Entertaining conversations with artists, musicians, entertainers, historians and more in the tiki, cocktail, island, surf, lowbrow and alternative sub-cultures! Listen to our archive at desertoasisroom.com
Episodes
Monday Nov 20, 2017
Monday Nov 20, 2017
Today we have a late night chat with Scott "Tikipop" Taylor and "Tiki Rob" Hawes. Well, it was more of a late night for me because of the time difference and on top of that, I was battling a cold, so I apologize for the gravelly voice! In any case, it was still fun chatting with these guys. If you don't already know, Scott and Rob are tiki mug makers from the Hawaiian Island of Maui. They tell us what it's like to live in Maui, how they found their way to the islands, how they got started making tiki mugs and more!
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade and Tiki-Ti. Stop by their FB and IG pages and give them a like!
Monday Nov 13, 2017
Monday Nov 13, 2017
Today we enjoy a couple of beers at Frogtown Brewery with Rod Moore and Brian Verch. Rod is the owner/founder of The Shameful Tiki Room with locations in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada; and Brian is known for his travel companion, "The Penguin." You might have seen the penguin or even been photographed with the penguin at various tiki or surf music events in the past. Rod and Brian also happen to be members of surf band, The Hang-ten Hangmen. Hear some funny stories about the penguin as well as how Rod went from owning a hockey supply store to running 2 tiki bars on each end of Canada.
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade and Tiki-Ti. Stop by their FB and IG pages and give them a like!
Monday Nov 06, 2017
Monday Nov 06, 2017
Today we sit down for a smoke with Jochen Hirschfeld. Jochen is a filmmaker, photographer and world traveler and is the producer/director of the DVD of Tiki. I met Jochen about 15 years ago and we immediately became fast friends. In this episode we share travel stories, chat about how he stumbled into Tiki, his motivation for creating the DVD of Tiki, his future projects and more! To see more of his work, check him out on Instagram @livingroompictures or stop by his website at DVDofTiki.com.
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade and Tiki-Ti. Stop by their FB and IG pages and give them a like!
Monday Oct 16, 2017
Monday Oct 16, 2017
On this episode we speak with mug maker Henrik Van Ryzin, also known as VanTiki. Henrik was born and raised on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and about a year ago relocated from the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean to the colder climes of the Pacific Northwest in Oregon. He shares stories about his early struggles in the art industry, how he got into tiki mug making, what it was like running the number 1 AirBNB in Hawaii, why he left the islands and more!
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade and Tiki-Ti. Stop by their FB and IG pages and give them a like!
Tuesday Oct 03, 2017
Tuesday Oct 03, 2017
On this episode we share drinks and stories at The Hale Kahiki located in Echo Park, California. The Hale Kahiki is the home tiki bar space of Alan Smart and Michael Uhlenkott. If you're a fan of Spongebob Squarepants then you are a fan of Alan's work. He's the animation director for that show! And his partner Michael Uhlenkott is an artist and graphic designer who's work you've probably seen or purchased on sites such as Spoonflower. We're also joined by another "Michael" -- Michael Hanttula. He's the creator of the Tiki Bar Name Generator. A fun, slot-machine styled application that's strangely addictive. Google it and see for yourself!
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade and Tiki-Ti. Stop by their FB and IG pages and give them a like!
Thursday Sep 28, 2017
Thursday Sep 28, 2017
On this episode with speak with Denny Moynahan, most commonly known as King Kukulele. You might have seen his act at The Hukilau, Tiki Oasis or countless tiki events over the past 2 decades. We talk about his musical background, how he stumbled into playing the ukulele and how his stage character, King Kukulele, came to be.
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade and Tiki-Ti. Stop by their FB and IG pages and give them a like!
Tuesday Sep 19, 2017
Tuesday Sep 19, 2017
On today's episode we chat with Jeff "Beachbum" Berry. Jeff is a fixture in the tiki and craft cocktail community. He is the author of the Grog Log, Intoxica, Remixed, Sippin' Safari, Taboo Table, Potions of the Caribbean and is close to releasing a new book celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Sippin' Safari. Jeff shares with us a wealth of history in both tiki and cocktails and even answers a few questions provided by our listeners!
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade and Tiki-Ti. Stop by their FB and IG pages and give them a like!
