I'm Not Your Friend, Dude

Okay, it's killing me not to go off on a political tirade but there are many others who do it better than I ever could so I won't...though holy freaking cow, why have I not read anything about Senator McShame's overuse...and I mean gross overuse...of the phrase "My friends" during every one of his speeches and especially during both debates.



We're not your friend, dude. And you come off sounding like you're selling ginzu knives on the Atlantic City Boardwalk circa 1960. Or worse, a snake oil salesman.

And let's not even go here. But she can quickly respond to whether she's a hottie, huh.

Guess what, sweetie. You're not. If I were a guy, I'd rather do moldy swiss cheese. And let me immediately issue a disclaimer for using a link to a Fox news article (bleh!) which is of course not favorable to my candidate of choice but it was where I found the quote on the front page of the AOL welcome screen and notice how I'm not using any actual names here as I don't want any of their lunatic supporters finding me via google and leaving their trailer trash comments. Speaking of that, I know this is America and I cherish our (diminishing daily) First Amendment rights, but how can people like this exist and not be arrested for hate crimes?

Okay, enough out of me. I need to calm down. The end is in sight. I have an absentee ballot here to mail on Julie's behalf - Eric already mailed his - and I know for a fact change is coming. So let's talk about things of a more uplifting nature. Like music.



Yep, the dynamic duo flew to Nashville this morning to once again become a a trio. And the reason I gave you that link is not only because I love Ade's take on things, but because of the comment section, where Gary has now officially been annointed "Slick Daddy". I am in love with that and can't believe I didn't come up with it myself.

Speaking of Slick Daddy, he just called me to let me know he has a ticket to the Phillies' play-off game tomorrow. I don't want to jinx things but let's just say that when Slick Daddy attends...wait...I am afraid of the jinx factor after all. Let's discuss this further on Saturday.

So yeah, Julie and Eric, according to my clock, have just landed in Nashville now (9:30 a.m. eastern) and, after 4-5 days of rehearsal and yes, learning brand new material, are about to embark on a month long tour of Europe. Hence the need for absentee ballots.

And how freaking cool is this - there's a commercial running on Lithuanian television for the trio's upcoming show! While it doesn't show Julie and Eric, it still rocks bigtime:



Oh my God, was that great or what? I'm still smiling. So now we not only have Slick Daddy, we have "Adrian Bee-loo". Ah, life is grand.

Beyond that, I don't have much more to say. Of course I'll be blogging daily once the tour starts...right now I'm busy mapping out my strategy for National Novel Writing Month. As my long time readers know, every November I participate in "NANO" and write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. My record so far is 100%. Every novel I've written via NANO since 2003 has been published or will see publication in 2009. Last year I was incredibly bold and posted daily excerpts of raw, unedited work - I managed 2,500 to 3,000 words a day easily. Should I do it again this year? I already have my plot and characters worked out and have a loose outline in my head (to actually start writing now would be cheating but okay, I do have a few false starts and will probably go with at least the format of one of them)...I'm kind of dying to tell you all what it's about but last year a funny thing happened - the book changed as I was writing it and kind of took a life on of its own. So rather than type a synopsis here now and wind up with egg on my face, I think we'll see how it unfolds together. Maybe. I still haven't decided if I should make my daily suffering writing public or not though I think I did have about two readers. Ha.

Finally, let me say Happy Birthday to a true hero - a man who knew how to make a real difference and did.



Peace,
xo

Back by Popular Demand

So I'm back. And I even have a Neil Gaiman alert but I'll get to that in a minute.

We had an incredibly wonderful, laid back vacation totally based around this guy:



I'm serious. Maybe you have to be a dog lover, I dunno, but Monty is brilliant. He understands body language and about 200 human words but our baby is now ten and a half and we just wanted to spend every minute with him. He's like a little kid on vacation jumping around like a maniac and he knows when we are about to go out to the beach or out for donuts, etc....when he let us leave, that is. He has a problem with separation anxiety and we ended up taking him in the car on jaunts for food/fun with us every day which may not seem unusual to you but up until now, it was his only flaw. Mont Man gets deathly car sick and I always have to sit in the back seat with him with a roll of paper towels and a barf bag. We've tried everything since he was a puppy - not feeding him the day we know we're taking him in the car; Dramamine; stuff prescribed by the vet...none of it worked, in fact, he just got sicker. And he knew it because trying to get him into a car was like trying to get him into the vet's office...freaking impossible. He makes himself a dead weight and cries like a baby. I don't know what the hell happened but suddenly, this year, he stopped freaking out and he now rides in a car like a normal person dog. So yeah, we took him everywhere with us and had a blast.

Excitement for the whole two weeks included seeing an oriole perched on a tree branch outside our bedroom window one morning and a cardinal the next. The cardinal blew me away - it was just so incredibly...red. Truly beautiful. You just don't see stuff like that in Philadelphia.

And then there was a rabbit in our driveway and while walking on the beach, we saw a school of dolphins really close to shore. Breathtaking.

