A lot has changed since I last wrote about the Martini Kings, in their sphere and in ours. The biggest change for Julia and I was a move to Ohio. A good deal of the pandemic happened during the same period but, thankfully, that didn’t affect us as much as it did so many others the world over. We are both very happy to be living in Canton, which is where Julia was born and spent a good deal of her early life. That said, we miss LA dearly! The scenery, nightlife and exquisite dining, yeah, but mostly all our So Cal friends! Thankfully, we manage to visit from time to time and keep up via social media, etc. We miss playing and hanging out with our fellow Ding Dong Devils immensely. Thankfully, we have managed to get in a few gigs most years. Sometimes we even share the bill with our favorite bands!

 While it would be wonderful to catch them live every chance we get, at least we have plenty of Martini Kings product to fill the void. Actually, we still do catch them every chance we get, but the chances are few and far between now. Before I get started on the individual albums and other ephemera, I’d like to give a shout out to Tom Lavin and David Williams who are listed on virtually all of the following for their expertise at producing, mastering and/or supervising. Great work, gentlemen! A number of platters included in this ode to cool (and in the previous two installments) are not listed as being by the Martini Kings. The only constant is the fact that Tony Marsico was involved. The band has morphed over the years, but the dedication to sublime music has remained. Tony started playing bass with the Plugs and moved on to Cruzados, a band that has put out product in the mid 1980s and the early 2020’s and has a huge following. Along the way he started the Martini Kings, but has been active recording and/or touring with the likes of Neil Young, Marianne Faithful, Willie Nelson, Dr. John, etc., etc., etc. I’m going to include an unrelated FACTOID at the end of each album review. Ten of them are going to be true and one will be made up. Think of it as me turning over the controls of my piece to AI for grins. If you are astute enough to ferret out the hallucination, give yourself a hearty pat on the back and offer a toast to Tony!

“Lost in Paradise” opens with an orchestral piece that was arranged by Tony’s brother (and original Martini Kings vibes player, song writer, creative spark, etc.,) Frank Marsico and conducted by Norman Ludwig. All the tracks on this album were written by Tony and Frank except for “Cuchy Frito Man.,” which was written by R. Rivera and V. Roddie. The list of musicians is extensive and impressive. The mellow lounge pieces that are not given an instrumental rendering are accompanied by a host of exquisite crooners: Carla Werner, Shirli McAllen, Joel “Sonny Moon” Hile, Maria Elena and Kate Campbell. Some of the songs have appeared on previous Martini Kings albums, but are given a smooth, delicate, ethereal treatment here. Another fine example of the futility of trying to put a definitive label on this ever-evolving band. This set of nine tunes is as lovely as hipster lounge music gets! FACTOID001: Tony played bass on three of Matthew Sweet’s albums and was part of his band for more than ten years!

 Full Stereo helps to scratch that lust for live itch I mentioned in the intro… sorta… kinda… The ten songs were recorded live in the studio. I know that sentence smacks of oxymoronic, “Huh?” head scratching, but it all makes perfect sense when you consider the band set up and recorded ten one take wonders with no overdubs. The band, Craig Fundyga on vibes, Doug MacDonald on guitar, Joe Rotondi on piano, Tony Marsico on bass and Joel Alpers on drums, were firing on all five cylinders and knew these jazz standards inside and out. I’ve grown to appreciate this style of music over the years. This CD is just as satisfying and mesmerizing as live recordings I’ve heard by Bill Evans and Dave Brubeck, whose “Take Five” is featured here. As each tune wraps up, I anticipate the sound of a small club audience applauding, clinking glasses and expressing their joy at being part of a magic moment. Power of suggestion. The set includes a wonderful version of Julia’s fave rave, “Caravan.” How did these cats know?? FACTOID002: In 2010 the Martini Kings released their 13thalbum, “Girl Talk.” It featured none other than Buddy Greco, a legend of lounge, crooning his way through five songs and an interview… at the age of 83!

 Another fabulous cover! Roy Anderson snapped the perfect image and it is a sweet harbinger of the goodness within. I may be going out on a limb, but I believe “Medusirena Marina Presents the Intoxicating Sounds of…” is a collection of ten songs that everyone’s favorite fire breathing mermaid loves from earlier Martini Kings albums. These are some of my most treasured tunes as well. Three of the tracks appeared on the CD, “Dance of the Virgins,” which is still a favorite of mine. The vibe here (thanks in large part to the vibes) is relaxed and swinging. It just doesn’t get better than this! FACTOID003: Tony has played bass with and is a good friend with Rick Vito a slide guitar virtuoso who has worked with Fleetwood Mac, John Fogerty, Bonnie Raitt and Bob Seeger among others.

