A Sad Day for Tikis Everywhere!

I just saw in the paper that Jimmy Buffet's upcoming tour is called "The Tiki Time Tour".

We have to think of ways to combat that association. Is there a website or business called Tikitime that could sue?

Trader Vics calls their happy hour Tiki Time - all the flyers and ads for the TV here in Chicago say "Tiki Time" all over them.

Unfortunately, the only way Vic's could stop buffet from using the term was if they had trademarked it, which they didn't.

And I doubt they'd bother even if they did have a legal leg to stand on.

buffet must be stopped!

...

Cripes that's disheartening.

That and the times my wife tells people I carve tikis, and they say "What's a tiki?" JEEEZ!

I've never felt as passionate about the Buffet issue as most Centralites, but this "Tiki Time" nonsense goes too far. I suggest we all call in sick to work tomorrow and go have a drink somewhere. That should be effective.

Hi all -

clue in a newbie who has spent more time worrying about foot fungus than hearing the music of Buffet. What's so offensive? And believe me, this is not a "let's all try to think of something nice to say" challenge; I myself can and do say some of the most cruel things imaginable about music I hate, so use yer imagination, go snake on the guy! :)

aloha,
emspace.

P.S. to give you some idea of how open I am to hearing your criticisms...I like Simon Cowell of "American Idol". :D

em

FYI a quick search of the govt's trademark database reveals no "tikitime" or "tiki time" trademarks.

A6

On 2003-03-07 12:59, emspace wrote:
Hi all -

clue in a newbie who has spent more time worrying about foot fungus than hearing the music of Buffet. What's so offensive? And believe me, this is not a "let's all try to think of something nice to say" challenge; I myself can and do say some of the most cruel things imaginable about music I hate, so use yer imagination, go snake on the guy! :)

aloha,
emspace.

Here's what happened when I, also a newbie at the time, asked a smiliar question...

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=219&forum=1

Patrick McNeal

[ Edited by: Biotron2000 on 2003-03-07 13:35 ]

Man, that thread has it all, the whole enchilada. Thanx Biotron2000, and to all of you, no need to rehash this matter. Just curious as I have no background on Buffet at all...

aloha,
em.

You know, I had seen little hints that we might be living in the end times but this certainly must be a sign that we are in the middle of the rapture. Hey, what am I still doing here???!!!!

Jeez....all I can say is that really B-L-O-W-S!! I've been easing in my tiki-ness to my friends who are actually getting on board a bit. We had a small Tiki-esque party here last week mixing a few different concoctions in celebration of getting 'intoxica' & 'Grog Log' in the mail. This Buffet business is really gonna ruin it now! I can just see my friends ribbing me; 'Hey dude....gonna go check out the Buffet Tiki show when it comes to town, haw haw haw!!'

I grew up in S. Florida which has a pretty large enclave of Buffet worshipers. I hated his music in the 70s as a kid and I hate it now. I always thought Buffet was trying to make himself look cool by calling his band "The Coral Reefer Band" Nerd! Wow Jimmy, you make crappy country/surf music and you smoke weed too...ooooh,how cooool.

Just to quote kahukini "it's the sound of the redneck riviera, and if you're trying to create a more exotic atmosphere, it simply negates that... it's too familiar and too common and too "bud light."

Don't worry folks! We've been through the fire before. We'll take care of this one.

Confusion to our enemies!!!

Aloha!

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2003-03-07 17:16 ]

On 2003-03-07 17:15, donhonyc wrote:
I always thought Buffet was trying to make himself look cool by calling his band "The Coral Reefer Band" Nerd! Wow Jimmy, you make crappy country/surf music and you smoke weed too...ooooh,how cooool.

I am laughing so hard my stomach hurts!!!!

When I was a kid, I thought "Cheeseburger in Paradise" was funny because, um, I was a kid and it was a song about a cheeseburger.

Beyond that and "Margaritaville" (sp?) I couldn't name a Buffet song.

However, I notice that there is not only a lot of humor in this thread but a lot of honest to goodness disdain for all things Buffet.

It seems to me that part of embracing all that is tiki (or even some that is tiki) involves having a certain sense of laidbackness (new word) that would almost tend to preclude such directed hostility.

