Aloha!

That was a fun show last night with Don TIki (and tribe). The band sounded great and everyone put on a fantastic show...singers and dancers, with some general mayhem thrown in. The Don Tiki version of Carol of the Bells sounded really great live; it was a real highlight to hear in the hall.

We saw pockets of TC'ers around the hall and wished Merry Christmas to as many as we could find. :) Unfortunately, no photos of the live show (venue restriction) so I left the camera at home.

Thank you Don Tiki for taking the show from Hawaii to Los Angeles!

And a thank you to Otto...if you hadn't brought Don Tiki to Tiki Oasis 11 where Val and I first saw their live show, I don't think I would have known just what I'd be missing if I didn't see them play this show in LA.

Mele KaTikimaka!

kevin

Twas Fun! have a great Holiday! Thanks to all the Don Tiki Crew... super fantastic folks!!!!

On 2012-12-21 00:00, Bill5925 wrote:
Two 40 minute or so sets, kinda short. Great costumes and dancing. Crazy Al almost got speared a few times. Good songs and musicianship but would have liked to have heard more variety. One pretty good Hawaiian number, a couple of numbers from Brazil. Sound system didn't help the vocals. Very good in my opinion, but not great.

I'm with ya on this, though I'm going with "eh" over "very good". I expected more Xmas songs and a lot less lite-latin. The vocals were definitely squashed by everything else.
Wish I GOLDSTAR'd it instead of full price.

Tiki Joe @ Damon's the previously Sunday was far better.

I am not sure when people decided "christmas songs" were tiki.

Don Tiki is intricate, beautifully arranged music. I guess it can tend to go over the heads of people just looking for simplistic music, rather then something with real depth and period correct perfection. Oh well, to each it's own. Don Tiki is the real deal. And in this day and age of people willing to accept mediocre copy-cat music, I guess they will never get the respect they are due on this forum, which is a real shame. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course. As for me, I will always aim higher. The players in Don Tiki are of the very highest caliber, as far as I am concerned. I have this thing about mediocrity...I can't stand it. And just because a bunch of popular posters on a forum think something is great does not make it so. It's like those pet rocks back in the 70s. A lot of fancy packaging and merchandising, but in the end, it's just a rock, for christ's sake!
Don Tiki is very well known in Hawaii. They are known outside our little forum. They are know, because they deserve to be known.

[ Edited by: lucas vigor 2012-12-21 16:34 ]

TC people are so unforgiving when they can't have a cocktail in hand during a performance.

What a bunch of Tiki grinches !! :D

I thought it was a great show. :)

On 2012-12-21 13:38, lucas vigor wrote:

I guess it can tend to go over the heads of people just looking for simplistic music, rather then something with real depth and period correct perfection. Oh well, to each it's own.

Ouch, that's a little harsh.

Maybe, but it was in response to the last line of the preceding post, which was uncalled for, and patently untrue. .

On 2012-12-21 16:28, lucas vigor wrote:
Maybe, but it was in response to the last line of the preceding post, which was uncalled for, and patently untrue. .

Sorry, I'll take enthusiasm and spontaneity over "musicians of the very highest caliber" any day of the week. Nothing went over my head, pal. Believe me.

[ Edited by: TheClamsCasino 2012-12-21 18:26 ]

On 2012-12-21 18:25, TheClamsCasino wrote:

On 2012-12-21 16:28, lucas vigor wrote:
Maybe, but it was in response to the last line of the preceding post, which was uncalled for, and patently untrue. .

Sorry, I'll take enthusiasm and spontaneity over "musicians of the very highest caliber" any day of the week. Nothing went over my head, pal. Believe me.

[ Edited by: TheClamsCasino 2012-12-21 18:26 ]

Okay, you pulled me out of my rabbit hole where I've been quietly hibernating.

And now, I have to agree with Lucas to boot.

He's right!

Don Tiki is the real thing. This is mid-century escapism in all of its Les, Arty, Denny fake Hollywood, Don the Beachcomber authenticity and it doesn't get any better than this.

I was there, 3rd row, seat 151.

If anything was wrong, it was the venue - Don Tiki simply isn't about big concert halls - the music as presented is simply too intimate and the performance too personal not to get somewhat lost in the expanse of the Disney Concert Hall. That said, Don Tiki stayed true to who they are and didn't change their act to fill the hall. What you saw was the real McCoy.

The playfulness, the silliness, the goofiness, the not taking themselves serious are all part of some of the elements of exotica. Seriously - listen to the stuff and tell me you don't get a good unintended laugh from it at it from time to time.

