The Blue Hawaiians

The L.A.-based Blue Hawaiians formed in 1994 when bassist/vocalist Mark Fontana, guitarists Mark Sproull and Bron Tieman, and drummer Tom Maxwell did a favor for a friend by playing at the opening of her new nightclub, the Lava Lounge. Both the group and the club became favorites with L.A. hipsters, as they combined retro exotica with a seedy, slightly dark edge, and director Quentin Tarantino was one of the band's earliest fans. The Hawaiians added to their kitsch-noir mystique by claiming to be Wayne Newton's backing band, moonlighting on some L.A. gigs; it took a year for t...