A few words before I leave you...or not

Julie and me on our annual beach vacation

So every year the Slick family heads down to the beach for two weeks and it's been a real luxury since J&E graduated high school because now we can go at the end of September when it's devoid of tourists. We're taking off tomorrow and won't be home until October 1. And as of this moment, J&E aren't even sure if and when they are joining us -- they have rehearsals, busy boyfriend/girlfriends -- I only know they aren't tagging along the first day --- Eric is thinking he may come down this Wednesday for a couple o'days; Julie is busy juggling a bunch of stuff and may not make it until next week. As I've posted several times, Eric has two NYC gigs at the end of this month and there's been a slight change -- his gig at CBGBs on September 28 is not the last show ever for that venue -- they've gotten an additional week stay of execution so the final show is actually October 5 and whether Eric will be asked to play on October 5 or not remains to be seen. But if you are in NYC on September 27, you can catch him for free outside of Grand Central Station at noon and at CBGBs the evening of September 28 with Chris Harford and members of Ween. I may interrupt my vacation and fly up to NYC for the September 28th show but I'm not sure.

Anyway, my youngest child Monty dog is accompanying us tomorrow and he loves, loves, loves the beach so he's probably going to be the happiest one of all. I probably posted this pic of him before but wtf:



Cute little bugger, isn't he? Yeah, yeah, good looks run in the family.

So what's scary is that the island where we'll be isn't wireless; there are no Starbucks or any other hot spots...just a public library a mile and a half away with restricted hours and worse, a tight ban on more than thirty minutes of internet use.

I am so screwed.

Ha ha, not really. I have my journals, my pens, and a printed out alleged final, completed draft of "Daddy Left Me Alone With God" which I will go over yet again over the next two weeks. And I'm sure I'll ride my bicycle to the library a few times and maybe even somehow do a blog post or two...I guess it will depend on whether I have anything to say. Wait. When don't I have anything to say? (insert smiley face emoticon here)

Hard to believe it's a year since my last vacation at the beach...you know, the one where I thought I made this great discovery of an unknown writer named Neil Gaiman and couldn't wait to get back home so I could tell all of my friends about him? Ha ha ha - you should have seen my face when I googled him upon my return to Philadelphia. And of course if you are a regular reader of this blog, you also know that I've been, err, a little obsessed with him this year but that's only because he's amazingly talented, amazingly handsome, loves rock music, and to top it off, is a Brit. Oh god. So anyway, I ended up meeting him, making an ass of myself, and then had no choice but to write about it. Chick Flicks Magazine loved my essay and accepted it for publication -- here's the online link -- with a shout out to Myfanwy Collins and L. Lori Young who each make an appearance in this sad, sad tale.

And if you like the above photo of daughter Julie and me, you'll love this one of Neil:



Ha ha - that cracks me up so much I actually made it a permanent link on the right hand side here -- a writer pal of mine (who has been missing in action...hmmm...very strange), David Niall Wilson -- did it as a joke for me one day.

So anyway, last year I read Gaiman's short story collection Smoke and Mirrors while on vacation; this year I'm lucky enough to be able to read his new release, Fragile Things at the beach because it's being released on September 26. I can just see me ordering Gary to drive me to civilization that day because there is only one book store on the entire island where we'll be and it's a used bookstore which I love, but alas they won't have Fragile Things the day it comes out. I was actually tempted to pre-order it from Amazon and have it mailed to my beach house but was too paranoid it wouldn't arrive in time and I'd be back in Philadelphia before it ever got there.

Yes, I know. I have completely lost my mind.

In other news, I was really touched to see what Paul Green wrote about Julie and Eric on the School of Rock website.

Yeah, you know it, I'm cutting and pasting for (y)our convenience:

"Humongous (and belated) congratulations are in order for School of Rock alumni (and original students!) Eric and Julie Slick, who in the spring landed a dream gig: playing as the backup band for ADRIAN BELEW! For those who don't know, Adrian is an absolute guitar master, and besides his fabulous solo career, has played in/for King Crimson, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Paul Simon, and countless others.

Eric and Julie have been touring with Adrian Belew as part of his power trio since early in the summer, and the reviews have been unbelieveable. Check this one out: Jam Base.

Of all the great things that have happened to the school over the years, this one makes me the proudest.