As was the storm that appeared out of nowhere, with dire warnings that we'd be flooded and power would go out in fifty mile per hour winds, and we wondered if we were sitting ducks with our house literally beachfront and the waves so insane I felt like I could touch them from the front porch. The local news said "Move your car to higher ground." I looked at Gary. "Do you know where higher ground is around here?"

"Nope."

"Oh well."

Ha ha. That's kind of how we felt. We were so relaxed we just had a very cavalier attitude about the whole thing...until it started happening, that is. Gary remained normal but naturally I had to keep looking outside, my blood pressure rising by the minute and freaking myself out. The storm itself was too intense to go out in but here are some pics Gary took of the beginning and end...







It was also way strange that for the first time, we saw very little of Eric and Julie on vacation. Eric had a ton of gigs lined up while we were away but he made it down for two day trips; Julie also had a gig with a band called New Connection and she had a bunch of songs to learn - she was sitting in for their regular bass player and they really liked her so it looks like she has a future gig with them again in November...anyway, she made it down one Sunday night with Matt but was already back on the road for rehearsals by Tuesday. So it was just Gary, Monty and me kicking around in a big beachfront house. Poor, poor us.

So while I was away, some new dates were added to the Adrian Belew Power Trio European tour. Here's the total list...I cannot believe Julie and Eric leave next week for Nashville for several days of rehearsal for the new setlist/studio album before leaving for their first show in Budapest. And oh my God, I know I shouldn't say anything but Ade sent them all of the new music to scope out before arriving in Nashville and there it was on my desktop when I got home. We listened to the whole thing last night (Gary and I, that is) and had goosebumps. It's so amazing it's ridiculous...Adrian Belew is the most brilliant composer out there right now, hands down. People are going to be mesmerized by this material - it's unlike anything you've ever heard and as I said, literally gives you the chills. Anyway, here's the complete list of dates and venues:

Tour Dates:
Adrian Belew Power Trio (USA)
Fall 2008 - Europe

OCTOBER
15 WED Budapest Hungary >> Trafo
18 SAT Lugano Switzerland >> Auditorium Radio Svizzera
20 MON San Sebastien Spain >> Teatro Victoria Eugenia
21 TUES Barcelona Spain >> Forum Bikini
23 THU Milano Italia >> Blue Note
24 FRI Woergl Austria >> Komma
25 SAT Vevey Switzerland >> Rocking-Chair
27 MON Aschaffenburg Germany >> Colos-Saal
28 TUES Groningen Netherlands >> De Oosterpoort
29 WED Den Haag Netherlands >> Paard Van Troje
30 THU Eindhoven Netherlands >> Effenaar
31 FRI Zurich Switzerland >> Moods Im Schiffbau

NOVEMBER
01 SAT Schwerin Germany >> Der Speicher
02 SUN Muenster Germany >> Hotjazzclub
03 MON Leverkusen Germany >> Forum Leverkusen, Jazztage
05 WED Vilnius Lithunia >> Forum Palace

Oh, speaking of J&E, here's a great pic I found on a website belonging to Mikki Kunttu (hope I got that right)...and that would be Eric Slick, Julie Slick, Mikki, Keith Emerson and Eddie Jobson.



Also, it was very cool of Eddie to give me a shout out on his website:

"Hi everyone...

I am now back in Los Angeles, and still pretty wiped out from the 21-hour journey and the 11-hour time change. But what a great experience! I couldn't have designed a better return to the stage, or thought of a better group of people to share the experience with. Frankly, I'm still not quite sure how it all came together, or how I ended up in the middle of the stage performing two of Crimson's greatest pieces with three-quarters of the current KC lineup in front of more than 100,000 people (some are saying there were 210,000 present by the evening)! The Universe will do that to you sometimes.

I wasn't able to visit the forum, but Raquel and Christopher were following the excitement daily (and following the links to Tony's diary and Robin Slick's blog) and giving me reports every night. I was particularly amused that Tony used his 10-beat break in "Red" to grab a camera and snap the shot of me in Kazan in the middle of the song. He had it posted online within minutes of us leaving the stage... unbelievable.

Everyone treated me like a long-lost brother, or with a level of respect that I am truly not used to from the past 12 years of dealing with 'Hollywood people.' So many musicians from other bands came up to me and said what fans of UK they were—some talked about Curved Air and "Metamorphosis" or the "Green Album." Wow! The Patti Smith walk-on happened as they were walking to the stage; the bass player, Tony Shanahan, passed me in the corridor and said "Eddie Jobson!... Hey man, it'd be great if you came on and played with us" - just like that.

The first band I played with was Fairport Convention. I cannot tell you what a great bunch of guys they all are... the sweetest group of musicians on the planet. I couldn't have been more embraced (figuratively and literally). And what a thrill for me to play music from "Full House"—the first album (of three particular albums) to pull me from classical music into electric music when I was 15!

After the Fairport appearance, I walked off stage... right into Keith Emerson, whom I have met only twice before. Keith then went onstage and played music from the second album that changed my life at the age of 15... the first ELP album (the third album was 'Airconditioning' by Curved Air—and we all know what happened from that). It felt like I was on "This is your Life." And I didn't arrange any of it. The promoter asked me to join in on the end jam (and solo on 'Whole Lotta Love"), so next thing, I was standing back on stage trying to figure out the string lines for "All You Need is Love," when Keith walks onstage and starts playing keys, then theremin, right next to me. At the end of the song, I was just thinking "wow, I've now played onstage with all three of my boyhood hero artists - Fairport, Curved Air, and Emerson" when Keith (maybe sensing it?) came over and gave me a big hug in front of everyone. What a kind reception from all involved. Tremendous.

