Urban Barbecue with Dr. Dog and Julie Slick is Homeward Bound

Yep, this is pretty much what you'd expect to see when you think of a barbecue with a slacker band like Dr. Dog: lush manicured lawns, shady trees, tropical plants...



We gathered at a top secret location last Thursday night...I was going to Tweet a foursquare map an hour or so before I left the house but even I can't feed 10,000 people. And clearly, I am kidding about what has to be the hardest working band on the planet right now.

Here's guitarist/vocalist Scott McMicken catching a fresh breath of air, percussionist Dimitri Manos, and the back of bassist/vocalist Toby Leaman's head as they lounge on the cool grassy slope. Toby hopes to squeeze in a pre-dinner jog.



Same shot, but this time I managed to get keyboardist Zach Miller in the picture. He really wanted to go paddle-boating but the water was full of hipsters on jet skis.



Ah, there's Toby, sorta, and a better one of Dimitri. Dimitri is clearly considering asking if anyone wants to pitch some horse shoes.



Drummer Eric Slick, reluctantly being pulled away from a round of golf and into the photograph though he's now thinking he'll hit the clubhouse, cleverly disguised as a jeep, for a non-alcoholic beer.



You may be wondering where guitarist Frank McElroy is. I tried to catch him with my camera, but well, Frank is an enigma. Actually, someone told me he was out back, pretending to be a tennis pro.

I can't disclose the identify of the other people who were there because you know, this is an exclusive country club and to tell you their names would get me in a lot of trouble. For real.

But I can tell you what we ate: Chargriled burgers and hot dogs for the carnivores; for the vegetarians - grilled portabello mushrooms stuffed with fresh steamed spinach infused with roasted garlic and topped with melted cheese on whole wheat organic buns, baked barbecued beans (a mix of white, black, pinto, and kidney) with smoked tofu and seitan, baked from scratch corn bread, homemade guacamole with black tortilla chips...yep, it was pretty freaking awesome.

I really like the guys in Dr. Dog. Laid back and sweet, musically driven with a strong work ethic. My son is in good hands.

You may be wondering where is my daughter, Julie Slick? Why, she's on a plane right now, having just left Tokyo where she wrapped up the last of four shows at the Blue Note with the Adrian Belew Power Trio. In case you haven't heard, filling in for Eric for at least the immediate future is Marco Minnemann. Sob..I haven't seen Julie since July 7 when she left for the Vancouver Island Music Fest. Here's the link to a review of their performance with photos and here's another.

Right after Vancouver, Julie flew to California to jam with Marco and a guitarist you might have heard of, Mike Keneally. They have six songs in the can already, and Julie was kind enough to send me the MP3s. I'll be putting them on eBay shortly. Ha ha, just kidding, but they are mind blowing and the three of them are definitely going to work on a future project tentatively called "Artificial Canadian Bear". Julie cooked for everyone pre-jam, and I managed to get her to reveal details for one of the meals:

"We started with a cheese plate with 5 Year Reserve Gouda; Saint Albrais; Black Pepper, Honey, and Basil encrusted Goat Cheese; Strawberries; and Red Grapes.

Next up were Zucchini and Feta Patties topped with Diced Heirloom Tomatoes and Tzatziki.

Wine Pairing - De Chanceny Rosé Brut.

Entrée - Scallops Provençal, Herbed Basmati Rice, Braised Carrots and Brussel Sprouts and a Green Salad with Shallot Dijon Vinaigrette.

Wine Pairing - Joseph Drouhin Macon Villages Blanc.

Dessert - Key Lime Pie."

She told me she took pics, but she's saving them for her blog. Rats! Now I could easily go into where I know she stores her photos and lift them, but I will be a good Mom and behave.

While on the west coast, she also hung out at the The Baked Potato where she jammed with Marco on a couple of songs and I do have a pic of that, but only because it was sent to me by a guy I met on Facebook.



Looks like fun, huh. I made the mistake of clicking on the Baked Potato's menu and almost swooned. Okay, I did swoon. Potatoes are my absolutely favorite food and that's the only thing they sell - several variations, of course, a lot with meat I don't eat, but still...what a perfect world when you can go to a club and hear Marco Minnemann and Julie Slick while stuffing your face with potatoes and drinking Ketel and club. (my current drink of choice)

So I will let Julie tell you about the Japan trip - I've seen a few photos and it looks like everyone had a blast, which is fantastic news...I love for my family to be happy.

Julie's CD continues to get glowing reviews...here are a couple which are especially brilliant:

"At just twenty four years of age Philadelphia native Julie Slick's musical resume is an impressive one to say the least. She studied music along with her drummer brother Eric for six years and as a result got to rub shoulders with the likes of Eddie Vedder, Stewart Copeland, Jon Anderson and Adrian Belew to name just a few. In fact it was her meeting with Belew which inevitably led to her and her brother joining the Adrian Belew Power Trio in 2006. Now this talented player and composer is primed to step into the spotlight with the release of her self titled debut album.

