I am going to sign up for the Hale Pele event here in Portland come May. They are a local tiki bar that makes the best tropical drinks you can imagine and I will be there, selling my wares the week before Caliente in May. Live music, mai tais, and vendors should make for a fun time so drop by if you live in the area. Also heard from Tiki Oasis in San Diego and it seems like I will be invited for this celebration of tiki extravaganza in August. It's a huge event and I am hoping to be a part.

I left my warm, cozy home last night to drive into Portland for the Chelsea Light Moving show at the Doug Fir and it was well worth the trip. Fronted by ex Sonic Youth guy Thurston Moore, they brought a great sludgy yet fast paced concoction that had me wanting for more. With the biggest, meatiest hands in rock and roll he seems to squash chords out of his guitar like he's squeezing a lemon and it makes for a sound that is hard to duplicate. His backup band is top notch with a female bass player that doubles on violin. I thought the highlight was the song "Groovy and Linda". Opening was a pleasant, personable little threesome from San Francisco called Grass Widow.

Thanks to the Reverend Horton Heat for making me feel like a cool dude and putting me on the guest list at the Wonder Ballroom Saturday! Guttermouth opened with a strong and energetic fun-fest, followed by one of my favorite Rev shows. The addition of Jello Biafra for a few songs really added to the scene and my man Hoss on stage for a song wearing a Frog Island Tiki t shirt made my chest bulge out with pride. I stumbled out with the happy, sweaty crowd sometime after midnight thinking that after all these years they are hard to beat in the live show arena.

I sure do like the Mississippi Studios venue and a local band that I have wanted to see for some time was playing there last night. Nucular Aminals plays a grungy, psychedelic, dreamy sort of sound, and I really liked the way they destroyed music's conventional structure and timing. Very entertaining. The surprise for me was the opening band For The Lash, a nice foursome with a great primitive drummer, heavy bass, psych guitar and an excellent singer. Sandwiched in between was Stay Calm, a cotton candy, beats-oriented threesome that complained too much about monitors and lighting.

Two of my favorite musicians, Mike P. and Trevor D. were in town yesterday so it was with great anticipation that I went to see Tomahawk at the Wonder Ballroom. It pains me to give them a bad review but I gots to call 'em as I sees 'em. Uninspiring, expensive, routine, with the only spontaneity coming when the singer's mike went dead for a few seconds, it seemed this show was the exact show they will do tomorrow and exact show they did the night before. They played as individuals rather than as a team and add to that the obnoxious 20 minute continuous loop of the tomahawk chop chant they played before coming on that made for a rather disappointing evening. Trevor is still the best bass player I have ever seen though, and I did like the opening band Retox.

We tried to get into Hale Pele, a new local tiki bar, on opening day but after 20 minutes and no movement in the line we decided to try again. Another 3 pm New Years Eve attempt revealed a 5pm opening time so it was with great pleasure that me and my wife gained entry on her birthday this past week. The drinks and appetizers were fantastic with an atmosphere to match. We were even treated to a rare, sudden indoor thunder shower, and would advise anyone in the area to visit this eclectic bit o' Portland. Thanks Kerri for purchasing "Toma", as you know he is one of my favorites and will be missed!

I heard from Rory " WildsvilleMan" Snyder this week, the pith helmeted cool-cat organizer of Tiki Caliente and I'm invited back this year so Palm Springs here I come. The show is in May. Also heard back from Tiki Oasis in San Diego and I am on the waiting list so I'm positive about the chances of doing that one too. Just got word that I'm in at the Gresham Artwalk, a local show that I have done the past four years. It is the third Saturday in July.

Thanks to Hover Craft records for the Thursday music at the Doug Fir. Eight bands for five dollars is hard to beat and I had a smile on my face the whole time. I ranked them Guantanamo Baywatch first, Clorox Girls two and Boom! three. I also turned in requests to show at Tiki Caliente in May, Gresham Artwalk in July, and Tiki Oasis in August this week. In addition I will add a couple of books I've read by cool tiki people. "Blue Vegas Stories" is a pulpy and gritty collection of short stories by P. Moss, the owner of Frankie's Tiki Room and the Double Down Saloon. I liked every one of them but "The Chinaman" was my favorite. Also read part one of a trilogy "The Parrot Talks in Chocolate" by Everett Peacock that is upbeat and placed me warmly back on the beautiful island of Maui.

