 |
 |
 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|||
Come join your host DigiTiki as the record lazily spins on the phonograph and we sip mai tais in our own private palm tree oasis.
Welcome to the Quiet Village - All Things Tiki
 |
||||||
Check out the newest edition to the Quiet Village Gift Shop! Now you can show the world what village you like to visit with these T-shirts sporting the new Quiet Village logo tiki by Eric October. Available in dark chocolate with deep orange logo--unique, earthy and simple. The shirts are made of extra soft 100% pre-shrunk cotton; a modern fitting, unisex look. Looks great on kanes and wahines alike. Available in M, L, XL, 2XL $12.00 + shipping (.5 lb) And as always, the proceeds go straight to the Quiet Village to keep the podcast and Quiet Village Radio on the air.
Digitiki.com teams up with Amazon For You, The Collector I'm proud to announce that DigiTiki.com is now part of the Amazon Associate Program. What does that mean? Well, it means that I can now put purchase links directly on DigiTiki.com for music that I play on the Quiet Village podcast. Many of you write in asking about where to find some of the tunes I play on the show. Now you can purchase it from Amazon directly from this web site. How did I deside to do this? Well, its quite simple. I am constantly trying to make the podcast and this web site a place that will help those who are looking to collect this type of music. I find most of the new releases by searching Amazon myself. So its a natural to link up so you, the collector, can find this stuff easily before it goes out of print again AND help the show at the same time. Its a win win. For every purchase you make at Amazon by clicking the link at DigiTiki.com first, I get a small percentage (typically 1-2 cents). These links are independant of the Quiet Village Gift Shop, which is my own store and not part of Amazon at all. It has never been, and never will be my goal to make the Quiet Village Podcast and DigiTiki.com retail vehicles. The show and the upcoming Quiet Village Radio that I hope to launch soon will continue to be labors of love and 100% free. All the proceeds from the Gift Shop products and the Amazon Associate Program will go exclusively into keeping the show and the web site on the air. Mahalo
Bye Bye Bahooka There are tons of stories of the Tiki temples from days gone by that simply are no more. Now we can put another one down in the dusty book of "What Once Was." On March 19th, 2013, the Bahooka Restaurant in Rosemead, California closed its 50 year old doors for good. The Bahooka was a comfortable family tiki restaurant that was decked out in almost anything possible. Countless lucite chunk lamps, wood barrel lamps and plastic parrots hung from the ceiling. The walls were covered with just about any type of "stuff" you could imagine. The Bahooka was known for its ribs and heartly American fare. The drinks, although not as impeccable as Trader Vic's, were lively and strong. The Grenade was a pink, blended drink that could be served "With The Pin Pulled" (not on the menu) which meant that it came with a shot of 151 added. Every single drink came to your fishtake-lined booth set ablaze. The restaurant's mascot was Rufus, an enormous Paku fish that loved to eat carrots. I could spend hundreds of words here describing the Bahooka and how nice it was to just sit in a booth and watch the fish gaze at us from one of the more than 100 fish tanks. But it, like every single other lost Tiki establishment from yesteryear, is best served up in your mind. If you never got a chance to experience the place, you certainly missed something with a great deal of charater. If you were fortunate to have visited the place or live close enough to frequent it, you are most certainly imagining the sounds, sights and smells of the place in your memory. It was recetly announced that the entire contents of the Bahooka's interior have been purchased and will be used to outfit the interior of the upcoming Clifton's South Seas room in downtown Los Ageles. If you have the Book of Tiki, you can see a photo of the original Cliftons South Seas cafateria from the 1940's. It is still sadly unclear what has happened to Rufus and the hundres of other fish. Aloha Bahooka. We will miss you.
You can hear a field recording made at the Bahooka on The Quiet Village Podcast, Episode 56. ps- please visit the Bahooka web site while it is still up for some great photos. It will most assuridly be coming down soon.
New Reissued Vintage Albums Some new reissues of classic albums have just come out that you may be interested in. • Martin Denny: "A Taste of India/Exotica Classica" - 2 Denny albums remastered onto a single CD from Vocalion Records out of the UK.
[Get it at Amazon] • "Exotica Today & Exotic Love" by Martin Denny - 2 more albums remastered onto a single CD from Vocalion. Pricey but worth it.
