Java

Java (Jason Croft) is the manager for Java's Bachelor Pad, one of the first sites I discovered when I started surfing more regularly 3-4 years ago. And I still come back at least once a week!
This is a short interview with Java. And off course it's NSFW.

Z - Why are you doing this?

Java - Well, I've been attracted to Bachelor Pad culture for almost a decade now. It was an odd era filled with modernism and budding sexual awareness. Hi-Fi's and stereophonic records were all the rage. Rock and roll was just a blip on the cultural radar. Playboy and nudie-cutie films showed that good girls *could* walk around naked. People moved to suburbs, were prisoners of the grey flannel suit, had more leisure time on their hands, yet they dreamed of escaping to a south seas paradise. Drinking martinis became a social sport.

The irony is, what my site shows and what people remember, is just stylized nostalgia. Not to say it's a bad thing. It's historical escapism. It's really no different than Civil War Recreations or people who dress up for Renn Faires. But what an escape it is! There's something about the sophisticated sin of Bachelor Pad culture that really resonates with the current era. Today, when we go on vacation we say "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." We want to be wild on the weekends, but respectable and upstanding during the work week.

Hopefully, I can give people a few hours of retro joy. Let people escape into that swinging lifestyle for a while.

Z - Your site features alot of girls. Do you have a favorite gal?

Java - Well, that's really hard to say. Because of the research I've done for the site, I've discovered some very beautiful and interesting classic pin-up gals. Of course I'm a big fan of Bettie Page, who most consider the Queen of Pin-Ups. But I've also come to enjoy the pin-up work of June Wilkinson, Bonnie Logan, and Diane Webber. Then there are the burlesque performers like Tempest Storm, Virginia Bell, and Dixie Evans who also did their share of modeling. Honestly, I love all the gals I've featured in my Femme Fatale section.

Z - You're also conducting a Cheesecake Contest. Tell us a little about that.

Java - The Cheesecake Contest is a chance for me to put the spotlight on all the modern pin-up gals out there doing stuff today. There are so many gals out there doing great retro pictures. I though I should put together a contest and shower these gals with as many prizes and goodies as I could. I have to tell you, the Cheesecake Contest is one of the best things to grow out of the Java's Bachelor Pad site. What started as just a standard pin-up contest has turned into a solid on-line community where modern pin-up gals can come and get support from fellow models. I have met so many great gals because of the contest and have come to realize that we are in the second golden age of the pin-up. Because of the contest, I have added modern gals into my Femme Fatales galleries. When you look at someone like Bernie Dexter or Chickagogo, you see what they're doing now is just as good...if not better...than what gals were doing 50 years ago.

We are currently in the middle of our fourth contest. The entry deadline is November 30th. Voting starts December 1st. The Cheesecake Group can be found here.

Z - What is your favorite Cheesecake record cover?

Java - Again, a tough question. I love Sandy Warner and her many variations that are on all those early Martin Denny records. No one portrayed the spirit of exotica as well as her. Then again, Jackie Gleason really had a knack for creating great album covers. I have a copy of "Music, Martinis, and Memories" hanging on my wall. Nothing beats the image of a forlorn beauty sipping a martini alone at a bar. I'd also like to offer up one other great album cover. Jack Costanzo's album "Latin Fever" feature an enraptured (and barely clothed) Bonnie Logan standing over a large congo drum. I just love the look of ecstasy of her face.

Z - The best Dean Martin song to end a great night?

Java - "Sway." As the lyrics go:

Other dancers may be on the floor
Dear, but my eyes will see only you
Only you have the magic technique
When we sway I go weak

I can hear the sounds of violins
Long before it begins
Make me thrill as only you know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now
You know how
Sway me smooth, sway me now

You can't get smoother than that.
http://www.javasbachelorpad.com/index.html

/Z