So today Julie and Eric boarded a plane for Nashville - they will spend the day rehearsing for the first leg of what is shaping up to be a very nice extended tour and possibly dropping in on NAMM at some point but at this time plans are up in the air...in case you haven't heard from other sources, the Adrian Belew Power Trio suffered a loss in their family this week...tour manager/techie extraordinaire Andre Cholmondeley mourns the sudden passing of his mother on Tuesday and will not be able to join the gang at least initially...I believe an angel of mercy arrived in the form of Tony Levin's engineer so fingers crossed...anyway, the first show of the tour kicks off tomorrow night in Dayton, Ohio right here.
But seriously, please send Andre your best wishes...this was a devastating loss for him and his family and Andre, if you are reading this, please know that you have been in my thoughts non-stop since I heard the news. Having lost my own mother years ago and Gary having lost his mom last year, there are few things more terrible and we feel your pain. It does get easier with time, but it's rough, man.
In much better news, last night, Julie and Eric began what may be the start of a beautiful relationship with the great Robbie "Seahag" Mangano on guitar at John and Peters in New Hope. I was unable to make it but Slickdaddy showed up, took a couple of photos, and even joined the band for their final jam of the evening with his trusty Gibson SG...hopefully someone will send me some photos of that, but in the meantime...here you go...
The place was packed and enthusiastic and the "tip bucket" filled to the top! Yeah!
Ooh, and I just found some cool comments on the Ween forum board...like this one:
"oh man, what a treat~ first time I ever saw Julie play...she's awesome!
Eric ruled per usual, & Robbie, well....I've never seen him play like that~
he was on fire...
they just improvised the whole time, but it was great.
glad we decided to go after all...hope they do it again sometime.
almost forgot to mention Eric & Julie's dad......he came up & played a song & rocked out! what fun for a wed. night~"
******
"So good!! I too hope it happens again...and it was taped, Toad. Gary Slick joined his "kids" at some point, it was sweet to see them play together."
Oh man, you really need to click on the Ween forum link - the person who made the above comment put up some really fantastic photos! To make it easy, here it is again!
Yep, it appears they will "do it again" and there are also plans to record. I was teasing/texting J&E last night pre-show that they should name their band "Seaslick" but Julie texted me back "You're sick!". Heh...yeah, well, who doesn't know that?
Speaking of sick, Tuesday night I was in New York City to read a piece I wrote for The Nervous Breakdown and here's a photo of me pre-show, at an absolutely incredible sushi restaurant on east 4th Street called Jeollado...I really don't know how I decided on what to have so I ended up with an assortment which absolutely rocked...but as you can see, I was pretty stymied when I first saw the selection...
And of course notice I am again wearing the brand new Adrian Belew Power Trio tour shirt which will be immediately available to the general public beginning tomorrow night in Ohio...anyway, I had a way cool thing happen to me in New York on the way to the reading. I was standing at a trash can, unwrapping a fake Barbie and a fake Ken and making them naked while being watched warily by two K-Mart employees standing there having a cigarette who were wondering what the hell I was up to...but of course if you read my piece over at the Nervous Breakdown you will know exactly what I was doing...anyway, as I was standing there undressing two crappy dolls, I hear someone shout "Adrian Belew!" (the back of the t-shirt says "adrian belew power trio" in bold white letters) so I spun around, and there's this guy...he reminded me of Tommy Chong...well, Leo, the long haired burnt out hippie he played in That 70's show...
So anyway, the Leo look-alike is driving one of those rickshaw cabs and he halted in the middle of traffic to talk to me and didn't once look at my naked Barbie. Instead he was gushing "Adrian Belew...do you like him? I'm seeing him here in New York at BB Kings on August 28!"
Me: "Ha ha, yeah, me, too. He plays with my kids."
"Leo": "No. You're lying!"
Me: "Nope. My 22 year old son is his drummer and my 23 year old daughter is his bassist."
Leo: "No!"
Me: "Yes!"
Leo: "No!"
Me: "Yes, really."
Leo: "You're lyin'"
Me: "Why would I lie?"
Leo: "No way. No fucking way. For real?"