Thank you to all the musicians and support teams in Russia, and a special thank you, as always, to everyone on this forum. You are the ones who have encouraged me to return, and you are the ones who provide the fundamental support that allows me to put myself back out there. You are the best.

Eddie"

So obviously that was all about last month's fabulous trip to Russia from which I still have not recovered.

Anyway, I gave you the European dates...then basically as soon as they return to the States, Eric and Andre go back out on the road with Project Object and here are the dates and venues for that:

15 SAT Wilkes Barre PA Jazz Cafe'
16 SUN Annapolis MD Ram's Head
17 MON New York NY BB King's
18 TUE Troy NY Revolution Hall
19 WED Northampton MA Iron Horse
20 THU New Haven CT Toad's Place
23 SUN Phila PA World Cafe' Live

Oh man, I cannot wait for that!

After which Eric comes home, has a tofu turkey (he'll be home just in time for Thanksgiving), and then the Adrian Belew Power Trio takes off for Australia. Here's a cool article which popped up about that in Gigs, Vids, & Tunes:

ADRIAN BELEW POWER TRIO COMING TO OZ!
September 19, 2008

Enterprise Entertainment present
Adrian Belew Power Trio

“Adrian is the most awesome musician in the world. I’ve never seen anybody play guitar like that.” – Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)

Adrian Belew will return to Australia in December for the Adelaide Guitar Festival as well as a few East Coast shows. The live show features King Crimson favourites, classics from Adrian’s many solo albums, spirited improvisation, and special solo moments by Adrian.

The self-proclaimed ‘stunt guitarist’ Adrian Belew was famously discovered by Frank Zappa and performed on Zappa’s controversial mega-seller, Sheik Yerbouti. He then quickly developed a reputation as a guitar wizard and the ‘the weapon of choice’ for the likes of David Bowie on Lodger, Talking Heads Remain In Light, Tom Tom Club Tom Tom Club, Paul Simon’s landmark album Graceland, Laurie Anderson Mister Heartbreak, Jean Michel Jarre Zoolook amongst many others. More recently he has contributed to three Nine Inch Nails album’s The Downward Spiral, The Fragile and the instrumental Ghosts I – IV, as well as Tori Amos “Strange Little Girls”.

King Crimson fans however know Adrian Belew as the principle architect (vocals and lead guitar) of the bands sound since he joined them in 1981 and they recorded what many fans (and indeed Robert Fripp himself) consider their finest record, Discipline. The new line-up of Kind Crimson, which transformed a 70’s prog-rock artifact to a blueprint for brilliant guitar-based avant-garde music, continued to live up to the legacy of its namesake with Beat (the follow-up to Discipline). The album contained the minor crossover hit Heartbeat. The subsequent 1984 album Three of a Pair featured Sleepless which most Australian’s will be familiar with as providing the distinctive bass line which intro’s the long running ABC music program Rage.

More than any other musician, Adrian has tirelessly explored the sonic possibilities of the electric guitar. Some of the various awards he has received include ‘Best New Talent Award’ in the Readers’ Poll from Guitar Player Magazine (1982) , ‘Best Experimental Guitarist’ award Guitar Player Magazine (1989 – 1993) and ‘Guitar Innovator Award’ from the Music For Life Alliance (2004). In 2005 he was nominated for a Grammy in the category Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

This tour will be the influential musical chameleon’s first ever with his own band in Australia following his tour two years ago with local players to ecstatic reviews and packed rooms. The Adrian Belew Power Trio also consists of Julie Slick (bass) and Eric Slick (drums). The Slicks are a brother and sister duo whom he met at the famous School of Rock (yes, the same one immortalized for the silver screen by Jack Black) when he was there instructing a class of musical whiz kids on how to play and survive in the music business. From there he quickly invited the two most talented kids in the room to join him on tour and they have been touring since 2006, playing together all over the world.

Australian Tour. December 2008.

Wednesday 3rd
MELBOURNE. The Corner Hotel. 57 Swan Street, Richmond.
Tickets from www.cornerhotel.com

Thursday 4th
SYDNEY. The Basement. 29 Reiby Place, Circular Quay.
Tickets from www.moshtix.com.au

Friday 5th – Sunday 7th
ADELAIDE. Adelaide Guitar Fest. Adelaide Festival Centre.
Tickets from www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au

Monday 8th
SYDNEY. The Vanguard. 42 King Street, Newtown.
Tickets from www.moshtix.com.au

Tuesday 9th
SYDNEY. The Vanguard. 42 King Street, Newtown.
Tickets from www.moshtix.com.au

Wednesday 10th
SYDNEY. The Brass Monkey. 115a Cronulla Street, Cronulla.
Tickets from www.moshtix.com.au

Thursday 11th
BULLI. The Heritage Hotel. 240 Princess Highway, Bulli.
Tickets from www.heritagehotel.com.au

Further information, interviews, publicity etc:
Karen Conrad (kcpublicity@optusnet.com.au) or 0400 527 365

Same mention in Bowie Down Under which is way cool, too.

