Interviewing Little Miss Risk is a full-throttle-top-fuel-dragster-pass-down-a-quarter-mile-dragstrip at 300 miles-per-hour into Burlesque bliss.

Imagine this. Her live show is twice the jolt. Hold onto your hats, because one striptease will leave you shaking and whining for more. She packs too much horse power into her bump and grind not to strap on your seat belt again and again and again.

We in the business like to call it Little Miss Addiction.

One must understand, I am not talking just pure performance authority either. Miss Little Risk has her stuff together. I like a woman who understands business and isn’t afraid to use loaded pistols of intellectual prowess.

Bam. Bam.Bam.

Excuse me while I pick up my smiling face off the floor. This lil’ sister is all that. Almost makes me blush…

Let’s start with a few ways to be like Little Miss Risk:

1. Be all Scorpio. Has the ability to deconstruct all that is around her. Very talented with deep flowing dark, mysterious waters. Strikes seemingly without warning, but there was plenty of time to know you should have backed off long ago. Proud.

2.Voodoo Doll Deluxe. Touring with Big John Bates six months out of the year affords Little Miss Risk the platform to get out some of her pent-up ideas. Monday Magazine explains Bates as “the next great hope for garage rock, combining the energy of Reverend Horton Heat with the hooks of the White Stripes.”

3. Dollhouse Studios. Kicks it at the hottest monthly underground cabaret in Vancouver, B.C.

4. Harbors a deathly fear of monkeys… All monkeys.

5. Executes style. “I feel a woman needs three things in life to grow old with her as she ages: her book collection, her life partner, and her tattoos. “ She has one blue bow tattoo on the back of her neck.

Wait. I can't take another minute. I've got to abandon Little Miss Risk’s top ten list here and now.

Why?

Because the meat of her interview is in the prose, her voice - the very essence of her capacity to tell a story. Pardon me. I admit that I’m steeped and boiling over. Bubble – bubble.

Forgive this haughty anticipation, but you will know why soon enough...

So, you wanna be a Burlesque star, huh? Here is a quick and dirty Little Miss Risk 101 about being on the road:

“There are some things about being on tour with a rock band that differ from when you’re performing in a hard-and-fast cabaret setting... Some girls think its all wine and roses. Usually, on tour, it's not. The venues vary from town to town, you can never be sure of direct stage access, and you've got to be flexible and roll with it. Otherwise, if an attitude gets copped, you'll come off as a diva (or Bitchy McBitchface) and no one wants to be labeled that. Some good things to remember for any performer is:

• Leave the ego at the door. No one wants to work with a cat outside of the SPCA.

• Burlesque shows can happen anywhere. You don't need a velvet curtain, flowers in the dressing room, or a huge stage to pull off your act. Being able to adapt to your environment, no matter how difficult it is, will separate you from the amateurs.

• Velvet curtains, cabaret seating and flowers backstage are nice, but don't expect them. They will not be there all the time, but that makes you appreciate it when it does happen.

• Respect everyone else at the bar, club, etc. They are not your staff, and they can make or break how smoothly your show goes or creative bending of local laws.

These are points that have gotten me a good rep and I tell other performers these. Forget them at your own peril! Good manners will always get you far, no matter how awful the audience, sticky the floor, or watery the drinks. Always lead by example and have fun, be a class act, and treat folks how you'd want someone to treat you.”

Born in 1980 as Tristan Risk, she was reared in a predominantly female-headed household by a post-punk rocker single mom who relied heavily on her own mother and sister. Grandma Risk was a 1940s glam girl and model. “It was a matriarchal house from the get-go with my uncle and granddad as doting husbands but never doubting where they ranked in the household hierarchy,” explained Tristan.

How did you get that name?

"Lots of kids were awarded middle names upon birth and nonesuch was left on my birth certificate. Not wishing to be left out of the loop, I made one up for myself (Isis, after reading a book on Egyptian mythology) but no one in the family ever took any notice of it.

The kids who had three names, however, had an effective barometer for seeing when they were in trouble, since all three names (given name, middle name, and family name) used in conjunction would shake them up a bit and let them know that they were indeed in Deep Trouble. Without this gauge I was at a disadvantage and needed to rely solely on the tone of the voice.