Me: "Yep. I'm wearing the shirt, aren't I? It's the logo/cover of their new CD...they'll be performing it when you see them...all new music."
Leo: "Man, I can't believe it. How freaking cool. Well, I'll be there."
Me: "I know. You told me!"
Leo: "Adrian Belew. I can't believe it. Wow. Far out..."
And then, after about 1,000 cars started illegally beeping at him because he was like blocking traffic in front of Penn Station at rush hour on a Tuesday...ha!...he pedaled off, leaving me smiling and the two K-Mart workers standing there with their mouths open. They didn't realize that the lunatic standing next to them at the trashcan undressing Barbie/Ken dolls was a celebrity.
Okay, the mother of celebrities.
Oh alright, so I am sort of a celebrity - I write essays for The Nervous Breakdown and yeah, yeah, a couple of books...
Ooh, speaking of that, I have a new cover for Bitten to the Core, which will be published this coming December by Mundania/Phaze Press. I'm really liking this - it's a total departure from the other books in the series...the cover, that is...the book of course stars "Elizabeth" once more but includes a whole new cast of characters...and dare I use the word "cougar"?
I think that cover is groovy...it was designed by the fabulous Stella Price, who also designed the cover for Daddy Left Me Alone with God.
Oh, getting back to the reading, man, was it fabulous. The other readers were brilliant and Kimberly M. Wetherell did an amazing, amazing job of hosting/organizing the event. I am not going to link anyone or any of their stories right now because I understand there will be You Tubes of the reading up shortly so I will tempt you with that in the meantime...but trust me, as soon as they are available, I will post them here.
Anyway, I think that's a wrap for now but if any more photos/comments from last night surface, I'll be back to edit.
Later,
xo
Your blog always mentions awesome people, that I love. Robbie Seahag is one of my favourite people from that part of the world... and I guess he is pretty good at that guitar stuff too.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that is just crazy that we know the same people. I saw that "mighty boognish" Joe Maida is one of your Twitter pals and I was wondering about that and how the sequence of how you and I met occurred, i.e., was it through Joe or did Joe meet you through me...now I'm getting it and I am guessing you are a big Ween fan and I met you through Joe?
ReplyDeleteIf you will click on the link I just added to the Ween forum board, there are some kick ass photos of Robbie, Eric and Julie there and it appears that they really are a new band, which so totally rocks I am over the moon.
Did you know Eric was in line to be the next Ween drummer when Claude left the band? But then Claude changed his mind and returned, which was good because Eric has no intention of leaving Adrian...but how he was going to juggle both tours I have no idea.
xo
Heh yeah I am a moderator on the ween forum and have been posting there for years. Have been over to NYC area a couple of times.. so have met a bunch of those guys.
ReplyDeleteYeah I can't really remember how we stumbled onto each other on twitter, funny how small it makes the world seem.
That's just insane.
ReplyDeleteI have a similar stories about how I know Neil Gaiman and Eddie Vedder and how connected we are both in person and via the web with our mutual connections of Adrian Belew, Tori Amos, Amanda Palmer/Dresden Dolls (Adrian and Brian have recorded together several times), and now via Twitter, "Maudlynne" Chamberlain. It's like certain people are just destined to meet for whatever reasons. I can't wait for my next trip to the UK!
Oh, and since you are a Ween forum person, I guess you have seen the great NPR You Tubes of Chris Harford with Ween and my son? They are already a couple of years old but truly awesome...though of course Eric insists he is "so much better" now because he was only 20 at the time and didn't have three years of touring with Adrian under his belt yet. I am hoping someone puts up last night's show since I saw on the forum it was taped.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I really hope you are feeling better soon. Man, I cannot believe what you are going through.
xo
Your story, and the way you delivered it with props, was hysterical and heartbreaking. It was so good to spend time with you!
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks, and likewise! I really appreciate your comments and the support...and the trek to the club for sure!
ReplyDelete(Though I can say this to you - I am terrified as to what those You Tubes will reveal. Oy!)
But more importantly, I can't wait to see you again in NY soon for a major party!
xo
Another over-the-top time. I'm jealous, of course. Too far away here in Boston. But I sure am glad to know you are getting the appreciation you deserve.
ReplyDeleteJessica
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