[Get it at Amazon] • "Beachcomber Serenade" by the South Seas Seranaders - this very rare 50's LP is one I never thought I'd see digitally. It is available as a digital download. Sound quality is equial to the original LP, which is to say it is so so, but it does sound like the album. At least its not worse.
[ Get it at Amazon ] • "South Seas Serenade" by Roy Smeck - This early 50's Hawaiian LP has been reissued as a digital download. Roy Smeck was the king of the steel in the early part of the 20th's century. His albums are increasingly rare and this one is a welcome site. Sound quality is very good considering its age. Mono of course as this was produced before the age of stereophonic sound.
[Get it at Amazon] • "Aloha Hawaii" by The Diamond Head Beachcombers - You probably have seen this album cover in many thrift store bins. Available as a digital download, this album features classic vintage Hawaiian music with a little orchestral strings thrown in for good measure. Most certainly a living room record for mainlanders.
[ get this at Amazon]
The new Quiet Village Gift Shop Is Now OPEN! The Quiet Village Mai Tai has been a big hit. But lets face it, the cocktails just don't taste as good unless you are drinking one out of the official Quiet Village Mai Tai glass!! This first offering from the Gift Shop is a beautiful glass, specifically made for your mai tai. The glass features hand drawn art by accomplished artist Eric October and printed in retro aqua. The design wraps completely around the glass and features the Quiet Village Podcast logo flanked by two large tikis holding iPods, listening to the show! On the back of the glass is the Quiet Village Mai Tai recipe. The design looks quite stunning with the glass filled with the dark rum of your mai tai. These glasses are a limited run of only 100, so get yours right away. In fact, get a whole set! Now you can taste the island life with the proper glass. set of 2 glasses: $14 +shipping set of 4 glasses: $24 +shipping - click here to go to the Gift Shop
Finally, the Quiet Village podcast now comes to iTunes. I'm sure most of you reading this already are subscribers to the podcast. But now, if you wanna point friends to the show, now they can subscribe with one click directly from the iTunes store. As always, the show is still completely free. To visit the Village on iTunes, just click the link below https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-quiet-village-podcast/id590542998?mt=2
Like the Village on Facebook & other changes coming to the Island. Now that we are still digesting our turkey, ham and pies from the Holidays, I just wanted to take a moment and let you all know that the Quiet Village is now on Facebook (took long enough huh?). Please take a moment and like the show and, if you are so inclined, leave a message or song request. Also, I have some great things in the works for the Village. I am in process of using a few of the local natives to help me build the Quiet Village Marketplace. It will launch soon in this web site. It will ultimately be a place where you can get trinkets from many exotic ports 'o call. The first items will be the very first Quiet Village Mai Tai glass. Emblazoned with custom artwork by my friend and talented artist Eric October. There will only be 100 of them available. I also plan to offer CD's and art from other guests and friends of the Village--stuff that you can't get that easily. So I hope you enjoy. In addition to the Facebook and Shop, I am lining up a plethora of new guests and topics for upcoming shows. And as always, I love to get your requests and comments! Aloha and have a wonderful New Year! DigiTiki.
Mele Kalikimaka everybody! That means Merry Christmas in Hawaiian. As the thermometer dips below 75 degrees, I wanna take this moment to wish all of you a tropical Holiday Season. 2013 is coming and I'm looking forward to many more exciting guests on the show! In the mean time, enjoy episode 53 with my returning guest Eric October.
Quiet Village turns 50! Well not really. But it is the 50th show!!! Available now, with special episode artwork by my dear friend and very talented artist, Eric October!
