Tikiyaki Minus Orchestra →

While I’ve written mostly lately about supporting bars and restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic, artists of all types are also in a bind. Bands can’t play shows, and live music sustains working bands - streaming sure as hell doesn’t keep the lights on or the amps plugged in.

One of my all-time favorite bands is The Tikiyaki Orchestra (sometimes appearing as Tikiyaki 5-0). Band leader Jim Bacchi has decided to use this downtime by doing some home recording as Tikiyaki Minus Orchestra and has just posted a 4-song EP called “Sketches with guitar and bongos“ to Bandcamp. $5 cheap, and you can elect to pay more if you are so inclined.

Go have a listen, and if you aren’t yet familiar with the rest of the Tikiyaki Orchestra discography, then go get that also.

Thanks Jim!

Tonga Hut North Hollywood GoFundMe

At some point, maybe at many points, this pandemic is going to hit home personally. This is one of those cases.

I’m calling this fundraiser out specifically because these are friends of mine, and this is our home bar. If you have patronized the Tonga Hut and can spare a few dollars, please consider kicking in.

I know a lot of people aren’t in a position to help. You’ve already been impacted by this pandemic, no worries. If you can’t contribute monetarily, please raise a glass and wish the Tonga Hut well. It’s been there for us since 1958 and we want it to remain in place for a long long time.

Helping Tiki bars while sheltering in place

It’s apparent that our current pandemic is going to devastate many industries, including hospitality (restaurants, bars, and the like). If you’re able to provide assistance, there are many ways to support your locals, be in take-out/delivery for food, buying gift cards and merchandise, and through the various GoFundMe campaigns that have been set up to help employees of bars and restaurants.

Tiki bars and those that operate them are close to my particular interests. Luckily, there are already some lists being compiled that link to the online stores for various tiki bars and individual GoFundMe campaigns (and similar campaigns).

Hurricane Hayward over at The Atomic Grog has a great resource page with links galore, and which he’s keeping updated. Go have a look, and donate to your favorites if you can.

In addition, a thread has been started on Tiki Central with added info/links. It’s available here.

Have a favorite restaurant or local business?

Please try to support them…take out, gift cards…whatever you’re able to do. This pandemic is going to be devastating to many people, and it’s hitting service workers hard first. If you have the means, and you have local hangouts you hold dear, check with them on how to best support them. Hopefully, when we get back to being able to visit them in person they will be there for us.