Nothing, and I mean nothing out there compares to what Don Tiki is doing. They are a one only type act.

Serious criticisms can be made of what we saw last night - i.e. a big concert hall versus seeing Don Tiki on a beach as you would a Luau. Perhaps you do need a drink in your hand JOHN> I had lunch with a Mai Tai and a Navy Grog at Don the Beachcombers (They were closed but served me anyway), a Navy Grog at Trader Vics followed by a coffee grog and a Everyone Hates Fruitcake with a long smoke from my pipe at Cana all before the concert began - so perhaps I was better prepped to have a great time.

I am going to now write something and if you don't agree with it after you read it, then ..........

On a forum such as this, Don Tiki should be available for criticism. But remember this, they were tiki before this forum was really up and running and they have been living it for real. In terms of computer programing, they are about as close to experiencing the source code as we can get in this age. They aren't holy, they aren't sacred, and they aren't the finest in the world, but in terms of Les, Arty, and Denny, this is about as close as we can get to experiencing them in a live venue. I don't know, at this point, I turn to you Lucus. I readily admit you will be better able to make the argument about just why this group is an important part of what is going on in this genre.

On 2012-12-21 19:26, telescopes wrote:

On 2012-12-21 18:25, TheClamsCasino wrote:

On 2012-12-21 16:28, lucas vigor wrote:
Maybe, but it was in response to the last line of the preceding post, which was uncalled for, and patently untrue. .

Sorry, I'll take enthusiasm and spontaneity over "musicians of the very highest caliber" any day of the week. Nothing went over my head, pal. Believe me.

[ Edited by: TheClamsCasino 2012-12-21 18:26 ]

Okay, you pulled me out of my rabbit hole where I've been quietly hibernating.

And now, I have to agree with Lucas to boot.

He's right!

Don Tiki is the real thing. This is mid-century escapism in all of its Les, Arty, Denny fake Hollywood, Don the Beachcomber authenticity and it doesn't get any better than this.

I was there, 3rd row, seat 151.

If anything was wrong, it was the venue - Don Tiki simply isn't about big concert halls - the music as presented is simply too intimate and the performance too personal not to get somewhat lost in the expanse of the Disney Concert Hall. That said, Don Tiki stayed true to who they are and didn't change their act to fill the hall. What you saw was the real McCoy.

The playfulness, the silliness, the goofiness, the not taking themselves serious are all part of some of the elements of exotica. Seriously - listen to the stuff and tell me you don't get a good unintended laugh from it at it from time to time.

Nothing, and I mean nothing out there compares to what Don Tiki is doing. They are a one only type act.

Serious criticisms can be made of what we saw last night - i.e. a big concert hall versus seeing Don Tiki on a beach as you would a Luau. Perhaps you do need a drink in your hand JOHN> I had lunch with a Mai Tai and a Navy Grog at Don the Beachcombers (They were closed but served me anyway), a Navy Grog at Trader Vics followed by a coffee grog and a Everyone Hates Fruitcake with a long smoke from my pipe at Cana all before the concert began - so perhaps I was better prepped to have a great time.

I am going to now write something and if you don't agree with it after you read it, then ..........

On a forum such as this, Don Tiki should be available for criticism. But remember this, they were tiki before this forum was really up and running and they have been living it for real. In terms of computer programing, they are about as close to experiencing the source code as we can get in this age. They aren't holy, they aren't sacred, and they aren't the finest in the world, but in terms of Les, Arty, and Denny, this is about as close as we can get to experiencing them in a live venue. I don't know, at this point, I turn to you Lucus. I readily admit you will be better able to make the argument about just why this group is an important part of what is going on in this genre.

I;ll be glad to elaborate. But actually, you said something very important. This band was around, doing their own thing independent of tiki central. As much as I dig this forum, it is not the be-all end-all of tiki. There are a lot of people who are REALLY into tiki who don't post here.
Then there is the question of musician ship. Our friend, Clams Casino makes a statement here that I am sure 80% of tiki central agrees with, when he says "I'll take enthusiasm and spontaneity over "musicians of the very highest caliber" any day of the week."

This is something I will never agree with. You see, music is something that SHOULD be hard to do. If every yahoo out there can get famous just by being a hack, what do you end up with? Computers. Pro Tools. Pitch correction auto-tune. Justin Beiber. Music just becomes another form of kareoke.

