What got you into Tiki? This is the Pineappleman's Story --What is yours?

1980's
I guess  my Tiki story begins in Adventureland in Disneyland in the 1980's.  On a trip to the parks in the mid 1980's with my 2 best friends we all got different Tiki necklaces as part of our trip that day.  

(The Great Tiki)  as I call him from Adventureland  1980's

Several years later on a trip with one of those friends to Maui during high school, we came up with the idea about a guy called the Pineappleman while Touring the Dole Pineapple factories on the island.  

Early 1990's  --   In Jr. College we co-wrote this song before the band WASH was even formed.  Below is  a classic pre-WASH recording  that can be heard in this video we made back in the day when the only way to edit videos were to record from one VCR to another (how primitive).    We based the  story concept of the video on Apocalyspe Now. 

Shortly after this WASH happened and this song was often performed as a part of those shows.   The Pineappleman highlight  was a show at Bogart's in Long Beach that was themed around the Pineappleman character and included a volcano on stage and paper machete Tiki/Pineapple heads.

Mid 2000's

Post Wash ...My  Tiki was forgotten for awhile, until in the Mid-2000's when  I found that old Disneyland Tiki necklace that I used as a guide for some Myspace blogs, I started doing about Disneyland which the first of was The Great Tiki's journey back to Adventureland and the Tiki Room. 

 I guess this lead to adding Tiki Friends on Myspace and starting to love and appreciate Tiki art online.

After an impromptu performance of our old song at a party at my house,  I also brought the character of the Pineappleman back with short stories of his adventures.   I had been kicking around a movie idea for years  and never got past the story outline, so as a writing exercise I basically wrote little short stories about his adventures in blog form on his on Myspace page.  The character was basically a machete wielding adventure mix between Indiana Jones and Conan the Barbarian in a mythical environment based loosely on the character from the song.

From these  myspace connections I found out about a San Diego Surf Band show w/live Tiki Carving from a myspace friend and Tiki Carver Billy the Crud.  

Billy the Crud carving away

It was a great show that just got me more into Tiki music and Tiki art and lead me to find Tiki Central in order to find out about more Surf bands and Tiki Events.

That blog from myspace is one of the first posted I reposted on my Pineappleman blog

http://pineapplemantiki.blogspot.com/2011/05/embrace-beach-part-2-surf-bands-rolled.html

This event lead to my discovering Tiki Oasis  for the first time the year of Voodoo Island...

The Zombie Flange ...My first room crawl  

Surf Bands doing covers of Haunted Mansion theme and Tikis......It brought everything I was interested in at the time together to one place.....We saw the Ghastly Ones and the Creepy Creeps and came across the Thee Swank Bastards...I was hooked.

Along the way my uncle that moved out of state left my 5 Tikis that now live in my backyard that has slowly become my Tiki hangout.

Since then I have gone to Tiki Oasis every year,  I fell in love with SHAG artwork (again by the Disney connection),  I built a beach in backyard briefly for a beach party where I met my wife,  got married  in Maui and have a Sea Turtle wedding ring.   I started the Pineappleman's Tiki blog  (to save my previous blogs from Myspace).    We love slowly adding new Tiki Mugs, Tiki Glasses and Tiki Art to our collection.   Trader Sam's at Disneyland resort is one of my favorite places  in the world   bringing my love of Disney and Tiki together in one location.   If I had Bill Gates money I would build a version of this bar at my dream house near the beach right next to my Tiki Themed Dream pool.   We love hanging out in the Dagger Bar at Don the Beachcomber's watching the Hula Girls.  So that is how it happened for me.   

What got you into Tiki????

  

Countdown to Oasis 15 days til Oasis (don't look into the eyes of the Tiki)

From 2009 Tiki Oasis  The Bikini Beachcombers

Loved their version of Whale of a Tale from 20.000 Leagues

Embrace the Beach Part 2 (Surf bands, Rolled Tacos--Tikis and Tiolets)

Continuing with the Embrace the Beach theme…Started the day out with a beach run to 62nd place on the Peninsula and back… (Number 2 favorite sound in the World) The shore break lapping against the beach….. (Number 1 favorite sound is the noise a cold Pepsi can makes when it opens number 3 the sound of the Train at Disneyland) I just wish that the sound of the waves were strong enough to shut up my overactive brain….I rarely get a moments rest from my mind especially on a run….TV used to do the trick ---of numbing my mind for awhile ….Like a dumbification IV strapped to my arm—but unfortunately with the lack of good shows on during the summer---I mean every time I check my TV guide it is something like "Who wants to Marry my dog" or "Are you smarter than a Can of Beans" Unfortunately right now the Brain numbification candy that is TV is hardly doing the trick as the reality programming has hit (Idiocracy Level)
Ok I seem to have drifting like a piece of wayward Seaweed –really far away from the subject which was supposed to be the beach so lets just skip the beach run and go to the main topic …Surf Bands……(Embrace the Beach)

Another tangent (Stick in there ---There will be pictures I promise)One of the good things about being single (after so many years of marriage) is I really have the freedom to just run off and go do whatever I feel like whenever I feel like…No checking with another person—seeing if they are interested --yada –yada yada….