However, my mother quickly started whipping out "Little Miss Risk!" when I had done something particularly dire, which tended to be more and more often as the years went by.

It was to remain a family joke for a long time until I took up burlesque. Seeing lots of names repeated and not a great deal of originality (with a few exceptions) in the neo-burlesque name selection, I just chose to fall back on that old handle. It seemed right."

On the stage since she was just a “nipper,” Little Miss Risk feels that Burlesque gives her a voice without uttering a word. Upon this stage, all of her muses effortlessly intertwine.

“Burlesque, without realizing it, preaches inclusion. We perform because we have something to say or to offer our audience, whether it be an interpretation of Lewis Carroll's "Through The Looking Glass" as a full-length burlesque show or else a monthly cabaret where we can leave behind our bills, families, worries and live in this sparkly cocoon for five minutes and invite our spectators to do the same.

It has many facets (splatter burlesque, freaklesque, boylesque, zoolesque, vaudville, traditional etc) so there literally is something for everyone to enjoy, and therein lies the difference. People are more accepting of different body types and performance styles because as an art it affords so many facets.”

And what about the audience?

“Usually it’s not the guys applauding, but their girlfriends will hoot, holler, and generally make a commotion in a way most women wouldn't if they're boyfriends took them to, say, a peeler bar.

Both situations have women taking off their clothes, but in the case of burlesque most women want to be silly, make a joke, or poke fun at the status quo, which includes and engages the audience.

Strippers generally are part of the background and are taking the audience to a level with their bodies which leaves nothing to the imagination, doesn't tell a story or otherwise invite their audience to share the joke. It's generally, "My clothes are off, I'm living Penthouse image before you."

So it tends to put the ladies in the audience off somewhat.... “

The history of striptease is complex. Like any family tree, Burlesque has many branches, some of which barely resemble the fruit that bore it. Basically, a “peeler” is the Burlesque friendly name for a dancer who does pole or lap dancing in the modern exotic dance clubs. Burlesque maintains the art of striptease without the bare-all attitude of the peelers.

“Burlesque of today is NOT like the burlesque of yesterday. Like all art, it's had to mutate to survive. Most of the girls today who get involved are interested in reviving the old school of it, which is good, so we don't forget where we came from. But it's branched in so many directions, some good some not so good, that it's up to the performers as artists to decide their own medium and how it will define them,

I know a lot of the Legends (Tempest Storm, Tee Tee Red, Wild Cherry, Satan'a Angel, Tura Satana) don't care for the 'new school'. When they say that I get the impression they mean pole dancing, bearing it all and the like.

The stripping movement that came from topless go-go dancing of the 60's and was a male push for more titillation and for more “t” and “a.” The women who performed in that stead were trying to pay some bills and not taking interest as an art form.

When Camille 2000 and Dusty Summers were around, they caught the tail end of the 'glory days'. I think with the resurgence now, it's allowing women to decide how much to reveal, what they feel is sexy, and to find their voice that way.

Julie Altas Muz has performed burlesque going topless, Jo Boobs was once a stripper... it's not about being forced into it for money or because someone told you to. They are expressing themselves as artists.

Jo Boobs, Dita Von Teese and Catherine D'Lish all started doing burlesque in peeler bars. I have a huge amount of respect for the first wave of girls who brought back the old school since they were fighting an uphill battle of the time.

The fact that they rolled into strip clubs and put on a good show when they might not have made as much as a girl spreading her arse cheeks apart isn't lost on me, and I'm grateful that they paved the way for me to do what I do.

A lot of people still don't get it. They probably never will. I still get looks from people at weddings and so on, but I don't let it bother me. I'm pleased that in this day and age of La Senza Girl, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohans I'm able to still raise an eyebrow or two and not show it all (or have to get into a ridiculous car accident) to provoke it.”

To catch Miss Little Risk on the stage check out her website at www.littlemissrisk.com.

To find out more about Big John Bates and the Voodoo Dolls go to www.bigjohnbates.com.