One chance to take a Sounth Seas Adventure I had to tell you about an epic event...and I mean truly epic. On Sept. 29th at 12pm in Los Angeles, some lucky movie goers with a rare day off are gonna get a rare tropical treat. For that is the time of the ONLY showing of "South Seas Adventure"; one of the small group of Cinerama travelogues released in the late 50's. First a word about the film "South Seas Adventure." The film is a cinematic ode to all things tropical. The film is a travelogue with some semi-fictional mini stories that help to humanize the exotic locales featured. For decades, the negatives to the film were thought to be utterly lost. There was rumor circulating that the negatives had been accidentally destroyed. Well, here we are with a restored print about to be shown in its original 3-strip Cinerama format. Now a little bit about the film format. Cinerama was a production process developed in the 1950's that used 3 synchronized 35mm movie cameras to capture one panoramic picture. In the theaters (only Cinerama equipped theaters), the 3 film strips were projected from 3 separate synchronized projectors to create a large 146 degree arc image. There were drawbacks to the format, but the resulting vistas were breathtaking. I don't know how long its been since the last Cinerama film was screened, but I can bet that most people reading this have never seen it in person. Well now is your one and only chance--not only to see a rare film format in its original intended theater designed specially for it, but to see a rare film, shot in that format, that was thought to be lost forever! South Seas Adventure For tickets, click here.
Episode 49 up and running! Episode 49 is now available. This episode features an interview with pulp fiction authro Bill Raetz, direct from the World Espionage Bureau. Bill's new book "Voodoo Lodge" is a ply thriller in the classic tradition that centeres around a fictional tiki lounge. The episode also features two tracks written especially for Bill's main cheracter, Bryce Atwell, by the band Spy-Fy. Check it out now! Spubscribe to the podcast!
DigiTiki interviewed on Jungle Deep podcast Recently I had the fortune to be interviewed by a wonderful podcaster by the name of Ken Jones. Ken is the proprieter of several podcast shows, Jungle Deep being the newest title in his roster. The show highlihgts the tropical lifestyle with a heavy dose of rainforest conservation. Ken beleives that preserving our jungles and rainforests can be helped by exposing as many people to them as possible. I think he's right and I applaud his efforts. I invite you to listen to his show, especially the episode with me on it LOL. New retelling of the landmark "Kon-Tiki" voyage hits international theaters In 1947, explorer Thor Heyerdahl set out to prove a therory that Pre-Columbian era South American peoples were the mariners who originally settled Polynesia. His expedition set out to build a balsa wood ship and sail it from South America using only the technology available in the Pre-Columbian era. The ship was named Kon-Tiki. He made it. His book about the journey went on to capture the hearts and imaginations of the entire world. IN 1950, a documentary film about the expedition became an interntational hit. Now, in 2012, August, a Norwegian film company has released a new version of the epic voyage. The film is touted as the most expensive film in Norwegian cenima history. I certainly hope it comes to my island so I can see it. Below is the theatrical trailer.
4 new Martin Denny Albums Remastered on 2 CDs! Four more classic Denny albums have been remastered from the master tapes and issed on 2 CDs! Vocalion label from the UK has released one CD containing Martin Denny's "A Taste of Honey," and "Another Taste of Honey" and another separate CD title containing "The Versetile Martin Denny," and "Latin Village." Until now each of the four albums except for "Latin Village" have never been released digitally. "Latin Village" was previously released only in Japan as a limited edition CD, and has long been out of print and commands high prices on the collector circuit.
Some Kind Words About The Quiet Villager Podcast The Quiet Village Podcast turned 45 last month--45 episodes that is. And with it came some very kind emails from listeners about the show in general. I just wanted to thank all of you for writing in and share some of the wonderful words of praise that have washed ashore recently from other blogs and web sites out there.
The Quiet Village Podcast helps Rachel Ray Create A Luau Some time ago a rep from Rachel Ray magazine, and a listener, asked me to help create a playlist for a backyard luau. The end result was two separate playlists - one for the dreamy luau sounds, the second is an up-tempo list for more heated partying. The result has just come out here on Rachel Ray's blog. Here are the playlists I created for Rachel. I created these playlists out of music that IS available either on iTunes or Amazon. I didn't want add songs that were out of print. Afterall, how would anyone be able to get the songs if they weren't available to begin with. POLYNESIAN DREAM PLAYLIST
What was that sound in the dark alley? Who was that masked man running from the cops? Crime Jazz comes to the Quiet Village. Epsiode 45 of the Quiet Village is dedicated to the music genre known as Crime Jazz. I looked all over the internet and I simply could not find anyone who endeavored to define Crime Jazz as a genre. So here goes: Crime Jazz is a mid-century nich music genre that musically brings the essence of cops, detectives and criminals, mobsters and even spies, within a mid-century urban setting. So join me as we walk the streets of the seedier side of the Island accompanied by our own soundtrack for the occasion. The Quiet Village dives into Crime Jazz. Episode 45 available now.
