Inside the Desert Oasis Room

On this episode we chat with actor, comedian Joe Corzo! You might know Joe from Acceleration, Burning Little Lies, Antidote or NCIS, or maybe you've caught one of his stand up comedy acts. Joe talks to us about his journey from Northern California to Southern California to pursue his dream of making it in Hollywood, how he survived production droughts during the pandemic and his cheat code to succ...

Today we chat with the crew from Trademark Brewing! Owner and founder Sterling Steffen and brewers Valerie Adee and Danny Jimenez join us to chat about the origins of Trademark Brewing, their backgrounds in beer and hospitality, what goes into the creation and production of their products and the inside scoop on how we collaborated on the Mango Smash beer we just recently launched together!   On s...

Today we are joined by Ed Hamilton! Ed is an author, importer and world reknowned authority on the spirit of rum. He's also the founder of the Ministry of Rum and the Hamilton brand of fine rums, made in distilleries all over the Caribbean. Learn about how he went from being a mechanical engineer making actuators for airplanes to becoming one of the world's foremost experts on island spirits, his...

On this episode we chat with Ross the "Tiki Boss" Aliotti about our "Mount Rushmores!" What do we mean by Mount Rushmore? It's our Top 4 lists, basically Top 3 + 1 extra! Find out what our Mount Rushmore is in horror movies, cocktails, food choices, comedians and more! To follow our adventures, subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/polynesianpop To listen to our archive, go to:...

For episode 200 we come to you LIVE from Tiki Caliente in Palm Springs, California to chat with our dear friend Sylvia Flores! Sylvia is a California native who found her way to Honolulu, Hawaii and tells us about her eclectic background, her transition from the mainland to the islands, and as a burlesque dancer, talks about her alter ego "Chichironiz" and what took her down the path of pursuing t...

Today we chat with Esteban Ricardo De Luna! Esteban is a former chef, craft cocktail bartender and mixologist, and the newest face behind the bar at the World Famous Tiki-Ti in Los Angeles, California! Learn about Esteban's background and how he found his way to making Ray's Mistakes, Uga Boogas, Puka Punches and more! To follow our adventures, subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube....

Today we chat with Adam Demerath! Adam is a premier craft cocktail bartender and mixologist from New York City! On this episode, we chat about his upbringing right here in the Inland Empire of Southern California, his background in theater, how he found his way to New York and learn about his philosophies on craft cocktailing and mixology! To follow our adventures, subscribe to our YouTube channel...

Today we chat with Greg Bansuelo, bartender at the world famous Tiki-Ti! Greg comes from a long line of mixologists, including his uncle Lou Cruz, owner of The Outrigger as well as his father John "JB" Bansuelo, who bartended alongside Ray Buhen at all the old school polynesian bars like the China Trader, Seven Seas and the Luau. Learn what life was like for these old school Filipino bartenders an...

Join the Kontigo Collective, Gregorio, Anna, Trader Sampson, Phoenix Ablaze and myself, chat about the history and contributions of Harry Yee from the Hawaiian Village! Harry Yee was a pioneer in tropical cocktails including the creation of the Blue Hawaii, Tapa Punch, Tropical Itch and Hawaiian Eye. And, he was the first bartender to garnish cocktails with umbrellas, lanterns and orchids! To foll...

Today we chat with Chris and Lis Summers! Chris and Lis are recent former residents of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. How many of you have dreamt of picking up your current life and moving it to Hawaii? Well, Chris and Lis did just that when they left California for a new life in Hawaii. After a couple years living as island locals, they're back in California and in this episode, they tell us all ab...

On this episode we make our way down to San Diego, California to chat with Dottie Deville and Matt Koken, owners of the legendary Til Two Club! Hear the story about how they landed this legendary San Diego landmark, what they've learned about it's history since they've acquired it, what's in store for it's future and if you enjoy some good ghost stories, find out who's haunting the bar! To watch t...

Today we chat with Garret Richard! Garret is a craft cocktail bartender and mixologist who is on the forefront of the modern day craft cocktail movement. Hear about Garret's background, how he went from radio production to mixology, his philosophy on cocktailing and learn some useful tips on how to make your cocktails better! To watch the video we made for our YouTube channel, click here: https://...

Today we chat with Alex Lamb and Max Well from Surf Monkey Films about their latest project The Donn of Tiki, a documentary about the Godfather of Tiki, Donn Beach aka Don the Beachcomber! Learn about their backgrounds, how they decided to create a documentary about Donn Beach, what they've learned along the way and what the future of their project holds. And exclusive to this podcast, Alex and Ma...

