The Tiki Talk Show

Episode Twenty two - Charles Phoenix

Merry Christmas! This week, Ellie and Ryley sat down with the king of cool, Charles Phoenix, for a post-Christmas chat. Charles Phoenix is a mid-century expert, professional presenter, and writer who has written a number of books on the mid-century style we all love. Charles Phoenix is best known for his slide shows displaying mid-century Kodachrome photos, but he’s also an avid car enthusiast and a chef who’s known for the coolest kitchen creations. Charles Phoenix got a foundation of his love of style while going to his father’s car lot and seeing cars of the 1950s and 1960s. The chrome, fins, and dramatic changes between years drew a young Charles Phoenix into the mid-century style. By the 1980s, Charles was a thrift store connoisseur finding hosts of vintage clothes and forgotten treasures from years past. At this point, there was no term called “mid-century modern” or Googie, but Charles enjoyed driving around the San Fernando Valley finding old restaurants, coffee shops, bowling alleys, and anywhere else he could find mid-century eye candy. While he was doing this, he never let his love of cars fall out of sight so he regularly owned cars that he grew up idolizing. By the mid-1990s, Charles had collected a vast amount of vintage Kodachrome film slides depicting life in yesteryear. As his collection grew, he felt that he needed to share these photos with others so he could keep the spirit of post-war America alive. At first, he encountered mixed reviews from those who didn’t believe people would be interested in seeing these photos, but boy did he prove them wrong. His slide shows took off and eventually spread into a LA-based driving tour, visiting remaining Googie monuments. The attraction kept growing and eventually he began working of a number of books that he released throughout the late 90s and early-2000s. Never one to shy away from a new way to spread the mid-century style, he began using social media platforms to share his passion for the topic. Now, Charles does live presentations of his various slideshows across the country where you can watch his passion for uniqueness, creativity, and color feed the flames of nostalgia growing in your soul. But, if you can’t make it to the live shows, recorded versions of the presentations are available to watch on his website or YouTube. You can find Charles Phoenix on Instagram at @_charlesphoenix, on his website at charlesphoenix.com, or on his YouTube at www.youtube.com/@_charlesphoenix.Thank you for joining us for The Tiki Talk Show’s last episode in 2025. We’re looking forward to 2026 and all of the amazing things that will come with the new year. Be sure to check out our other show, Tiki Today, to see what’s going on now in the tiki space, made possible by all of the revival efforts of the past. If you’re interested in being interviewed, send us an email at thetikitalkshow@gmail.com. Click the link below to see our link tree and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also fill out our Google Form to get on our postcard mailing list. It’s been good talking to you, and we’ll see you in 2026!Linktr.ee/thetikitalkshow-Ryley and Ellie

Episode Twenty-one - Otto and Baby Doe Part Two

This week on The Tiki Talk Show Ellie and Ryley chat with Otto and Baby Doe von Stroheim for a second time. That’s right, it’s the first ever 2 part series for this show, though it’s sure not to be the last. If you haven’t seen part 1 yet, where we talk about the 80s-2001 be sure to check that out. Last time, we left off in 2001, where Tiki News had released its final (published) issue and come to an unofficial end. At the same time, the now renowned event, Tiki Oasis, was just beginning. We hear the stories about the first Tiki Oasis, how the event grew, changed, and developed over the years as well as the introduction of Tiki Oasis Arizona. But Otto and Baby Doe have been involved in so much more than this iconic celebration of the Polynesian Pop. We talk about Baby Doe’s involvement in the burlesque community and the Tease-O-Rama events, art and museum exhibitions, the Tiki Art Now! books, and more. We had a fantastic time listening to their passion and love for tiki and the community it draws together for a second time, and we hope you do too. You can find Otto on Instagram @ottovs, Baby Doe @xoxobabydoe, and be sure to follow @tikioasis for all the fun and exciting updates and news.Thank you for joining us on this week’s episode of The Tiki Talk Show. Stay tuned for part 2, coming out December 13. Be sure to check out our other show, Tiki Today, to see what’s going on now in the tiki space, made possible by all of the revival efforts of the past. If you’re interested in being interviewed, send us an email at thetikitalkshow@gmail.com. Click the link below to see our link tree and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also fill out our Google Form to get on our postcard mailing list. It’s been good talking to you.Linktr.ee/thetikitalkshow-Ryley and Ellie