Tuesday Sep 12, 2017
Tuesday Sep 12, 2017
On this episode we chat with John Mulder from Eekum Bookum! John is an Army veteran of over 3 decades of service who went to art school on the GI Bill to start a new life as an artist. You probably know him best for the tiki mugs he's produced for events like Tiki Caliente, Taboo, MOD Palm Springs and Tiki Oasis. Today we hear how he got his start making tiki mugs for a living!
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade and Tiki-Ti. Stop by their FB and IG pages and give them a like!
Monday Aug 28, 2017
Monday Aug 28, 2017
On this episode we speak with Tim "Swanky" Glazner. Tim is the author of "Mai Kai: History and Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant" and today we talk about the making of this book among other things, including Don the Beachcomber, Hurricane Hukilau and much, much more.
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade and Tiki-Ti. Stop by their FB and IG pages and give them a like!
Monday Aug 07, 2017
Monday Aug 07, 2017
Today we speak with Jason Alexander! Jason Alexander along with his partner Robyn Murphy are the owners of Tacoma Cabana in Tacoma, Washington. If you're a tiki person you've probably fantasised about opening your own tiki bar and in this episode we talk about how Jason and Robyn went from running a coffee shop to owning and managing one of the best tiki bars in the Pacific Northwest. Jason tells the story of how they took Villa Caffe and turned it into Tacoma Cabana!
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade, Tiki-Ti and Tiki Oasis. Stop by their FB and IG pages and give them a like!
Monday Jul 24, 2017
Monday Jul 24, 2017
Today we chat with Charles Phoenix! Charles Phoenix is a retro-pop culture humorist, midcentury historian and entertainer. If you've ever attended one of his comedic historic tours or vintage slide presentations then you know what he's all about. We talk about what he does, how he got started, his new book, his new clothing line and much, much more.
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade, Tiki Diablo, Tiki-Ti and Tiki Oasis. Stop by their FB and IG pages and give them a like!
Monday Jul 10, 2017
Monday Jul 10, 2017
A few months ago we released a podcast with Mike Sr & Jr of the legendary Tiki-Ti in Hollywood, California. It was founded by their patriarch, Ray Buhen, one of the original bartenders at Don the Beachcomber, the bar that started tropical craft cocktail mixology and kicked off a decades long era of Polynesian Pop. I got so much positive feedback from the episode and many requests to do a sequel. Listeners simply wanted more stories about Ray Buhen and the old days of Tiki, so we sat down to record a sequel and in this episode we bring that sequel to you. Mike Sr shares more stories of Ray, the other bars he bartended at and the celebrities they've catered to over the years, including Howard Hughes, Clark Gable, Jack Palance, George Lucas and more!
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade, Tiki Diablo and Tiki Oasis. Stop by their FB and IG pages and give them a like!
Monday Jun 26, 2017
Monday Jun 26, 2017
On this episode we speak with Jason T Smith. You might know Jason from the reality TV show Thrift Hunters on Spike TV, Thrifty Business with Jay and Nay on YouTube or as the head honcho of The Thrifting Board on Facebook. We have a spirited conversation about Tiki, Thrifting, Game Shows, Reality TV, Life in Las Vegas and more!
This episode is sponsored by Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Steadfast Pomade, Big Toe Art, Tiki Bosko and Tiki-Ti.
Monday Jun 05, 2017
Monday Jun 05, 2017
Bosko was one of the very first urban archaeologists of Tiki and Polynesian Pop starting back in the mid 1980's. His story is unique in that, acting as a "lone wolf" he really had no influences other than himself and what he thought was "cool." He also might have been the first person in the revivalist era to build a home tiki bar space back in the early 1990's, the Kapu Tiki Room, which inspired his design of Taboo Cove, the first real Tiki bar in the revivalist era, once located at The Venetian in Las Vegas. He was also one of the first to start a modern day tiki mug collection and from what we can gather, the first person to start making tiki mugs in the revivalist era. If you like hearing stories of what all these old Tiki and Polynesian Pop palaces were like before they were shut down, the efforts he went through to save some of the historic pieces in many of them and what it was like to start his now thriving Tiki and mug making business then I think you will enjoy this episode. To see what he is doing today or pick up some of his art, tikis, mugs or paintings go to tikibosko.com.
This episode is sponsored y Tanduay Rum, the world's largest rum producer and winner of over 170 international medals in the past 4 decades. Check out their webpage at tanduayUSA.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @TanduayUSA. Additional sponsors include Tiki Diablo, Steadfast Pomade and Big Toe Art.