Our adventure from Tiki Oasis continues at the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona as we welcome lowbrow and tiki artist Odd Rodney. On this episode, recorded from the grounds of Arizona Tiki Oasis, we chat with Rodney about his lowbrow background, his philosophy in art, what inspires him creatively and so much more! To follow our adventures, subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube...

Join us from the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona from the Tiki AZ booth at Tiki Oasis! On this episode we chat with our friends Ross "Tiki Boss" Aliotti, Tom "Big Toe" Laura, the one and only Fabio and from the island of Maui, the talented mug makers, Scott "Tikipop" Taylor and Rob "Tikirob" Hawes! Watch our field trip outing video here: https://youtu.be/OL9DHihCa38 To follow our adventures...

Today we are joined by the boys from the Tiki-Ti! Bartender and co-owner Mike Buhen Jr and bartender Greg Bansuelo stop by the Desert Oasis Room to mix drinks, make cocktail videos and record this episode of the podcast. As a long time patron and regular of the Tiki-Ti, I hit the guys with questions that most others have never asked before to bring you uncommonly known facts and tidbits from their...

Today we chat with the Gentlemen of Leisure! The artist McBiff, Rick Miller and Dan Watson! On this belated St Paddy's episode, we chat about our respective roots, the history and legacy every person leaves for future generations, and other thought provoking, emotionally stimulating topics! To follow our adventures, subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/polynesianpop To listen t...

Today we chat with David Badgerow! David is an animator, mixologist and Drooling Bastard who dropped by the Desert Oasis Room to do a video swapcast with us for our respective YouTube channels and while he was here, we decided to turn the mics on and record the session you are about to hear now! To watch the video we, click here: https://youtu.be/CqDT6bsNwoM To follow our adventures, subscribe to...

On this first episode of 2021 we go back in time to this exact week 4 years ago when we chatted with Bob Van Oosting and Leroy Schmaltz, founders of the world famous Oceanic Arts in Whittier, California. Considering that Covid has affected so many small businesses over the past year, I thought I'd reload this episode to not only give them a boost but to also revisit their amazing journey to becomi...

On this episode we chat with Randy Tarlow, founder of Liquid Alchemist, makers of premium cocktail products! Learn about Randy's path from bartending in Europe and Australia to founding and operating his very own brand of premium craft cocktail syrups. And, joining us with a cameo is Liquid Alchemist's very own Captain Pineapples, alter ego of hospitality veteran Robbie Gregg! Social Media: @liqui...

On this episode we celebrate 20 years of The Book of Tiki! Join us Inside the Desert Oasis Room as we chat with historian and urban archaeologist Sven Kirsten, author of the Book of Tiki, Tiki Modern and Tiki Pop. Hear the stories behind creating The Book of Tiki, the early days of the modern day tiki revival, his thoughts on tiki culture today and learn about the exciting book projects he current...

Today we are joined by Will Penny! I've been wanting to have Will on the podcast for a while now so when I saw him at Bamboo Club's Hardcore Markteplace I sat down with him for a short chat. Will has an interesting background - he's an attorney by day and artist by night, similarly living the alter ego lifestyle of the comic book characters that inspire his art and books! On this episode, we learn...

On this episode we chat with one of our Desert Oasis Room regulars, Ross the "Tiki Boss" Aliotti and our new friend Jared Allen! This was recorded on Halloween weekend and so we intended to record an episode filled with ghost stories but as the way many conversations go, we ended up wandering into other fun topics instead. Never the less, we bring you along for the chaos! Social Media: @thetikibos...

Today we chat with artist Kat Reeder! Kat is a native Peruvian transplanted in Hawaii by way of Miami and creates some of the most beautiful, island inspired pieces of art directly from the island of Oahu! Learn about how she got started as an artist, her transition from Peru to Miami, how she ultimately planned her move to the Hawaiian island of Oahu and what's in store for the future of her art!...

Today we welcome Gregorio and Anna from Kontigo Tiki Bar! On this episode, we sidle up to the bar Inside the Desert Oasis Room and talk about a wide variety of topics including craft cocktails, craft spirits, vintage San Diego, random moments in history, the butterfly effect and more, including what it took to recreate the vintage paper hanging lantern, a fun cocktail garnish from yesteryear! Soci...