- PG"

Ahem. I'm a little verklempt at the moment. Talk amongst yourselves.

Sooo...unless something momentous happens between today and tomorrow, this may be it until October 1...or not, you never know with me, I'm liable to be at that library every morning blogging...but if it doesn't work out that way, have a happy rest of September, buy Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things so we can have a meaningful discussion upon my return, and I'll be back to drive you all crazy next month.

Oh. One final thing. Another Bite of the Apple and Buenos Noches, Justine remain number one and number two highest rated in erotica at Fictionwise. I'm not only the Empress of Cyberworld, I'm the Empress of...never mind.

Later,
xo

Oh My!

The Adrian Belew Power Trio with the Acoustic Planet Tour in Atlanta

There's an amazing review of the Adrian Belew Power Trio today at Jam Base!

But err...you know me, here it is, cut and pasted:

" The only thing stranger than seeing Adrian Belew in person after years of organs turning to liquid while listening to his guitar lunacy was seeing a 20-year-old drummer and 19-year-old bassist with him. Eric and Julie Slick are in the right place alongside him. The sound firing from the stage at the start of their set was a machine gun strum exercise called "Writing on the Wall." Many of the songs in the set are from Belew's solo album Side One, which featured Danny Carey from Tool on drums and Les Claypool. The Slick siblings effortlessly played those parts and even added their own touches. Belew's work straddles pop tenderness with savage dexterity, as if the Beatles really learned to play their instruments and found odd meters. During the King Crimson tune "Dinosaur," Belew bent the hell out of his custom guitar by pulling on a protruding edge of the body for a low moan sound beyond a simple tremolo warble. The Slicks filled out the Crimson thickly for two people covering a very dense composition. "Ampersand" off of Side One was a vicious battery of rhythm built with bass, drums, and guitar holding up an even part of the wall and dancing around odd-metered fills. For the tweek funk of "Beat Box Guitar," Bela Fleck came out to add some rich banjo licks to the weird tune. Belew frequently puts solos played in reverse on his albums, and yet is able to play them note-for-note live. Such a feat was especially clear during the ambient dream feel of "Matchless Man." To finish out the set, the trio played epic renditions of Crimson's "Three of a Perfect Pair" and "Elephant Talk." The task of filling a sound created by Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, and Bill Bruford seemed effortless for the Slicks. During the end of "Elephant Talk," members of Umphrey's McGee came out one-by-one to join in the tense cacophony to close out the set. From the gleeful looks on Jake Cinninger, Brendan Bayliss, and Kris Myers' faces, it seemed I wasn't the only awestruck person at the show."

How freaking cool is that?

And um, my own personal bit of excitement:

I'm not sure how long it will last but my Publishers Marketplace page is in the top ten most visited this week;

Another Bite of the Apple and Buenos Noches, Justine are the number one and number two highest rated in erotica over at Fictionwise. Yeah, yeah, I rule. I'm busy picking out my cottage in the UK right now...

Later,
xo

I am a failure at MySpace and other assorted stuff...

Julie Slick/Eric Slick have no problem navigating MySpace - those are their respective profile pics which are obviously from the summer Adrian Belew tour -- but even they agree it's a cheesy site.

So thanks to all sixty-three of you who have asked me to be your MySpace friends. But oh god, I'm really sorry to have to tell you this -- I give up. I cannot negotiate that site. I accept you as my friend, then I click on "home" to thank you for the add, instead I end up on my own My Space page, which has about ten comments on it and a blog which hasn't been updated since June 8.

Basically, I find MySpace a big pain in the ass, a huge time drain, and well, way lame.

Another problem I'm having is that all of the people I love are into it so now I have yet another thing to feel guilty about and trust me, I have enough of that on my plate. Therefore, after weeks of frustration, I have no choice but to admit defeat. So please do not feel offended when I ignore you at MySpace after accepting your kind invitation to be my friend; simply understand it's because I don't know where the hell to go after accepting you nor do I understand the basic principles of the site.

And I guess I should also add that I learned that Rupert Murdoch owns MySpace and you're talking to a woman who won't even shop for cheap light bulbs at Wal-Mart, that's how much I hate corporations and Republicans so that also plays a big part in my decision to defect.

Okay, enough of that.

