This week Ellie and Ryley had the pleasure to talk with a man of many names— Mark Riddle, Marty Lush, or maybe you know him as Digitiki. Mark is a musician who got his start playing piano before being recruited to play the vibraphone for The Tikiyaki Orchestra. Now, he’s making names with his own independent musical career. This week’s artist spotlight is Robert Gonzalez aka Tiki Gonzo. His wood carvings including the shelves and bars that he’s most famous for have been sought out worldwide as the best place to store your beloved tiki mugs. 

Mark Riddle got his start in music from his mother. Her flair for the exotic brushed off on Mark as soon as he laid eyes on his first Arthur Lyman record. Bubbling lava, erupting volcanoes and a beautiful stereo sticker to top it off was enough to set Mark off on his life of music. Mark has been around the tiki scene since he was a kid but he started making his impact on the scene when a few musicians approached him to play vibes at a show, this group would be known as The Tikiyaki Orchestra. Mark isn’t just a musician, he’s also a historian, archivist and if you pardon the editorialization, a vinyl junky. Mark started the Quiet Village podcast and his radio show when he challenged himself to build his own RSS feed, it’s been going strong ever since. The Quiet Village podcast brings you exotic sounds to daydream too and offers you some history on the records that Mark brings you. Mark has also released his own albums, Lahaina Sunset and Midday Mai Tais, with the second being made with a host of amazing exotica musicians from across the scene. If you want to check out Mark’s podcast, radio show or buy his albums, check out his website www.digitiki.com, you can also follow him on Instagram at @markriddle31. 

Robert Gonzalez has a background in furniture manufacturing that he brought to the tiki world as he looked toward retirement. After going with his daughter to vend at a tiki marketplace at Don the Beachcomber’s, Robert took a look around and noticed a particular lack of tikitastic shelving. After all, people were buying all these neat tiki mugs with nowhere fabulous to display them. His pragmatic approach lead to over a decade of vending at a number of amazing tiki events and sharing his work across home and commercial spaces. Robert is always dreaming up new designs to bring to you but he also offers chances for you to come to him. Robert hosts classes on how to build your own shelves because after all, most of us don’t have a CNC machine in our home bar. You can see Robert’s work on Instagram and Facebook at @thetikigonzo. 

Thank you for joining us on The Tiki Talk Show. If you are interested in being interviewed or highlighted as our artist spotlight, send us an email at [email protected]. Click the link below to see our link tree and find us on Instagram, Facebook, 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. 

-Ryley and Ellie