But my favorite is this one from Budapest:

"Adrian Belew Power Trio [USA]

2008.10.15 20:00
TRAFÓ – House of Contemporary Arts

9.00 pm Adrian Belew Power Trio > Side Four [live]

With:
Adrian Belew [voice | guitar]
Eric Slick [percussion]
Julie Slick [bass]

"Many of the former big names in rock and pop are but pitiful shadows of themselves often driven to continued concert engagements by the sheer need to earn money. However, Adrian Belew, the man who once revived King Crimson and worked with Frank Zappa and David Bowie is an entirely different category. The role he had played in the history of his field of music has certainly made his one of the big names of the past, yet, he might be envied by the youngest generation for his new and fresh approach to music. The Adrian Belew Power Trio in which twenty-one year old Julie Licks [bass guitar] and her brother, just one year her senior, Erick Licks [drums] play with the front man without any apparent generation problems is a shining example to prove the point. The group Adrian had formed with his two former pupils incorporates in its style all Belew’s musical experiences from progressive rock to experimental jazz."

Ha ha - Julie and Eric "Licks"?

And there was also this great review of Side Four Live coming out of Poland! Again, I am relying on Google translate but it worked pretty well for me today:

"Gem for fans of King Crimson and Belew solo. Koncertówka includes tracks from the tracks Trillogy Side, and the repertoire of King Crimson. You can enjoy an excellent ear music at the highest level. Characteristic guitar and read all known timbre. The circle of this album can not simply ignore. Although I am not a supporter of live CDs, I think that is unmatched, and each item is respecting fan of classical progressive rock should be familiar with it."

Yep, I agree. Unmatched indeed.

So how funny is this. I know I went through my Neil Gaiman period but I've moved on and now I'm a HUGE Jane Smiley groupie..oh my God, that's what else I did on my vacation...read five books in two weeks. I read two books by Jane which are so brilliant I am going to have to devote a separate post to review them here. I also read three books by another author whose name I am not going to mention as he/she is a New York Times best selling novelist and all I can say is, I was never so underwhelmed in my life. I was taught that a great book should leave you with something, even if it's merely an escape from reality. This writer's books were predictable, bleak, and more like character sketches of people you would never like very much in the real world. No lessons learned at the end, no voices haunting you, no moral to the story, no uplifting tales of the human experience...just unhappy people living unhappy lives with half-assed happy endings. And this person sells millions of books. Bleh. Give me Jane Smiley, who had me unable to put down a book about a woman living on a farm in the midwest in 1979!

So anyway, I've been not exactly off Neil Gaiman but I've read everything he's written and I think he went to China or something and stopped blogging so I stopped stalking his website...anyway, a friend of mine wrote to me and said "Oh, I bet you're going to see Neil in Philly on Wednesday night" and I was like "Huh? Are you serious? Where is he going to be?" So then of course I had to check and yeah, once again he's like ten minutes from my house so just for the hell of it, because he was over here for Unemployed Shepherd's Pie (more on that in a minute), I said to Eric "Hey, Er, are you doing anything Wednesday night?"

"No," he answered, and then, as soon as he saw my face, had an expression a la Larry of the Three Stooges when he tells Moe and Curly "We're trapped like rats!" But he recovered nicely.

"Why?" he added quickly, looking at me with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you'd want to reprise the great debacle of 2006 and go with me to see Neil Gaiman read at the Y."

Eric looked at me and smirked and then immediately launched into the best imitation of me anyone has ever done.

"Oh Neil, look what I brought for you. Side Four Live, the CD with both of my kids and Adrian Belew...isn't it just so cool."

Damn kid - I should have whacked him with a pillow but he was so fucking funny I broke up.

"So you'll go with me?" I asked hopefully.

"Hell, no."

"But Eric...we make you great vegetarian food..."

"We? Who is we? Dad is the cook and you know it. Don't even try, Mom. You got me once; it's not happening twice."

"Even if I leave my camera home?"

"Oh God. You were going to bring the camera again?"

"No."

"Ha! You're so totally lying, Mom. You are so lying..."

"Okay, fine. We won't go."

"Fine."

"Fine." I make my best huffy face...which isn't very huffy at all.

But I can't help it - he's so freaking handsome and sweet.

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, Er."

Now see, I know better than to ask Julie. First of all, she's probably working, and if she wasn't, it would probably cost me a $300.00 dinner out afterward.

Sigh...I guess it's worth a shot.

(As Gary reads this and cringes, let me add "Don't worry, sweetie, I'll just take her out for sushi.")

(Heh..at Raw, that is)

Oh, I'm kidding.

But I did want to pause a minute and talk about Unemployed Shepherds Pie. Yes, Gary is the chef around here, even though he is a carnivore, and he probably made the best veggie meal ever Sunday night - the above mentioned "pie". It's sauteed eggplant, tomatoes, and onions mixed with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, topped with mashed potatoes and thinly sliced zucchini and green pepper drizzled with olive oil and baked in the oven. Eric and I were absolutely swooning with every bite, and if this post wasn't already as long as the Declaration of Independence, I'd give you all the recipe...hell, if anyone wants it, just write to me or leave me a comment and I'll type it out.

