TIKI CULTURE

Key West, Retro Style

Key West Brochure, c. 1960s. Click for hi-res version.

Time to hop in the convertible and motorvate down along the Overseas Highway Kids!

Just imagine dropping the top on your ’64 Cadillac deVille, tuning in the AM radio to some groovin’ Rock ’n’ Roll station and swingin’ down along A-1-A from Miami to US 1, all the way down to the southernmost point of the continental United States. You stop for a burger and Mojito at a roadside Tiki stand, buy a couple of stuffed baby alligators and cruise over the Seven Mile Bridge into the land of palm trees and sailfish.

And you got the idea from this fantabulous piece of promotional advertising, ‘Your Treasure Map to ‘Sea’ Florida Keys and Key West, for the vacation thrill of your life. Now, I’ve never heard of old-days Keys as being referred to as ‘thrilling’ before…sleepy, laid back, relaxing maybe…but then again I’ve seen some crazy stuff at Rick’s so…

Click on the pix to enlarge them enough to read the copy. It’s pretty neat. I especially dig the hand-painted artwork of the Keys map. We just don’t build stuff like this anymore. Sure, CGI is fantastic…but it doesn’t have the feel of the old, hand-produced stuff. Just imagine..an artist had to paint this, then a team of graphic artists had to do mechanicals, color separations, cut rubies, hand-set the type…oof, I’m gettin’ a headache just thinking about it! Something like this would have taken weeks to produce in the 60s. My my my how times have changed, huh kids?

Here’s the map on the back of the brochure.

Below is the copy on the inside.

Florida Keys and Key West Treasure Map

Florida Keys Brochure

-Tiki Chris, reporting from somewhere lost in the Keys, near a Tiki Bar with a giant lobster out front.

Jazz Appreciation Month - This Kat’s Two Cents…

As Jazz Appreciation Month (suitably monikered “J.A.M”) comes down to the last few bars, I thought I throw in a few riffs of my own.

My take on Jazz Appreciation: Most people who don’t like jazz have two main complaints: There are no words, and a lot of it sounds all the same. Well kids, jazz does have words, as vocalists the likes of Ella Fitzgerald to Mel Torme to Billie Holiday to Dean Martin can attest to.

That's me, playing Tenor Sax

As for the sounds…Here’s the deal, in my humble opinion… you can’t really appreciate jazz until you see and  hear it live, see the musicians play,watch them pour their soul into a solo, see the sweat drip off them as they strain to push that perfect blue note out of a horn. There’s a dynamic in watching jazz live that you just don’t get from an album. Remember, this music was invented when recording was a novelty. These guys played live, and that was their life. Once you see jazz kats jam in person, then you can get hip to the recordings, because instead of hearing a bunch of notes getting thrown around, you catch the real drift the players are laying down. That’s Jazz Appreciation. Can you dig it? yeahhhh.

Now, a little bit about jazz and me, for any of you kats and kittens who might be in the mood for a little story. I added this recording of me playing Take the A-Train on the Tenor Sax just for fun. I’m a little rusty but hey, after 2 drinks I sound great!

The first jazz song I ever remember hearing was a sort of modified version of All Blues (Miles Davis). It was on Sesame Street, a goofy cartoon skit with a jazzy triangle and a square. (see it here on YouTube). Even at that early age, something clicked.

Doing a funny clarinet skit in a high school talent show

My old man was into Progressive Jazz (Modern Jazz, Traditional Jazz) and turned me onto some kool players like Miles Davis and Sonny Stitt. At around the same time, my Grandfather introduced me to the music of the Big Bands - Miller, Dorsey, Goodman, Shaw. He gave me my first Big Band record, Star Dust by Artie Shaw. That tune has followed me all my life.

When I was around 11, I decided I wanted to play an instrument. I didn’t know much about jazz other than what I was hearing on the Muppet Show, when kats like Dizzy Gillespie would star. First I wanted to play the trombone. Then I heard a Harry James record (I’ve Heard That Song Before) and decided the trumpet was for me. I sold my small coin collection and bought a King Cleavland (still have it).  I didn’t want to take lessons - wanted to figure it out myself. I couldn’t get much sound out of it, but tried like hell anyway. Then one day my old man came home with a clarinet. It was missing some keys in the low register, and the reed was held on with electrical tape.

