check out the new page dedicated to my speaking efforts. it is available to the right. i’ve spoken all over the state in the last few years, and i’m available to deliver fun, engaging, and educational lectures on Florida’s rich food culture.
In June, I recorded a new album with legendary Shane “Sanchez” Smith. we had a great time as usual, and it is by far the best music we’ve yet produced together.
one of the songs I wrote is called “Big Sugar,” after someone suggested it as a stage name for me. so i wrote some lyrics with an outsized personality in mind. The album is being mixed.
and no, we don’t use or condone cocaine or “China white.” (I thought Shane would appreciate that disclaimer. He was a little nervous about naming the album after a song that mentions these things. But the name was inescapable. Thanks, Theresa!)
Dedicated to Florida’s sugar industry and the American appetite. I’d like to write a song about high-fructose corn syrup. This song is kind of bluesy honky tonk, and the chorus is fun to sing and say.
Chorus:
Big sugar, so sweet
Where the swamp meets the street
White powder, wet heat
Just ask all the girls who tasted me
x
If you like molasses on your corn bread
Rum with cola and all of your meds
Then sweeten your children and count the dead
Beneath your feet
x
We grow and cut the sugar cane
The cauldron boils out all the stains
Who knew that concentrated pain
Could taste so sweet?
x
Chorus
x
The cake is sweet and attracts the flies
With icing an inch or two high
You might not want to share your slice
But the devil has his piece
x
We tend plantations over unmarked graves
And we swing machete blades
Our grief flows out so deep in the glade
The gators get no peace
x
Chorus
x
We got mountains of the white stuff
It’s a feeding frenzy, can’t get enough
Just look at what its done to us
From our heads to our feet
x
It doesn’t stop with guilty bites
For our insatiable appetites
Coffee, cocaine and China white
We live and play to cheat
x
Chorus
x
Big sugar, so sweet
Where the swamp meets the street
White powder, wet heat
Just ask all the girls who tasted me
I hadf a blast at Wazoo, Lowry Park Zoo’s annual beer-fuled fundraiser. some friends, stef and I had quite the time. i made dinner before: the burritos were good, but it was the fresh scraped corn, chopped asparaus, and diced onion sautee that blew us away, with chili, cumin, and a little fresh salsa to perk it up. it was naturally quite sweet. after the fest, we badly needed a swim in the pool, and a cigar. Then Stef made some great whole grain pancakes with blueberries, banana, and nuts. I made some cheesy eggs to go with mine, but no one else would wait for the eggs. They all tore apart the pancakes as they were made. Pete spread peanut butter and Stef’s excellent Swedish jam between his pancakes, and we all followed suit. The vividness of the memory of those pancakes borders on the sexual.
as for Wazoo, I wrote a piece for Metro Mix about it (i’m working on the typos if they’re still there) to give people valuable pointers.
oh yes, it was that good. Had an excellent meal there last night: pasta, fresh gnocci, lotsa seafood, reasonable prices, great service. I will have a review up online in the coming days. i wanted to get this message up because one of the only online reviews seems totally off the mark to me. it seemed… romantic. and not in a cheesy way. It was warm and homey, and we felt like we could be us. more later on metro mix.