History of WAITIKI

Started on a whim in 2003 by Randy Wong and Abe Lagrimas Jr., WAITIKI INTERNATIONAL LLC began as a quartet (then known simply as, “WAITIKI”) and has since become an internationally-recognized facilitator and supporter of modern exotica music and the related tiki pop-culture phenomenon, garnering praise and critical acclaim throughout the world.

In its quartet incarnation, the group headlined the Hawaii International Jazz Festival and at practically every major tiki festival (Hukilau, Tiki Oasis, Hot Rod Hula Hop, and the North East Tiki Tour). Since 2005, WAITIKI has won the Music Foundation of Hawaii’s “Exotica Album of the Year”—including the first-ever award in that category, which honored WAITIKI for its work in bringing exotica music back to mainstream listeners.

From Tiki Bar to Concert Hall

In 2007, WAITIKI began branching out—’beyond the thatch of the tiki bar,’ so to speak. Bandleader Randy Wong fulfilled a commission by Project Copernicus, a Miami-based chamber orchestra, to orchestrate “L’ours Chinois”. Two performances of “L’ours Chinois” were made, in Miami Beach and West Palm Beach; both were met with critical acclaim. Greg Stepanich, classical music critic of the Palm Beach Post later placed Wong’s compositional debut as #4 in his Top 10 Classical Music Events of 2007.

The Journal for Music-In-Education, jointly published by New England Conservatory and the Music-In-Education National Consortium, published an article Wong wrote. Titled “Exploring Initiation through The ‘Other’: Cultural Variety through Tiki & Exotica”, the article explores the dance sometimes played by exotica music as it weaves itself amongst cultural and faux-cultural music.

WAITIKI began the formalization of its efforts in exotica outreach and advocacy in late 2007 through concert talks, radio interviews, lectures, and blogs. Several radio programs hosted Q&A sessions with Randy Wong about the nature of exotica: progenitors/influences of its original recordings, the state of ‘modern’ exotica, and about WAITIKI’s contributions. With thanks to radio hosts like Darrell Brogdon (Kansas Public Radio), Michael Toth (Luxuria Music), Jason Croft (Java’s Bachelor Pad), short Q&A sessions evolved into longer interviews, and the listening public became more informed. The success of these interviews foreshadowed the newest stages of WAITIKI’s work: the creation of The WAITIKI 7—an all-star septet that holds high standards in its performance of exotica; and the commissioning of new exotica compositions.

Easily recognizable for its unique approach as facilitators for the preservation and legacy of classic exotica, WAITIKI is often called upon for its “well-crafted” and “wickedly infectious” sound. Notably, Robert Drasnin has engaged the group on three occasions as the core group of performers for new arrangements of music he originally wrote in the 1960s for his Voodoo album. Jim Beloff of Flea Market Music hired the group in 2007 to write and record new arrangements of works popularized by Arthur Lyman, Alfred Apaka, Mel Henke, and Paul Conrad. (That album, Paradise Lost & Found was named “Exotica Album of the Year” by the Music Foundation of Hawaii in 2009).

As part of WAITIKI’s commitment to the preservation of classic exotica, the group actively contributes as bloggers on “exoticology” (exotica musicology) and “cocktailology” (tiki drink making), and has also started a trial Exotica Performance Program to train musicians in exotica music.

Formation of The WAITIKI 7 & WAITIKI INTERNATIONAL LLC

An invitation to perform at the internationally-acclaimed House of World Cultures in Berlin, Germany prompted the formation of The WAITIKI 7. W7 is modeled after the classic groups of Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, and Gene Rains. The WAITIKI 7 is the only modern group that performs exotica completely live and acoustic—just like in the 1950s.

WAITIKI INTERNATIONAL LLC was formed in 2009, in response to the overwhelming success of The WAITIKI 7, and the desire by General Manager and Music Director Randy Wong to differentiate it from other projects, products, and services offered previously. In other words, The WAITIKI 7 is just one project of WAITIKI INTERNATIONAL LLC; other projects include an educational outreach initiative (termed “Okonkuluku University”) and a wide array of merchandise/product tie-ins. For more information on WAITIKI INTERNATIONAL LLC, please visit its website, at www.WAITIKI.com.