Tiki Music: Polynesian

Hawai’ian. Hapa Haole. Tahitian. Be it native or blended, this music captivates my soul and carries me off to a Polynesian island when I hear it. That’s why I love it so much.

America’s love for Hawai’ian music predates the Mid-Century Tiki craze, and actually began in the early 20th Century. On the heels of the Polynesian-inspired art of Paul Gauguin, the writings of Jack London, and the early motion pictures of 1920s Hollywood, Hawai’ian music became very popular with the coming of age of the radio and record industries. People were mad for music made with ukuleles and steel guitars, and an entire business sprung up to teach folks how to play these exotic instruments. What started as a purely Polynesian sound slowly morphed into a Western phenomenon.

Hapa Haole music is music of Hawai’ian origin that has been Americanized with English lyrics and rhythms. Like Tiki, Hapa Haole is a blending of Polynesian and American cultures. Most of the “Hawai’ian” music I’ve come to love over the years is actually Hapa Haole, with a few exceptions. Here are the albums I’ve had in my rotation over the past 10 years of my Tiki obsession.

Jerry Byrd: Byrd of Paradise (1961). One of the pioneers of steel guitar in Hawai’ian music, Jerry Byrd was also a teacher of this distinctive style of guitar to Country and Rock & Roll musicians. I borrowed this CD from the library to acquaint myself with early Hapa Haole music. Classic stuff.

 

Chants et Danses de Tahiti (1987). Now this is authentic Polynesian music, with no Western influence to speak of. I was fortunate to pick up a copy of this out-of-print CD on eBay from somebody in England. Many of these tracks were featured on the old music loop played at The Polynesian Resort in WDW, which is why I was looking for this album. Merci Tahiti!

 

Roland Cazimero: Waikiki’s Greatest Hits, Now! (1990). Here is modern Hawai’ian music at its finest. Roland Cazimero melds the 12-string guitar with his native island music in a style that is distinctly Hawai’ian and Western. This was another find from The Polynesian Resort music playlist.

 

The Pahinui Brothers (1992). Yet another band from The Polynesian Resort’s music, The Pahinui Brothers play a nice mix of native Hawai’ian music and Western pop tunes. Their vocal harmonies add a layer of complexity to this style of music.

 

Don Ho: Hawaiian Favorites (1994). Don Ho is the undisputed king of Hawai’ian music. His crooning style transcended the music of his native land and landed him in the rarified air of Las Vegas stars like Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, and Elvis. Don Ho’s Tiny Bubbles is the perfect blend of Hawai’ian and Lounge music.

 

Ohta-San: Ka Mea Ho’okani ‘Ukelele (1996). Herb “Ohta-San” Ohta is a Hawai’ian ukulele virtuoso who began performing at the age of 9. His style of music is diverse, and has been categorized as Pop, Jazz, Instrumental, as well as Hawai’ian. His nickname “Ohta-San” was bestowed upon him in Japan, where he played many times and his music is revered. Did I mention I also picked up his music while searching for artists from a The Polynesian Resort’s music loop?

 

King Kukulele and the Friki Tikis: Luau in December (2008). Speaking of ukulele music, few artists have as much fun with this instrument as Denny Moynahan, a/k/a King Kukulele. His blend of humor, storytelling, singing and playing make him the perfect host for any Tiki event. I was fortunate to see King Kukulele live at this year’s Hukilau, an event he’s emceed for years. Thanks for the wonderful entertainment, KK!

So I’ve always liked Hawai’ian music, but it took a couple of stays at Walt Disney World’s Polynesian Resort to make me love it enough to search out more of it.  In trying to recreate the playlist from my happy place, I discovered a much deeper world of music from Polynesia. Now I can send myself to the South Pacific whenever I crank up my tunes. Aloha from Paradise!

Stalking SHAG

I love the work of Josh Agle, the artist better known as SHAG. Sometimes I wonder if I’m not obsessed with him. My chance discovery of SHAG’s art (see my 24Nov13 post, Whenceforth A. Panda’s Tiki Lounge?) started me on the path to Tiki, a journey I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, and I sure have collected a lot of SHAG swag over the years. Most of it I’ve gotten myself, but some of it has been acquired for me by my partners in crime, often times in-person, with requests for personalized signatures on my behalf. Which is why SHAG must think I’m stalking him.

Chicago, July 2006. My second SHAG print, Raft of the Medusa, came from his SHAG After Dark exhibition at the DVA Gallery in Lincoln Park. Now I don’t live in Chicago, but my friend Bruce does, and he agreed to head over to the gallery and pick up this print for me. As it turns out, he went there on the first day of the show, and happened to meet Josh Agle in-person, who was there for the premiere party. Bruce got him to autograph the print for me, which was pretty cool.

