face beside the fire

WITCO Zebra Mood Light from the early 70's

2011-06-28T22:02:00.005-05:00

Last summer Dr. Atomica was inspired to restore this fabulous example of WITCO Tiki Exotica.What say you of the finished piece?

I Am Your Special Island

2010-11-08T19:44:00.000-06:00

Yma Sumac, 1922-2008

2008-11-07T01:43:00.017-06:00

Sadly a great voice has been silenced by the inevitable march of time... The great Peruvian diva and songstress Yma Sumac left the material world last week.Her spirit and music will live on in the hearts and minds of the many people she has touched.R.I.P., Zoila Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo.www.yma-sumac.com

Lap Steel Magic from GeorgeBoards

2008-10-07T17:32:00.009-05:00

Paradise IslesI recently purchased an instrument from Maestro Boards. Next time you're in the market for a lap steel be sure to look him up. You can link to his site from the Beyond the Reef section below.

Ana Lani & Ray Kinney

2008-10-02T19:34:00.001-05:00

Hawaiian Hula Song w/Steel Guitar

UNGAWA!

2008-09-19T14:51:00.028-05:00

"Tarzan the Ape Man" debuted in 1932 and was a huge hit. Filmed in various Los Angeles locations and at Crystal Springs, Florida (with a great deal of authentic African footage that had been shot for the earlier movie "Trader Horn"), "Tarzan the Ape Man" gave depression weary movie goers a unique form of escapist entertainment.And even though Tarzan didn't talk much, Weissmuller did come up with

The Suffering Bastard

2008-09-19T14:51:00.026-05:00

Adapted for your Suffering Bastard mug by Captnkirk ~ tiki socialite3 ounces orange curacao1.5 ounces rock candy syrup1.5 ounces orgeat syrup2 ounces light Puerto Rican Rum4 ounces St. James rhumlengthwise strip of cucumber peel2 limes (cut and juiced)Cut limes and squeeze juice into a shaker containing shaved iced dumped in from one Suffering bastard mug; save one lime shell. Add booze and

The Legend of Yma Sumac

2008-08-24T15:55:00.053-05:00

Yma Sumac, the five-octave Diva of Exotica, was born Zoila Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo in 1922 in Inchocan, Peru. Sumac began performing on radio in Peru in her early teens. Bandleader and composer Moises Vivianco discovered her and began promoting her throughout South America. In 1947, Vivianco and Sumac married and moved to New York City. She performed with Vivianco's combo, Conjunto

Face Beside The Fire

2008-08-17T00:46:00.008-05:00

"For this dream of being awake suddenly was more urgent that the condition of actually being awake. He felt like an explorer who had at last walked into the true unknown and found that the treasure of discovery was the realization that true awareness needs not only the fact, but also the dream of the fact: these are the two vital ends to the journey between."- from The Face Beside the Fire, 1953

Les Baxter, 1922 -1996

2008-08-15T00:52:00.004-05:00

Wherever exotica went, Les Baxter was there, often leading the way. His work for Capitol Records in the 1950s introduced most of the major movements in exotica. His 1950 album, "Music Out of the Moon," featured the theremin and was probably the best-selling theremin album of all time--and also founded the "space" school of exotica. In 1951, he did the same for the "jungle" school of exotica with

WITCO Decor

2008-08-14T01:28:00.002-05:00