Hot Lava (a.k.a "How Bowers") plays baritone ukulele and sings with America's best tiki music band, The Crazed Mugs. He lives in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife and son. Contact
You are currently browsing the Tiki Talk weblog archives for July, 2006.
Even though I live in the south, I never thought I’d use the words “cool” and “belt buckle” in the same sentence. Then along came this…
American Pewter makes this tiki head belt buckle that’s, dare I say it, pretty cool. Plus, when worn with a belt, it will keep your pants from falling down—a lesson that quite a few people forget, as witnessed by constant reruns of America’s Funniest Home Videos.
$9.49 from Amazon.com
All the talk lately on the blogosphere about the Brady Bunch suddenly reminded me of the infamous three part episode where the family visits Hawaii and Greg suffers from a curse brought on by a found tiki.
The episodes are now out on DVD as part of the Season 4 package. No souvineer tiki idol included, unfortunately.
Buy Brady Bunch Season 4 DVD at Amazon.com | Discuss at Tiki Central (background information on the idol and more episode photos too!)
Join King Kukulele as he welcomes back to Tiki Taix C.B. Howlie on drums, and Crazy Al on Coco-percussion! This will be a trip back to that wonderful night in Room 135 of the Caliente Tropics, reuniting three of the merrymakers that made that night a legend. Think of this as a Tiki All Star band with representatives from the Friki Tikis, Ape, and the Thurston Howlies creating a musical backdrop for Tiki Taix XXV
AND
The Polynesian Paradise Dancers grace us with their enchanting hula dances once again. The Polynesian Paradise Dancers recently performed with the King at the Egyptian Theatre for the American Cinematheque’s 2nd Annual Tiki Luau, and they wowed the crowd. The song Hula Maidens from the King’s first CD was written specially for the Polynesian Paradise Dancers and tonight you can see the original Hula Maidens in person!
PLUS
The film “Tiki Tiki Tiki” was filmed at the Kahiki…no really. If you’ve heard the song Otto’s Odyssey then you’ve heard the line: “Halifax is filming for the BBC? This is what he was filming and now you have the ultra rare opportunity to see Tiki Tiki Tiki for the first time. It includes an All Star Cast: Sven Kerstin! Otto Von Stroheim! Shag! Joe Bob Briggs? Brother Cleve! Jeff Chenault! Don Tiki! Jack Fetterman! Thank you to Jonny Halifax of London, England for making this great film at the KAHIKI!!
ALSO
Crazy Al is celebrating his 10th anniversary in Tiki Carving and we will take this opportunity to take a look at some of his special “prototypes?and find out exactly what this celebration is going to involve. Think of this as Crazy Al’s Show and Tell!
AND
It’s been a long time since the Polynesian Paradise Dancers have had a song written about them. Hula Maidens was a song that they danced to on a TV show called Essentials in 1997. Tonight will end the long wait as we premiere a brand new song written specially for these Hula Maidens. This will be the only place to hear the latest tune from King Kukulele at Tiki Taix.
Join us for this one night only event. We’ll be at Tiki Taix 1911 Sunset Blvd. in Echo Park, Los Angeles 90026 One block north of the lagoon. Friday July 28th, 2006 10PM No Cover
California artist Brian Sisson was asked by Disneyland to do a series of paintings depicting six of the gods in the Enchanted Tiki Room’s tiki garden: Pele, Rongo, Tangaroa-Ru, Maui, Hina Kuluua, and Koro.
The original acrylics and giclee prints are available at the Disneyanna Shop on Main Street at Disneyland. The originals are priced at $1700-$1900, the 30″ x 15″ prints (limited edition of 63 each) sell for $395.
Besides the tiki art, Brian does awesome impressionistic paintings of California scenes, which can be seen at his personal website.
Kava Kon is an electronica duo comprised of Nels Truesdell & Bob Kress. Their latest album, Departure Exotica is a mélange of 60s musical styles, from exotica to bossa nova, with a healthy dose of sampling, glitch, and downtempo electronic beats.
My two favorite songs so far are “Pyramid Point” and “Build Your House Underground” (see below for links), which seamlessly blend contemporary production techniques with classic exotica stylings—perfect for chilling out after a wild tiki party.
The 11-track CD is available from all major online retailers, including Best Buy, Amazon.com, and iTunes, or you can buy the album directly from the group using PayPal. Their website also has 6 sample tracks to download.
Link | Listen to mp3 of Pyramid Point | Listen to mp3 of Build Your House Underground | Thanks Ryan!
ENCHANTED TIKI LUAU NIGHT AND ELVIS
Sunday, July 23
Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028
Between a double feature of island adventures enjoy Exotica entertainment from King Kukelele and his Friki Tikis
Royal Southern Californian-style Luau in the Egyptian Courtyard
Tiki vendors and other special surprises in the courtyard from 1:00 PM till we shut it down.
THE FILMS
4:00 PM - IB Technicolor print! ENCHANTED ISLAND, 1958, Warner Brothers, 93 min.
The movie poster tagline screamed: “He dared to love a cannibal princess!” Director Allen Dwan (SLIGHTLY SCARLET), no stranger to meager budgets, brought his trademark lyrical romanticism to this kitschy, bargain basement adaptation of Herman Melville’s Typee. Shot on location as well as some studio sets, this tiki-laden story of a deserting sailor (Dana Andrews) who falls in love with a native princess (Jane Powell, of all people!) gets the full Technicolor treatment.
Co-starring Arthur Shields, Don Dubbins and tough guy Ted de Corsia, this was the last film RKO Pictures produced before going bankrupt. Also a pre-show selection of Tiki short films and surprise guests. Approx. 45 min. All pre-show shorts compiled by Kevin Kidney.
7:30 PM - BLUE HAWAII, 1961, Paramount, 101 min. Dir. Norman Taurog.
Before all the formula sixties movies that turned Elvis Presley from an icon into a self-parody, came this sparkling original that subsequent filmmakers sought to use as the cookie-cutter guarantee to Presley movie success. But this was the original. Sumptuous cinematography, frothy plot, pleasing comic turns and skillful acting by co-stars Angela Lansbury and Joan Blackman, a thin, tanned and rested Elvis - and, above all, songs as enchanting as the island paradise depicted. From ‘Rock-A-Hula Baby’ to ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ and the title song - this is classic Elvis 2.0. Post-army and pre-rhinestone. This Elvis is as luscious as the Hawaiian landscape, as lovable as a tiki god and just as skillfully shot. The movie and the soundtrack were among the most successful of his career. Remember Elvis THIS way. The Mods & Rockers Festival will present our first-ever celluloid salute to Elvis in August. This film serves as a delectable teaser… Plus a selection of “Blue Hawaii-themed” short films and special guests prior to BLUE HAWAII. Approx. 45 min. All pre-show shorts compiled by Kevin Kidney.
TICKETS
Separate ticket prices for the films. Or enjoy just the luau and the music, or buy a ticket which includes all the films and the luau. For movies, General: $12.00, Sr/Students: $10.00, AC Member: $9.00 Luau Only: $15.00 or Movies & Luau: General: $25.00, Sr/Student: $23.00 and Member: $22.00
****You can buy tickets for the Egyptian and Aero Theatres online at Fandango.com****
Phone - 323-461-2020 ext. 116 • publicity2@americancinematheque.com • www.americancinematheque.com • http://www.myspace.com/americancinematheque
The folks at Shagmart have just released a new print from Shag (a.k.a. Josh Agle) and it’s a beauty.
The Raft of the Medusa is 13-color serigraph measuring 20″x 29.” It’s a limited edition of 200.
$295
