Hey Ho...Ohio

There it is - my official new book cover, complete with blurbs, as it will appear in bookstores across the universe. Well, this is a high res photo so the colors are off...on my screen, the lipstick on the apple looks blue, etc., obviously it's going to be red, but that could just be my computer. Anyway...

Yay!

But naturally, that's not the real cause of my excitement this week (though I might also add that I've been extremely lucky in the acceptance department lately with short stories coming out in many magazines over the next couple of months...hooray!)

Nope, the real reason I'm jumping for joy is:



The Adrian Belew Power Trio - featuring Julie Slick on bass and Eric Slick on drums, who are back out on tour!

Okay, so the family left for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, this morning...digging out of a foot of ice in Philadelphia to get the Jeep out and heading towards ten feet of snow in Ohio.

I am trying not to hyperventilate.

Poor Eric. His flight to Cleveland was cancelled yesterday due to all the bad weather and thus, so was his gig with Project Object. Luckily we already had the plan in place for his dad to drive Julie to Cleveland today for their gig with Adrian Belew but I know Eric was bumming bigtime over the cancellation of the P/O gig.

But hey hey, there's tonight's completely sold out show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Friday in Dayton, and the big show/recording of Side 4 Live in Newport, KY (see post below for all details and links) to look forward to, and the weather forecast is good; in fact, they had better luck clearing ten feet of snow from Ohio than our lovely City of Philadelphia had clearing a couple inches. There is something very corrupt about our city government but I'd best leave that alone right now.

However, I'd be lying if I said my heart won't be in my mouth until I get the phone call that they've arrived safely. It's a seven hour drive to Cleveland assuming there's no traffic or ice...and soundcheck is at 5:00 p.m. tonight. They did leave at 7:00 a.m. so that's giving them ten hours...but still.

Ugh, I'm not happy unless I'm worrying. And let's not even discuss Julie flying out of O'Hare Airport in Chicago to get to New York on Sunday to record Jon Anderson's new CD...I can't even bring myself to look at the Chicago weather forecast.

But all that aside, to say I'm excited right now is putting it mildly.

And in case anyone reading this is planning on attending any of the Ohio shows, the trio will have a special treat. They are offering limited edition CDs of an eleven minute version of Beat Box Guitar Live with original artwork and autographs by all three members of the trio...they will even customize them for you. Sun Ra used to do this and now his doodled CDs are collectors' items.

I know if I were lucky enough to get one of these, though, I'd have to be reduced to eating cat food for dinner before I'd part with mine.

And how cool that all three members of the Adrian Belew Power Trio are fantastic artists...funny, I thought that being a painter was Julie's true calling in life. Her artwork is incredible and she studied at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia and University of the Arts even as a child. When she draws a portrait, it looks like a photograph jumping off the page. If the family didn't take my camera with them to Ohio, I'd be taking a photo right now of Julie's drawing of Gary and Eric when they were, ironically, stuck at Chicago's O'Hare Airport on the way home from the west coast gig with Adrian.

I noticed a couple mentions of the trio in two Ohio newspapers, namely, right here and right here.

Anyway...I'm going to spend the next five days in hermit mode, writing my little heart out, but of course I will be back with blogposts as I hear from the family as to each Power Trio performance and other amusing little anecdotes of which I'm sure there will be plenty knowing this gang -- though now I have to share my stories/audience with this Grand Master Blogger...and a very fine author in his own write.

But I mean, come on. How can I compete with stories which contain mentions of Robert Fripp's willy?

Err...I guess you'll have to read my actual books for that, huh. (Insert evil, wicked grin here) Links to purchase on the right. Get 'em while they still have the old "collector" covers...in a few weeks they will be gone. Ha!

Later,

xo