Julie Slick: She is My New Hat

ETA: Hurrah! My latest book, "Daddy Left Me Alone with God" is now available on Kindle! Here's the link! And um, just a heads up that my current NaNo project (National Novel Writing Month - a 50,000 word novel written during the month of November, as in RIGHT NOW) is the sequel, which will bring you all up to date on these *cough* "fictional" characters as well as introducing you to a couple of new ones (and to use the word characters is putting it mildly)...

So yeah, the ABPT is in Russia right now, doing two shows with Eddie Jobson, and some interesting stuff has popped up. But first, here are some photographs of the show in Perm last night, courtesy of my "lifeline", Andre Cholmondeley.

Here they are at soundcheck:













In concert:













With Eddie Jobson for Lark's Tongue:



Final bow:



Also, there's this mention in The Moscow News, and I'll just pull out some quotes; click on the link for the whole article, which, erm, isn't quite accurate as you will see:

"To the dismay of some fans, the legendary British progressive rock band itself isn't actually taking part in the fest, but one of King Crimson's current members - singer and guitarist Adrian Belew - is to perform with his side project, the Adrian Belew Power Trio. Their set is expected to be the fest's main highlight. Belew, who has been a King Crimson member since the band was formed by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles in 1969, is known for participation in many other projects. And while King Crimson is currently in a phase of semi-activity, Belew has been quite focused on touring and recording with his trio.

The trio, which also includes bassist Julie Slick and drummer Eric Slick, has been around since 2006, touring the United States, Europe and Australia. It put out its debut studio album with the title "e" earlier this year, "an extended suite in five distinct but interrelated sections", according to Belew.

Material from the album is likely to be performed in Moscow, as it was at the band's previous shows this year. A reviewer for The Buffalo News described their show last September as featuring a "lyrical, classical introduction", "bits of industrial near-metal, African polyrhythmic motifs" and "a purely ‘free' section of improvisation", observing that it triggered a "visceral and chaotic" response from the audience."

When I took a look at Eddie Jobson's forum board to see if there were any reviews from the Perm show last night, I struck out, but I did find this (and speaking of Andre, there's some really nice and well-deserved comments made on his behalf):

Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: gogo
Date: 10-13-09 22:16

-------- OK----------
"May I suggest that EVERYONE
who has a chance to go see this band
----------------------------GO FOR IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I knew nothing of the man,
his band, or his music,
other than DISCIPLINE
when I was in grade 10
and what I read of the Eddie Russia festival..........
(which is all VERY cool)

And for whatever reason,
too wrapped-up in stuff
to discover this music..........

And also that our friend
and fellow EJ Forum member
Andre Cholmondeley is their Tour manager........

So, my house-building buddy
Tony Thompson bought a pile of tickets
and handed them out to his friends
and I wasn't going to go over to Vancouver
on my first non-gigging weekend in a while.......

And I emailed Andre, and I say YEAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tracy-Lyn was wrapped-up in making
a HUGE Thanksgiving Dinner for the gang here
and I said "I will blast over to this show and be back early tomorrow"
....and use the opportunity to pick-up
the violin that I just inherited from Uncle Tony
(another post, another story)......and
our dear friend ROSE decided to go over
for the trip as a sit in.........also YEAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So we hit the 3pm ferry
and my old guitarist Randal Frew
picked us up..and we went to his place
......and hearing him play was worth the trip alone

....but his cat scratched Rosie...

Then, we hit the downtown
and yap with the cats in the line-up
and move into the front row
..really neat room, black, tall ceiling.....cool club......

we got to chit chat with Andre a bit
(super cool guy...and THANK YOU)
and it was a trip to see how busy he is
and how well he treats and represents his band.

Tour managers are more rare than keyboard players
and worth more than GOLD in the modern rock world.
The guy I work with is basicly irreplaceable.
I have seen very smart and cool men literally
loose their minds as tour managers.