Playing Sax in "Who Shot The Piano Player?!", a StarDust Productions murder mystery dinner show

Turned out to be a very old horn, a turn-of-the-century job. Bought a ligature and a new reed, and started getting some sound out of it. Not long after I picked up a cheap student clarinet in good shape, and started playing along with records, matching the sounds. Still couldn’t play a melody, but I was at least getting sound out of all the holes. Then, on a warm summer day in 1982, while walking around a flea market with my grandmother I came across a vintage licorice stick in great condition for 15 bucks. I convinced grandmom to lay out the dough for it, and that was the start of something big. I swear, that horn is magic. Magic in the real sense - for after fiddling around with it for just a few days, I sat down on my bed and made an attempt to play a song…first few notes…sounded wrong…changed the fingering…and just like that, I was playing Moonglow, in a way that would have made Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman proud.

Playing a party in Atlantic City with Tony Deluca, 1990

Soon after I got an alto sax, then a tenor, and taught myself how to play them just like the old-time kats did back in the 20s. I never learned to read music too well, just enough to get by in the college big band but not enough to hurt me none. I play from the heart, I play what I feel. I can play solo or with a group of kats and the better they are, the better I am. I played professionally during the 90s, and after swinging down to the Sunshine State in 2000 decided to play only for myself. I still dig the standards, bossas, latin jazz and bop. Never really got into fusion, but can appreciate what the kats were doing at the time. In the early 90’s someone turned me on to Dexter Gordon, and that got me into post-bop Modern Jazz more than ever.

Today I continue to listen, learn and play. I’m still discovering players and songs from the 70+ years of great jazz, from Louis Armstrong to Louis Prima, from Duke Ellington to Charlie Parker. I’ve been blessed to have seen a few of the greats in person; I’ve been lucky to have watched some of the legacy bands like Miller’s and Count Basie’s carry on the tradition. I saw Duke Ellington’s son, then his grandson lead the Ellington band. I sat in Atlantic City lounges and got to experience Sam Butera and the Wildest  from five feet away. And once, for just a few minutes, I got to meet and talk with Wyinton Marsalis. Man, I am one lucky son of a gun.

Sax on the bar, too much (or not enough) Bourbon

-Zoot Jackson keeping it kool at the Tiki Bar.
Tiki Lounge Talk, the Retro Blog for Swingin’ Hipsters who dig the Tiki Culture Beat.

Check out the Jazz Appreciation Month Website here.

Matt Helm in The Silencers, 1966 - Mod Movie Monday at Tiki Lounge Talk

Matt Helm, The Silencers 1966

First, I’d like to thank the team at GOOGLE for helping with a potential attack. They identified a possible hacking threat, notified me immediately, removed my site from their search listings to protect others (you) very quickly. As soon as I was able to make sure the site was clean the re-instated my search engine rankings within a few days. Thanks Google!

The Silencers starring Dean Martin as Matt Helm, Daliah Lavi and  Stella Stevens.

Watch out, Derek Flint. Move over Austin Powers. And take a back seat, James Bond - Matt Helm is on the case!

When the cold war was at its peak and spy thrillers were taking the place of westerns and war movies, America answered the 007 call with a few good men - one of the best being Matt Helm, a suave, lady-loving swinger who could catch the bad guys, snap some great photos and make love to the girl in the same scene.

This series of movies gives us a fantabulous peak at the styles, cars, furnishing and hot chicks of the swingin’ ’60s. The movies are combination thriller-comedies, with the main lean towards funny. With Dean Martin at the helm (as Helm), you get that groovin’ mix of humor, sex appeal and crooning.