Armed with an extraordinary cast of virtuoso players that includes King Crimson's Robert Fripp & Pat Mastelotto, master stick player Michael Bernier and drummer Marco Minnemann among others to help her get her vision across, Julie has put together an incredibly diverse album that touches on elements of progressive rock, jazz fusion and funk, with even a bit of electronica thrown in as well..."

Read the rest right here.

And here's the other one:

"Utilizing the bass in ways beyond the low end, Julie Slick's inventive approach has created a multi-faceted offering of intricately textured tunes, infused with challenging arrangements. Having played with the likes of Adrian Belew, The California Guitar Trio, Stewart Copeland, & Jon Anderson among others, Slick has brought about her chops and diverse mindset when approaching her self-titled album. .."

Read the rest right here.

Hey, there's an awesome book coming out which features, among some pretty heavy hitters, Julie, Eric and Adrian, and it's called Their Love of Music and here's a link to the page which features J, E, & A: Click!

Speaking of books, thank you all so much for participating in the first installment of Celebrity Book Club. The next book up for review will be Ariel Leve's "It Could Be Worse, You Could Be Me" and that will be posted next Monday. This is a laugh out loud series of essays by someone I wish was my best friend in real life...as I read the book, I thought, wait a minute, "it could be worse, you could be me?" I am her! Read the book and if you know me at all, you'll see what I mean. Read it even if you hate me. Ariel is hilarious, and she writes for both the New York Times and The Guardian. Erm...so she's really not me. I write for Blogger and Facebook har har. Nah, I have a publisher - I even wrote and edited a bunch of books - in fact, one day last week I even made myself an official page over at Amazon. Here - check it out!

But man oh man, I have been incredibly fortunate this year. I've read books that have literally brought me to my knees, starting with Susan Henderson's "Up from the Blue", then Tish Cohen's "The Truth About Delilah Blue". In between the two, I had read Ariel's book, but in the past month, I have just been blown away by Marcy Dermansky's "Bad Marie", which I'll review after Ariel, and then what may be the best short story collection I have EVER read, and I'm actually sitting here shaking as I type this because I am including classic authors like Raymond Carver and contemporary authors like Lorrie Moore when I say that...the name of the book is Slut Lullabies and it was written by Gina Frangello. Since I am also going to review Gina's book after Marcy's, I won't say much more, other than I just finished reading it and a week later, I am still stunned. I'm going to aim for these reviews every couple of weeks, so let me give you the links to buy again so you'll be able to participate in my "club", and trust me, you will thank me later.

It Could be Worse, You Could Be Me by Ariel Leve

Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky

Slut Lullabies by Gina Frangello

As I've mentioned in a previous post, other books I will review as their publication date approaches are "Up From the Blue" by Sue Henderson and Caroline Leavitt's wonderful "Pictures of You".

So I think that's it for now...oh wait, I don't think I ever got the chance to talk about the XPoNential Festival last Sunday, where Dr. Dog was one of the headliners. Everyone (but a few misguided souls who also didn't notice the Emperor wasn't wearing new clothes and voted for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes) said Dr. Dog was the highlight of the three day festival. Aha! Here's someone who agrees with me in a big way. And look, you can judge for yourself:



How cool are all the people singing along? Hey, let me add that this was one of the best festivals I've ever attended, with the exception of Zappanale in East Germany, but Zappanale was the first time I ever saw Julie and Eric perform together on an international stage...they were only 16 and 17...and I know I've posted this before but I can't help it, I have to do it again so I can look at it all day today like the crazy, obsessive person I am.



So I think that's it for today. Julie will be home tonight but only for a week, then she takes off for South America with Marco and Adrian, and here's the schedule for that:

AUG 06, 2010 - Teatro Nescafe de Las Artes - Santiago, CHILE
AUG 07, 2010 - Samsung Studio - Buenos Aires, Argentina
AUG 08, 2010 - Guitar Clinic - Buenos Aires, Argentina
AUG 08, 2010 - Samsung Studio - Buenos Aires, Argentina
AUG 09, 2010 - La Trastienda Club Montevideo - Montevideo, Uruguay

Oh wait, one more thing - I have a piece up today at the Red Room which is actually from the old Nervous Breakdown site...I am such a dork, when the Nervous Breakdown went to a new website, I never moved my published stuff there and now it's lost...sob....which is why I decided to repost it today at Red Room. So if you didn't catch it when it was up briefly last year, here's today's link.

And now I have to be a good girl and turn off the internet so I can work on my new novel. After reading the above mentioned books, I've really set the bar high for myself right now and I am pouring my soul into this book, which has the title of "Whiplashed". Perfect, huh. Wish me luck!

Later,
xo