I get immense pleasure from knowing a musician took years to learn something, worked hard at it, paid his dues, and tackled an instrument that is hard to play. Then, with all that experience and knowledge, manages to make music that sounds deceptively simple. Thats the beauty of it, the art of it.

Like in modern painting....I could get a 3 year old to create an abstract, expressionist piece of art...and then have a master painter do the same thing....the average public won't be able to tell the difference....unless they look a little deeper. Unless they know about the feeling and emotion and experience that went into it. That, combined with the technical mastery.

I want to ask Clams Casino what exactly is so spontaneous about musicians who create all their stuff on a computer, and then hire ringers to perform it? If that's the case, can't ANYBODY do it? What then, makes it special?

Don Tiki is a real, and actually organic band. They (for the most part) use real instruments. Beyond that, every musician who has played with them is excellent.

And being excellent should count for something. Martin Denny, Lyman, Baxter, were serious musicians. They were not garage musicians, or even garage musicians that got slightly better over time. They were jazz and classical trained people making the music this forum supposedly holds very dear. That is evident in the tiki bands that try to emulate them. Most fail, in my opinion.

As a musician, if you are basically a rock dude at heart who suddenly decides to be a tiki artist, unless you have that level of expertise, you will fall short....because you are trying to play a style of music that is by it's very nature, hard to play and very advanced. Does anyone here really think a 3-chord punk band wearing fezzes is in the same league same as the orchestral genius of Les Baxter? Apparently, there are too many here who do.

There is a good reason most bands don't sound like Les Baxter...because they CAN'T sound like Les baxter...but there are those here who can, and Don Tiki is just one of them.

I like to use a sports analogy here: Would U.S. Sports be as good if all the athletes playing were amateurs? Weekend warriors? Or do you pay extra to see someone like Kobe Bryant, who does something you can't easily do yourself? Should we love those amateur athletes just because they are "enthusiastic and spontaneous"?
I pay money to see someone do something special, and magical. And to do that, you need talent, not just deep pockets and a lot of loyal friends willing to hype the crap out of you.

Having said that, it's perfectly ok to play simplistic, enthusiastic and spontaneous crapola....if it makes you happy, go for it...but don't let anyone tell you it's better then what a master craftsman can accomplish. Don't make statements like "far better" unless what you are talking about truly is "far better". Or, if you are going to insist on saying it, be prepared to hear different views from people like me.

On a side note, I have a problem when, for example, the top executives of coca cola corporation are moonlighting with another company making a very similar product. That's bad form, and a few people here might know what I mean when I say that. Go do your OWN thing. Go do something different. Don't copy something that already exists and try to tell me that it is equal, or better.

Don tiki. This is more then just some guy tapping out nursery rhymes on a casio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1Gy_4NXGq8

[ Edited by: lucas vigor 2012-12-21 21:08 ]

loved it crazy al!!! great dancin baby!

On 2012-12-21 21:01, lucas vigor wrote:
I want to ask Clams Casino what exactly is so spontaneous about musicians who create all their stuff on a computer, and then hire ringers to perform it? If that's the case, can't ANYBODY do it? What then, makes it special?

Who said anything about creating stuff on a computer? Where did that come from? My criticism of the show has nothing to do with DT's musicianship; their place in the pantheon of exotica or anything else. It comes simply from MY viewing and listening experience- which to me, was of watching a band that is so well-rehearsed and has done their show so many times that it feels like a Vegas act. I am comparing that to Tiki Joe's Ocean @ Damon's (just an recent example) where there was interaction with the audience, a sense of freshness and a overall feeling of enjoying themselves and sharing that enjoyment with the audience. That's what makes it special to me. Sure, the venues were massively different and that itself may change the dynamics of the experience, but I felt that I was just "there" for Don Tiki and I was "involved" for Tiki Joe's.
I didn't get anything more out of Don Tiki's live show than I get out of listening to their recordings. To me, that makes all the difference in the world. Maybe that's just me. I certainly will still enjoy listening to them in the future, but I most likely won't be making a return visit to their live show if tickets are 50 a pop.

On 2012-12-22 10:23, TheClamsCasino wrote:

On 2012-12-21 21:01, lucas vigor wrote:
I want to ask Clams Casino what exactly is so spontaneous about musicians who create all their stuff on a computer, and then hire ringers to perform it? If that's the case, can't ANYBODY do it? What then, makes it special?