Erm, speaking of the Declaration of Independence...wtf is going on in this country? You already know I despise the Bush administration and all Republicans, really, so I have a few things to post right now that have been making the rounds on the internet...I know I've been offline for a few weeks so you may have seen these already but they were new to me and blew me away. The first is pretty funny; the item underneath, which I just received, is not.

"Let me see if I have this straight . . .

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

Attend five different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

If you spend three years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend twelve years as a constitutional Law professor, spend eight years as a state senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend four years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, four years on the city council and six years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, twenty months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for nineteen years while raising two beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now."

Sad but true, huh? I for one can't wait for the debate Thursday night but I do not know if I can take two hours of that "voice".

"Right back at ya, Robin"

Gah!

More importantly, below is something way serious, and I urge you to take action today:

"On Mon, 9/29/08, Michael Moore wrote:

From: Michael Moore
Subject: The Rich Are Staging a Coup This Morning ...a message from Michael Moore
Date: Monday, September 29, 2008, 12:01 AM

Friends,
Let me cut to the chase. The biggest robbery in the history of this country is taking place as you read this. Though no guns are being used, 300 million hostages are being taken. Make no mistake about it: After stealing a half trillion dollars to line the pockets of their war-profiteering backers for the past five years, after lining the pockets of their fellow oilmen to the tune of over a hundred billion dollars in just the last two years, Bush and his cronies -- who must soon vacate the White House -- are looting the U.S. Treasury of every dollar they can grab. They are swiping as much of the silverware as they can on their way out the door.

No matter what they say, no matter how many scare words they use, they are up to their old tricks of creating fear and confusion in order to make and keep themselves and the upper one percent filthy rich. Just read the first four paragraphs of the lead story in last Monday's New York Times and you can see what the real deal is:

"Even as policy makers worked on details of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Wall Street began looking for ways to profit from it.

Financial firms were lobbying to have all manner of troubled investments covered, not just those related to mortgages.

At the same time, investment firms were jockeying to oversee all the assets that Treasury plans to take off the books of financial institutions, a role that could earn them hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fees.

Nobody wants to be left out of Treasury's proposal to buy up bad assets of financial institutions."

Unbelievable. Wall Street and its backers created this mess and now they are going to clean up like bandits. Even Rudy Giuliani is lobbying for his firm to be hired (and paid) to "consult" in the bailout.

The problem is, nobody truly knows what this "collapse" is all about. Even Treasury Secretary Paulson admitted he doesn't know the exact amount that is needed (he just picked the $700 billion number out of his head!). The head of the congressional budget office said he can't figure it out nor can he explain it to anyone.

And yet, they are screeching about how the end is near! Panic! Recession! The Great Depression! Y2K! Bird flu! Killer bees! We must pass the bailout bill today!! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Falling for whom? NOTHING in this "bailout" package will lower the price of the gas you have to put in your car to get to work. NOTHING in this bill will protect you from losing your home. NOTHING in this bill will give you health insurance.

Health insurance? Mike, why are you bringing this up? What's this got to do with the Wall Street collapse?

It has everything to do with it. This so-called "collapse" was triggered by the massive defaulting and foreclosures going on with people's home mortgages. Do you know why so many Americans are losing their homes? To hear the Republicans describe it, it's because too many working class idiots were given mortgages that they really couldn't afford. Here's the truth: The number one cause of people declaring bankruptcy is because of medical bills. Let me state this simply: If we had had universal health coverage, this mortgage "crisis" may never have happened.

This bailout's mission is to protect the obscene amount of wealth that has been accumulated in the last eight years. It's to protect the top shareholders who own and control corporate America. It's to make sure their yachts and mansions and "way of life" go uninterrupted while the rest of America suffers and struggles to pay the bills. Let the rich suffer for once. Let them pay for the bailout. We are spending 400 million dollars a day on the war in Iraq. Let them end the war immediately and save us all another half-trillion dollars!

I have to stop writing this and you have to stop reading it. They are staging a financial coup this morning in our country. They are hoping Congress will act fast before they stop to think, before we have a chance to stop them ourselves. So stop reading this and do something -- NOW! Here's what you can do immediately:

1. Call or e-mail Senator Obama. Tell him he does not need to be sitting there trying to help prop up Bush and Cheney and the mess they've made. Tell him we know he has the smarts to slow this thing down and figure out what's the best route to take. Tell him the rich have to pay for whatever help is offered. Use the leverage we have now to insist on a moratorium on home foreclosures, to insist on a move to universal health coverage, and tell him that we the people need to be in charge of the economic decisions that affect our lives, not the barons of Wall Street.

2. Take to the streets. Participate in one of the hundreds of quickly-called demonstrations that are taking place all over the country (especially those near Wall Street and DC).

3. Call your Representative in Congress and your Senators. Tell them what you told Senator Obama. Click here to find their numbers.

