Click on the poster above to listen to the music of The Tikiyaki Orchestra!
If you’re a fan of exotica music from the 50’s and 60’s by such legends as Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman & Les Esquivel, or surf rock guitar god Dick Dale, then I highly recommend you check out The Tikiyaki Orchestra. What started as a one-man studio band, has now turned into a true “orchestra” if you will, doing gigs all over California, where my friend “Tikiyaki” resides. He also owns a property in Hilo.
Jim Bacchi, a.ka. “Tikiyaki”, is the man behind this modern Polynesian Pop group, turning out catchy tunes such as “Mai Tais on the Moon”, “Crossing Kilauea” and “Ali’i Fire Dance”. Just listening to this exotic music will virtually transport you to a tropical island beach as you gaze out at the blue skies and ocean while sipping on a Mai Tai.
But what happens when the sun goes down? Head for the Tiki Lounge of course! It’s wonderful to see the Tikiyaki Orchestra now has a permanent place to gig at the “Hidden Village”, a banquet room located at the Kona Restaurant on the Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach, California.
The Tikiyaki Orchestra kicked off their inaugural performance there this past Friday evening. Here’s some photos from the event…
The Tikiyaki Orchestra performs live in celebration of the grand opening of the “Hidden Village” at the Kona Restaurant in Huntington Beach, California. Photo courtesy of SoccerTiki
Jim “Tikiyaki” is the man in center behind the red pedestal on keyboards. He also plays lead guitar.
Kitsch Polynesian decor abound…
Photo courtesy of SoccerTiki
Photo courtesy of SoccerTiki
I dig Tiki Lounges.
Check out this cool limited edition mug they have for sale…
The Tikiyaki Orchestra Hukilau Mug – Front and back
Tikiyaki’s absolutely gorgeous fiance (on the right) and her daughter (in orange)
Looks like everyone there had a “Tiki Wiki” good time!
For more photos and discussion about the Hidden Village grand opening, check out the Tiki Forum message board here.
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While The Tikiyaki Orchestra jams out “Mai Tais on the Moon”, Author Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi offers yet another fresh look at this classic exotic tropical drink in her new book, aptly titled “The New-Wave Mai Tai”…
I just received this press release (<–view/download the PDF at that link) announcement today…
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The New-Wave Mai Tai: New Twist on an Old Favorite
The mai tai — that most tropical of tropical drinks — has come a long way from the early days of Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber. Now Hawai‘i publisher Watermark Publishing has released The New-Wave Mai Tai, a refreshing concoction of more than 50 cutting-edge mai tai recipes, along with dazzling photos, first-person encounters and fascinating historical tidbits.
In this colorful, 138-page book, author Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi traces the rich, swashbuckling story of rum —the mai tai’s principal ingredient — and explores the origins of the famed drink, including the eternal debate over whether Trader Vic or Don the Beachcomber actually created it. Most important, she shares more than 50 innovative and easy-to-follow recipes that tweak the old classic with eye-opening new ingredients from schnapps to sherbet: the Mai Tai-Jito, Sassy Wahine, Smooth Shredder and many others. These creative cocktails from bartenders and watering holes throughout Hawai‘i go far beyond what Don or Vic ever
imagined.
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is an award-winning travel journalist who has covered Hawai‘i, Asia and the South Pacific for numerous local and national publications, including Travel + Leisure, Fodor’s, Contra-Costa Times, Chicago Sun Times, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, HAWAII, Hawai‘i Westways, Hawaiian Style and Modern Luxury. She is the author of 10 books about Hawai‘i; The New Wave Mai Tai is her second title for Watermark Publishing. Her first, The Hawai‘i Beer Book: Bars, Breweries & Beer Cuisine, was released in 2007.
The New-Wave Mai Tai (ISBN 978-0-9815086-1-0) is available for $15.95 at bookstores and other retail outlets, or direct from the publisher at www.bookshawaii.net. Contact Watermark Publishing, 1088 Bishop St., Suite 310, Honolulu, HI 96813; telephone (808) 587-7766; toll-free (866) 900-BOOK; fax (808) 521-3461; e-mail sales@bookshawaii.net.
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Just from what I’ve seen on the press release, the photography looks fantastic, as do the recipes, such as this “Mai Tai-Jito” from Duke’s…
If I go to Duke’s Waikiki Outrigger on the Beach this weekend, I’ll order one of these!
Other drinks mentioned in the press release that are featured in the book include the “Mango’d Mai Tai Blues”, “Pakini Mai Tini” and the “Smooth Shredder”.
Hey, I want my very own “Po-Mai Tai”!
“The New Wave Mai Tai” will be available in August 2008 at most local bookstores and retail outlets, and also directly online from the publisher here.
Related Links:
• The Tikiyaki Orchestra official site
• Kona Restaurant in Huntington Beach
• Tiki Central Forums
• Watermark Publishing
1 comment
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July 21, 2008 at 12:29 am
Frankie Gillette
That’s a lot of boasting about how “far the mai tai has come” since Don The Beachcomber & Trader Vics. Last I checked Vics & other actual Tiki bars are about the only people who understand the art of making a great mai tai. Not some noveau version served up by some frat boy or actor wannabe at some trendoid club.