The Ain't It Cool News post (well, my version, anyway)

I love these black and white photos - this is yet another one courtesy of the fabulous Daryl Barnett taken during the west coast Adrian Belew Power Trio tour of November, 2006 tour

So I think Gary and I broke the world record yesterday for most listens to a single song - ha ha, you'll never guess which one.

Okay, so you guessed. If you haven't downloaded Beat Box Guitar for yourself yet, you are missing out on something quite awesome - click here and then click on "Store Belew".

Every time Gary and I listened to it, we heard something new -- just amazing guitar work by Adrian, making that instrument sound otherworldy, drumming by Eric that puts him into a whole new category of Class A drummers (hey, that's Paiste cymbal's words for him when they gave him the endorsement), and Julie...holy cow...I know she's my daughter and a great bassist but I've never heard her jam like that in my life.

The first review is in, and it goes something like this:

"Wow, it's great to hear the Trio in the comfort zone, able to wander off into unfamiliar territory. It shows that the unit is coming together as one after many days on the road. As always, it amazes me how Adrian dials into so many different tones and sounds with ease."

And regarding Adrian's recent news via his blog, I found the following, which really made me smile, over on the DGM Live Forum Board:

"The Ultimate Triple Bill... ?
Posted by jbricker on January 27, 2007

Raise your hand if you’re interested in this show:

First: ProjeKct 6

Next: Tony Levin Band

Followed by: Adrian Belew Power Trio

Encore: K3, which is Robert, Adrian, Tony +Eric Slick from ABPT.

Get thee to www.elephant-blog.blogspot.com for more info."

And..

"K3
Posted by dsdyte on January 27, 2007

"An encore of Robert, Tony, Adrian (The 3 kings of crimson) and Eric Slick playing a half dozen Crimson classics"

I don’t suppose we can vote on which classics they play?

I will be checking and rechecking and rerechecking the net every day between now and the moment I have tickets in my hand..."

And over at Krimson-News:

"‘K3′ and the Adrian Belew Power Trio

And just what might K3 be?

Adrian recently posted up on his new blog that it would be a project involving ProjeKct 6 opening for the Tony Levin Band followed by the Adrian Belew Power Trio, followed by an encore of Robert, Adrian, Tony, and Eric Slick playing some King Crimson classics. In my eyes this seems sort of like H.O.R.D.E. reinvented for KC fans, and certainly not to be missed!

Apparantly K3 was originally intended to roll out this March, however, it looks like it will be sometime after June but no dates have been released yet. I don’t care what it takes, I’m going to one of those shows!

But there is a more immediate Adrian Belew Power Trio show mentioned, and a very fun one at that! There are two dates currently on the schedule for the Adrian Belew Power Trio: February, the 15th and the 17th. The 15th will be in Cleveland, Ohio at the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame. The 17th looks like the winner to me though as that show will be used to make a live record, (Side 4). That show is set to be at the Southgate House in Newport, Kentucky. I already have some shoes ready for the foot stomping time that will be!

If that wasn’t enough Rhino King news for you, don’t forget that today at some point they are scheduled to release the redesign of the Official Adrian Belew website, so be sure to ping them every once in a while to see if they’ve updated!"

And my pal Andrew Greenaway mentions the upcoming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gigs on his website as follows:

"...FZ will be saluted next month by Red (an orchestra), Ike Willis, Adrian Belew, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The festivities culminate on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 February with a pair of The Importance of Being Zappa concerts by Red at the Masonic Auditorium, 3615 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Both shows will feature the same programme, including Dog Breath Variations/Uncle Meat, Be-Bop Tango, Naval Aviation in Art? and G-Spot Tornado, as well as works by Stravinsky, Varese and Webern. Prior to this (on 14 February), Ike reminisces about his years with Frank and performs with Project/Object; then on 15 February, Adrian Belew gives a talk and performance. Lucky Eric Slick will be playing drums with both P/O and Ade."