 The aptly titled disc, “Hawaii” contains a dozen tracks that will put you in an island mood no matter where you are. I believe this is a milestone for the Martini Kings; as far as I can tell, this is the earliest release that features Janelle Frese (J. T. Rising) who has played an enormous part in Tony’s life, musically as well as romantically. She plays percussion here. The band is rounded out by Tony, Craig Fundyga on vibes and piano, Joel Alpers on drums and Kevin Bullat on Lap Steel. The first song, “Our Ohana Family” is very appropriate when you see who is featured on vocals: Milana Marsico, Harrison Frese, Mikala khramov, Marlena Khramov and Savannah Merritt. Tony sings lead on a few, there are a few instrumental numbers and plenty of lush choral arrangements. Tony plays bass and ukulele, but, as one might surmise, the uke is used more sparingly than on the following CD. FACTOID004: Tony played bass for a Roger Daltrey concert in which Roger picked him up in his limo on the way to the gig.

 The Martini Kings cut right to the chase when they picked the title, “It’s Ukulele Time!” Tony does triple duty on this release. Craig Fundyga provided mellow vibes and Joel Alpers laid down solid, understated drums and percussion. Tony kept the engineer, David Williams, busy tracking his upright bass, rhythm ukulele and lead ukulele. There is a comforting groove throughout, whether it’s familiar favorites like, “Bali Hai,” “Rum and Coca Cola” and “I Can’t Help Falling in Love” or new originals like, “Tonga Hut” and “Bamboo Ben.” When I mentioned “lead ukulele,” I didn’t mean screaming, lookatme!, lookatme!, lookatme! guitar-like noodling; Tony played the melodies that waft over the pleasing rhythm section on his plucky ukulele. I’m reminded of the learning curve I went through learning ukulele after so many years on guitar. It was trickier than I had imagined. Tony nailed it! This is a very cool, swinging change of pace for this group! FACTOID005: Tony played the bass player in the 1995 film, ”Georgia.” The film starred Jennifer Jason Leigh and Mare Winningham, among others, but also included Tony, John Doe and other cool cats.

 “Enchanted Lovers” is another collection of mostly previously released Martini Kings songs, but this one is a testament to the strong exotica feel the band has maintained in a career that has stretched over 40 years at the time of this handy, dandy platter. I sometimes feel like I was into them early on, but they played their first gig in 1982! There are 20 tracks and 19 artists listed as musicians or singers, including Buddy Greco for Heaven’s sake!! Six songs on this album are also included on the Medusirena album. Like minds think alike! After putting out 26 albums, the Martini Kings still have the same dedication to the sound Tony and Frank captured from the get go. 9 of the tracks were written by Frank and/or Tony. This is as pleasant a walk down memory lane as I can imagine. FACTOID006: This disc also contains the first album release of “Cabali,” the title track of, “Cabali and the Tiki Mug Obsession,” a recent independent movie currently making the rounds in art houses and tiki events. Tony provided the music throughout and coproduced it as well. The movie traces the advent of the modern tiki scene via tiki mug collecting. I WILL see it one of these days!

 I love the cover of, “Tikitastic “!! The band is listed as Tony Aloha and Janelle, but there are a bunch of familiar Martini Kings in attendance, so I’m not going to quibble. On this release Tony is listed as providing vocals, ukulele and bass and Janelle is credited with bongos, djembe and assorted percussion. Tony sings throughout and there is plenty of rhythmic throbbing, thumping, etc. Kevin Bullat plays steel guitar, Craig Fundyga plays vibes, Joel Alpers plays drums and vocals are provided by the following: Mikayla Theone, Ukulena, Milana Marsico and Harrison McDonnagh. As was the case on the two previous albums I mentioned, this is more island pop oriented than earlier smooth exotica albums. The music here has a more playful sound and Tony’s vocals are distinctive and strong. There are some covers such as, “Yellowbird,” “Tiny Bubbles” and “Taboo;” some reworked Martini Kings faves, “Welcome to Paradise” and “Hana Highway;” and plenty of Tony Marsico originals. Mahalo! FACTOID007: On October 13, 2016 Paul McCartney played an impromptu set at Pappy & Harriet’s. He spoke to some locals hours before the gig and mentioned having trouble lately with his fingers cramping up. Someone gave Tony a call and explained the situation. Tony showed up within half an hour and showed Paul some exercises and pressure point routines. It worked wonders. Sir Paul was so appreciative he arranged to have the art department of his record label create a version of one of his old album’s rechristened as “Venus and Marsico” (the cover, spine, vinyl label, the whole nine yards) and sent to Tony.