My star continues to shine at Fictionwise, where Another Bite of the Apple is now #12 on the best seller list, remains highest rated in erotica, and Three Days in New York City and Buenos Noches, Justine, which was just released there yesterday, continue to climb the charts as well and are getting great reviews which is very cool and ironic considering these are most likely the last I'll be writing in that genre.

Yes, I know. That's what I always say. But "Daddy Left Me Alone With God" is mainstream and while I'm not going to deny the existence of sexual situations in the book, there's nothing graphic...i.e., nothing I had to drink a bottle of wine to write and which still causes me to blush and want to hide when I read it over two years later (in the case of Three Days in New York City, that is -- Another Bite and Justine are way, way tamer)

Speaking of writing, I had a wonderful brunch with fellow Zoetrope writers Ellen Meister and Randall Brown at Carmen's Country Kitchen -- you know, the woman who put the "cunt" back into country if one is to believe her business cards -- where everything is a penis, even the salt shakers, only the table where we sat didn't have any. They were all displayed on shelves facing us, though. None of us brought cameras, which is a good thing, because you really don't want to be taking penis photos at a hip, trendy restaurant like Carmen's where I had pancakes topped with chocolate chocolate chip marscapone cream and honey rosemary roasted figs and Ellen, her husband, and Randall had challah french toast stuffed with fresh fruit marinated in sweet wine...and there was something about a carmelized crust, I think, but I was too busy lost in thought over my chocolate chocolate chip marscapone cream.

Mmmm...

Ellen autographed my copy of her book for me and what she wrote made me cry:



By the way, here's what Ellen's book looks like displayed at our local Barnes and Noble:



Ha ha, the security guard frowned at me when he saw me snapping photos but I was all prepared to say I was Ellen and even sign a book for him if he bugged me. (Even though Ellen's beautiful color photo is on the inside flap, but hey, I maybe could have gotten away with it because everyone knows white Jewish blonde princesses all look alike)

The one I really felt bad for was Randall. Ellen and her husband got lost and poor Randall got stuck with me for over an hour. The sad truth is I didn't shut up and probably handed him enough short story material for the next ten years.

Or, made him never want to write again. Oh god, I hope not. He's brilliant. Bad Robin. When will you learn to be quiet? Sigh...probably not any time soon. Which reminds me. My essay about the night I met Neil Gaiman and didn't stop blabbering will be published this Friday. I'll post a link if I can...it will probably be my last official on-line act before taking off for two weeks of vacation. Oh, and I'll probably post this again, too: Eric, Chris Harford, and members of Ween are giving a free concert at Grand Central Station in NYC at noon on September 27 and then the next night, September 28, they're playing the last show ever at CBGBs which will close its doors forever and (inexplicably to me) relocate to Las Vegas.

Bleh. Las Vegas is my least favorite city in the civilized universe.

There's going to be some heavy hitters at that CBGB closing concert -- I think I probably wrote about this before but it's rumored everyone from the Talking Heads to Lou Reed will be up on stage before the night is done.

In other Eric news, he's joining slide guitar genius Sarah Zimmermann along with Julie Slick on bass for a new project called SZ3 -- they've got a gig at Asbury Lanes October 22 and this should be really, really interesting. Since they just decided on a band name last night, it's not on the schedule yet but yeah, yeah, I'll post this blurb again once it's there and probably ad nauseam throughout October.

And to wrap up the music stuff, Krimson-News has Adrian's west coast tour schedule listed and some kind words for Julie and Eric so that definitely made me smile.

That's all for now.

Later,
xo

What kind of shampoo do you think Neil Gaiman uses?

What kind of shampoo does Neil Gaiman use? I have no idea, but Susan Henderson really wants to know!

Oh okay, so do I. (Not that I'm going to go out and buy it and slather myself with it or anything...)