Yep, Eric is lucky, alright - but he's also very talented and that, along with luck, has everything to do with it. For an interesting perspective on the art world and luck, read this. I love a lot of the comments - for the most part, they really made me think about certain things/events in a different light.
*****
So now that I've become a huge graphic novel freak, having devoured The Absolute Sandman (and I have one other thing to say about that: Thank you, Neil Gaiman. Seriously. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Susan and I are still not completely recovered. We feel so...special. And I'd be ordering those sushi pillows as we speak but I suspect everyone in the universe has already done so and you know, that kind of makes them lose the coolness factor...although, now that I think about it, the only people who would order them are fellow cool people since they are readers of your blog and mine so okay, I'm ordering, I'm ordering). But anyway, since becoming a graphic novel fan, I've been checking into other writers and artists in that genre and this morning, I'd like you to meet my latest hero, Stephen Bissette, who had this to say about Dubya's recent State of the Union address:

"The most impatient President of my lifetime -- the man who couldn't wait for UN Weapons inspections, who couldn't wait for the United Nations or for "Old Europe" to catch up to his war-mongering faux-cowboy ("Texan," my ass; born and raised Connecticut, this man was) ways, who publicly mocked a born-again Christian who was on Death Row (imitating her born-again statements like he was some spoiled school brat, though we're all supposed to roll with his born-again piety and changed-ways from his wayward youth -- ah, adulthood) -- asked for patience last night.

He's asking for patience, and time for his new strategy to work.

Patience for his so-called "new strategy," which is just an escalation of the failed old one...."

God I love this post. Is it 2008 yet? I'm convinced the only reason impeachment proceedings again Dubya haven't begun months and months ago can be summed up in one word: C H E N E Y.

Click here to read the rest of the article on his blog and learn more about the amazing Stephen.

Okay, and while I'm talking about writers/writing...

Hey, did you know I have my own corner of Cafe Press and you can buy coffee cups, tote bags, etc. emblazoned with my book covers? Ha ha, since my book covers are going to replaced by new and exciting ones over the next couple of weeks (Borders told my publisher that didn't care for the white backgrounds and can you believe they wanted it corrected before stocking them on their shelves?), the items available at Cafe Press will be collectors' items. (Giggling at the very thought, but still). Anyway, if you are interested in having a look or buying something, here's the link.

And also, for the first time ever (I think), over at Publishers Marketplace, my web page was second most visited this week. Uh-oh. I just checked again when I went to retrieve the link and I'm now at #7. Ha ha - do my poor ego a favor and click me back up to the top, okay?

Just kidding, just kidding.

And in case you are wondering, I am still on pins and needles, waiting to hear from various editors, magazines, etc. as concerns my recent submissions tear (oh Tin House, where art thou? Surely I fit the guidelines for your Evil Issue har har) but in the meantime, I can return the favor by asking YOU, hopefully fellow writers and writer wannabes, to submit to the anthology I'm editing...and this will be out in print by December, 2007 so you will have "instant gratification" (those of you in writing world know that it usually takes between one and two years for a book to be published once your work is accepted)...anyway, for submission guidelines, click here, but basically, here's what I'm looking for:

"39 AND HOLDING...HIM: STORIES OF SEX OVER 40

NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS for a literally and figuratively steamy erotic romance anthology for Phaze.

TITLE: 39 and Holding...Him - Stories of Sex Over 40
EDITOR: Robin Slick
TENTATIVE RELEASE DATE: October 1, 2007 (eBook), December, 2007 (print)
SUBMISSIONS DUE: August 1, 2007
NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS FOR THIS ANTHOLOGY PLEASE!

Authors don't necessarily have to be over 40 to submit, the only requisites for this anthology are that:

1) All stories must be primarily heterosexual (my publisher's request)

2) All heroes/heroines must be portrayed as 40 and over (and everybody involved must be of legal age, of course)

All sub-genres will be considered for this anthology: interracial, BBW, comtemporary, romantic comedy, historical, etc. Show us that love and passion are timeless.

STORY LENGTH: We're looking anywhere from 5K-15K. Please visit the Phaze website for formatting guidelines, and when you're ready send your submissions to: submissions@phaze.com with OVER 40 STORY SUBMISSION in the subject header. Reprints will be considered if you have complete control of the rights.

Accepted stories will receive the standard Phaze contract for multi-author anthologies, for a share of royalties."
*****
Okay, that's enough blabbing out of me. Now I need to work on about a million things -- editing for Phaze; two columns for two separate print mags, my novel (yeah, yeah, the new novel remains a work in progress...I really do suspect I'll still be editing it even after it's been published)...and oh god, I have wash sitting in the machine since yesterday which I forgot to put in the dryer...meaning, unless I want everyone around here smelling like Dubya's armpits/breath, I'd better throw in some more laundry detergent and do a rewash.

Oh, one final thing. I know I owe a million people responses to their emails -- I haven't even commented back on the remarks made on this blog which is very unlike me...but I've been swamped and well, busy listening to Beat Box Guitar every twelve minutes...but I promise, I will get back to all of you within the next few days. Okay? Okay!

Later,
xo