 The cover art screams wild abandon! Do I dare? Duh! Wow!! This is a blast all the way through! There are only seven tracks, but they all have a propulsive rhythmic drive, great melodies, exotica chops galore and they were all written by Tony Marsico! The only song I know for sure that I have heard before is, “Return to Paradise.” Of course, this is yet another version and is given the patented “Fruiticosa” treatment. Tony plays bass and piano on this album and he is accompanied by Doug MacDonald on guitar and Joel Alpers on drums, percussion and keys. There are no vocals, just a barrage of kinetic pleasure. This will get the dancers on the floor and jiving their tushes off! FACTOID008: Tony is always ready to party and has boogied down with some of the biggest names in the music business, including Clive Davis who signed his band, Cruzados and kept them on board from 1984 through 1988.

 Take your protein pills and put your helmets on, it’s time to blast off for some cosmic “Adventures in Time and Space” with the Martini Kings! I’m not sure who came up with the concept that synthesizers represent the sound one would hear while traveling to the Crab Nebula, but Tony has added yet another instrument to his list. The band here is rounded out by Joe Rotondi on piano, Richard Fultineer on drums and Janelle Frese on percussion. There are also a couple guest spots: Mikayla Khramov plays harp and producer Tommy Lavin lays down some guitar. The good time, synth addled alien theme used on, “Space Odyssey,” extends throughout with otherworldly versions of “Tijuana Taxi,” “Music to Watch Girls By,” “Strangers in the Night” and a host of other standards. I wonder how many astronauts have snuck an adult beverage or two with them on their trips to outer space… or a synthesizer for that matter! Great, danceable, eerie fun for the whole family! FACTOID009: The Martini Kings have Rat Pack credentials! They recently played a party at one of Frank Sinatra’s homes. Talk about dicey, swanky good times!!

 I’m so glad I caught Tony, J.T. And the rest of the Martini Kings at Tiki Oasis in 2025! I had a number of adult beverages in me and was feeling chock full of glib abandon when Tony asked for a volunteer to do a strip tease during one of their numbers so I readily accepted the challenge. Woo Hoo! I was stoked to no end when the Martini Kings shared a recording on social media with a shout out to the Ding Dong Devils and the line, “All the kids do the Edwin, it’s the new dance craze. Like there’s two left feet up on the stage.” This tune, “Party Like King Kululele,” and “The Book of Tiki” are cool jungle pop vocal numbers that sing the praises of room crawls, rum drinks, bigger than life characters and everything else associated with tiki culture. The song “Return to Moorea” is from the album, “Dance of the Virgins,” as are 6 more of the 13 tracks. If you don’t have that album from way back when, you need this new one! The cover is fantastic and the music swings throughout! FACTOID010: What band has Tony not played in??? I adored Television when they burst on the scene many, many moons ago. Tony has thumped his bass along with the band’s rhythm guitarist Richard Lloyd more times than you could shake a stick at… if you were so inclined…

 I saved the Holiday CD for my last review (for now anyway) because that’s how a good year always wraps up. “A Martini Christmas” is the perfect title because, although the album was recorded by the Tony Marsico Quartet, it is squarely in the MK wheelhouse. The band is Tony, J. T., Joe Rotondi and Joel Alpers. Their renditions of, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Linus and Lucy,” “Let it Snow” and six other Christmas classics are breathtakingly beautiful versions that rival anything by any cool instrumental jazz combo you could name. I love the cover art by Anthony Carpenter. Everything here jingle jangles with swinging, fun perfection! Hopefully, Julia and I will be adding a Christmas album appreciation article to Devine Fancy later this year. “A Martini Kings Christmas” already has me in the proper spirit! FACTOID011: In 1984 the Plugs were Bob Dylan’s backing band for a performance on the David Letterman Show. Tony told the story in a book, “Late Nights with Bob Dylan,” and now the wild tale is the subject of a new comic book version, written by Tony and Janelle with art by Anthony Carpenter, who did the X-Mas MK CD cover. A Merry Cocktail to all and to all a good night.