Korla, Tiki and Exotica in Nooga.com

Thanks to Sean Phipps and Nooga.com for featuring Saturday's show, Exotic Is Everywhere, Pt. 1. Simply put, this evening will be a blast. Follow the link or read Sean's piece here.

Exotic Is Everywhere: Tiki culture series opens with screening of award-winning documentary

A new event series aims to celebrate the Polynesian pop movement known as Tiki with events spotlighting the culture’s rise in America following WWII.

Exotic Is Everywhere, which kicks off Saturday night at Barking Legs Theater, will feature the Tennessee premiere of feature-length documentary"Korla." In addition, guests will view the Tiki-influenced short video "Mortal Wound" by Rick Weaver and a selection of Scopitones (short 16 mm films) from the Tiki era.Tickets are $8 and available at the door. The screening begins at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30. Click here for more information. The event is presented by CoPAC and the Shaking Ray Levi Society.Tiki Ray's, a local event catering company, is co-sponsoring. They will debut a new tropical drink to help guests get in the "Tiki mood." And if that weren't enough excitement, local Tiki expert Tim "Swanky" Glazner will also give a short presentation on Tiki culture.The highlight of the evening will be the screening of "Korla," a documentary on one of the most important pioneers of Tiki culture."Korla" follows the life of television star, musician and spiritual seeker Korla Pandit. Pandit is often credited as the "godfather of exotica music" and regarded as a pioneer of the fantastical sounds of "the South Pacific and the Orient." American audiences were first introduced to the genre on Martin Denny’s 1957 album "Exotica."A brief explanation of the film from the website is below:

"Korla" covers the long arc of the musician’s career, from the 1950s, when he hosted his own music show on television in LA (while never speaking a word), to his later performing years, when he developed a cult following by playing Tiki bars and lounges. His many fans included Carlos Santana and fellow organist Booker T of Booker T and the MGs. Film fans may recognize Korla from an appearance (playing himself) in Tim Burton’s "Ed Wood." Throughout his life, Korla closely held the secret of his true identity, which wasn’t revealed until after his death in 1998.

The Shaking Ray Levi Society, based in Chattanooga, is a collective-run nonprofit that "supports, produces and presents diverse genres of music, film and performance art through festivals, recordings and the Internet." The SRLS was formed in 1986.

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Korla: The Film Featured in The Pulse

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Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers in the Times Free Press