When you screw up in life, there is hell to pay. Each and every one of you reading this knows that basic lesson and has paid the consequences of your actions at some point. In this great democracy, we cannot let there be one set of rules for the vast majority of hard-working citizens, and another set of rules for the elite, who, when they screw up, are handed one more gift on a silver platter. No more! Not again!
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
P.S. Having read further the details of this bailout bill, you need to know you are being lied to. They talk about how they will prevent golden parachutes. It says NOTHING about what these executives and fat cats will make in SALARY. According to Rep. Brad Sherman of California, these top managers will continue to receive million-dollar-a-month paychecks under this new bill. There is no direct ownership given to the American people for the money being handed over. Foreign banks and investors will be allowed to receive billion-dollar handouts. A large chunk of this $700 billion is going to be given directly to Chinese and Middle Eastern banks. There is NO guarantee of ever seeing that money again.

P.P.S. From talking to people I know in DC, they say the reason so many Dems are behind this is because Wall Street this weekend put a gun to their heads and said either turn over the $700 billion or the first thing we'll start blowing up are the pension funds and 401(k)s of your middle class constituents. The Dems are scared they may make good on their threat. But this is not the time to back down or act like the typical Democrat we have witnessed for the last eight years. The Dems handed a stolen election over to Bush. The Dems gave Bush the votes he needed to invade a sovereign country. Once they took over Congress in 2007, they refused to pull the plug on the war. And now they have been cowered into being accomplices in the crime of the century. You have to call them now and say "NO!" If we let them do this, just imagine how hard it will be to get anything good done when President Obama is in the White House. THESE DEMOCRATS ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS THE BACKBONE WE GIVE THEM. CALL CONGRESS NOW."

And on that note, I have nothing else to add.

Later,
xo

To The Beach!

Okay, sorry to break hearts around the world, but today I'm outta here and at the beach until September 28. I may blog while I'm on vacation, I may not...I'm kinda leaning toward "not" but we'll see.

So here's where I'll be in a few hours:



The view from the balcony above our living room:



The view from both our bedroom and living room window:



I am so freaking psyched.

I really do not have much more to report, other than, woo hoo, a photograph of Gary and me made it onto a very famous website and we are both really grinning over that (you'll have to scroll down but you can't miss us), Julie and Eric are set to fly down to Nashville on John Lennon's birthday - that's October 9 to you - rehearse for several days then take off for Europe...again...what a life...and I got the following very cool email yesterday to which I totally forgot to respond so I'll do it here, publicly: THANK YOU, PHILLIP!!!! And I will write back as soon as I come up for air again.

"Robin,

Greetings from Helsinki. I manage KTU and was on the Russian dates with them and ABPT. Very enjoyed their music and getting to know the three ABPT members. (I have already ordered the Side 4 from the website). Have been a huge AB fan for years and now thrilled to see and hear that Julie and Eric are also amazing musicians. As well as delightful people.

Also very delighted to read your (or Mark Bastable's?) comments about the Fabs on your blog page. Hear here!! I am always happy to meet like minded souls and discuss this true but rarely recognized fact. Even more important, I enjoy turning others onto mind-blowing Fabs-related / Fabs-inspired / Fabs-connected music, of which there is an in incredible amount, much of it very rare and little known.

So thanks for flying the Fabs flag and if you want to discuss further, please let me know.

Check my sphere of interest and activity:
www.myspace.com/ktuband
www.myspace.com/kimmopohjonen
www.kimmopohjonen.com
www.hoedown.com

Best regards
Phillip Page

I will definitely take him up on that. I am always, always, always up for talking about "The Fabs".

So I think that's it for now but should anything occur between now and the time I take off for the beach, I'll be back...

Later,
xo

The Adrian Belew Power Trio on Tour Down Under!

Today's photo from Russia comes to us courtesy of Sergofan's Live Journal:



So I can now officially announce the Adrian Belew Power Trio tour in Australia and here are the dates and venues:

WED 3rd DEC - THE CORNER HOTEL - MELBOURNE
57 Swan St, Richmond VICTORIA

THU 4th DEC - THE BASEMENT - SYDNEY
29 Reiby Place, Circular Quay, SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES

FRI 5TH DEC - SUN 7th DEC - ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL
Adelaide Festival Centre - ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

MON 8TH DEC – VANGAURD – NEWTOWN, NEW SOUTH WALES
42 King Street, Newtown

TUES 9TH DEC – VANGUARD – NEWTOWN, NEW SOUTH WALES
42 King Street, Newtown

WED 10TH DEC – BRASS MONKEY – CRONULLA, NEW SOUTH WALES
115a Cronulla Street, Cronulla

THU 11TH DEC – HERITAGE HOTEL - BULLI, NEW SOUTH WALES
240 Princes Highway, Bulli

Performance times and further information TBA.

How freaking cool is that?

And here's one more interesting review from the King Crimson Festival - again, blame Google translate, not me:

"King Crimson Festival Musicians played perfectly without King In Moscow club "B1. Maximum" met former and current participants in the group King Crimson and sympathy for them musicians hold a joint concert.