New York City, November 2008. I first met Josh Agle myself at the Jonathan Levine Gallery in Chelsea, where he attended the premiere of his Voyeur exhibition. My wife Jess & I took a day trip to NYC, where we did our usual touristy stuff (Times Square, Rockefeller Center, F.A.O. Schwartz), walked down to the old Empire Diner for dinner, then ended the day at the art gallery for the SHAG party. We got there early, and he got there late, but he was gracious and kind enough to talk with me and pose for a few pictures. He also signed my new print, In Search of Tiki, which I had schlepped all over NYC in its tube in my backpack, hoping to get a SHAG personalized autograph. We were off to a good start, Josh & I.

Anaheim, September 2009. Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009. SHAG was commissioned by Disney to create some artwork for the event. They had worked together before on other milestone celebrations, but this was the first time that I was aware of it beforehand and had the opportunity to get some swag in real time. If only I knew somebody in LA! Well, I didn’t, but my friend Gordon has an aunt, Mary Pat Killian, who lives in Whittier and happens to have season passes to Disneyland. Bingo! Gordon asked Aunt Mary if she’d be willing to pick up a few things for me, and she was game. No personalized SHAG autographs, but she did get me some great items, including a set of collectible pins, a tin of postcards, and a cool mini print with themed frame that now hangs in my daughter Natalia’s room. Thanks, Aunt Mary!

Chicago, February 2010. SHAG came back to Chicago, this time to the Rotofugi Gallery (which had merged with DVA) for his Red Star, Black Eye exhibition. My wallet and I were on hiatus from spending money on SHAG prints (I was up to 4 by now), but even though I wasn’t in the market for anything, I told my buddy Bruce that Josh Agle was coming back to town. Unbeknownst to me, Bruce attended the premiere event, and picked up a little something for me as a surprise birthday gift: a toy Shriner car, also inspired and designed by SHAG. How cool is that?! Of course, Bruce got him to autograph the car for me, but by this time, Josh was on to me and my network.

Orlando, October 2011. SHAG was called upon by Disney yet again, this time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Walt Disney World. Now this one was a big deal to me, as my family has fallen in love with WDW and had already vacationed there twice in the 3 years before this event. In fact, we were scheduled to be there again in December of 2011, but I was afraid that might be too late to get any of the good SHAG swag going on sale in October. So, who did I know on the ground in Orlando? Of course: another old friend and former hockey teammate, Michael Hardy! Mike had been living in Orlando for a few years, and when I asked him to run over to the Art of Disney gallery at Downtown Disney to pick up a few things, he was happy to do it. He called me from the gallery to tell me what was available, and we hit the mother lode: shirts, coasters, post cards, pins, and another cool mini print (this one hangs in my other daughter Lexie’s room). It turns out Mike was there on the day Josh Agle was there as well, so he went up to Josh and asked him to sign a few things for his friend, Andy Panda. According to Mike, Josh just shook his head, smiled, and graciously signed away! I was glad to be able to return the favor to Mike a couple of months later, when I treated him to a round of golf at WDW, followed by some Mai-Tais at the Polynesian Resort’s Tamba Lounge. Mahalo, Mike!

Palm Springs, December 2012. I’ve gotten to know Monet Leann Orystick pretty well, even though I’ve never met her. Monet runs SHAG: The Store in Palm Springs, which is associated with M Modern Gallery, who has hosted several of SHAG’s art exhibitions. I’ve ordered a couple of SHAG shirts from Monet, who does a great job of sending out blast emails and Facebook posts to tempt suckers like me. One day I asked her if Josh Agle visited the store often, and she told me he tries to get there about once a month. I then asked Monet if she’d be willing to deliver a package to him, if I mailed it to the store, and she said she’d be happy to do that for me! I sent Josh a couple of my mix CDs featuring his art on the cover, and a nice letter asking him to consider coming to visit my hometown of Bethlehem. Boy, was I surprised when I got this hand-written note back about a month later!

New York City, April 2013. Josh Agle returned to the Jonathan Levine Gallery for a 3rd time (I missed the 2nd time) for his Thursday’s Girl exhibition. He had some really cool paintings featuring Andy Warhol, Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, which unfortunately I didn’t have the $10K to buy! I did come to the premiere party, however, and this time I brought the whole family with me. Thanks to some hellacious NYC traffic and family-friendly stops at Ellen’s Stardust Diner and the Nintendo Store, we were seriously late to the party, and almost didn’t make it before they locked the gallery doors. Fortunately, my friends Beth Lennon (a/k/a Mod Betty) and Cliff Hillis (a/k/a Pop Star) were there to let us in, and Beth had even gotten SHAG to sign one of the event postcards for me in case I didn’t make it. Another stalker joins the team! Well, we did make it, barely, and just like 5 years earlier, SHAG was gracious enough to chat with me and pose for pictures with my whole family. He also thanked me for the CDs I had sent him a few months earlier and asked me when we would come visit him in LA? Funny he should ask!