The work-load does not let-up,
and the responsibilities are everywhere.
And it can be very thankless......cos
nobody sees a fraction of what actually goes on.

It takes an extremely reasonable, unflappable
and diversely talented person to tour manage a rock band.
Andre treats people well, and represents his act
very respectfully.

So this says volumes for our friend Andre.
Totally cool...proud to know you, man.



OK, so I did have some preconceived notions
of what this show would be all about......
and it was all good..of course......

But forget all that........
I was totally knocked out..amazed and had an total
full-out riot.

YOU HAVE TO SEE THESE CATS.

Julie Slick
.....She is my new hat

She is great.
I can not get her off of my mind
LOVE YOU Julie Slick.

I was right in front of
the beautiful bass player
and MAN ! she GOES FOR IT
the whole time....excellent !!!!!!!!!!!

Great fuzz bass..a million riffs...
I guess this is called Prog Rock
cos there were a lot of guys,
dressed in black
some with arms folded
and all smiling........

But I call it art rock
so we jjust spazzed out a lot

This is the floor
where a guy fell
unconscious
at Rosie's feet

Poor Rosie.
One minute he is staring at her
and next thing, he hits the floor.

I get to see tons of bands
but never as much fun as this.

This is total wild fun full-out music
and wild to dance to
cos it goes everywhere !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the most fun I have had since UKZ.

Can you imagine these guys opening for the Eddies in Russia ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

The band did huge at merch,
stuck around, signed stuff,
my friends were thrilled
to meet the band
....very freindly, a total 100% class act.

I have never heard music like this before.
I understand it, but I would never think to write
and arrange like that.

There were great dynamic open spots for crowd howls.......just a riot.

RAA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA

----WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!

RAA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA

----WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!

RAA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA

----WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!

If they play anywhere near your town
....you GOTTA go see this act..........

The best fun to be had.

I would go again..and again........

I LOVE IT.
and THANK YOU
love
GOGO"
*******

Re: Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: Dusty
Date: 10-13-09 23:39

"These guys played nowhere near me but I saw them in NYC recently - first time I saw Adrian with the Slick Siblings, killing band.

Ade sits betwixt the Slicks
Ade sits betwixt the Slicks
Ade sits betwixt the Slicks

...eh, on a big, springy stool... amongst an array of technology and sound reinforcement, and black boxes with flashing lights. The rest of the power trio have comparitively spare, minimal set-ups. Bass sound is aggressive, plenty of attack and very clear. I like it a lot. And drummer played a brief but inspired, and very musical solo.

Luckily, the guy sitting opposite me at the Belew gig was an Eddie fan and saw both the UKZ show and the U-Z gig at the same venue the week or so before...."

******

Reply To This Message

Re: Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: gogo
Date: 10-14-09 11:19

"Dusty !
great review !!!!!!!
you loved it too !
just as I doooooo !

Yes, i never mentioned how HEAVY this band is.
Excellent rock, so totally fun.

I love being so surprised
and having such a gas
..a rare rare thing.....

love
Gogo"

******

Reply To This Message

Re: Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: gogo
Date: 10-19-09 10:06

"So, the corporate gig this weekend
turned out to be a pub at a Technical Institute,
unadvertised.....and great to have anything
as winter looms on the horizon.....I suppose.

The driver went into a rave review
of the Adrian Power Trio gig
that he attended in Calgary Alberta.

He chatted away,
with no connection,
until this topic came up.........

Everyone LOVES that band !

love
Gogo"
*****

Reply To This Message

Re: Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: Mike Piazza
Date: 10-22-09 07:39

"WOW !
Love the Adrian Belew Power Trio !!!
Seen them multiple times and always a great show !!!
They are geting better and better every day !

Thanks so much for the great posts GOGO....

If you all get the chance to see them....Do so !
You will definitely enjoy........

They are some of the most down to earth musicians you've ever met !
And they truly enjoy performing for us...every single time !

Peace...