And I have really embraced that concept whether it is doing stuff solo or with friends—meeting cool and interesting new people to do fun stuff… This includes over the last year. The Star Wars Convention 2007—Comic Con 2007 (for the first time ever –heading down there again this week)—Western Festival --Erotica 2008 –Vegas guys trip (yeah that wouldn't have happened during my marriage) Meeting people I barely new out at Disneyland that are now several of my really good friends.. --Stagecouch Festival to see Eagles/Fogarty –Taste of Newport to see (Huey Lewis) that one was solo—and the next day to see Devo with a friend… Johnny Vatos Boingo Tribute and Kids in the Hall live (both things I went solo to) ----Now when I see something that looks like it could be fun---I just do it….Buy the tickets before even asking if any friends want to go so that I don't miss out.. And this was another example of that….I got an invite on my Pineappleman page for The Psycho Beach Party event…..Come down to see Surf Bands –Tiki Carving Barbeque in San Diego…. And with my freedom I just decided ---Sure why the hell not… (Hell when I went to College at San Diego State I used to make this weekend drive practically every other week to hang out with Long Beach friends and perform in WASH shows….So why not..

Luckily END was down for idea (No other takers----hey I offered several times for others to join in the fun) Making the naive mistake that things would actually start on the time on the flyer (I should know better—We headed down to San Diego) Stopped at a hole in the wall and typical of San Diego great Mexican food place—for some Rolled Tacos --(or taquitos as we Northern's in Orange County call them)   It was a Taco Fiesta Baby!!!

Um San Diego Mexican Food!!!!!

Then we continued the search for the Historic Tower Bar….Of course there was no Tower anymore—so we almost missed it completely… (Story is the Tower was falling over and was removed and the city is making a new tower to put back on top of it)
Something else was also missing -----A toilet seat  --The irony was they had a tiolet seat hanging on the wall in the bar area--which i wanted to install in the bathroom...Some Tweaker might fall in at any moment

I was thinking ok this will be interesting—as we ordered some drinks to kill time until the bands started around 5pm….END pointed out that the place had the feel of Alex's Bar in Long Beach on a smaller scale.

Here is link to Tower Bar

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=7690879

While waiting for the bands there was The Cramps playing in the bar…Tiki carving by Billy the Crud outside and if you read my blogs ---you know I love Tikis…Thinking of trying to make one myself out of the Apricot Tree stump.

More Tikis

We hung out and enjoyed Antique Scream a band from Arizona… Here are a few pictures of them they were more than surf…. Here is link to there page.  I liked the energy they put out there..

Check them out online

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=19744617

Talked with a cool guy from Australia Travis that will be going to Tiki Oasis in August---We asked for the scoop of what to except from another of my random (That sounds cool I'm booking a room buying tickets and then seeing if anyone wants to go events) And he said that it is really wild and fun—SO I'm so looking forward to my first ever Tiki Oasis…..Also meet and talked briefly with Lady Borgia a stunning Redhead and her friends…She coincidentally will be at Comic Con and Tiki Oasis—and had flyers for a cool post Comic Con Burlesque show called FishnetfolliesZolt will be with us so END can't go) -maybe I'll convince his brother to go with. Talk about a nerds dream –Comic con ---plus a burlesque show (again something I've never seen before)

Posing with the beautiful  Lady Borgia

Eric gets Zombified

Out of a skull mug

Lady Borgia and Billy The Crud

A minor Disagreement

Next up was  Monsters from Mars

Melodramatic Popular Song / Experimental / Surf  band

—which I was looking forward to after hearing their cool Surf cover of Toxic by Britney Spears----(They had a few WASH like restarts to a couple of songs)  but I give them credit for trying to cover to great songs CCR's (Wallking on the water) and The B'52's (Rock Lobster)

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=2302887

Then Billy wheeled in some Tikis and the Fez wearing Surfside IV hit the stage with Go-Go dancers----Surf Music and Go-go dancers equals fun   and here is the link to their page

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=171223667

Here are some pics..

I Love the Look

"That is what i'm talking about Willis"

Go Go Go Go

Taking it to the crowd

Rock  Star Style

I turn away for a second and END is Bodysurfing on a chair

More Go Go Action

Unfortunately had to leave before the final band Surf Camp Zombies---I give you their link to check them out anyway

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=21939367

-But the whole working the next morning and having an 1 ½ drive thing….On the way back after END feel asleep and then his phone alarm started going off every 5 minutes to the sounds of "No sleep –No Sleep til Broklyn" I tried to make the best out of the situation… Since his phone was in his pocket there was no way I was going to try to turn it off….So instead I just stopped my CD everytime it came on and sang along "No Sleep til Broklyn"

END woke up after the 9th singing and we stopped at Jack in the Box near San Clemente…Where Eric ordered the weirdest item ever Mac N cheese (which were in the form of Nuggets) Keeping with the bad bathroom theme Jack in the box had papers towels all over the floor—END made a comment about it and after using the facilities myself—I came out and imitated the scene in "The Jerk" where Steve Martin walks into the Biker chicks trailer and asks where the helmet goes and she throws it on the ground and he says "Oh that's where it goes" or something like that…