Tease 'n' Tiki: Burlesque lives at Forbidden Island

Written By Will Viharo
MC Thrill: I love my job

Burlesque? In Alameda? WOOOOOOOO!

I've been booking burlesque acts for years as part of my Thrillville show. It's become a main attraction of the gig and a real source of pride for me personally. The sudden shutdown of Speakeasy Theaters hasn't broken my record, either. Now that I'm publicist/booker for Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge of Alameda, I have a chance to work with many of the acts - including bands - that were staples of Thrillville, as well as attract some new talent. I just added burlesque to Forbidden Island's lineup last week. Our premiere troupe was Original Sin of Danville, CA (who also own their own lingerie shop!). It was an incredible show, possibly FI's busiest Thursday night ever. Tassles 'n' tikis - how could you go wrong?






Burlesque is truly an Art Form. There's nothing sleazy about it (although the heated crowd and exotic locale did make me think of some Singapore dive full of smoke, sex and sweaty sailors). These gals work very hard at their craft and it shows. They offer sultry sensuality but also a celebration of Life. They elicit whoops of joy from male and female alike. The retro combination of live burlesque in a tiki bar was a sensory overload. It was like a glorious cocktail-fueled time warp, a hipster hallucinogenic. The plan is to offer live burlesque at Forbidden Island the second Thursday of every month. Next: Red Hots Burlesque July 9 and Hubba Hubba Revue August 13. Aloha!

Jen Ann Tonic

Kitten DiVyne

Montini

Lola Pop

Eve Devlin

Bunny Pistol
Will Viharo

WILL "THE THRILL" VIHARO is a freelance writer and the author of several "gonzo pulp" novels including "A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge," "Freaks That Carry Your Luggage up to the Room," "Chumpy Walnut," "Lavender Blonde," "Down a Dark Alley," and the “Vic Valentine, Private Eye” series, the first of which, "Love Stories Are Too Violent For Me," has been optioned for a film by Christian Slater, reissued in 2013 by Gutter Books, which also published the new Vic Valentine novel "Hard-boiled Heart" in December, 2015.

Two science fiction novels, "It Came from Hangar 18" and "The Space Needler's Intergalactic Bar Guide," were written in collaboration with Scott Fulks, who added real science to Will's pulp.

Will's own imprint, Thrillville Press, has issued a three volume anthology series featuring all of his standalone novels called "The Thrillville Pulp Fiction Collection," along with another omnibus called "The Vic Valentine Classic Case Files," which include four novels from the 1990s, "Fate Is My Pimp," "Romance Takes a Rain Check," "I Lost My Heart in Hollywood," and "Diary of a Dick," plus a recent short story, "Brain Mistrust."

More recently published books include the Vic Valentine "Mental Case Files" trilogy comprised of "Vic Valentine: International Man of Misery," "Vic Valentine: Lounge Lizard For Hire," and "Vic Valentine: Space Cadet"; the original story collection "Vic Valentine, Private Eye: 14 Vignettes"; the erotic horror noir novella "Things I Do When I'm Awake"; and a collection of erotic horror noir stories, "VIHORROR! Cocktales of Sex and Death."

Additionally Will has had stories included in a variety of anthologies including "Fast Women and Neon Lights: Eighties-Inspired Neon Noir"; "Mixed Up!"; "Long Distance Drunks: A Tribute to Charles Bukowski"; "Deadlines: A Tribute to William Wallace"; "Dark Yonder: Tales and Tabs"; "Knucklehead Noir" and "Weird Winter Wonderland" (both Coffin Hop Press); and "Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror."

Viharo's unique brand of "gonzo pulp fiction" combines elements of eroticism, noir, fantasy, and horror. For many years he has also been a professional film programmer/impresario and live music booker. He now lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and cats

https://www.thrillville.net
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