Episode Twenty - Otto and Baby Doe

This week, Ellie and Ryley have the first of a two-part series with Otto and Baby Doe von Stroheim, a Bay Area based tiki power couple. Best known for their world-renowned tiki weekender, Tiki Oasis, Otto and Baby Doe have poured so much time, love, passion, and effort into the tiki scene beyond this iconic event. This first part covers their beginnings in tiki, through the nineties, up to the first Tiki Oasis in 2001. Stayed tuned for part two to hear about the 2000s, 2010s, to now. Otto first dipped his toes into tiki in the late 80s when he started hosting yearly backyard luaus with his roommates in Southern California. His tiki interest and involvement developed from associated music sub-genres like lounge and swing. Thrift store finds like aloha shirts and tiki mugs fueled these great gatherings that became more and more popular and grand year after year. Those backyard parties were just a glimpse into the future of event hosting and bringing people together to enjoy music, art, great company, and fun drinks. Baby Doe had a website in the 90s where she talked about anything and everything she found interesting, including anything midcentury and other people’s collections. Eventually, tiki piqued her interest and Baby Doe became one of the first “tiki” websites out there, sharing what she knew and found with anyone that had a computer and internet access. Otto started Tiki News, a tiki fanzine (fan-created magazine), in 1995 and began spreading tiki interest and intrigue from coast to coast and beyond. For just a couple dollars, a Xerox copied, hand stapled, treasure trove of ads and information could connect a budding tiki revivalist to a whole wide world. At the end of that year, he hosted Exoticon at the Park Plaza Hotel as a tiki and lounge event that sold out and brought together people from across the subculture scenes at the time. From there, Otto moved up to the Bay Area to be with Baby Doe and combine their passion, creativity, and love of the midcentury. With DJ gigs, concerts, events, continuing Tiki News, and finding other ventures, Otto and Baby Doe became a big part of the Bay Area tiki revival scene. As Otto and Baby Doe make clear, it’s important to them to bring people together. We end this episode at the event that has brought so many of us together year after year; Tiki Oasis. Thank you for joining us on this week’s episode of The Tiki Talk Show. Stay tuned for part 2, coming out December 13. Be sure to check out our other show, Tiki Today, to see what’s going on now in the tiki space, made possible by all of the revival efforts of the past. If you’re interested in being interviewed, send us an email at thetikitalkshow@gmail.com. Click the link below to see our link tree and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also fill out our Google Form to get on our postcard mailing list. It’s been good talking to you.Linktr.ee/thetikitalkshow-Ryley and Ellie

Episode Eighteen - Behind the Curtain

This Halloween episode brings more treats than tricks as Ellie and Ryley share a peak behind the curtain into their research process. We walk through books, websites, music, movies, and other podcasts that have given us a jumping off point for the Tiki Revival period and the guests that we interview on this show. By no means is this an exhaustive list into tiki research materials, but hopefully it gives you a place to start if you’re looking. Feel free to share your favorite tiki resources in the comments below.List of resources mentioned:Books:-Grog Log by Jeff Berry-The Book of Tiki by Sven Kirsten-Tiki Roadtrip by James Teitelbaum-Ninety Years of Classic San Diego Tiki by Martin LindseyWebsites:-tikicentral.com-slammie.com/atomicgrog-swankpad.org-ultimatemaitai.com-digitiki.comMusic:-Lahaina Sunset by Mark Riddle-Creepxotica by Creepxotica-Forbidden Isle of Demos by Combustible EdisonsMovies:-Plastic Paradise: A Swingin’ Trip Through America’s Polynesian Obsession-The DVD of Tiki Vol. 1: Paradise LostPodcast:-Inside the Desert Oasis Room Podcast by Adrian EustaquioThank you for joining us on this week’s episode of The Tiki Talk Show. Be sure to check out our other show, Tiki Today, to see what’s going on now in the tiki space, made possible by all of the revival efforts of the past. If you’re interested in being interviewed, send us an email at thetikitalkshow@gmail.com. Click the link below to see our link tree and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also fill out our Google Form to get on our postcard mailing list. It’s been good talking to you.Linktr.ee/thetikitalkshow-Ryley and Ellie

Episode Seventeen - Swanky Glazner

This week, in continuation with a month of Mai-Kai love and appreciation, Ryley and Ellie host Tim “Swanky” Glazner on the podcast. Tim is a co-founder of the East Coast’s original tiki weekender, the Hukilau, historian for the Mai-Kai, and a Donn the Beachcomber expert. His interest in tiki comes from an appreciation for mid-century design, style, culture, and nostalgia. When the Hukilau found its home at the Mai-Kai, Swanky became entranced with the tiki palace of an era he had long admired. As he became closer with the Mai-Kai family he found himself asking questions, hearing stories, and incidentally, collecting an oral history of this iconic Florida tiki bar. Eventually, that quest for stories became intentional, and he sought out those who had been part of the Mai-Kai’s story, past or present, to preserve their stories for the future. In 2016, he compiled all of these stories and his knowledge of the Mai-Kai into a book. The Mai-Kai’s rich history is forever intertwined with that of Donn the Beachcomber. As Tim was researching the Mai-Kai and capturing its stories, he found himself fascinated with the tales of tiki’s mystic and mythical founder. After his first book, Glazner pivoted to collected stories and oral histories of Donn Beach before the people who knew him best were lost to the sands of time. Tim’s steady pursuit to separate fact from fiction on tiki’s man of mystery has led him to author another book, this one on the life of Donn the Beachcomber. He’s also been an associate producer on a recent film about Donn called The Donn of Tiki. His book is set to release early next year, and we are so excited to keep an eye out and jump on the pre-release wagon when it comes around. You can find Tim on Instagram @swankpad and online at swankpad.org. You can find his Mai-Kai book and more at maikaihistory.com. Check out Donn-beach.com to keep up with Swanky’s research into this iconic tiki figure and keep an eye on his book release. Visit thedonnoftiki.com to find showtimes, tickets, merch and more for the Donn Beach documentary that Tim helped produce. Thank you for joining us on this week’s episode of The Tiki Talk Show. Be sure to check out our other show, Tiki Today, to see what’s going on now in the tiki space, made possible by all of the revival efforts of the past. If you’re interested in being interviewed, send us an email at thetikitalkshow@gmail.com. Click the link below to see our link tree and find us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also fill out our Google Form to get on our postcard mailing list. It’s been good talking to you.Linktr.ee/thetikitalkshow-Ryley and Ellie