Anaheim, June 2013. The 50th anniversary of Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room was a huge event in the Tiki world. I had already decided to spend my birthday weekend in LA with Jess, centered around this event as the focal point, and as an added bonus, we met “Aunt” Mary Pat Killian in-person and treated her, her husband Hank, and her nephew (and my friend) Gordon to dinner and drinks at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. So when Josh Agle asked me, a few months earlier in NYC, when we were coming to LA, I just laughed and told him we’d see him again in June! Of course, I already knew that Disney had commissioned SHAG once more to create the signature artwork for this celebration, and I was prepared to finally pick up my SHAG/Disney swag in-person, for the first time. And what a haul! I had pre-ordered most of it, but was still really excited to handle the merchandise: shirts, pins, postcards, mini prints, Tiki mugs, bowls, and even some cool extra stuff we got just for pre-registering for the event! As we met Josh to get some of our stuff signed, he again thanked me for the CDs I had sent him, telling me how much he enjoyed listening to them during his drives out to Palm Springs. I smiled as I handed him another CD I had brought him, just for this occasion! Josh then signed one of my mini prints, with the orange Sharpee I had brought with me for this specific purpose, giving me the coolest personalized SHAG autograph I’m proud to have. I was in Heaven.

So when will I next see Josh Agle? Who knows? It may be as soon as The Hukilau in Fort Lauderdale this June, which Bruce and I plan to attend. SHAG has been to The Hukilau before, so maybe he’ll be there this year? If so, I’ll be happy to buy him a drink, shoot the breeze, and not ask him to sign anything, for a change. Unless, of course, I end up buying some really cool SHAG swag there…

Keeping The Tiki Torch Lit II

Part 2: Oceanic Arts

Although the postwar Tiki craze faded in 1960s America, a few brave souls kept it alive and are still going strong today. The granddaddy of them all is Oceanic Arts.

Located in a nondescript warehouse in Whittier, CA, Oceanic Arts has been supplying most of the world’s Tiki decor since 1956. Jess and I made this Mecca the first stop on our whirlwind LA Tiki trip last summer. Well, actually the second stop; first was In-N-Out Burger, ’cause we had to eat! We spent a nice afternoon chatting up Leroy Scmaltz and Bob Van Oosting, the founders of Oceanic Arts. Boy did they have some stories to tell!

It all started in the 1950s in LA, where Leroy and Bob were college students. They shared an interest in the new Modernism art movement, which was transforming architecture and design in America. Leroy had a particular interest in primitive art and began carving wood in that style. He convinced Bob they should take off for the South Pacific to learn more about primitive cultures, so they mortgaged Bob’s Corvette to pay for the trip.

While they traveled in Polynesia for almost 4 months, Leroy and Bob made many contacts and bought lots of stuff to import back home to California. It was an austere trip, spent mostly with the locals in their simple, tropical surroundings.They came home nearly broke but rich with ideas and resources for a new business. Oceanic Arts was born!

During our conversation, Leroy shared with me that not everything sold well at first. Although most of the imported art was snapped up by high-end Beverly Hills boutiques, some of their own creations were deemed not primitive enough by art collectors. When one such customer complained about paying $400 for a carving, Leroy sent him away. He then “weathered” the piece using mud and lime, and the same collector came back 2 months later and paid $4,000 for it!

Oceanic Arts has been at the forefront of the Tiki movement in America from the beginning. Many of the pieces Leroy and Bob brought back from their Polynesian adventure ended up at the Mai-Kai Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, FL, America’s oldest and best Tiki supper club since 1956 (that year sounds familiar!). Other Tiki bars and attractions sprouted up across the country, and Oceanic Arts was there to provide the Polynesian decor. As the demand for their work grew, Leroy took over all of the wood carving while Bob handled the books.

Jess and I have been unwitting witnesses to Leroy Schmaltz’s work for years. Here are some of the Tiki attractions we’ve visited that were outfitted by Oceanic Arts (with the year they were born):

Mai-Kai Restaurant and Polynesian Show, Fort Lauderdale FL (1956)

Enchanted Tiki Room, Anaheim CA (1963)

Polynesian Resort, Orlando FL (1971)

Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, Anaheim CA (2011)

In addition to these Tiki treasures, Leroy and Bob kept busy during the down years by providing nautical decor and wood carvings to many seafood and Mexican restaurants. Disney also kept Oceanic Arts busy with the opening of the new EPCOT theme park at Walt Disney World in 1982. Leroy did the carving for the Canadian, German and Norwegian pavilions. They have also provided decor and props for the entertainment industry, including all of the popular Pirates of the Caribbean movies (yet another Disney connection!).