So it's been a slow week in House of Slick for a change but here's what is going on:

(1) Another Bite of the Apple is now #15 on the best seller list over at Fictionwise, and remains "highest rated in erotica". So that's pretty cool;

(2) I googled myself (be quiet!) and found a review of Opium Magazine, which has been kind enough to publish a few of my stories over the years...and what do you think the reviewer did...out of like a gazillion pieces (Opium publishes daily), she chose to critique my story, Embouchure, as an example of the fine writing contained therein which was pretty thrilling, considering the list of luminaries they do publish;

(3) Eric got backstage passes from his good friend John Wetton and will be hanging out in New York City today with John, Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, and Carl Palmer;

(4) Speaking of Eric, he has updated his tour blog and I know he hates when I say this, but the boy can really write;

(5) I am having brunch on Sunday at the "Oh My God Everything is a Penis" Restaurant (More on that event in a Sunday afternoon/night or Monday morning blogpost because I am bringing my camera along to take photos as proof) with two of my favorite writers in the world, author extraordinaire Ellen Meister and the Grandmaster of Flash himself, Randall Brown. And even though Ellen is a great friend, my copy of her fabulous book is still unsigned, so Ellen, if you are reading this, I'm giving you two days to think of something wonderful and witty to inscribe in my copy of Applewood because yes, I want to include it in the photos at the Penis Restaurant.

I think that about covers it for now. I told you it's been a pretty uneventful week!

Ha ha. Not really, huh.

Later,
xo

Another Quick One...

Eric Slick and Carolyn Pagnotta with Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters -- photo taken last month in Philadelphia when the Foo Fighters hung around and watched Eric, Julie, and Adrian Belew doing their soundcheck for the World Cafe Live Show

Hey hey:

A couple of quick notes while I scurry around here this morning doing nine million things -- i.e., finishing the final edits on my novel now known as "Daddy Left Me Alone with God", editing a wonderful new story by one of my fellow Phaze authors (yep, I took on that gig and am really enjoying myself), and compulsively checking the stats at Fictionwise where I remain #1 highest rated in erotica and have moved to #25 on the best seller list, which also caused its prequel, Three Days in New York City to skyrocket to #211 out of 1,974 books in that genre...not bad for a book that's been out almost two years.

Eric and Julie continue to make splashes on rock forum boards all across the universe...I found stuff on Mike Keneally's Google Group, United Mutations, Primus, and Bela Fleck's site.

That's just for starters but I'm running out of time...I've allotted myself just an hour for internet play this morning.

Soo...back to editing, writing, and then a trip to Rittenhouse Square where...gasp...I told an attorney I would help him out a couple days a week.

Don't ask.

Later,
xo

I Can't Seem to Keep Quiet...

One of my favorite shots of Mr. Eric Slick (and I know I've posted it many times before so shoot me) with Mr. Joey Randazzo on the left and Mr. Branden King on the right sharing percussion duties on "Black Magic Woman" during the School of Rock West Coast Tour, 2004

Okay...real quick:

Eric has updated his tour blog;

Adrian has updated his website; (I must say, it looks awesome)

And...have a happy Labor Day!

Later,
xo

Couple of Quick Things...

Julie Slick with the Adrian Belew Power Trio at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia last month

Hey hey, Happy Labor Day Weekend...

A few quick notes and then I'll let you all go back to bed.

First, when I posted the Adrian Belew article from Pollstar yesterday, I had no idea it was the headlines! I found it via Google, which just took me to the article itself. But yep, The Belew Tour made the front page, in between an article about the Rolling Stones and Farm Aid! So like, this means something major, you know? I'm posting the correct link right here -- see for yourself!

Second, I see it's listed in a couple of places that the trio is performing at the Santa Fe Brew Co. in Phoenix on November 4 -- that should actually be Santa Fe Brew Co. in Santa Fe, New Mexico (and I know I have a reader from there...so Richard...mark that date on your calendar or...or...I'll put a curse on you)

Third, and this is so totally cool, on the November 10 date in Saratoga, CA and the November 14 date in Eugene, OR, Adrian, Julie, and Eric will be joined by The California Guitar Trio. If I wasn't eating my heart out before, I'm pretty much devouring it now.

Fourth, I have it on good authority that my friend, brilliant author Kat Denza, has landed an agent at Trident Media Group. Take a look at their list of clients to see just how huge this is...and it couldn't happen to a sweeter, more deserving person.

Finally, because I added the link later in yesterday's post and many of you might not have seen it, please go check out Susan Henderson's beautiful new website. Sue is one of the most generous, talented people I know and visiting her site daily is a must.

Both Kat and Sue are tireless in their promotion and nurturing of fellow writers and I'm thrilled to be even a little part of their respective worlds.

Okay, I think that covers it for today but if not, I'll be back...

