Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Written by The Independent Staff
 DEEP FRYED
Looking for some truly one-of-a-kind kicks? Try Shi Shi in Lafayette for a pair of vintage Frye cowboy boots. They’re available in a variety of heel heights and colors, from basic browns to sassy summer whites. Owner Chantal Harkrider buys up the envy-inspiring shoes at wholesale market to pair with the store’s retro-inspired clothing and jewelry. Shi Shi, which is in its fifth year of business, also has other styles of vintage shoes, including a pair of ankle boots from Paris. Ooh la la! Boots range from $79-$95; call 984-1118 for information on sizes or check them out at the store’s 233 Doucet Road location, behind Zea. — Annie Bares
KNUCKLE SANDWICH
Not many people know that Guitar Shorty, nee David Kearney, was Jimi Hendrix’s brother-in-law, that he played with Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, or that he won an episode of The Gong Show by performing upside down while balancing on his head. And that was while he was a mostly obscure — outside blues circles — guitarist known as much for his wild on-stage persona as for the quality and creativity of his playing. Apocryphal Guitar Shorty Yarn: Hendrix set his guitars on fire because he couldn’t do back flips on stage like his bro-in-law. Full of flaming riffs and helter-skelter leads, Guitar Shorty’s latest, Bare Knuckle ($14.98, Alligator Records), is tall on attitude as it burns its way through a dozen tracks that emanate from every stylistic coast — West, Gulf and Lake Michigan — where blues means something. A high point for my south Louisiana ears is the Stevie Wonderesque clavinet — it’s probably just a synthesizer, but a boy can dream, can’t he? — stippling the funky New Orleans backbeat of “Too Hard to Love You.” The album’s actually been out for a few months, but deserves mention, in part because the 71-year-old, has-not-mellowed-with-age ax man performs Sunday at The Shed BBQ in Scott. The show starts 7 p.m. and admission is free. — Walter Pierce
RESCUE T
Worried about the Gulf and want to help? Don’t just talk it, walk it in a “Save the Gulf” T-shirt. Launched by Coast Apparel in response to the Big Spill, these cool cotton Ts benefit the Gulf Restoration Network and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, two groups that long predate — each was formed in the 1980s — the spill but whose missions are more important than ever. The “Save the Gulf” T-shirts retail for $25 at Brother’s; $5 of every purchase goes to GRS and CRCL. That’s 20 percent for a very good cause. — WP
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