WAITIKI: Classic Exotica for Modern Listeners

The Waitiki 7 emerged from a smaller band formed several years ago by Wong and Abe Lagrimas Jr., who plays drums, percussion, vibraphone and ‘ukulele. That group evolved into the Waitiki 7, whose other members are pianist Zaccai Curtis, woodwinds player Tim Mayer, violinist Helen Liu (who is Wong’s wife), vibraphonist ...Jim Benoit, and Lopaka Colon, who doubles as percussionist and bird caller—and whose father, Augie Colon, served the same function in Martin Denny’s group. While Wong, Lagrimas and Colon are the only members actually from Hawai‘i originally—the others hail from Boston and the Bronx—all seven musicians share a love of the exotica sound and the associated tiki culture, which encompasses everything from art and design to painstakingly crafted tropical mixed drinks (the booklet accompanying their debut Adventures in Paradise CD even includes cocktail recipes from renowned mixologists Jeff “Beachbum” Berry and John Gertsen). Each Waitiki 7 band member is an accomplished musician, bearing degrees from Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory and other top music schools. Their collective performing and recording credits span the worlds of jazz, classical, film music, Broadway and beyond. Wong and Lagrimas didn’t set out to revive the long-dormant exotica genre, but the more they discovered about its unique musical properties and cultural significance, the more they were drawn to the idea of giving it new life. “There’s no exotica scene in Hawai‘i anymore, but growing up I used to go and hear Arthur Lyman, the original vibraphonist for the Martin Denny group,” says Wong. “He was a good friend of my grandfather’s and my father’s. So we were going to support him as a friend, but I think I got that sound in my ear.” While attending college in Boston, Wong and his longtime friend Lagrimas—who had already played with Colon in an exotica-inspired revivalist band called Don Tiki—began to investigate exotica more seriously, and to generate ideas on how it might be made relevant and exciting again. One by one the band that would become the Waitiki 7 fell into place. Read More