What is the scope of the "Tiki Revival" today

I am curious how big is the "Tiki Revival" today?
with 12,476 users on Tiki Central at the time of posting this.
Is the "Revival" in a state of waning or waxing?

Do we have any impact on today's pop culture or are we just a curiosity to others outside of what interests us?

From what I have seen, The Revival is made up of several factions
such as The social group (those who participate in Tiki events, going to Tiki Bars etc.)(which I consider myself part of)

The Artists & Musicians who incorporate "Tiki" into their art.
The Collectors of all things Tiki.
The Tiki/Urban Archaeologist.
The Imbiber, Dare I say possible drunk?
And then the Lurkers or Lookie Loo's

I would like to know what the rest of you think?

On 2011-07-11 00:15, Chuck Tatum is Tiki wrote:
I am curious how big is the "Tiki Revival" today?
with 12,476 users on Tiki Central at the time of posting this.
Is the "Revival" in a state of waning or waxing?

Do we have any impact on today's pop culture or are we just a curiosity to others outside of what interests us?

From what I have seen, The Revival is made up of several factions
such as The social group (those who participate in Tiki events, going to Tiki Bars etc.)(which I consider myself part of)

The Artists & Musicians who incorporate "Tiki" into their art.
The Collectors of all things Tiki.
The Tiki/Urban Archaeologist.
The Imbiber, Dare I say possible drunk?
And then the Lurkers or Lookie Loo's

I would like to know what the rest of you think?

From what I've been told...the number of lurkers and non members is WAY bigger than the number of registered users.

There is also a fair share of carpetbaggers and snake oil entrepreneurs that could care less about tiki.

On 2011-07-11 07:02, The Gnomon wrote:
There is also a fair share of carpetbaggers and snake oil entrepreneurs that could care less about tiki.

Hey! Some of my best friends are carpet oilers and snake baggers!

I think the combination of the different groups is what makes TC work and many people fit more than one group. Anyone who wants to can fit into the social/drinking group, they swap party locations and drink recipes. The collectors and bar builders buy from the artists, everyone buys from the musicians. The artists and builders inspire each other, the collectors gloat at each other, the urban archeologists collaborate with each other and educate us, the Bilgers entertain us, the Spammers annoy us, and Kinny provides conspiracy theories. Most of the time it works like a well oiled machine

Jim, you are right about the lurkers outnumbering members. At any point you can look at the "currently browsing" list and the guests outnumber members 15 or 20 to 1. Just now there were 51 people browsing TC, 3 of which were members.

Yes, I should list "Builders/Craftsmen" as a faction, I know we have hardcore
Tikiphiles who live to far from the Tiki Palaces, we lucky ones have access to
So they build their own.

On 2011-07-11 10:03, Chuck Tatum is Tiki wrote:
Yes, I should list "Builders/Craftsmen" as a faction, I know we have hardcore
Tikiphiles who live to far from the Tiki Palaces, we lucky ones have access to
So they build their own.

Or have me build for them.... :wink:

Tiki procurer/collector and proud tiki imbiber/drunk! I offer nothing to the cause save for my questionable looks and lack of wit!

Ben, you deserve your own place in this "Tiki Revival" we got going on!

On 2011-07-11 18:24, Chuck Tatum is Tiki wrote:
Ben, you deserve your own place in this "Tiki Revival" we got going on!

Just trying to help the most I can. :wink:

More soon.......

On 2011-07-11 20:59, RevBambooBen wrote:

More soon.......

Pics?

Buzzy Out!

On 2011-07-11 21:23, Bay Park Buzzy wrote:

On 2011-07-11 20:59, RevBambooBen wrote:

More soon.......

Pics?

Buzzy Out!

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

Before BigBro drops science on this thread, I will get all thoughful myself!

It seems we long ago turned a corner in the Tiki world. Those who collect Tiki Farm and Gecko and Crazy Al and Munktiki rather than OMC and Otagiri are the norm now. And while there are a lot more things being made, the diversity is lacking. That tired old Ku Tiki is still being re-hashed in a million ways. And with the BoT being out of print, the current times are defining Tiki to more people than the fore-fathers like Don and Vic and Crane.

In this decade, something that was largely going away has come back. In 2001, I dare say there were less than 5, and I can only say for sure of 2, places that still served Don the Beachcomber's drinks. I mean by the right recipe and not in name only. Navy Grog, Nui Nui, Zombie, they were all pretty much lost. Today, a whole lot more people know who Don the Beachcomber was and care and think he was a genius. His drinks are being served in dozens of places and that may be conservative.

