Logo by Tucc & Gaut. Used 2003-2007, deprecated in 2008.
Any Exotica composed after the ’60s just doesn’t sound the same … Randy Wong’s original composition, “Sweet Pikake Serenade”, was the first time I had heard a modern composition that sounded ready to take its place alongside those great classic songs. Halfway through hearing it, I had forgotten that it was a new piece. Stunning, beautiful, and moving.
Michelle Whiting, Exotica critic & owner, blog.humuhumu.com
How WAITIKI Started
WAITIKI is a project that I started with my buddy Abe Lagrimas Jr., who is also from Hawaii. Abe went to Berklee College of Music and lived right around the corner from me. We’ve been friends ever since high school and have played music together for just as long. Abe is a former member of DON TIKI, one of the world’s only other exotica/tiki bands still in existence.
The mission of WAITIKI is unique in that we strive to both recreate the original sounds of Martin Denny and his band, and also create our own flavors of exotica in our original tunes.
Exotica (also known as tiki) music can be described as a unique blend of Latin rhythms, Asiatic melodies, with bird calls and monkey noises done with the specific goal of whisking the listener away to a far-off island paradise, away from the cityscape of modern living.
The success of the WAITIKI project has been tremendous, and I feel truly blessed to be partially responsible for its success. In just under 3 years (the group marks it’s third anniversary this July 2006), we have brought the mystical world of exotica to audiences across the United States and Mexico. Performance highlights include: the Hawaii International Jazz Festival 2005, at which we did a special Tribute to Martin Denny set; the Hukilau Festival in Fort Lauderdale, FL, where we performed with film scorer, exotica musician, and former CBS Music Director Robert Drasnin; and at several museums in the Boston area, including the Museum of Fine Arts. We’ve also had several radio appearances across North America and in Europe (thanks to the Lounge King!).
WAITIKI Records New & Original Exotica
In September of 2005,WAITIKI released its first album, “Charred Mammal Flesh: Exotic Music for BBQ.” This release was groundbreaking for me, mostly because I had to compose two-thirds of the material on the album. Some of my originals include nods to popular culture: “Cave of Uldo,” for example, has a beat that Abe and I developed that incorporates the bass line from rap artist Usher’s “Yeah,” with the traditional Hawaiian ipu rhythm and the Latin guiro. Others are silly takes on literature: “Pan-XOTIK-Da” is a song about pandas and punctuation, and was inspired by the Lynne Truss book, Eats, Shoots, & Leaves. The album opens with Arthur Lyman‘s “Bwana, Bwana A,” which from my understanding, is how Mr. Lyman used to open his shows when his quartet would perform live. We also cover two of our favorite Martin Denny tunes, “Primativa,” which Kit Ebersbach’s tiki show group DON TIKI also covers on their album, and “Manila,” which is a favorite of Abe and myself. The album has some really great playing by our reed player Tim Mayer (“The Mayor of Exotica”); Tim’s versatility allowed me to score for bass clarinet, alto flute, and the usual array of saxophones. You can also hear quite clearly the diversity of influences that Brian O’Neill has as a percussionist: One of Brian’s contributions to the album, for example, was the decision to play “Manila” as a slow samba, instead of a cha-cha-cha. This meant removing the underlying guiro, and replacing it with a Brazilian pandeiro. The change in feel, while subtle, really adds a different color to the tune. Another one of Brian’s winning ideas was to use a danzon feel for my original, “Plamingo Flagoda” … in my opinion, the danzon there makes the song truly feel exotic.
Zu-zu and POW!
In April of 2006, WAITIKI made another leap forward, when we traveled to Mexico City to perform at the Festival de Mexico with our 21-member big band, the WAITIKI ORCHESTROTICA. The “Orchestrotica” is a pet project of WAITIKI, and was initiated by our vibraphonist, Brian O’Neill. What’s unique about the Orchestrotica is the music that we play: that of the Mexican composer/arranger Juan Garcia Esquivel, who was popular in Mexico for writing the theme song to the cartoon show “Burbujas,” and is famous in the U.S. for his antiphonally-recorded big band arrangements that sound something like a cross between 50s cartoon music and what one might expect George & Elroy Jetson to lounge to, when Elroy turns 21. The arrangements feature funny-and-strange instruments like bass accordion, boo-bams, and steel guitar, juxtaposed with silly lyrics like “zu-zu” and “POW!” and overall are just a riot to listen to.
“Mr. HO” Tickles the Ivories (and Even Dresses) Like Esquivel
Brian came across Esquivel’s music back around Thanksgiving 2004, when he was visiting a record store in Keane, New Hampshire with a friend. Dude fell in love with Esquivel’s stuff and thought it might be fun for us to play his music. Only problem was, we found out that none of the charts existed! So we (Brian, Abe, Tupu Loufou, and myself) set off to transcribe the charts, note for note, and arrange them for a small big band. The debut of the WAITIKI ORCHESTROTICA was in March 2004 at the Lizard Lounge (Cambridge, MA), and was met by critical acclaim. Our show sold-out, partially thanks to great press coverage by the Boston Globe and Boston Herald papers, and also helped by the fact that none of Esquivel’s big band music had been performed live in 40 years. Some fans even flew out from California that morning, just to see us play! (Thanks Alex, where ever you are!) Anyway, word must have spread far and fast, because with each show we’ve presented (one at the Milky Way in Jamaica Plain, MA and another in Boston’s South End at the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center), we’ve played to sold-out venues and with great audience appreciation.
Our trip to Mexico was made possible by Carlos Becerra, Arturo, & Arteria productions, and I’d to say a big MAHALO to them for working with us!
Also, thanks to photographer Jason Goodman for his great photos of WAITIKI … you rock, dude!
For more info on WAITKI, and to purchase our CD, please visit our website at www.waitiki.com