Keith Pawlak visits the Quiet Village There was some seriously great music created in America during the 50's and 60's. Recently Capitol Records produced the voluminous "Ultra-Lounge" music series that focused primarily on mid-century kitch music from Capitol's vaults. Di you every wonder what happened to all the pieces that went into creating those wonderful albums? What happened to the scored,master tapes, photos, cue sheets, etc.? Well, Keith Pawlak, a professor at the University of Arizona, Tucson has the really cool job of curating the archives of some of the artists who created some of that classic American mid-century music. Keith is also an avid collector of Capitol Records recordings. His collection is impressive and includes pristine recordings by Les Baxter, Jackie Gleason and other top Capitol Records artists. In 2008, Pawlak pulled some of Les Baxter's classic Exotica scores and performed them, along with an impressively large orchestra. Some of the music selections had never been performed since they origianl recordings, some 50+ year prior. The evening was topped off with a rare performance by Robert Drasnin, composter of the classic Exotica album "Voodoo" (Tops Records, 1959). Read my original entry about that concert here. Keith visits the Quiet Village for a very informative look inside the UofA's Music Archives as well as discussions about Les Baxter's music and the music of mid-century Capitol Records. This epsiode is a particularly informative one. Enjoy!
Introducing: The Beachcomber's Corner I collect...records, CD's, tiki mugs, way more stuff than I really have room for. But when collecting, its a quest to uncover a mystery--a true treasure hunt. To find the rare CD reissue treasures, you have to be part detective. I created the Beachcomber's Corner becuase its something that I wish I had a long time ag0--a resource of information about what has been reissued on CD or digitial download, so I know what I wanna start looking for. Exotica LPs are rare, but the reissued CD's are even more rare. They are not advertised or talked about anywhere (except here and few other web sites). They are usually only pressed in 10,000 copies and then they're gone for good, with the exception of the digital downloads. The Beachcomber's Corner is a database that serves as a one-stop resource for the geek collector like me. It shows that's in print, out of print, formats, country of origin, cover art, even a sample audio track. Check it out and enjoy! The Beachcomber's Corner was programmed by a good friend of mine Mike who goes under the pseudonym Captain R.H. Fallernum (que the swashbuckling music). His own site (a companion to the Beachcomber's Corner) contains a database that features LPs. Mine features reissues of LPs. The two together are a collector's dream. Visit the Captain's record collector page here. As always, your comments are always welcome. Oh yea, you can even leave comments on each album's listing if you like! The collection is just starting out, so not everything is listed here. But give it a little time. Eventually I hope to have everything listed here. Enjoy. START BEACHCOMBING
Ti Party Congratulations to the Buhens and the Tiki-Ti for keeping the torches burning brightly for 50 years. Mahalo!
A Must See Concert As if it weren't enough to fauthfully recreate the sounds of Esquivel, some 50 years later, Mr. Ho has returned with a down-sized Exotica combo for his newest album "Third River Rangoo." This album is moody, deep Exotica for a dark bar at its best. Now you have the chance to experience Mr Ho's Orchestrotica LIVE! For the first time ever, the space-age pop big band music of Esquivel will be performed live in NYC! Using a 22-pc ensemble, the band will present it’s acclaimed show comprised of transcriptions of the lost arrangements Esquivel made during the 1950s and 1960s on RCA Living Stereo albums such as "Other Worlds, Other Sounds", "Infinity in Sound" and the seminal "Latin-Esque." A short opening set by the Orchestrotica’s third-stream exotica quartet will be opening the evening. The CD release show in Boston on Jan 14th sold out so buy your tickets ahead! Fri, 18 Mar 2011 at 8:00 PM ET More information and to purchase tickets here
It was simply by chance that I was in the process of finishing the edits to the latest podcast episode which focused on the music of James Bond with Scott Mabbutt when I heard the news of Barry's passing. So I would like to dedicate this episode and the second part of it (which is coming up) to the memory of John Barry. A man who made adventure sound so good. New episode (#36) up now. Enjoy.
|
|
|||||
 |
||||||
Mele Kalikimaka 
Crime comes to the Quiet Village 
[4/28/11]
[3/5/11]
John Barry Passes 
