Tiki as a job

As that I am already an owner of restaurants, and these restaurant/bars are not tiki, and will never be tiki, (tho we make a damn good Mai-Tai), my dream tiki job is to sell my restaurants, move close to the Mai-Kai in Florida and become that cranky-but-loveable guy at the end of the Molokai Bar who buys drinks for pretty girls, enjoys good food and drink himself, and tells great stories.

On 2013-02-04 11:55, Cammo wrote:
"I definitely wouldn't start a tiki band, if money is an issue."

The Buzz makes a great point. I've always wondered what the thinking is behind the Tiki bands. It takes a huge and I mean HUGE amount of practice time, organizing, buying instruments, and even gas to get to all of your gigs. Some of the bands are smart (Martini Kings) and do it on a shoestring and make decent dough by playing a LOT of shows.

What's up with the other groups? What's the goal? It seems like they're losing money every time they play. This music will never be popular enough to sell past the breaking point online either, you can't dance to it and even music nerds barely acknowledge Exotica's existence.

Don't get me wrong; I love Exotica and wish it well, but I just read David Byrne's How Music Works and there simply ain't any cash in the game anymore.

As a musician you practice regardless of whether you make money or not, so that doesn't count in the money making part of things. If you don't play, you're not a musician. As far as making money goes...the reason alot of the bands dont make money is they dont write their own music (and record it and sell it) ....the money to be made is in publishing.

The "goal" is to create, hopefully gain an audience, and leave a mark. If you wanna get rich, become a banker.

The only reason people stay in Exotica bands with any longevity (Don Tiki), is because it's in their blood. They have a passion for it that will NEVER go away. They really don't expect to get any money from their releases because the sales are not there and never will be. They have their fan base and they are happy with them. The Exotica "prime time" is OVER. People making a living off Exotica like Martin Denny or Arthur Lyman will, sadly, never return. The goal is to just enjoy doing what you do. Seems simple enough but it's amazing how many people have jobs that they absolutely hate! Most of the people in Exotica/Lounge type bands today, all have other professions. They have too. Have you ever bought equipment these days?

Love and passion, pure and simple! :)

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

[ Edited by: Jeff Central 2013-02-08 10:41 ]

Well said Jim and Jeff.
I have also worked to positon my band so that we don't exclusively rely on 'tiki' fans to "get" us, employ, or enjoy what we are doing.

On 2013-02-08 11:27, Luckydesigns wrote:
Well said Jim and Jeff.
I have also worked to position my band so that we don't exclusively rely on 'tiki' fans to "get" us, employ, or enjoy what we are doing.

and it's well that you do, Spike. Also commendable that every time you play a non tiki event, you are exposing people to a culture we all love. I can't help but wonder at the fact that every time you play, there are people who see what you are doing and question what it is all about...maybe they get interested in the scene and start going to tiki events themselves, which does all the other tiki bands a huge favor.

On 2013-02-08 13:01, lucas vigor wrote:
[ I can't help but wonder at the fact that every time you play, there are people who see what you are doing and question what it is all about...maybe they get interested in the scene and start going to tiki events themselves

Nope, they're just there to watch Judy and Dinah dancing.

WOW-thanks to all who posted. I love the Tiki theme park idea! Too bad it would take winning the lottery to make that happen!! I would love to see a place like Tiki Gardens rebuilt--that place was awesome! It is, as I suspected, almost impossible to make Tiki your full-time job. Something's wrong with that--you should be able to make a living being immersed in something you love and get excited about. I'm going to keep thinking, so keep posting!!

If you are going to build a tiki theme park, here's a piece of real estate for sale you might consider.

Private island in the Society islands of French Polynesia, Motu Moie ('far away isle') is 15 miles from Bora Bora.

THen again, it might already be too tiki already and a theme park would be overkill. It would be like building a California Adventure theme park in California. But nobody would do that, would they?

VeroTiki, Good thread and some insightful comments. I always search and "plan" for a restaurant/bar location for my new found fortune. :) Here is one that I used to pass by all the time in Saratoga Springs (famous racetrack/historic area) Upstate New York and while it was closed, I could tell it was a sweet building. After doing some research, lo and behold it had a tiki part of it's past (thanks to MIMI's great site) and is now FOR SALE...hah ha...price undisclosed. Let the dreams begin...

Description
Built in 1962 by the original owners and known as the Trade Winds, this building can be considered one of Saratoga's historic landmarks. It is said the original owners, who were two Greek brothers, hand picked each stone they used to build the historic Trade Winds. The restaurant is up to code and the condition of the building is superb. The parking lot allows around 50 vehicles, while the dining room can allow up to 200 or more people. The bar is very spacious and has a new gas operated fireplace. The kitchen was also modernized and can handle a high volume of customers.