Not a bad living for a couple of college kids from LA! Leroy Schmaltz and Bob Van Oosting have built a business out of primitive Polynesian art, and they helped fuel the Tiki craze in the process, then and now. Oceanic Arts is ubiquitous in the Tiki universe. Make sure you visit their Whittier warehouse if you’re ever in the neighborhood. But plan to spend a few hours there – the allure of the Tiki decor and Leroy’s storytelling is hard to escape!

For a more in-depth look into Leroy Schmaltz’s art, I highly recommend reading Night of The Tiki: The Art of Shag, Schmaltz, and Selected Primitive Oceanic Carving. Mahalo!

Keeping The Tiki Torch Lit

Part 1: Disney

Although the postwar Tiki craze faded in 1960s America, a few brave souls kept it alive and are still going strong today. The most prominent was Walt Disney.

I love the Enchanted Tiki Room! Whenever my family goes to Walt Disney World, I drag them into the small Tiki hut theatre where Walt Disney’s animatronic magic comes to life. There’s something about those colorful birds singing “In the Tiki, Tiki,Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room!” that really makes me happy.

Last summer, my wife Jess and I took a trip to Los Angeles, where we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the original Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland. Open since 1963, the attraction in LA is better than the newer version in Orlando. For starters, you can get Dole Whip soft serve and shakes right in the courtyard. More importantly, that courtyard has  a cool pre-show where 7 different Tiki gods come to life and tell you their stories (my favorite is Pele, the goddess of fire and volcanoes!). During the festivities, Jess and I saw some amazing artwork, bought lots of collectible souvenirs, and listened to a panel discussion by some of the original Disney imagineers (like Rolly Crump) who worked on the Enchanted Tiki Room over the years. We also learned that the original concept called for a larger space, including a restaurant and bar.

Although Walt Disney himself never lived to see it, the opening of Walt Disney World in Orlando in 1971 launched the original Enchanted Tiki Room concept on steroids: the Polynesian Village. This man-made tropical paradise sits right across the 7 Seas Lagoon from The Magic Kingdom, just a short monorail ride away, and was one of the two original on-site hotels at WDW. It was renamed the Polynesian Resort in 1985.

My family and I have been to the Polynesian Resort 4 times since our first visit in 2008. In fact, I proudly proclaim this is the only place we will ever stay when we vacation at Walt Disney World! Jess and I agreed to stay at the Polynesian when we first went to WDW, so I could trick myself into believing I was actually on a South Seas island. It worked! Disney spared no expense in making the Polynesian look, feel and sound like a tropical paradise. There is an abundance of palm trees, carved Tikis, Polynesian music, gas-fired Tiki torches and island decor at every turn. Ohana in The Great Ceremonial House is our favorite restaurant in all of WDW – we always eat dinner there twice in every trip! Our kids also enjoy Ohana’s character breakfast with Lilo & Stitch, who are featured prominently in the Polynesian’s cross-promotons. And the friendly and helpful staff (Disney calls them “cast members”) always greet you with an “aloha” or “mahalo” when they see you. Between the top-notch Disney service and the authentic Tiki atmosphere, the Polynesian Resort  is my “happy place” and home away from home!

Disney’s latest addition to the Tiki universe is Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel. Open since 2011, Trader Sam’s is what happens when Disney’s Jungle Cruise and Enchanted Tiki Room get together and spawn an alcoholic child. The name comes from the “head salesman” of the Jungle Cruise attraction, and so does much of the attitude and decor in this wonderful Tiki bar.

When Jess & I visited Los Angeles last summer, we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel for the first 2 nights. The main reasons we chose to stay there were to be on-property for a day at Disneyland and because the Enchanted Tiki Room 50th anniversary events took place in the hotel’s grand ballroom. As an added bonus, Trader Sam’s was right outside our hotel’s front entrance. We were fortunate enough to snag a table inside for a light dinner our first night there. What a treat! The Asian/fusion food was the perfect compliment to the serious Tiki drinks we sampled. The bartenders seemed to really enjoy themselves, entertaining their guests like the Jungle Cruise captains do. If you ordered a special drink, like the Krakatoa Punch I chose second, you were treated to an amazing volcanic eruption of light and sound behind the bar. It reminded me of the thunderstorm near the end of the Enchanted Tiki Room show. Of course, I had to bring home the volcanic Tiki Mug as a souvenir!

Leave it to Disney to create a Tiki bar that’s a theme park attraction in it’s own right. Trader Sam’s has become so popular, rumor has it they’re looking to open another one at Walt Disney World, in…can you guess?…the Polynesian Resort.

Disney has carried the Tiki torch for 50 years now. They’ve continued to expand their offerings through the downturn and upswing of Tiki culture in America. With their continued plans for growth, I’m hopeful Disney will keep the Tiki torch burning brightly for another 50 years. Mahalo!