Robert Frippa was not, who is the leader of King Crimson, thus, perhaps, the festival has become a real event. The concert lasted nearly five hours and somewhere in the middle of the evening, going on stage, promoter Alexander Cheparuhin reported that quite forgot to announce the demands of musicians to viewers. According to the audience to run grumble, all at once remembered not come this time in Moscow King Crimson leader Robert Fripp, with its elaborate system of prohibitions: no photographs, no smoking, no cough, no sneezes… But as it turned out, Cheparuhin just played skillfully assembled nerve -substantive "requirement" was the musicians - you can do what want!

Set the tone of the draft statement KTU, which includes two party King Crimson Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto, as well as Finnish accordionist Kimmo Pohonen. In the music KTU tangibly poubavilos grace, but arrived strength and brutal. Nails programme was instrumental motifs saga entitled "Absent", dive under zavyazku scored hall in natural trans.

After a short break on the stage appeared keyboard and violinist Eddie Dzhobson, and it became clear that quality will not decline. Hard to say who had more to worry - Dzhobson himself, 27 years not playing on stage, or spectators, afraid to see the full rastrenirovannogo virtuoso. Musician began with the theme song from "Metamorphosis" now forgotten order semidesyatnicheskoy art fateful group Curved Air. Then the singer was replaced at the piano violin, played for ten minutes and it was so.

Seth vocalist and guitarist Adrian Belew, the surest companion Frippa, playing in King Crimson since 1981 and to this day, interrupted abruptly. Already on the second song from Belyu burst string. Fixing inventory eventually spread to twenty minutes. However, his colleagues on Adrian Belew Power Trio, the young brother and sister Slick, playing, respectively, on drums and bass guitar, in this situation does not stushevalis and gave inspired jam. As a result, neither for a second concert is not "provis", and final "Three Of A Perfect Pair" with a chorus Adrian Belew and his associates served the entire hall.

Finally stores was the main thing. White, Dzhobson, Mastelotto primknuvshy to them and bass guitarist Tony Levin performed four tracks from the golden fund groups: the crown "Thela Hun Ginjeet", "Elephant Talk" with a wonderful fankovym bass, enormous "Larks Tongues In Aspic Part 2" and Danube instrumental "Red". This number was the absolute culmination of the festival. Even those who came to a concert just acquainted with the history of rock music, has received from happening now living pleasure."

I am hoping I haven't posted that review before. It just popped up today but it looks familiar. I did a quick read of my blog and didn't see it, but just in case, I apologize if this is a duplicate.

Damn I wish I could do a better job of translation. It should really be interesting when the trio tours Europe next month - I'll have to find translations for Hungarian, Spanish, German...oy...but what fun!

Okay, obviously I do not have much to talk about today other than a reminder for those in the Philadelphia area to catch Eric tonight jamming at The Fire - details in the post below.

I am just so, so exhausted. Three more days and I'll be at the beach for two weeks. Ah.....

Later,
xo

Odds and Sods for Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Every time Julie and Eric come back home after a really cool tour, I'm like, Okay, now what do I talk about here? Ha! And to think this originally started out as a blog to promote my books and writing. Oh well. It is what it is and I wouldn't have it any other way.

So I especially like fans who take great photographs at ABPT/Friends of Crimson/King Crimson Festival concerts and post them on the web! Take a look at these, courtesy of the fabulously talented Gregory Lee (and there are many more on his site so a heads up to KTU and Eddie Jobson fans):

P.S. Tell me Eric isn't going to love these pics when he sees them...













Okay, let's see what else. Well, Julie and I had a fabulous lunch together yesterday at Table 31. While a pricey, elegant restaurant, they also have a more casual outdoor cafe which is open for another few weeks, and we sat under an umbrella on one of the most beautiful days of the year...sunny, breezy, no humidity. We split an appetizer of an inside out roll with avocado and barbecued eel (yeah, Miss Vegetarian does eel but apparently there is a new word for suchlike people - pescetarian - meaning, they do not eat meat or pork or chicken but seafood is cool) and then we each had the same salad - bay scallops. lump crabmeat, and shrimp served over navy beans in a light vinaigrette. Very, very good, though I admit I was dying for something chocolate for dessert but Julie is so vigilant about her health and her weight and mine as well (I'm glad someone is) that I turned my brain down and said "No, no, go for a walk instead" so we did and the craving passed.

Now. If I could only do that all the time...

For those of you interested in checking out Eric Slick playing with a totally different band, tomorrow night he'll be at The Fire with the Tim Moetzer Power Trio and yeah, I have a problem with the use of that name...Power Trio...that is, but oh well, I'm just groupie mom, what can I say...I am sure the term "Power Trio" has been used many times before and will again but I associate it with one thing only and it was a little disconcerting to see that just now but okay, a quick trip to Google confirmed that Tim's band has been using the name for a while and Eric is just sitting in tonight.

