See original exotica musician Al Pabilona & daughter Olivia for a session of live exotica music featuring songs and stories in the classic Hawaii entertainer style!

This Sunday, Jan 21, 4-6pm
Forbidden Island, 1304 Lincoln Ave., Alameda, CA 94501

Doors open at 3p.m. • $10 cover • Albums available for sale
Live Exotica and Storytelling and live recording.

(image: Al Pabilona and Arthur Lyman)

Over fifty years ago Al Pabilona recorded the Exotica album titled “Mauna Kea Breeze” with his father and family band in their garage. Al and his family lived in Hawaii and then settled in San Jose where he is still playing music with his daughter Olivia in a band called UNDERTOW.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear live exotica music and catch an original exotica musician. Al Pabilona may be the last living legend playing essentially the same set he would have played in the late 1960s. Lounge and Exotica standards are presented with stories and introductions reminiscent of the heyday of old Waikiki hotel lounge shows.

This show will be recorded live to capture the current sound of Undertow with plans for a future live release.

Al Jr. was only 13 years old when he played drums on an Exotica recording by The Hawaiian Spotlighters. They were originally called Al’s Spotlighters and played at clubs, weddings and other events in Hilo, Hawaii. The family later moved to California. In 1964, Al Pabilona Sr. recorded his musical family inside their garage in Hayward, California. Each family member played an integral part of the band with Bill Pabilona composing the title track “Mauna Kea Breeze”.

He was gracious, kind and awestruck when Dionysus Records approached him to reissue the album – only 200 copies of the original album were made on the Century Custom label. Today, only a handful of these exist, making this one of the rarest exotica records ever recorded!

This Saturday,  May 17, both Martini Kings starring Cardinal Cyn and Jason Lee & The RIP Tides will be performing at  at Tiki Caliente Six  in Palm Springs, which runs from May 15-May 18. Click the Tiki Caliente link for more details, ticket info, etc. Also on Friday May 16, DJ Lee Joseph will be at Tonga Hut Palm Springs just a short drive from Tiki Caliente!

This year, Tiki Oasis explores the Hawaiian influence on American music. Part Americana, part Hawaiiana, Hulabilly is an American music style derived from the blending of Rockabilly and Haole Hawaiian music. The live musical entertainment at this year’s four-day Polynesian Pop festival/celebration features numerous roots and rockabilly performers, a couple of Elvis (the King of Hulabilly) salutes as well as the essential exotica / surf / instrumental sounds Tiki Oasis is known for.  DJs will be covering the gamut of these musical styles as well and this year, LuxuriaMusic.com will be featuring their DJs in the indoor marketplace.

Two current and one future Dionysus artists will be playing the event this year. Big Sandy, whose still in-print first album, “Fly Rite With” was released by the label in 1989, will be headlining the event at a special Sunday Hoedown with the legendary El Vez. Surf / Exotica creeps, Creepxotica who have released their “Haunted Bossa Nova” LP on Dionysus this year, will be playing at the Bali Hai Meet and Mingle on Thursday Aug. 15, along with The Fishermen, featuring Brian Lease, former vibe player of  ’90s Dionysus lounge sensations, Frenchy, and Tiki Oasis favorite, Kim Tsoy who will be backed up by a band including Dionysus’ Records Lee Joseph on bass. Jason Lee  and the RIP Tides, whose debut LP will be released on Dionysus, will be playing poolside on Friday. Jason Lee will be teaching a “Twang Guitar” seminar on Saturday at 1:00 PM. Dionysus Records’ Lee Joseph will be doing a DJ set of all rockabilly, poolside, on Saturday at 2:15 PM. There will be a Dionysus Records vending booth in the Outdoor Marketplace on both Saturday and Sunday.

For detailed information check the Tiki Oasis website. Here is the schedule of bands on the main stage:

THURSDAY (Bali Hai)
Emcee: King Kukulele
Lanai Stage 7pm
King Kukulele
Lanai Bar 6pm – Midnight Eric Musick
Lanai Bar 7:30 and 9:30 sets
Fisherman & Kitty Chow
Lanai Stage 8pm Kim Tsoy
Lanai Stage 9pm
Interlude Featuring Coco Tiki, Mimi Le Meux & Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid
Lanai Stage 9:30pm Creepxotica

FRIDAY (Crowne Plaza)
King Kukulele/Co-Emcee: El Vez
5:15 – Hukilau Hot Shots
5:45 – Polynesian Paradise Dancers
6:15 –  B Stars
6:45 – Molotov & Dixie D’Lish
7pm – Miss Tiki Oasis Contest hosted by El Vez and Nikki Napalm
7:30  Lucky Stars
8:15 Vic Trevino Jr
9pm  18 Wheelers

Saturday (Crowne Plaza)
Emcee: King Kukulele/Co-Emcee: Big Sandy
5:30 -The Cheap Leis
6pm –  Hulabilly Costume Contest  – Prizes for Kids & Couples!
6:30 -Acapulco Radio 7pm – Round Two Hulabilly Costume Contest – Prizes for Best Male, Best Female
7:20 – Molotov & Dixie D’Lish
7:40 –  Dancers Ke Polani Ohana E Kai
8:15 The Hula Girls
9pm Southern Culture on the Skids

SUNDAY (Crowne Plaza)
Emcee: Otto von Stroheim
5:30 –  Doors open, come dance with the Hang Ten Hoppers!
5:30PM – 10:00PM Okie Oran Disc Jockeying
6:30PM –  El Vez Special Solo Performance Featuring a tribute to “The King”
7:30PM  Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys
8:30PM  Intermission interlude with Hang Ten Hoppers
8:45PM  Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys

Images: Creepxotica, Jason Lee, Kim Tsoy

Surfguitar101.com is very pleased to announce The Sixth Annual Surf Guitar 101 Convention! This year the festival features the best surf bands from the United States, Italy, Australia, and Japan!

