TIKI!!!

I've been wanting to build a Tiki Bar for ages!  I've been a  huge fan of surf music, surfing and all things island for as long as I can remember.  I have been ever since I found my parents copy of Surfin' With the Astronauts when I was 12.  They bought it when they saw the band play at Tulagis in Boulder in about 1966.  Yes, a surf band played in Boulder.  The Astronauts were from Boulder.  Anyway, I loved that album then, and I love it now.  That, of course, led to me to more and more surf music- I devoured the stuff.  I used to debate the merits of pure instrumental guitar driven surf like Dick Dale, The Centurions, The Surfaries and the Trashmen and the more pop vocal sounds of bands like The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean.  I was always arguing that real surf music was the driven by the springy reverb of a lead guitar melody- just like surfing itself…  like I, as a 15 year old in Lakewood Colorado, knew anything about surfing.  
 

I was lucky that as a teenager in the 80s the incredible subculture of skating exploded.  We had quite a few skate shops in my area, and they always sold loads of surf related stuff.  I loved skating as well, but I was never all that good.  I never learned to olllie and was at best a novice half pipe skater.  I loved cruising around though!  Today I restrict myself to riding a longboard.  Anyway, thanks to all the shops around, I had a huge collection of Billibong, Quicksilver, T&C, Pacific Island Creations and Vans.  We lived in t-shirts, board shorts and slip-ons.  I also had a little cred, because I lived in Southern California for a time.  Ok, I was 5 and 6 and we lived in Claremont, which is about 30 miles from the beach.  Still...   We did have the opportunity to go back to visit several times and the first place I wanted to go was always the ocean.  The ultimate surf experience in my high school years is when I got my first surfboard.  Ok.. I made it… ok, I made it from a big piece of packing foam and had no idea how to actually glass it, so I think I used polyurethane left over from refinishing some hardwood floors.  I made it as a movie prop, for a surf film I made in class.  Yes, a surf film made right here in Colorado.  The pond was disgusting!   I kept that board through college but finally had to throw the much repaired pieces away.  

I finally got to go surfing the first time when I was in the Navy.  I was in the reserves, so I never had much time, but I was lucky enough to be stationed in Long Beach and San Diego, and for some reason my rate- Signalman- always attracted at least a few surfers to the signal shack, so I always had guys who were willing to take me out, including a guy called Brad, who lent me a board, gave me lessons and was always glad to see me come to the ship and take me out.  Every time I was in California I planned on getting a real board.  I could never come up with the money to do so, though.  That dream finally came true when my brother came back from living in Hawaii.  He lived there for a couple of years and had advanced from just riding a longboard down the face of a smooth 3 foot wave- about as far as I ever got- to shredding on a Jeff Ho 5'8" thruster.  When he returned, he gave me that board.  A Jeff Ho!  I know you've seen Dogtown and Z-Boys!  You'll remember Jeff Ho as the main shaper from Zephyr surfshop.  This was one of his 80s boards, shaped while he was in Hawaii.  Even though I never once rode that board, it was my pride and joy.

My love for all things surf has never gone away.  I've softened my view on the instrumental v pop vocal music debate.  In fact I'd go as far as say that Good Vibrations and All Summer Long by the Beach Boys are among my top 100 favorite songs.  I've kept up with the new wave (ha!) of surf bands that still come along and they are just as exciting as the old.  The Aqua Velvets, The Bomboras, Satan's Pilgrims, and Los Straightjackets are a great place to start.  There is even a nice connection between my love of MST3K and surf music.  When Joel returns to the Satellite of Love, he tells Mike and the Bots he's been working as a roadie for Man or Astro-Man? And they did a version of the Love Theme!   There are even a few local surf bands you should check out, like the Beloved Invaders and the Royal Aces.   

Anyway, I finally turned the storage shed on the back of my house into a Tiki bar- PA~AG'S Tiki Shack.  I'm hugely lucky to have an incredible girlfrind that knows more about Tiki than anyone I know, and was on board for this conversion.  Thanks, my love!  
Here is the pictorial process of the conversion.

Here is said shed... potential Tiki Bar!

Crap and muck!

Removing the groovy 70s paneling.  It reminded me of my childhood bedroom.

Wonderful spliced wiring!  Yeah.. that's safe.

Juan helping with the wiring.  We had to move the wiring to accommodate the door, and to make it safer.  I've never been terribly comfortable with wiring, but this project really made me feel better about my abilities.

New and improved wiring!

The biggest moment of the project- cutting the door.

Success!  Door cut, and hung.  It works!

Installing the bar.  I used a table top that I found in the trash.  I cut it in half, cut the sides to make it fit and then used two sanding pads to get it right.

The door needed to be trimmed so it could close over the bar.

The interior of the bar with the door closed.

The interior support for the bar and the paneling back in place.

Another dumpster find, an old entertainment center, simply mounted on the wall.

A door that was in the shed (one of the interior kitchen doors that wasn't needed) serves as work station in the bar.  The door just rests on some 2/4s so it can easily be removed and used as a door again someday.

The open door and shelves are ready for finish work.  Speakers for the sound system are mounted!

More dumpster diving provided a bunch of bamboo that I used to face the shelves.

The finished Tiki Shack!  I have to admit, I'm damn proud of the sign I made.

View of the bar shelves.  Most of the Tiki stuff is Alisha's.

A close up of the shelves.

PA~AG's Tiki Shack's premier event!  A combined birthday party for Alisha and me!

 Postscript:

 We had such a brilliant party for the premier of the Tiki Shack!  There were loads of people there and the light of 80 candles is a sight to behold.  Just an amazing night all around.  Then... then...  About a week after the party I finally got around to moving the booze back into the house.  I went in and found that someone- probably neighborhood kids- had broken into my Tiki Shack and stolen all the booze (ok, 3 bottles of rum and a cooler full of beer), my vintage shot pump and my surfboard! The cops came by, but there's not much that can be done. The only thing that I'm really annoyed about is the board. I'm checking craigslist and ebay to see if it comes up for sale- and if you want to be on the lookout for it- I've included a close up below. Again, it's a Jeff Ho- Hawaii board (5'8"" thruster with about 3 inch rails with an adjustable center fin. I'm not sure I'll ever see it again, and I now finally fully understand this...

 

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