I haven't posted for a while so just thought I'd blab a bit. My live music report is pretty weak as I find it harder to leave my home and drive into Portland at 9 in the evening to attend but did manage to go to the Aladdin Theatre to see the Psychedelic Firs recently. I don't usually go to see older bands 'cause let's face it- Rock & Roll is a young persons sport. But together with two new members and three of the originals it made for a pretty darn good show. I missed the Thee Oh Sees show partly out of protest for playing at this years Pick-A-Thon here in Portland (I didn't want to have to rub elbows with some bearded, smelly hippie) but I understand that as a band you have to make money. I missed both the Melvins show and Nice Nice because of out of town fun things. Visiting my daughter in Orlando was great and also attended a wedding in Las Vegas. Working hard to carve mostly new things for the Tiki Caliente event in May 2013 and also the Artwalk here in July, the Tiki Kon and Elroy Artspace events in August as well as Tiki Oasis which is a hopeful at towards the end of that month. Thanks to local guy Ken and his wife for purchasing O'Hiki and Paddleman. They have the nicest manicured yard (including many palm) I have seen and the tikis look fantastic.

I heard that "Ron", the Elroy piece I submitted for the Happy Tiki event in Portland sold this week. It is a great feeling when someone parts with their hard earned dinero to purchase one of my carvings and although I did not get to meet you I greatly appreciate it!

I had another great time at the Elroy show. This year's line-up of tiki art was the best yet. My first Tiki Kon vending/carving event was even more fun and although we had record heat I really enjoyed speaking with mostly local or Seattle area tiki people. Thanks to all that bought stuff and especially to Pete for purchasing "Lombardo"!

Looking forward to 2 events this week starting with the Elroy Artspace "What makes your Tiki Hapi" show on Thursday. There is great art coming from all over the U.S. On Saturday is Tiki Kon where I will be vending and carving at the Jansen Beach Red Lion. Hope to see some of you there.

Thanks very much Brian and his wife for purchasing "Flip" this weekend and helping make this my best Artwalk! Next up is the First Thursday event August 2 in Portland. The public is invited and you can get details through the Elroy Artspace website under upcoming shows. After that is a live carve/vendor event at the Jansen Beach Red Lion on August 4. You can get more details by checking out Tiki-Kon.

Hope to see you the third Saturday of July for the Gresham Artwalk. This will be my fourth year doing it and always have a good time. Also will be at Elroy Artspace for a one month exhibit the first Thursday of August and will be doing a live carve at the Jansen Beach Red Lion on August 4. Nobody ever watches me so this will be odd, but I will try not to cuss when I screw something up.

I had a very good time at my first real tiki vending event and will certainly do it again. It was hot and close to or over 100 every day and loading and unloading damn near killed me ('Ohiki will never be going on another roady with me) but mostly enjoyed the beautiful dry heat. Many thanks to Rory for hosting the event and to Mark and Cindy from San Diego, John and his wife Janelle, Wendy and Dan, and the others that purchased tikis and depleted my t shirt supply. I will bring bigger sizes next time I promise.

Attended the sold out, sweaty, beer- soaked Dead Milkmen show at the Hawthorne Theatre yesterday so naturally I had a great time. They played their asses off for an hour and a half in a sing- along set that included old classics and from the newest album The King in Yellow. Opening band the ex girlfriends were ok while local band The And We Shared Milk provided a great odd, tempo that would change from one minute to the next.

Thanks to Thinc Actionwear for the open house on Friday. About 300 people showed up at this t shirt supply house for food and drink. They started business about the same time as I did (1979) and have grown from a 1500 square foot hole in the wall to their new place that is an acre of land under one roof. I don't ever talk shop with anyone so it was fun to speak with others in the biz.

Enjoyed local singer/songwriter Leigh Marble at the Doug Fir on Thursday along with opener Kelly Anne Masigat but stay far away from the Ascetic Junkies unless you like the Wiggles or the Partridge Family.

I am not recommending music to anyone just acknowledging how much I liked Thee Oh Sees newest album Carrion Crawler. It really was good the first time through and also captures the way the sound live. Also picked up the new Primus album Green Naugahyde. There are many gems to be mined here also but the song that stands out has to do with Lee Van Cleef, and his whereabouts.

A friend pumped me up and told me that I am on the Reverend Horton Heat's Facebook page. Check out my ugly mug while it's still there in the August 2011 section.