There is more knowledge than ever on those past places and people for the interested, and more shiney new Tiki things for the casual. It is far, far easier to make good cocktails now that it was 10 years ago.

Opening a new and successful Tiki bar is still rather elusive, but the number is steadily growing.

We are not resurrecting the classic Tiki bar any longer, but making the modern version, for better or worse. And, we are all doing what we like so, damn the purists! Whatever floats your boat and if you are selling, whatever keeps you in business...

The guy who could best answer this query is Holden. He has been in business for the longest and can say whether things are on the rise or decline. Tiki Oasis is bigger than ever I think. Hukilau is pretty steady. Up and down with the economy, etc.

And BigBro, is Tiki Evolving now or Devolving?

Maybe it's REvolving.

On 2011-07-12 10:37, GROG wrote:
Maybe it's REvolving.

Re-De-volving? De-Re-volving?

On 2011-07-11 00:15, Chuck Tatum is Tiki wrote:
I am curious how big is the "Tiki Revival" today?
with 12,476 users on Tiki Central at the time of posting this.
Is the "Revival" in a state of waning or waxing?

Chuck,
just because there is 12,476 registered users,
doesn't mean that most of them come to TC anymore.

Some are Old school Tiki peeps that moved on,
some were part time fans, that lost the bug, or got scared off by Bong. :wink:
and some are spammers or parrot heads that Joined to get reamed a new one.
(which is the right thing to do)
:wink:

Jeff(btd)

I would go as far as to say that the word "revival," in its strict sense, no longer applies some 15 years down the road and that we should declare that we're in the midst of a new Tiki "renaissance."

If you look back at the body of work over the past 20 years - from the artists and craftsmen and mug designers and musicians and cocktailians - it's an awesome accomplishment and in some areas surpasses even Tiki at its mid-century peak. I'd say the corpse has been fully revived.

Not that we should rest on our laurels, but a good pat on the back is in order. From the artistic community, the quality and amount of great, creative work that has come out has been inspiring to me personally for the past five or so years that I've been more intimately involved.

And now it seems as if the long, slow battle to gain respect for tropical drinks is finally gaining traction with the craft cocktail community. With the spread of new Tiki-themed bars that emphasize quality cocktails, another piece of the puzzle is coming together. I hope this doesn't ruin it, but Epicurious.com just named "Tiki Bar Cocktails" as one of the top 10 food trends for 2011:
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2010/12/food-trend-predictions-for-2011.html
But they seem to be referencing the right sources, so maybe we're for real.

Have We Just Experienced the Latest Wave of a Tiki Resurgence, and resulting Devolution?
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=39817&forum=1

On 2011-07-12 09:38, Swanky wrote:
And BigBro, is Tiki Evolving now or Devolving?

Well, Tim, your question was for Sven. But I'll take a stab at it. In the cocktail sphere, it is definitely evolving. There are so many respectable bars across the country that now embrace tiki/tropical drinks. Just take a look at Imbibe magazine and you will see so many examples of Donn's and Vic's drinks being embraced and explored and extended. That part of the equation is really exciting. Architecturally, I see nothing that gives much hope. I'm not an expert by any means, but nothing I see makes me think that current architects and builders and their clients have much interest in our little mid-century tiki fetish. Other areas, like music and apparel are quite a bit more hopeful. I'm thrilled by a lot of the music I've heard over the last 10 or so years that honors that vintage exotica and surf sound and at the same time keeps it from just being a rehash of what's already been done.

So really, it's a mixed bag.

On 2011-07-12 14:03, bigtikidude wrote:

On 2011-07-11 00:15, Chuck Tatum is Tiki wrote:
I am curious how big is the "Tiki Revival" today?
with 12,476 users on Tiki Central at the time of posting this.
Is the "Revival" in a state of waning or waxing?

Chuck,
just because there is 12,476 registered users,
doesn't mean that most of them come to TC anymore.

Some are Old school Tiki peeps that moved on,
some were part time fans, that lost the bug, or got scared off by Bong. :wink:
and some are spammers or parrot heads that Joined to get reamed a new one.
(which is the right thing to do)
:wink:

Jeff(btd)

Jeff, That's a good point, so how many actual users are still around?
One thing I have noticed is the low number of people who go to The Tiki Bars and events on a regular basis
compared to how many talk about it on TC.

The BEST way to be "Tiki" is to drink regularly in the Tiki bar !!

Right ??

You can talk the talk but do you walk the walk ?? :)

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2011-07-14 10:05 ]

The Bird is the Word, John-O.