Later,
xo

Today's Headlines...

Adrian Belew Power Trio exiting the stage on the final show of their summer tour in Lake Worth, Florida -- August 19, 2006

From Pollstar, the Concert Hot Wire:

Something New For Belew
Updated 02:49 PDT Fri, Sep 01 2006

"With several tours of the U.S., Europe and Australia already under his belt for this year, guitar wiz Adrian Belew has booked another round of concerts.

He'll be on the road from November 1-15, starting in Dallas and moving through the Southwest and up the coast to finish in Portland, Ore.

In May, the guitarist announced he would be performing with a new power trio, assisted by the brother-and-sister team of Julie and Eric Slick on bass and drums, respectively.

Belew released a new album, Side Three, this past April. It's the third installment of an electric guitar-based trilogy that started in January 2005.

The musician suffered a loss earlier this summer when longtime engineer Ken Latchney passed away of a heart attack. Latchney had anchored a team that accompanied Belew live and in the studio for the past decade."

Dates for The Adrian Belew Power Trio out west:

Wed 11/01/06 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
Thu 11/02/06 Austin, TX Cactus Cafe
Sat 11/04/06 Santa Fe, NM Santa Fe Brew. Co.
Sun 11/05/06 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
Tue 11/07/06 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern
Wed 11/08/06 Long Beach, CA The Vault 350
Thu 11/09/06 San Francisco, CA Slim's
Fri 11/10/06 Saratoga, CA Montalvo Arts Center
Sat 11/11/06 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst
Mon 11/13/06 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre
Tue 11/14/06 Seattle, WA The Triple Door
Wed 11/15/06 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater

I'm currently eating my heart out over this and must work my magic to at least make the Portland show as that's one of my favorite cities. But oh, I'd love to do San Francisco, too, and you know once I fly out there, I'd want to stay a few days, and...

Nah, I can't. It's Gary's turn. And he's never been to San Francisco, Seattle, or Portland, which just happen to be three of my favorite cities in the U.S. I could really see living in Oregon -- the combination of mountains and beaches just took my breath away, but as crazy as it sounds, I'd (still) rather be in Philadelphia.

However I wouldn't mind another home in Portland.

Or San Francisco.

I can't live in Seattle because I have crazy curly hair and that climate would force me to wear a hat every day.

Okay. Enough rambling. On to the announcements:

Today marks the grand opening of Susan Henderson's new blog. I'm waiting for Susan Herself to make the announcement and put up the link on her PM page before linking it here so check back later and I'll have it for you.

ETA: Err...I've stumbled on it and if anyone would like a sneak peek...well, you didn't hear it from me, but you might be able to find it right here....

And another good friend of mine, Jordan Rosenfeld, who is about to make a big splash in the literary world, has a new site as well, and you can find it right here.

In other news, yep, Another Bite of the Apple is still highest rated in erotica over at Fictionwise and not only that, it's moved to a #30 position out of 1,974 books in that genre. Not bad, eh?

You should also continue to check out Bloggasm every day -- and not just because they were kind enough to interview me. Look for them to continue to post interviews and news about shining stars in the literary world and you should also snoop around the site and click on some links for some fun information about Simon, webmaster/owner of the site, very cool writer himself, and all around groovy guy though he warned me if I continue to read his personal blog, be prepared for a lot of whining.

What, a male who whines? Nah...

Ha ha - just kidding, just kidding.

Meanwhile, can you believe this is the last weekend of the summer? Man it flew by quickly this year. All the more reason why I always take my vacation at the beach the last two weeks of September...it not only extends the season, but all of the tourists are gone and I have the place to myself. Ahh...two weeks of long walks on a deserted beach, writing longhand in my journal, and sharing pizza and the world's best donuts (Brown's, St. Charles and the Boardwalk) with my dog.

This just in from son Eric: Last night he went to the Flaming Lips concert and since Ween opened up for them and as readers of this blog know, Eric occasionally sits in with members of Ween on drums so he was given backstage passes and met all of the Lips who were then kind enough to invite Eric and friends on stage to dance during their set. Pretty cool, huh. Also backstage were the openers, Sonic Youth and the Magic Numbers, and Eric hung out and chatted with them as well.

Eric has like the world's best life, doesn't he?

I think that's about it for today, but you never know...

Later,
xo