loco Moco plays a Weird Unc-customized AstroCaster. Fun stuff!

-Weird Uncle Tiki

On 2003-10-19 18:06, Shipwreckjoey wrote:
freddiefreelance, what is a guiro frog? My curiosity has gotten the best of me once again.

Shipwreckjoey-

It's one of those little frog scrapers: you scrape a stick along the top & it goes "R-r-r-r-bt, R-r-r-r-bt."

Cherry-

I'm sorry, but the little toy xylophone's back in storage in Central Illinois.

Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., D.F.S

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance on 2003-10-20 11:25 ]

I play guitar in two Tampa Bay, Florida-based groups, The Vodkanauts (surf/lounge - http://www.vodkanauts.com ) and Barely Pink (power pop rock 'n' roll - http://www.barelypink.com ). I started out on classical piano as a wee lad (my mom's from Salzburg, Austria so we're talkin' lotsa Mozart) and have been playing guitar since the mid '80s, usually some Telecaster variant through some kind of Fender amp, though I just picked up a 1978 50-watt Marshall JMP half stack that sings with the voices of the angels. My current fave rig is the Marshall running concurrent with my '67 Deluxe Reverb; I've got a Fender Reverb that I've had modded with a second output to split the signal.

The Vodkanauts debuted in November of 2003, opening for Dick Dale at St. Petersburg's State Theatre. Almost exactly a year to the day later, we've opening up for the King of Surf Guitar once again at the same venue on 11/15/03 - nice! The band is a five-peice, with the usual drums, bass and guitar augmented with male and female vocalists. To quote our bio: "Imagine a twilight world of sonic make believe where Horold Arlen and Burt Bacharach share equal billing with Dick Dale and Hank Marvin, where reverb-drenched surf freakouts segue into a small jazzy combo playing a Vegas nightspot frequented by The In Crowd and where roadhouse-rockin' twangfests coexist with tranquil atmospheric meditations. With a willful mixture of the engagingly sublime and the faintly ridiculous, The Vodkanauts simultaneously pay respectful tribute to musical masters while creating a soundtrack to a 1960s America that never quite was." Several TCers have been kind enough to attend some gigs here in town - thanks for the support! If the stars align, we hope to be involved in next year's Hukilau.

Here's a link to our theme song:

http://www.vodkanauts.com/tunes/vnauts_theme.mp3

Barely Pink recently released its third full-length album on Not Lame Records, a well-respected international purveyor of power pop and we've just returned from a ten-day Southeastern tour to promote it. Unfortunately, our long drives and tight schedule prevented me from making any tiki-centric side trips. :( But we had fun, rocked some new faces 'n' places - Birmingham and Atlanta were highlights - and we actually came in under budget for the run as a whole.

If any bands or performers ever desire to gig in Tampa Bay, don't hesitate to contact me and I'll hook ya up.

tweedtone
http://www.vodkanauts.com
http://www.barelypink.com

[ Edited by: tweedtone on 2003-10-21 09:06 ]

I'm the lead singer and rhythm guitar player for a rockabilly band called the Hi-Q's. We play an "authentic" mid 50's style of music.

http://www.hiqs.planetrockabilly.com

Not to stray too far from the subject...but I tuned into the best documentary on bass guitar I've ever seen (and I've seen 'em all?). It's called Rising Law on the Sundance channel, and it includes footage & interviews with the likes of Bootsy Collins, John Entwhisle, Jack Cassady, Flea and many more. Studio solos, concert stuff, etc. If you play bass or are just a music lover, this is must see.

Death Rattle-1986 Neato 87-? Tired of being in bands. Nokie Edwards, Duane Eddy, Bob Mould, Dennis Boone, Roger fucking Miller!

I cannot believe the amount of muscial talent here, WOW someone needs to start a tiki record label and make some CD's. And the only thing I play well is the conch horn.

I used to be in a band called Fweep for several years. We had two cd's on two different small, local labels. Neither went anywhere at all. We also had a 4 song demo that showed up on a compilation disk.

I play guitar and bass mostly, with a little flute and piano thrown in. I love to compose and write/sing lyrics.

I currently write and record my own songs under the title 'The Darui Project'.

[ Edited by: finkdaddy on 2004-08-11 10:56 ]

On 2004-08-11 10:55, finkdaddy wrote:
I used to be in a band called Fweep for several years. We had two cd's on two different small, local labels. Neither went anywhere at all. We also had a 4 song demo that showed up on a compilation disk.

I play guitar and bass mostly, with a little flute and piano thrown in. I love to compose and write/sing lyrics.

I currently write and record my own songs under the title 'The Darui Project'.

[ Edited by: finkdaddy on 2004-08-11 10:56 ]

Really! Any chance we can hear some of what you have done?

Sure. this weekend I'll convert some stuff to mp3 so you can have a listen.