Stella Stevens and Dean Martin

This particular flick, one of my favorites, features a 1960s beauty named Daliah Lavi who’s got the right curves in the right places and a sexy accent that will make you melt. Stella Stevens drops in with her crazy figure too. And there’s an all-too-short cameo by the beautiful Cid Charise, dancing her way through a sultry nightclub scene (she sings too, but apparently it’s not her voice - she’s dubbed by a then very young Vicky Carr.)

While 007 sported an Aston-Martin, Matt Helm had himself a good, solid American car - a 1965 Mercury Parklane Station Wagon - of course his was modified somewhat by Chuck Barris…The car now resides at the Volo Hollywood Car Museum in Volo, Illinois. Leave it to Dean Martin to make a station wagon kool, huh?

Since Dino’s favorite drink was the Martini, set yourself up with a pitcher before the show starts. Martin also loved Italian cuisine, so go with that for your dinner and a movie. Maybe a nice Penne ala Vodka with grilled chicken and zucchini. And make sure you watch it with someone who looks like Stella Stevens, you know, for full effect.

-Tiki Chris reporting from behind the Tiki Bar.
Tiki Lounge Talk - The Tiki Culture blog for Retro Kats & Swingin’ Kittens

The Trip, 1967 - Mod Movie Monday at the Tiki Bar

From the file marked ‘weirdos’ comes this week’s Mod Movie Monday…

“The Trip” from 1967

Starring Peter Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Dennis Hopper & Bruce Dern, Directed by our old pal Roger Corman and written by…written by…Jack Nicholson? Huh.

The Trip is a not so much a movie, as it is an 85 minute LSD experience. It was Hollywood’s attempt (one of many) to give the squares a taste of what being on acid was all about, good or bad. It even starts with a DISCLAIMER warning everyone that they might not like what they see, and that (say this with Mr. Mackey’s accent) ‘druhgs are bay-ed’.

Nevertheless The Trip is a fun psychedelic movie to watch, because it’s like a time capsule back to the hippy-dippy days of the late ’60s, when the generation gap was at its widest and the country was split between young baby-boomers trying to find the meaning of existence, and the old guard just happy that WWII was over and their Fords ran great. The main theme of the flick is that even uptight corporate squares (Peter Fonda’s character) could find the true meaning of reality (almost scientifically) through the magic of mind-altering drugs.

There are groovy ’60s pads, groovy ’60s chicks, groovy ’60s music and all kinds of crazy stuff going on. By the end of the movie (if you make it that far) you’ll actually feel like you’ve been on a trip (or at least I felt as close to one as I’m ever gonna get). Oh, and in one scene, there’s a fondue pot that’s exactly like the one I have. Just wanted to toss that in.

According to most accounts, Corman, Nicholson, Hopper and Fonda all took LSD “to prepare for the movie.” Mighty dedicated to their craft, huh?

I’ve got no idea what to suggest for drinks & snacks with this flick. I dunno…waffles with faces made of strawberries and whipped cream, so you can imagine them coming to life and eating you? No clue. You decide. Here’s a clip to help you get in the groove, diggit?

-Tiki Chris flying in on a white tiger from the Tiki Bar

Cal-Neva Resort Closes Casino

Cal-Neva Lodge

Another landmark has fallen victim to our crap-assed economy: The Historic Cal-Neva Lodge, once owned by Frank Sinatra and frequented by Jack Kennedy and Marylin Monroe, shut down casino operations this week due to loss in profits. Although a drop in tourism to Tahoe and increased competition from Vegas were probably a part of the problem, I blame the greedy, ignorant bankers and politicians for the closing.

But don’t start crying over it just yet. The Cal-Neva has had its ups and downs over the years; even Frank had his license yanked and the joint still made it through. The restaurant, lounge and showroom are remaining open. In fact, their website is still up, and they’re apparently still taking bookings for rooms. There are plans to get the casino back up by the end of the year.

The way I see it, there are plenty of millionaires out there who dig Sinatra and know what preserving this place means to the world. If you’re reading this, think about putting in a bid on the place. It must be saved.

See my post on the Cal-Neva Lodge (and a groovy story to go with it) by clicking here.

See the story on the San Francisco Chronicle here.