Who said anything about creating stuff on a computer? Where did that come from? My criticism of the show has nothing to do with DT's musicianship; their place in the pantheon of exotica or anything else. It comes simply from MY viewing and listening experience- which to me, was of watching a band that is so well-rehearsed and has done their show so many times that it feels like a Vegas act. I am comparing that to Tiki Joe's Ocean @ Damon's (just an recent example) where there was interaction with the audience, a sense of freshness and a overall feeling of enjoying themselves and sharing that enjoyment with the audience. That's what makes it special to me. Sure, the venues were massively different and that itself may change the dynamics of the experience, but I felt that I was just "there" for Don Tiki and I was "involved" for Tiki Joe's.
I didn't get anything more out of Don Tiki's live show than I get out of listening to their recordings. To me, that makes all the difference in the world. Maybe that's just me. I certainly will still enjoy listening to them in the future, but I most likely won't be making a return visit to their live show if tickets are 50 a pop.

Well, I probably would agree that disney hall might not be the perfect venue for a band like Don Tiki....and if you are basing your enthusiasm gap on a smaller, intimate show compared to a large concert hall experience....then I can see that...what I was disagreeing with was that I assumed you were saying one band was "far better" then the other....

WHO IS DON TIKI?

South Seas fantasies beckon with the neo-exotica group, Don Tiki. They draw inspiration from the original Mid-Century masters of the exotica sound, Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman and Les Baxter and bring their evocative music into the 21st Century. In fact, Denny gave the band his seal of approval when he played on two tracks on their 1997 debut album, The Forbidden Sounds of Don Tiki. Further deepening Don Tiki’s authenticity is its percussionist and bird caller, Lopaka Colon, son of Augie Colon, who had the same role in Denny’s band.

Don Tiki is a creative collaboration of Lloyd “Fluid Floyd” Kandell and Kit “Perry Coma” Ebersbach. The band features Hawaii's top musicians with cumulative experience ranging from jazz fusion to world beat to the Honolulu Symphony to Waikiki Showrooms.
Don Tiki is:

Kit Ebersbach – keyboards, band leader
Lopaka Colon - congas, bongo, bird calls
Hai Jung - bass, vocals
Delmar deWilde – vocals
Sherry Shaoling – vocals, dancer
Abe Lagrimas, Jr. – vibraphone, percussion
Ryoko Oka - keyboards
Jason Segler - drums
Tim Mayer – reeds
Violetta Beretta – dancer
Lloyd Kandell – producer, congenial host

Distinguished Don Tiki Alumnae/Alumni:

Bass - Dean Taba, Miles Jackson, Steve Jones, Jon Hawes
Reeds - Aron Aronita, Rockford Holmes, Jim Howard, Emmett Yoshioka, Tim Tsukiyama
Harp - Sharene Lum
Keyboards - Judy Yoshioka, Jeannette Trevias, Jacob Kohler, Eileen Uchima
Percussion - Carlinhos de Oliveira, Fred Alcain, James Ganeko, Stacy Tangonan, Salaam Tillman, Mike Muldoon
Vibes - Noel Okimoto, Bill Wiley, Francis Hoʻokano
Vocals - Anita Hall, Rachel Gonzales, Imelda, Aaron Sala
Choreography + Costumes – Tunui Tully
Dancers - Alaana Singh, Capella Williams, Carissa Coleman, Lokelani Tully, Shylenn Hall, Tunui Tully, Willow Chang, Julie De Mello, Kahi De La Cruz, Peka Ibana, Michelle Izawa, Summer Jensen, Emi Hart, Pam Sandridge, Kamakoa Page, Nalani, Sky Perkins, Celeste Akeo
Video - Neal Izumi, Keith Kandell, Malcolm Mekaru, George Russell, Denise Van Ryzen

Extraordinary Special Guest Performers:

Sam Ahia - guitar
Martin Denny - piano
Harold Chang - drums
Augie Colon - percussion, bird calls
Teresa Bright - vocals
Jimmy Borges - vocals
Buddy Fo - vocals, percussion
Sammy Fo - dancer
Chant - vocal group
Jojo Ocampo - tango dancer
Frank Q. Orrall - percussion
Henry Kapono - vocals
Hoʻokena - vocal group
Mihana Souza - vocals
Jake Shimabukuro - ukulele
Smilin' Ben Vegas - vocals, guitar

That's taken from their website...as you can see, they have quite a pedigree....yet NO WIKIPEDIA PAGE! It's comparing filet mignon to those nasty hot dogs rolling around at 7-11, far as I am concerned.