A petite 4″ x 6″, this little metal tip tray was a promotional item given away in the 1950′s by the AMI corporation to celebrate their massive line of exclusive multi-Horn, high fidelity sound system jukeboxes. It’s been sitting in my recording studio collecting guitar picks for as long as I can remember after originally being brought in as a drink coaster after I ruined several keyboards with an avalanche of Diet Coke, Yoo-hoos and decaf.
Sunday night I was in Sonoma, CA. writing with Pomplamoose. We were shooting to finish three songs in four days. The work never stopped even when we went out to dinner as is evidenced by my little digital recorder that was on for four solid days capturing every thought and breath we had.
But when it came time to pay the check I reached out to lay the tip down and knocked over a bowl of lentils, dousing the recorder with a river of Indian goo. So every time I went to record after that I had to push down extra hard on the buttons to break through the crust that seeped into and dried in the recorder. If only the AMI JukeBox Tip Tray had been there so there was a nice designated and protected area to deposit the gratuity I would still have a recorder that didn’t smell like Bombay.
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Categories:
Accessories,
Bar accessory,
Food,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Music,
Pomplamoose,
Songwriting
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Here’s hoping that everyone is having a blast this Memorial Day! I hope that includes popping lots of bottles with a similar vintage bottle opener as well as eating lots of hot dogs.
Categories:
Bar accessory,
Drink,
Food,
Furniture and Housewares,
Holidays,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Recipes,
Sculpture
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In anticipation of the Memorial Day holiday tomorrow and the many glasses that are about to be lifted these Party Jocs drink cozies make it easy to keep track of your drink and keep your hands moisture free as you chug it down.
Categories:
Bar accessory,
Creative process,
Creativity,
Drink,
Food,
Kitchen,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
People,
Street,
TV/Radio
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As any good party hostess knows, one of the biggest drags is seeing a sea of half filled cups littered all over your place left by guests who are on their way to the bar to get a fresh hit because they have absolutely no idea where they left their drink. As someone who is writing this as 200 guests head toward here for “Food For Thought – The Allee Willis Museum Of Kitsch presents The Art of John Lloyd Young” party/AIDS Project of LA fundraiser, I don’t have to worry about such things because over the years I have bought at least 20 sets of these brilliant “What’s Yours?” Drink Markers that you snap on the side of a glass as soon as a drink is poured so the hostess not only knows exactly what’s in the glass to refill it but as each little tab is numbered also knows what drink belongs to who.
Categories:
Bar accessory,
Celebrity,
Drink,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Music,
Party
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I’m not much of a golf buff but I love kitschy golf accessories, especially those designed around my favorite hole, the 19th. Although I’m sure that the golf ball dome lid gets screwed off of this 10″ high plastic refreshment vessel long before the green is spotted on the long-awaited hole. Which is good because the glamorous leatherette cover is so cheap and bunchy on the bottom it tips to the left like the leaning Tower of Pisa so the contents would be watering the green instead of your gullet by the time you reach 19. Happy Masters!
Categories:
Accessories,
Bar accessory,
Drink,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Sports
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I’m still incredibly bleary-eyed from my month’s buildup to my Sound Of Soul extravaganza Monday night, the recuperation after from which I still feel numb not to mention running back and forth to The Pantages to see the final ever performances of my musical, The Color Purple, as originally conceived before it closes on Sunday and jumps to another tier of performance when the second national tour begins in a couple weeks. Honestly, I’d rather be lying in bed watching TV, my favorite sport, then running myself ragged like I was 16. But I’ve never been the type to do the former and I seem to eternally be the type to act the latter so at least it makes me smile when my drinkware matches my state of mind.
Categories:
Bar accessory,
Drink,
Furniture and Housewares,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Party,
The Color Purple
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Not quite sure why no chair was provided for the female of the species as by the time this photo was taken for this vintage Hamm’s beer sign in the late ’70′s feminism had surely raised its voice loud enough to demand equality in seating arrangements. At least they’ve got a few beers to tip back this Valentine’s Day so her muscles won’t cramp in that position. Maybe one of her gifts to him is a pedicure. In addition to candy and flowers I hope one of his gifts to her is a nice, comfortable chair.
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Advertising/ Promotion,
Afro,
Bar accessory,
Drink,
Forgot to Categorize,
Holidays,
Romance,
Sign
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These were all the rage among crafters in the 1950s and continue to bring joy to Kitsch lovers who don’t like staring at plain wine or liquor bottles. Most popular canine colors were white, gray and black. They usually came with accent color noses and button or rhinestone eyes, in this case both. If the crafter was very industrious Fifi also had knit or felt red lips and a jeweled collar.
Categories:
Accessories,
Animals,
Bar accessory,
Crafts,
Drink,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day
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Long before it was de rigueur for refrigerators to come equipped with automatic ice makers a contraption like this hung in almost every kitchen in the world allowing homemakers to crush fine or coarse ice without lifting a hammer, the previous method of accomplishing such a thing.
Categories:
Accessories,
Bar accessory,
Drink,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day
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My favorite Sundays are when I entertain and this golf ball corkscrew has been held in the hands of almost every brunch guest who’s ever been over here. It’s as close as anyone will get to a golf course around here as the only use I have for golf balls and clubs are as bar accessories as seen here or as found objects in my art and sculptures. Like this series of Arnold Palmer Golf Hat & Coat Racks I made in 1987.
Categories:
Accessories,
Bar accessory,
Drink,
Furniture and Housewares,
Kitsch,
Kitsch O' The Day,
Sports
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