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Mai Tai in Pop Culture: “Mai Tais on the Moon” by Tikiyaki Orchestra

When you’re drinking a Mai Tai, the stuff in the glass is the most important part. But the place where you drink the Mai Tai is also key. Do you want to hear loud hair metal while drinking a Mai Tai? No, you want relaxing exotic music that helps transport you to a different place or at least to forget the cares of the world. We call this music Exotica.

The most prominent Exotica band currently performing and putting out new music is the Tikiyaki Orchestra. The group was formed by Jim Bacchi and to date they’ve issued several well regarded albums with tracks that are frequently played in tiki bars worldwide and also in places like Adventureland at Disneyland. Tikiyaki plays live as a seven-piece group at several tiki-related events each year. In the last couple years, a four-person combo has been producing surf-oriented recordings and playing live under the moniker Tikiyaki 5-0.

The first Tikiyaki Orchestra album featured a song called “Mai Tais on the Mood” and is representative of the group’s signature sound. It’s a mix of classic exotic percussion, vibraphone, slack key, and surf guitar. This was actually the first song Bacchi recorded as Tikiyaki Orchestra.

Wait, there’s more!

As I was preparing this post, we learned there is new Tikiyaki music being made available as of today! In fact, it has only been recently conceived and recorded.

Sketches with Guitar and Bongos is being issued under the moniker “Tikiyaki minus orchestra” because it’s a stripped-down arrangement featuring percussion and guitars. The songs are right in line with previous Tikiyaki recordings in that they’ll fit in just fine at the tiki bar. This is great stuff and maybe the first positive thing to come out of the COVID-19 social shutdown.

Head on over to the Tikiyaki Orchestra website or go to Bandcamp to purchase the album

Tonight we’ll raise a Mai Tai to Tikiyaki!

Jim Bacchi performing with Tikiyaki 5-0 at Tiki Kon 2018.

5 Minute Tiki Bar Visit

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I walked into a Tiki Bar today. It was only for less than five minutes, to pick up my dinner and cocktail to-go order. But 12 days is about as long as it’s been between tiki bar visits during the last couple years. Kind of maybe starting to regret not building the tiki bar at home right about now. But, Kon-Tiki is doing take out and now that includes cocktails. The menu is limited, but as long as their famous, amazing Kon-Tiki Burger is on the menu it doesn’t matter to me. Interestingly, the to-go version is slightly modified, including a little bit of lettuce and tomato. And the included fries are crinkle cut. But even after a drive home to Fremont the burger tasted A-MAZ-ING. Really really great. Everyone at home loved them. If you’re local, get on it! As for the to-go cocktails this was more of a mixed bag. The new pricing this week is $18 per cocktail, though it’s more than double the normal amount of liquid in a typical cocktail glass including all the ice. And as “bottled ready to go” Mai Tais go, this one was pretty good. A little lime-forward for my taste, but it was plenty boozy. I mean, plenty. boozy. I also had the Virigin’s Sacrifice. This was probably closer to what’s served in the restaurant, though the reason I ordered was because I have never ordered it there before and thought I’d give it a try. Tequila, Mezcal, lime, passionfruit, and pineapple gum, all great. The spicy chili, though – was too much for me. If you like things spicy, this is a great cocktail. Have heard great things about the Zombie and Ma Kua from other tikiphiles so this is definitely the place for cocktails in Oakland right now. So very nice to see the Kon-Tiki crew working to keep the ship sailing through this challenging time. Cheers to Matt, Christ, Tony, Jeanie, Manny, and everyone else working tonight. Miss you all but we’ll see you on the other side. Last note? Yes. Yes, there was Yacht Rock playing inside the Kon-Tiki. Some things never change. #tiki #tikibar #tikidrinks #tikiculture #tropicaldrinks #cocktails #craftcocktails #rum #rhum #maitai #1944maitai #oakland

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