You know what I mean...the difference between "Jimmy Buffet? Nah, not really my thing, but, hey, e komo mai! Have a volcano..." and "You like Jimmy Buffet?! He sucks! You suck! You're not welcome here!"

:)

Peace out, G...

A6

Tiki Goddess...glad I could have the pleasure of giving you a good laugh.
A6...It's all in good fun. But Buffet DOES suck! I would never refuse a...uh...'Parrothead' a mai-tai at my bar. But for god sakes keep that 'Changes in latitude..I'm loaded on cuervo' stuff off the jukebox. Trader Vic would be spinning in his grave!!
:drink:

Well, http://www.tikitime.com is taken. Crap!

This is very interesting! I looked too, and saw that http://www.tikitime.com is taken. HOWEVER-- the guy who owns it is a friend of mine! (SF local hipster/promoter Alan from Liftoff... don't worry, he's definitely on the good side.)

He's owned the domain since 2000, and it looks like he hasn't done anything with it. If somebody wanted to build out a website, we could easily check with him to see if it could be used.

-mig

Maybe we could use it as a link from all the Buffett sites and do a compare and contrast Buffet vs. Tiki.

Buffett=Tequila vs. Tiki=Rum kinda thing.

He's owned the domain since 2000, and it looks like he hasn't done anything with it. If somebody wanted to build out a website, we could easily check with him to see if it could be used.
-mig

Did anyone happen to catch the Martin Denny tribute on Buffetts "Far side of the world" albumn - Song titled "Altered boy".

Buffett has mentioned in some interviews that Martin had some influence in his music.
Lets see a show of hands by all of us that were listening to Martin Denny in 1970?

I've also read somewhere that he's buying into the Tiki culture revival (Tiki bar), I know for a fact he's riding 10 foot boards (made in melbourne beach fl.)

There may be a good deal of sincere "Tiki" interest on his part, and if his interests causes indirectly a rather giant spot light to illuminate the revival... well so be it.

Just think, someday soon, we'll all be able to say... "I was into tiki when it wasn't cool".

Those aren't drums we're hearing, their the footsteps of countless Buffett minions running towards Tikidom. yuk yuk yuk

7

ps. His Carribean Soul corporation is also putting out some pretty cool Tiki Theme t-shirts and hats.

Ice I understand, I guess, if it's going into a Mai Tai. Beer? Chips? And what the hell is that on that grill?
I'm not a Buffet fan at all (Never been to a show... Own one album 'cause it was left behind following a party at my apartment in college) but I can't say I hate the man. I think his music is acceptable from a East Coast/Caribean Laid-Back Standpoint. But for him to claim to have been influenced by Martin Denny seems a bit of a stretch. And, really... would you want to hear "Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw?" between "Moon Mist" and "Jungle Madness" in a Tiki Lounge?
The only reason his name ever appears in this forum is because so many have posted items based that suffer from a severe lack of understanding of what it is, exactly, that we're all talking about. The same could be said about any and all of us at one point or another, I suppose, so it's good that we're such a helpful bunch of individuals.

[ Edited by: Traitor Vic on 2003-03-25 23:31 ]

Will his new album have a different sound?

Is that artwork for something Buffet is doing? Tikis with sunglasses holding beer and chips? Sort of vaguely reminds me of the rock n' roll Elmo doll for kids. Next thing you know we're gonna see tatooed tikis holding television remotes. I can see it now...Coming soon: MTV's new reality based show 'Tiki Hut Life'.

To paraphrase Marvin Gaye-What (the hell is)going on?? Indeed.....a sad say for Tikis everywhere.

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2003-03-26 07:34 ]

They were selling key chains, shirts, decals and such with that artwork at a flea market here in Chicagoland about a year ago. There was no mention of Buffetism.

[ Edited by: atomiktiki on 2003-03-26 12:13 ]

Arrrgh! That art work is horrible!

The four Tikis of the Apocalypse!

Sportsbar jocks in Tiki clothing!

I did not want this! I did not want this!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki on 2003-03-26 12:45 ]

Buffet was definitely not listening to Denny in 1970. He was hanging out playing folk-like music in Chicago and sleeping on the late Steve Goodman's sofa(pretty much just your average bustout)! Bet he won't be telling that story any time soon to the media. I really don't think Buffet had a clue about Martin Denny.