Serious inquiries only, more photos available upon request. Thank you for looking.

Please call Larry @ for more information.
Broadway is the main road that leads into downtown Saratoga. Rt. 9 becomes South Broadway if you were coming North. The restaurant is 2 miles South from downtown Saratoga, about 2 miles from the famous Saratoga race track, 2 miles from the Saratoga Racing and Gaming Casing, and about 1 mile from the Saratoga State Park and Saratoga Perfoming Arts Center. It is in an ideal location and next to a Hilton Garden Inn hotel.

BTW-Rocky, Not in Rochester, but hey it's still upstate...your a diner guy also, correct? OGR

Yes, I am a Diner guy Or Got Rum? To bad I haven't hit the lotto! Being stuck in the mid century can be an issue sometimes!

If you don't mind moving to Wisconsin here is a classic mid-century restaurant that is begging to be tikified: http://buythegobbler.com/ . I believe it already has lava rock walls. Be sure to view the "Photo Tour" and "Full Details" links.

[ Edited by: TropicDrinkBoy 2013-02-10 07:26 ]

On 2013-02-10 07:17, TropicDrinkBoy wrote:
If you don't mind moving to Wisconsin here is a classic mid-century restaurant that is begging to be tikified: http://buythegobbler.com/ . I believe it already has lava rock walls. Be sure to view the "Photo Tour" and "Full Details" links.

[ Edited by: TropicDrinkBoy 2013-02-10 07:26 ]

That is totally incredible!

Ah, the Gobbler! Thought they had finally ripped it down. Looks like they left the restaurant?

http://www.lileks.com/institute/motel/

as for me... I swear if the Land Park Ski Shop ever goes out of business, I'm turning it into a Tiki Bar/Restaurant. The outside is already more than halfway there...

[ Edited by: markmywords 2013-02-10 12:45 ]

I agree that the Land Park Ski Shop looks destined to be Tikified. That would be awesome!

Lileks was pretty harsh on the Gobbler motel but the Gobbler Restaurant has a lot going for it. It looks like an early 80's Getty era Don the Beachcomber space ship style restaurant. It has Lava rock, ROTATING BAR, and a mast that could be converted into an awesome tiki torch that could be seen for miles around. Maybe that was on the now demolished motel but you get the idea! The best part is the appliances, furnace and "bar rotation motors" have been recently replaced, they installed a new Boise (hopefully Bose!) sound system and they only want some $900,000. In Palo Alto that wouldn't even get you a 900 sq. ft. 50 year old shack!

If it's still available when I retire I'm going to cash out of California, convert the "Gobbler's Nest" above the bar into my residence (a la Kelbos perch) and fill the restaurant with authentic carvings from every region of the mysterious South Seas. Every hour and twenty minutes I'll get to tour the entire region.

On 2013-02-10 07:17, TropicDrinkBoy wrote:
If you don't mind moving to Wisconsin here is a classic mid-century restaurant that is begging to be tikified: http://buythegobbler.com/ . I believe it already has lava rock walls. Be sure to view the "Photo Tour" and "Full Details" links.

[ Edited by: TropicDrinkBoy 2013-02-10 07:26 ]

That place is amazing. Holy carp. The 80s were not kind to it, but it's in magnificent shape. With all the purple, all I can think is that should be turned into the first SHAG themed bar. Not just tiki, Jet Set, Swanky, Tiki madness. All Shag. The color scheme, everything. It needs to be the real world embodiment of a Shag painting.

I wasn't quite sure where to post these pictures. Since there are other Tiki like buildings in this thread, this seemed to be the place. This place is walking distance from my apartment. It has been a used car dealership for a long time. My earliest memories are of a pizza place!? in the mid 70's. I am going to try to dig up more info of it next week on my days off. It is located at 1700 Ridge rd east here in Rochester.

I'm wondering if there was a company that offered this as a generic restaurant building, or was it specific to a chain?

There is this tiny, horrible bikini bar nearby with scary waitresses that serve only hot beer.If it goes up for sale again, I'd buy it, gut it and turn it into a tiny, loveable lounge.It's small enough and easy enough to get to (also right next to the local paved river trail) that I could run it without too much of a loss until hopefully good word of mouth would get it noticed.It would be the first tiki lounge in the area since the 80's.......... If I had insane amounts of money I'd try to revive the Coco Palms.

Good idea. They have a beer/liquor license, and that could be very costly to acquire.