Straight Edge Tiki #2 North Shore Lagoon 1/8/17

Posted by Ray on in Straight Edge Tiki
Ray Bobby and Birgitta at The North Shore Lagoon
Ray Bobby and Birgitta at The North Shore Lagoon

There are many reasons why people don’t drink alcohol. Some people can’t drink because of health reasons. Others don’t because they feel it’s just not a good idea anymore. But one of the most important reasons not to drink is pregnancy.

Bobby is a good buddy of mine. We are heavily into Vespa scooters and have spent many hours riding (and probably even more hours wrenching just to make our scooters run!). Bobby had never been to a Tiki bar and was interested in checking one out. When Bobby’s wife Birgitta heard we were going to the North Shore Lagoon, she was bummed. She’s pregnant, which meant no drinking for her. It was all good for Brigitta, though! We were going to do some drinking, but we were going to do it the Straight Edge Tiki way: no alcohol!

Bobby sporting a Straight Edge T-Shirt
Bobby sporting a Straight Edge T-Shirt

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Janu-waii Luau 1/28/17 Washougal, WA

Posted by Ray on in Tiki Lifestyle
Janu-waii Luau 2017 Group Photo
Janu-waii Luau 2017 Group Photo

This has been a very cold winter up here in the Pacific Northwest. In Seattle, it’s been fifteen degrees colder than it normal and if it isn’t cold, it’s been grey and raining.

Portland, OR just got over a blizzard that left the city with over ten inches of the white stuff! The city isn’t prepared to deal with that kind of accumulation, so Portland has been snowed in!

What is one to do when the weather is terrible? Curl up with a good book and a cup of coco? Pop some popcorn and binge watch something on Netflix? Nah! If your Jamie Lutz and Daren Ford, you throw a Luau! A Janu-waii Luau to be exact!

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Tiki Bar Review #26 New Luck Toy Seattle, WA

Posted by Ray on in Tiki Bars

New Luck Toy

New Luck Toy: three words that have three meanings in Seattle, WA.

New Luck Toy used to be a cool, kitschy Chinese restaurant that was located in West Seattle. It shut down about a decade ago.

New Luck Toy is also a punk rock band from Seattle.

And as of October 2016, New Luck Toy is a brand new bar in West Seattle!

New Luck Toy Bar

And they have a slushie machine that pours out frozen Tiki drinks!

Ray with a Mango Scorpion
Ray with a Mango Scorpion

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The Golden Age Of Tiki…Now?

Posted by Ray on in Tiki Lifestyle 2 Comments

Visitors ready to go into The Green Bamboo Lounge

It’s been said that many people consider right now to be the golden age of television. Reason being is that television programs have never been as great as they are now. This would have started with The Sopranos, then Mad Men, then Breaking Bad. The list goes on and on. I have to agree with this statement. Hill Street Blues was cool, but it doesn’t come close to The Wire.

I may be going out on a limb, but I think that we are in the golden age of Tiki right now, and here’s why…

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Tiki VIP #15 Humuhumu (Critiki)

Posted by Ray on in Tiki VIP

Humuhumu

I do a fair amount of traveling for my blog. If I’m flying into a city, I want to know if there are any Tiki bars and I want to know if they are worth checking out. Doing a Google search or reading Yelp reviews isn’t going to tell me what I need to know. Does a place serve good Tiki drinks? How is the décor? What is the crowd like? Luckily there is Critiki. Critiki is a website dedicated to reviewing Tiki bars by Tikiphiles like myself. If a bar hasn’t been reviewed on Critiki, it’s probably not worth visiting. The woman behind Critiki is Humuhumu and she knows her Tiki! I got a chance to ask Humuhumu some questions…

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Tiki Bar Review #25 The Monkeypod Wailea, Maui

Posted by Ray on in Tiki Bars
The Monkeypod Kitchen
The Monkeypod Kitchen

Myth: There are tons of Tiki bars in Hawaii!

