Wednesday, March 2

That tiny picture is the only one I could find of The Fire, which is where Eric and his band, Flamingo, have a gig March 19. And yes, they are on the schedule...I'll post that below along with some more info on the club because it's a really, really cool place and this is Eric's first legitimate gig not affiliated with Rock School...his own band, his own rules, etc. Sigh...must be nice to be young, good looking, and so fucking talented.

Meanwhile, things have been completely nuts in my life. A lot is going on, and I really hate doing this, but I can't say anything about anything yet which is why I haven't been posting daily. There's all kinds of crazy exciting stuff happening with me, the kids...life in general. It's tempting as hell to blab it all here or at least to tease some more, but I can't. Just stay tuned. There's a lot coming. But at least this way if some of it doesn't pan out, I won't look like an idiot. Or at least a complete idiot, just a small one.

Anyway, here's info on The Fire:

No matter how far the gentrification of north Philadelphia creeps, hipsters who feel driven out of their down-and-out haunts will always have The Fire. Located on the outskirts of Northern Liberties, this cozy bar doubles as one of the city's most under-appreciated music venues. No matter which hat it's wearing, The Fire -- named because of its proximity to the local fire station -- draws without drawing a crowd, maintaining an air of obscurity, if not exclusivity. The drink selection is cheap and no-frills, and the food effective in its own way, although people don't generally show up here for high class fare. Instead, they come for the feeling that, in a city small enough that nothing stays a secret for long, The Fire remains a safe haven from the college kids and trend-chasers who long ago overtook Old City, and have steadily worked their way north.

And here's the schedule for March which now reflects Flamingo on March 19: Concerts

Of course I'm also really looking forward to the shows Eric is doing this weekend with former Zappa guitarist Ike Willis. Ike and I are great pals and I can listen to him talk about his days hanging out with John Lennon all night long. Last evening Eric says, "Hey Mom, I have to go now." I'm like, where are you going, it's cold, snowy...what's up on a Tuesday night? "Oh, I'm going to the airport with Brandon (another Rock School drummer graduate) and we're picking up Ike (he lives in California) and going out to dinner.

Here's a pic of my man Ike Willis with Eric on drums and daughter Julie on bass and the other beautiful girl is Teddi, the singer/guitarist in the additional separate-from-Rock School-band Eric, Dan and Julie have going on:

So anyway, Eric, Brandon and Ike went out to eat at Silk City, which is the ultimate punk/goth/old hippie diner in our neighborhood - the food really rocks but the floor show is even better, so no one probably even gave two teenage boys hanging out with a middle aged black guy in dreadlocks even a second glance. They talked music all night and had a blast. As I said, Eric and the Rock School All-Stars are doing three shows with Ike this weekend - one at Indre Friday night (his dad is going to that one); one in Bergen County, New Jersey Saturday night (I'll be there!), and one in NYC on Sunday at BB Kings (neither of us will be at that one - we've had enough of BB Kings to last a lifetime. Been there, done it, it's a chain restaurant/venue on 42nd Street in the heart of New York City touristville, with bad obscenely expensive junk food and I'm sorry, I just do not enjoy listening to music with plates and glasses clanking all evening long and a policy that tells me I have to eat or I will be paying a minimum anyway, in addition to paying for tickets to see my own son...feh. The last trek to BB Kings to see Eric play maybe five songs as part of a big Rock School All-Star production (with 4-5 other drummers sharing the bill) in December cost me $300.00 counting tickets, bus fare for the family (should have driven...grrr), and the aforesaid horrible food)so unless Eric and Julie are doing their own gig at BB Kings or John Lennon or George Harrison come crawling out of the grave to perform, I'm taking a permanent pass on that place.

But I admit, the first few times they played there, it was a lot of fun. I walked around for weeks boasting "Julie and Eric are playing BB Kings in New York City aren't we all just so cool!" to anyone who would listen. Anyway, don't mind me, I'm getting old and cranky. Or honest. Either/or. Whatever. I'm really looking forward to seeing Ike again and hanging out at the show in Bergen County Saturday night.