Our mascot Bodhi

Bodhi offers cards to listeners
photo by J.Y.Welty

Bodhi in profile
photo by J.Y.Welty

This is our mascot Bodhi, which means "Buddha-nature".   Bodhi is the final goal of a Bodhisattva's career.   Plus the name has a natural ring for a card-carrying blues master.   "Blues is the healer," says John Lee Hooker, who ought to know, and healing is the bodhisattva's work.

~ other resonances ~~~

Bo D . . . echoes of bluesman Bo Diddley
Bodey . . . ominous
Bodey . . . the waiting kind who bides the time

Notice that Bodhi has big hands for serving cards and for reaching out to people and has big feet for good under-standing, and also for stomping the beat to music, especially while we have no drummer.

Bodhi has no head ~ no ego ~ it was lopped off by Kali during a moment of the goddess's wrath.   Let that be a warning to any who would burn sugar: confronting Kali at the charnel grounds ends one way ~ her way ~ as she threads a new skull on her already long garland of past conquests.

Whew!   I guess you could say I have some strong feelings about burnt sugar.

I got the little squirt last year as a birthday gift.   After roughing out the background of our logo with orange and yellow fire, I looked around and saw these bright orange acrylic gloves and boots sitting on my table and figured they would coordinate perfectly with the orange/yellow firey logo on the next version of our wallet cards.   Now it can nestle among chocolate chips and sit right next to our tip jar to offer a warm welcome and farewell to listeners.

Which reminds me: I'm seeking a tip jar.   I'd like to use a cookie jar or a honey pot (reminiscent of the HUNNY pots that Winnie-the-Pooh used).  

Giglet: Open Mic July 24

This is a reminder about our giglet tomorrow . . . .

Wednesday, July 24, 9 pm - 9:30 pm at Cafe Paradiso.

We're doing a half-hour set for Open Mic starting at 9 pm at Cafe Paradiso, featuring our new drumless* sound ~ some original, some cover, all smoky sweet.

* No drums yet, but I've been shaking the tambourine lately and snapping my fingers when I'm not singing, and I welcome you to join in, too.   As a matter of fact, snapping your fingers is the special Burnt Sugar Blues call for encore.   A snap a second ~~ that's the way we start Fever, one of the first songs we did as a group. 

A donation of $2 supports Open Mic and other musical affairs at 
Cafe Paradiso, 101 North Main St, Fairfield, Iowa

Stilettos for giglettos?

My black strappies
on stage in a detail
of this bigger pic.

"Are you wearing stilettos for your giglettos?"

My friend Bob Miller of Foliba loves to play with words and sent me that question three weeks ago.   What an adorable rhyme!   Plus, it's a fair question because

   (a)   I love my stilettos ~~ they make me 5 inches taller!
   (b)   I have four different pairs.
   (c)   I've worn them for other gigs.

From my favorite shoe store:
Family Discount Shoes and Furniture
in Keokuk, Iowa, which is where
I got my stilettos, too
photo by J.Y.Welty

But I didn't wear them that night ~~ I wore my trusty black canvas Keds instead.

Lately they've been dancing Lindy Hop with me.   It's a lively swing dance that's wearing them out!

Coolest props

Coolest props to all my peeps!

. . . coz in weather like this, my warmest wishes would sizzle the swizzle right off yo' skin . . .

* * *

I like layers of meanings, and I like unwinding them ~ ~ ~

"props" ~ is kudos...and propellers ~ this is a reference to my very first fan club of 7 members: the big fan in the living room, the side-by-side fan in the bedroom window, three six-inch fans (one for each of us peeps), my daughter, and my son.

"swizzle" ~ could mean anything starting with "sw-", and here I meant "sweat", as in "When sweat oooze and soak you wet", the beginning of the third verse of Coconut Oil.

Coconut oil ran clear months ago, chocolate bars (and chocolate chips) have been gooing for weeks, and sweat oozes and makes people wet ALL DAY LONG.   This is summer in Iowa!

I'll link Coconut Oil to the lyrics page as soon as I add that song to it.

* * * Update:   July 22
Coconut Oil is now online.

Giglet: July 24

Wednesday, July 24, 9 pm - 9:30 pm at Cafe Paradiso.

We're doing a half-hour set for Open Mic starting at 9 pm at Cafe Paradiso, featuring our new drumless* sound ~ some original, some cover, all smoky sweet.

* Maybe drumless, but not entirely percussionless:  I'll snap my fingers when I'm not singing, and I welcome you to join in, too. 

Cafe Paradiso, 101 North Main St, Fairfield, Iowa

Gigletto

Last year I gave the word "giglet" another meaning: a short performance of two songs, like 10 minutes at an Open Mic.   I decided to change it up a bit . . . so the new word for a 2-song gig will be "gigletto", a tiny little gig, while the term "giglet" is reserved for a half-hour gig, like a feature performance at Cafe Paradiso's Open Mic night.   Like the one we'll be doing on July 24.