[ Edited by: atomiktiki on 2003-03-26 14:13 ]

On 2003-03-26 12:08, atomiktiki wrote:
Buffet was definitely not listening to Denny in 1970. He was hanging out playing folk-like music in Chicago and sleeping on the late Steve Goodman's sofa(pretty much just your average bustout)! Bet he won't be telling that story any time soon to the media. I really don't think Buffet had a clue about Martin Denny.

[ Edited by: atomiktiki on 2003-03-26 14:13 ]

Actually...
According to what I've read, BuffetT was living in Nashville in 70, not chicago. He held a job with Billboard magazine, which I believe was still doing articles on Denny at the time. Who knows, maybe Jimmy interviewed him :wink:

Besides, why would he lie, what's to be gained by telling others that martin was an influence. Do you think he was hoping to swing the entire Denny community over to his music? Somehow, I don't think a guy with an income of 50,000,000.00 a year cares about what others may or may not believe, and wouldn't be tempted to try and "sway" the publics opinion by lying... course I could be wrong, but if I had 150,000,000.00 I probably wouldn't care either...

One things for sure though, there's a whole bunch of people out there that never heard of Denny until Buffett said "Thanks Martin" at the end of "Altered Boy", and started asking questions, some of which led to listening to Martins work.

So... Who is Steve Goodman anyway? :)

[ Edited by: 7TiKiS on 2003-03-27 12:12 ]

On 2003-03-26 12:02, bigbrotiki wrote:
Arrrgh! That art work is horrible!

The four Tikis of the Apocalypse!

Sportsbar jocks in Tiki clothing!

I did not want this! I did not want this!

Wow! Sorry about that, I guess I should have preceeded the post with "SVEN COVER YOUR EYES!" :lol:

An Open Letter to the Tiki vs. Parrothead Community:

Jimmy Buffett provides a few hours of joy for the downtrodden masses by playing music for people wearing loud shirts and drinking excessively.

We're not that different, Parrotheads and we.

I had a hand in bringing what I believe to be the true spirit of Tiki to the production manager of the Tiki Time show. A few brave souls in the upper echelons of the Tiki world (who shall remain nameless lest besmirch their reputations) fought the good fight to bring a higher level of dignity and appreciation for Tiki to Buffett's production staff.

Bless them, they know not what they do.

Mass appeal does not mean the ideals are dead. We must uphold even more fervently what we know to be our unalienable rights. Aloha shirts with patterns matched on the pocket. A proper Mai-Tai. Drunken ukelele playing.

Wal-Mart shoppers would buy groovy stuff in vintage stores if they knew better. Count your blessings.

Next time you meet a Parrothead on the street, just smile and give him a warm "Aloha". You'll be glad you did.

Sincerely,

Hukilau Brown
Director Emeritus, SPCA
Society for the Preservation of Cocktails and Aloha

Matthew E. "Hukilau" Brown

Palu Ohana, Hale Ka'ahele
Pacific Palisades, CA

[ Edited by: Hukilau Brown on 2003-04-25 03:17 ]

It is always disappointing when your one of your favorite style\cultural identities is consumed by the mainstream.

However, Jimmy Buffet lives in or at least identifies with South Florida,
so it is perhaps inevitable that he would incorporate tiki into his theme, particularly given the resurgence in popularity of tiki.

Maybe someone can shame him into funding a tiki project, which he, of course, will coopt as his own, but atleast true tiki afficianados will be able to get their cut.

PS - His legal team can afford to outlitigate anyone.

Quite frankly, guys...

The tiki theme is something his expert marketing team came up with for this tour. And it's a smart business move, considering the current popular trend towards anything remotely tropical. The average person does not see the difference between Buffet's Carribean roots lifestyle and the completely different quasi-polynesian tiki attitude created for our parent's leisure time in the 1940s and '50s. Neither one is superior to the other, since they represent different mind sets.

Let it go. This is not a war between lifestyles. In a way, the laid back, live for tonight, let's see what tomorrow's tide brings in attitude about life, has elements evident in both genres.

Can't we all just get along.

A wise man from this forum once told me:
"We must insist that all tiki bars do not play Jimmy Buffett, we can not force all parrotheads not have tikis."

[ Edited by: captnkirk on 2003-04-27 12:42 ]