Before I was into tiki, I was into punk …
Who was the first punk band? This question has sparked many debates but the answer is split between two bands …
The Sex Pistols …
And The Ramones …
Both bands formed in the mid 70’s, The Ramones are from Queens NYC and The Sex Pistols were from London England. Each band had their own punk style and it’s safe to say that every punk band that came afterwards were influenced by The Ramones, The Sex Pistols or both.
But Iggy Pop is considered to be the “Godfather Of Punk” …
The Stooges formed in the late 60’s. The Stooges was a band that played loud, noisy, rebellious rock n roll and Iggy Pop fronted this crazy group. When I say crazy, I mean crazy! Iggy was uncontrollable on stage and off. Iggy would do backbends, spit, scream, walk on the crowd, rub peanut butter on himself and then throw it at the audience.
Any footage of The Stooges playing live easily shows how “punk” Iggy Pop was. In fact, most of the first punk bands, like The Damned, consider Iggy and The Stooges to be a major influence.
But somehow The Stooges aren’t considered a punk band. Why?
Timing. I believe The Stooges were playing their brand of rock n roll just a little too early. When punk exploded in the late 70’s, it created a movement. Punk had a rebellious style and attitude and it was a welcome escape from the disco and radio rock that was popular at the time.
As awesome as Iggy and The Stooges were, they just didn’t make much of an impact with the mainstream audience. I think Iggy Pop scared the hell out of most people and The Stooges’ album sales were not that great. Iggy Pop was ahead of his time, just like Donn Beach …
Donn Beach is considered to be the “Godfather Of Tiki”, he opened his first Don The Beachcomber location in 1933 and created most of the first tropical cocktails like the Zombie Punch and the Test Pilot.
Before Don The Beachcomber, there were bamboo bars and supper clubs that had tropical décor but Donn created the “beachcomber” aesthetic.
Here’s a picture of an early Don The Beachcomber location …
As you can see, there was bamboo, glass fishing floats, dark wood, a fake palm tree … but one thing is missing …
The Tiki!
Tiki imagery didn’t really come into play until the 50’s.
Before the tiki, there was the beachcomber …
And before that was the hula girl …
Yes, the tiki started to appear in Don The Beachcomber locations that opened up in the 50’s and beyond, but the tiki just wasn’t around yet back in the 30’s.
So how could Donn Beach be the Godfather Of Tiki if he didn’t even have any tikis in his earlier locations. The answer is really simple, Donn Beach created the blueprint of what a tiki bar would be, just like Iggy Pop had the punk attitude before punk had a name.
Iggy and Donn created something special that didn’t have a name yet.
Both Iggy Pop …
and Donn Beach were truly ahead of their time!