Reality: Well, not really…

The main appeal of a Tiki bar is to create the illusion that you are in a tropical paradise. When you’re actually in Hawaii, why would you need the illusion? You’re actually there! What’s tough is finding a bar that actually makes good drinks. All Mai Tais are not created equal in Hawaii and good luck finding a place that makes a good one. Well folks, if you happen to find yourself on the island of Maui you’re in luck. Head the directly to the Monkeypod!

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Tiki VIP #14 Wendy Cevola (Tiki Mug Artist)

Posted by Ray on in Tiki VIP 1 Comment

Wendy Cevola

I read about Wendy in the Winter 2015/16 edition of Tiki Magazine and More and she seemed so cool…

Wendy's write up in Tiki Magazine and More
Wendy’s write up in Tiki Magazine and More

She makes Tiki mugs out of her home. Wendy lives in Elk Grove, CA, which is located on the outskirts of Sacramento. I’m not the only one who’s interested in Wendy. The Elk Grove Citizen newspaper ran not one, but two stories on Wendy! She mailed me a newspaper clipping…

Wendy in the Elk Grove Citizen newspaper clipping
Wendy in the Elk Grove Citizen newspaper clipping

Luckily, the article is online and it gives a great overview on Wendy and her art.

The Elk Grove Citizen photograph of Wendy
The Elk Grove Citizen photograph of Wendy

Here is another article on Wendy from the Elk Grove Citizen. This is from March 2011 and gives a great overview of Wendy and her interest in making Tiki mugs.

As I’m writing this post, ABC 10 is going to Wendy’s place to do a news story on her! Here is the video! I see big things happening for this talented lady. Here are some questions I wanted to ask Wendy before she gets too famous!

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Tiki VIP #13 Tiki Kiliki, aka Christie White

Posted by Ray on in Tiki VIP 1 Comment

Kiliki with Dawn Wells aka Mary Ann

DIY: Do It Yourself!

When I was younger and playing in punk bands, I learned really quickly that if you wanted things to happen, you had to do it yourself. Want to play a show? Set one up yourself. Want to read about the bands you liked? Start a fanzine. Want to make record? Start your own label! DIY.

Back in the day, the only Tiki show in town was Tiki Oasis, which took place in California. That’s great, but what if you lived on the other side of the country? Well, if you’re Christie White, aka Tiki Kiliki, you set up your own Tiki celebration! That’s exactly what Christie did when she created Hukilau and it has grown bigger and bigger each year. This is Christie’s story…

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Home Tiki Bar Spotlight #18 The Desert Oasis Room Corona, CA

Posted by Ray on in Home Tiki Bars

The Desert Oasis Room photo by Mike Remmel

Adrian Eustaquio has been living the Tiki lifestyle for a long time—since the ’90s, to be exact. If anyone knows what Tiki is supposed to be, it’s Adrian. When it came time build his own bar, Adrian had a vision of what a proper Tiki bar should be and his place is truly outstanding. The Desert Oasis Room is so outstanding that it has been photographed for Hana Hou, which is Hawaiian Airlines own magazine! In fact, all the pictures used for this post are from professional photographers Kamala Kingsley and Mike Remmel. Here is Adrian’s story…

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Unlikely Tiki #2 Josie And Mike Johnston (Canadian Metalheads)

Posted by Ray on in Unlikely Tiki

What kind of music do you like?

This sounds like a simple question, but it’s actually a loaded question—or at least it was back in the ’80s. There was a lifestyle that went along with the music you listened to. There were very distinct silos that were happening at the same time and seldom crossed paths. There were the new wavers, the goths, the punks, and of course, the metalheads. Now that I think about it, there was a big difference between someone who was a fan of Bon Jovi and someone who loved Slayer! I personally fell into the metalhead camp and so did Josie and Mike.

Josie and Mike live in Canada. They were and still are into metal and hard rock. Along the way they discovered Tiki. Here is their story…

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