The SurfGuitar101 Convention 2013
Saturday, August 10th
The Starting Gate
5052 Katella Ave.
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
Phone: (562) 598-8957
Doors open at 8am, the festivities run from 9am to 8pm.
Cost: $30 at the door

Dionysus Records will have a vending booth!

For questions & discussion, see the SurfGuitar101.com forum thread.
Facebook event page.

Featuring:

• SG101 member jam!
• Surf guitar legend Paul “Mr. Moto” Johnson & Friends!
• A tribute to the Astronauts!
• A tribute to the Penetrators!
• Outerwave (Orange County, CA)!
• Glasgow Tiki Shakers (LA)!
• 3 Balls of Fire (Texas)!
• The Mystery Men? (Georgia)!
• Aqualads (North Carolina)!
• The Pyronauts (California)
• Surfer Joe (Italy)!
• Martin Cilia & Band (Australia)!
• El Caminos (Japan)!

As usual we’ll have vendors selling surf music, clothing, and more!

Pipe Smoking Goblet Drinking Retro Painter Magazine Album Poster Pin-Up Kitsch Shoe Illustrator Retro Fun Loving “Prince of Pop Art” Guy, artist Mitch O’Connell has a new career spanning book out via Last Gasp called Mitch O’Connell: The World’s Best Artist.  This marvelously massive (and heavy) book, wrapped in a thick embossed glittery squishy cover that’s every bit as fun to touch as it is to look at, will keep Mitch O’Connell fans as well as those curious, busy for hours. This “tome” collects everything from Mitch’s school book doodles to his sold-out art pieces, illustrations from Playboy, Mad Magazine, The New York Times, poster art, CD and album covers, and his illustrations in comics and fanzines.  The book contains enough text to give you the low-down on the images and there is a very cool section where Mitch names off and talks about his inspirations such as artists and illustrators Bernie Wrightson, Burne Hogarth, John Romita, J.C. Leyendecker, Ivan Albright, Frank Fruzyna and Mitch’s mom and dad!  – fewf… It’s seriously eye-popping and well worth the totally fair $35 suggested retail price.

Mitch is doing a short book tour including a stop here in Los Angeles at La Luz de Jesus Gallery which will also feature a slide-show of his art. Come by, say hi, and get a book signed!

Mitch O’Connell signs Mitch O’Connell: The Worlds Best Artist
La Luz de Jesus Gallery
Sunday, February 24, 2013, 3-6 PM
4633 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323-666-7667

On Wednesday, January 9, Dionysus Records’ Lee Joseph will be broadcasting his first live Over Under Sideways Down show from the new LuxuriaMusic.com studio after an almost two-month break while the LuxuriaMusic studio was in the process of moving. The station went back on the Internet last Satuday and all the local Los Angeles DJs will be back on their live shifts. Tune in!

Those who live in Southern California, Seattle and Honolulu are in for a treat – Don Tiki will be coming to help us celebrate the holidays, Hot Lava style with shows on December 15 in Honolulu (sorry that one is sold out), December 17th in Seattle at Benaroy Hall (info and tickets) and December 20th in Los Angeles at Walt Disney Concert Hall ( info and tickets ) – and, SOCA peeps –  here’s a link for discount tickets at the Disney show!

Fans can expect the band’s signature tunes such as “The Natives Are Restless” and “An Occasional Man.” “Even though we’re tiki-worshipping Pagans, we’ll drop six new  holiday songs to get into the spirit of things,” says producer Lloyd “Fluid Floyd” Kandell, who was one of Anthony Bourdain’s drinking guides when the food impresario visited O’ahu for his series No Reservations. Bourdain came away raving, “Tiki supergroup Don Tiki knows the world, the subculture of tiki…it really doesn’t get much better than this!”

Though the band has lost their beloved lead singer Delmar deWilde, to whom the shows are dedicated, they will carry on with their multi-talented cast and a few added guests. The Don Tiki troupe consists of band leader and composer, Kit “Perry Coma” Ebersbach on keyboards, bassist and purring song stylist Hai-Jung, Charles Degala and Tei Tatafu, Jr. on virile vocals, vocalist, dancer and comedienne Sherry Shaoling, percussionist Lopaka Colón, who continues his illustrious father Augie Colon’s jungle and bird call tradition, tenor ace Tim Mayer on reeds, multi-talented Abe Lagrimas, Jr. on vibes and percussion, tribal drummer Jason Segler, space-age Ryoko Oka on keyboards and t’rung (a Vietnamese bamboo xylophone), exotic dancer Violetta Beretta plus special guest artist Frank Orrall of Thievery Corporation and Poi Dog Pondering. Don Tiki is also honored to bring to the stage special guest artists, legendary SOCAL tiki-shaman Crazy Al, rising Brazillian star Tita Lima and Brazil’s golden tambourine, Carlinhos de Oliveira.

The group has just released their Hot Lava Holiday Songs disc which is available on iTunes and will be for sale on CD at their shows.

Those of us who saw them at Tiki Oasis 10 were knocked out. We are certainly looking forward to seeing the group on their first Los Angeles appearance!