Mikey P"
******

Reply To This Message

Re: Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: Lenny
Date: 10-22-09 09:51

An interview with Julie Slick
******

Reply To This Message

Re: Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: gogo
Date: 10-29-09 11:00

"A great interview !!!

She is wonderful !

The conversation gets better as it goes along
cos she tells some good food stories.....my kinda girl !

Love
Gogo"
******

Ha, gotta love that Gogo!

There's a a nice review of the trio's recent show in Seattle and here's a few snippets I pulled out:

"It was unusual to see the drummer perpendicular to the audience, but it gave us the opportunity to get an appreciation of Eric Slick’s incredible footwork. Adrian has a very unique sense of syncopation, but this lad never missed a beat."



..."Sister Julie Slick was masterful on the bass. And definitely the most photogenic of the group. (That must be the reason I have so many more pictures of her…)"


***********

Ha, that was fun. There's a bunch of articles about their show tonight in Moscow and the next two shows in Turkey - I will have to see if I can get them translated for my next blog post. And as I sit here typing this, Andre keeps sending me more photos so if I don't end this entry now, I may never stop!

In other news, I have had the head cold from hell, which prevented me from going to New York and reading this past Saturday, but under the category of "much better", I finished my edits for Bitten to the Core and they were accepted (whew, that's a relief!) and now it's being line edited so I guess we're right on track for publication for next month. Hurrah! You can't believe what I've decided to do in connection with its release. I can't believe it, either. I've discovered how to live stream a broadcast from my new mac right in the comfort of my living room, so I'm going to have a virtual party here. I'll read from part of the book, maybe drink some wine, introduce you to the dog, show you some cool artwork and maybe even a guitar or two...hell, I'll even play you some music. This could be a lot of fun. Assuming publication of the digital version is in fact December 7, I'm planning on doing it on Saturday night, December 12. I would normally do it that Friday, December 11, but it has come to my attention that there is something very special scheduled for that night, namely, this!

Okay, that's not a direct link. What "this" is: What is mistakenly listed as "Julie and Eric Slick Power Duo" is an error, it's actually their new band with Robbie "Seahag" Mangano, Paper Cat, and they are opening for the amazing band Julie produces, Cheers Elephant...and I can't believe they are all playing the Khyber Pass, because yeah, yeah, Gary and I used to hang at that very bar when we were Julie and Eric's age and we took them to see Richie Havens there when they were kids and I could swear someone else, too, but my brains are fried with this cold. I called Gary and asked him, and he doesn't remember, either, but he, too, has a vague recollection of another band though he did say that Eric did an AC/DC show there when he was still at the School of Rock so maybe that's what we're thinking of. (Eric, if you read this and remember, shoot me an email or a text and I'll add it in and do I believe my son is in Russia and can actually read this on his iPhone?)

Anyway, getting back to me, yeah, the virtual book release/reading party for Bitten to the Core should be lots of fun and I just realized, in a perfect world I will have the house decorated for Christmas by December 12 and it will look all festive and pretty in here (well, if I wasn't going to do it before now, I just decided I will, so hurrah, I have the much needed impetus now to start cleaning blah blah blah). But as I type this, I'm wondering if people will be home on a Saturday night right before the holidays and if I shouldn't make it on Thursday night, December 10, instead. Hmm. Well, I'll let you know...this is all contingent on the release date of my book not being pushed up, too, so I don't want to set anything in stone yet, anyway.

But how much fun will that be? Ha ha, maybe I can bribe Julie and Eric over here, too, for a little comedic/musical participation at my party... as they grit their teeth and shudder in Moscow right now reading this and not from the cold :(

Oh well, speaking of colds, it's time I rest mine and go take a nap. But yeah, tentatively circle December 12 on your calendars! And if you are anywhere near Philadelphia, see you at the Khyber Pass on December 11!

Later,
xo
P.S. I know, I know, the photography/food reviews and posts from the tour. I need Julie's help, memory, and some of her photos. So that's on hold until she gets home.