I still get just as many strange looks now as I did a few years ago whenever I mention anything tiki, so for where I live at least, tiki is almost a dirty word. At best, tiki is considered "quaint", like Frankie and Annette movies and Gumby. If it wasn't for the internet, I don't think I would have encountered any fellow tiki enthusiasts nor would I have found out there was such a thing as a tiki revival.Not to say that the area is devoid of any hint of tiki culture, but it is small and more of the Party City variety. Just my own experiences from living in the capital of the mitten state.

On 2011-07-14 21:56, ErkNoLikeFire wrote:
it wasn't for the internet, I don't think I would have encountered any fellow tiki enthusiasts nor would I have found out there was such a thing as a tiki revival.

Same with me. I was facsinated with "tiki" long before I found out there was such a thing as Tiki. I was listening to Arthur Lyman when I was a little kid, and anything fake-polynesian (especially places like the Tahitian Terrace in Disneyland) was something I liked.

I must say, Sven's book of Tiki really opened my eyes, and I first heard about the book right here. My Sister bought me a copy that she got at some bookstore maybe around 2003.

It really seems that Cocktail & Food culture is taking notice of the "Tiki Revival"
but outside of that movement I don't see much public awareness of it.

With all the crap that gets reported as news today I am also surprised at the lack
of coverage of say "Tiki Oasis" and other events of that scale
I remember Crazy Al talking to "Huell Howser" last year & he had mentioned he was going to do a show
at last years "Tiki Oasis" which never happened.

What I am seeing is a Musical presence of "Tiki" influenced bands which :tiki: Lucas :tiki: is a major part of.

On 2011-07-15 09:13, lucas vigor wrote:

On 2011-07-14 21:56, ErkNoLikeFire wrote:
If it wasn't for the internet, I don't think I would have encountered any fellow tiki enthusiasts nor would I have found out there was such a thing as a tiki revival.

Same with me. I was facsinated with "tiki" long before I found out there was such a thing as Tiki.

Ditto, on both counts.

On 2011-07-12 17:59, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
I would go as far as to say that the word "revival," in its strict sense, no longer applies some 15 years down the road and that we should declare that we're in the midst of a new Tiki "renaissance."

Succinctly put, I think.
There is now a Tiki bar in Perth - Western Australia of all places, where boozy holes with motorcycles
parked out the front are the norm (well, around my neck of the woods anyway).

Also, I too am met with blank stares when I start to talk about tiki with people but if I show them
through my lounge, even though it is still under construction and I haven't even started building
the actual 'tiki bar' yet, the majority completely 'get it'. I don't think 'tiki' is too far beneath
the surface with a lot of people, even if they don't realise it.

Another random thought, is that of course 'tiki' goes back a lot farther in time than was
popularised in 50's-60's America, back to at least that great man James Cook, who,
to my mind at least, properly introduced the magic of polynesia to westerners.

The scope, as such?...don't know, don't care...pass the rum please.

Wait! Tiki Revival?... Renaissance?... I thought I had joined the Tiki Resistance! :lol:

aloha from... Tacoma where 180,000 alcoholics can't all be wrong.

I just wanted to add to Komohana's comments about tikidom down under.

Here in New Zealand, there was a definite stepping back from tiki culture as a popular art form in the 70s and 80s as the result of a PC mentality that equated any non-traditional use of Maori tiki artforms as a form of violation of traditional Maori culture, and as an expression of European cultural imperialism. People used to disparagingly use the term "plastic tiki" as a synonym for cynical, exploitative, inauthenticity. Interestingly, some of the most self-righteous people I have met regarding this topic were in fact certain middle-class Pakehas (NZers of European descent) who were only Maori to the extent of the bone carvings they wore as a solidarity symbol.

Now, in the early 21st century, the offspring of that PC generation seems to have a light-hearted approach to tiki culture and this new generation is enjoying tee-shirts, postcards and other items incorporating tiki symbols, without getting worked up about it. There are still diehards out there though.

Public tiki bars and restaurants are still unknown here - I will consider the last cultural barrier to have fallen if one ever opens in Auckland (the largest Polynesian city on earth) and it can stay open without being closed due to protest action. There are some serious taboos to overcome if this happens though. For instance, in Maori culture, the head is tapu, so drinking alcohol out of a tiki mug with a moko on it could be considered quite insulting.

CN

Thanks Club Nouméa, I was unaware of the anti Tiki sentiment in NZ.

Yes, very interesting. Not so much "anti-tiki" as it is "anti-faux-tiki" or "anti-Poly-pop"

Yes a more accurate statement, Mike thanks.