Last year, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, we took to the road! Our year-long journey took us to more than 120 parks and 48 states! Read about our adventures at www.monkeyseemonkeytravel.com
On the Road
Rockabilly Rules!
J.D. McPherson is a delight to hear on the radio and a powerhouse when you see him live in concert. We were lucky enough to catch him at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix, Arizona, last year, and a small club is one of the best places to see him shine. His fall tour dates so far don’t look like he has a stop in Arizona this time around, but we’re eager to see him perform again. In the meantime, his videos, like this one for the punchy song North Side Gal, will have to do.
Psycho Beach Party
Psycho Beach Party one of our favorite campy summer movies. We love it for the music, art direction, and modern social themes — Rocky Horror Picture Show meets Beach Blanket Bingo! Psycho Beach Party is the film version of the off-Broadway play, which we still have yet to see on stage but it’s on our list. Set in Malibu in 1962, the movie is a fun parody of both mid-century beach movies and 1980s teen horror flicks with more visual appeal than either genre typically offered. Surf’s up!
Wooly Bully – Los Straitjackets featuring Deke Dickerson
Deke Dickerson joined one of our all-time favorite bands, Los Straitjackets, on stage to perform one of our all-time favorite songs, Wooly Bully. The Jackets headlined Saturday’s lineup of bands at the 2014 Viva Las Vegas show that draws vintage fans from around the world. If classic cars, surf and rockabilly music, and pinup fashion are your thing, you must put Viva Las Vegas on your calendar for April 2-5, 2015. Meantime, as Deke says in this video, he and Los Straitjackets have a new album coming out with a tour in fall 2014. We’re looking forward to both!
Of course, it’s hard to beat the cool factor of the original song performed live in 1965 by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs as seen below. Sam’s infectious smile is the perfect contrast to the mannequin-like Cleopatras on stage with him. Check it out!
Nothing Says Summer Like a Beach Party
And nothing embodies the spirit of mid-sixties California like a Muscle Beach Party! This 1964 sand-and-surf flick is the second in a seven-movie series produced by American International Pictures starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Directed by William Asher, this film also features the King of the Surf Guitar — Dick Dale — and 13-year-old Little Stevie Wonder appearing for the first time on the big screen. As with all of American International beach moves, the plots are thin but the beauties are buxom, and the music will have you tapping your toes, clapping your hands, and shaking your hips. There’s no better way to say hello to summer than with a Frankie and Annette beach movie!
If Little Stevie Wonder on Happy Street can’t make you clap your hands, nobody can!
Even though this song doesn’t show off Dick Dale’s guitar prowess, it’s a fun song. Fortunately he’s still touring in 2014 (we saw him live in April) and is just as good as ever.
Jaunty, Jazzy Jim Flora
Jim Flora was a Mid-century illustrator who created numerous album covers for RCA Victor and Columbia Records as well as 17 popular children’s books. His style relied heavily on distorting dimensional perspectives as well as offering a skewed take (and coloring) on human facial features and other body parts. While some audiences found his work slightly unsettling, we like the jaunty, jazzy, irreverent feeling his fine art evokes.
Sleek and Chic: Mid-Century Desert Jewels
Here are two new original illustrations from my Mid-Century Modern collection. The now-demolished Tiny Naylor’s drive-in restaurant that used to grace the corner of Sunset and La Brea in Hollywood inspired the first design, above. The Googie-style building made customers and passersby feel like they were part of the jet age.
I drew inspiration for the second design from another Googie-style jewel, the still-standing City Center Motel on West Van Buren in Phoenix, designed by William Knight and built in 1959 by Ben Paller. While I can’t vouch for the sleekness or chicness of the motel nowadays, here’s hoping there are enough Mid-Century Modern enthusiasts to keep buildings like this from disappearing.