Ugh, my brain hurts. Have I mentioned how excited I am to be heading to the beach for two weeks this Saturday? Even the dog is excited...every time I mention vacation and the beach, he brings me his ball. Very smart little guy...one of life's simple pleasures is watching him run on the sand and then take a dip in the ocean to cool off. Also, we play family baseball and with four people, it's hard to cover the outfield when one person is pitching, the other catching, and a third at the "plate" with a bat. So Monty dog is also a designated outfielder, and he does his job admirably. Julie instituted a rule a few years ago where if the dog catches or even reaches the ball before you get to first base (yes, she draws a field in the sand and marks the bases with seashells because that is our Julie), anyway, if the dog gets to the ball first, you're out.

Naturally, as the weakest hitter and runner in the family, I'm always OUT. Sucks but makes for lots of laughs...the family especially enjoys watching me huff and puff only to be met by the dog, already standing at first base with the ball in his mouth, wagging his tail "Hi, Mommy!"

Sadly Julie and Eric won't be down for the whole two weeks - Eric has a whole bunch of gigs next week; Julie has some things brewing as well, but both assure me they'll make it down eventually. Oh well. Gary and I have a huge house on the beach all to ourselves. What a pity. Heh.

I am sure I have more to talk about but the coffee hasn't kicked in yet so if I remember what it is I wanted to say, I'll be back.

Oh yeah, one final thing. There's a whole new slew of You Tubes up from Russia. Some are partials, some are doubles, so for you diehard fans, just Google "Belew", click on "video", and you can check them out yourselves.

Later,
xo

Adrian Belew Power Trio in Russia - More From the Tour

These amazing photos are from Lana Mayakovskaya's photostream and if you are a fan of the musicians performing in Moscow last week, you should click on that link...she's a fabulous photographer and there are some really beautiful shots. Like these...

Julie Slick:



Eric Slick:



Adrian Belew and Eric Slick:



Eddie Jobson:



Pretty sweet, huh?

So as I am sure you all know, I am a total music nerd and in my spare time I hang out on rock forum boards where I just met Lev Gankine who had this to say:

"I've been on the Moscow show. In short - fantastic. KTU performed first, and while I don't welcome their parting ways with Samuli Kosminen (IMO, a very talented musician), it sure sounded rawer and all the more intense this way. Eddie Jobson came up next and did some 20 minutes of piano and violin improvisations (incorporating a theme which I consider the best one he has ever written, that is, one from Curved Air's "Metamorphosis" track - sublime!). Then Adrian Belew stepped up - Robin, you should be really proud of your kids! Awesome musicianship at such a young age, and they suit Belew's style of playing totally well. At one point Adrian has torn one of the strings on his guitar, so the Slicks had to do a 15-minute bass/drums jam while he was replacing the torn string with another one - and they did it alright, the crowd was extremely welcoming. And finally, they played four KC songs ("Thela Hun Ginjeet", "Elephant Talk", "Larks Tongues In Aspic Part 2" and "Red"), which was probably an ultimate highlight of this long, excellent concert. Jobson did really well on violin and the rest of the band played tight although as far as I could figure, they haven't been rehearsing these songs too much. Julie played bass on "Thela Hun Ginjeet" together with Tony Levin, and Eric was sitting behind the drum kit throughout the whole set, sharing the drumming duties with Pat Mastelotto (who was earlier onstage with KTU).



There was another really special moment too - the day before the performance Adrian, Tony and Eddie guested on my radio show, we had a really nice hour-long talk with them, and Tony said that Julie Slick is one of the few players whom he has to learn something from! And Adrian said that it's super-nice to play with people who were growing up listening to King Crimson and other forward-thinking music of the past. Eddie seemed a very intelligent and clever person too, giving some recollections about his days in Curved Air, Jethro Tull and UK, as well as announcing the UKZ project - seems it will be a kind of mix of classic prog and more modern sounds a-la Nine Inch Nails. Anyway, I'm really eager to hear what materializes out of this idea! They've got Jobson, Trey Gunn, plus a singer from Belgium, a guitar player from Austria and a drummer from Germany, so it's quite an international line-up. They've only all got to meet each other a couple of weeks ago, before that they used to exchange sound files via internet.

A nice bit of trivia: both Jobson's sisters were on Moscow show to see their brother play onstage for the first time in 27 years! One is currently living in UK, another one in Germany.

A kind of a prog in-joke - when promoter Sasha Cheparukhin (who made this festival) was announcing Jobson's set, he turned to the backstage at some point and said: "Are you ready, Eddy"?

*****

Needless to say, I got the joke.

But I did tell Lev that Julie was completely freaked out by Tony's comment on the radio. "Can you imagine hearing one of your idols say that about you?" she asked. Her face turned pink, she smiled that beautiful ear to ear smile, and told me Ade was so moved when Tony said that he had to restrain himself from jumping out of his chair and hugging him.

Pretty damn cool.

And oh God, how amazing is the internet. I am interacting with people living in Russia. It still blows me away...

From Trey Gunn's diary:

"Then came the Belew Power Trio. I went up in the balcony to hear the second half of their set. We were crazy tired and the stress of dealing the complications of having so many musicians to deal with at all of the sound checks left us wiped. So I took a good hours worth of break after our set before going out to hear Adrian. They sounded fantastic. Way, way, way, way better than when Pat and I played with them in Seattle last year. It was a really fun show."

Coming from Trey, very high praise.

So really, things are quiet for now. I should warn you in advance, should you care, that I am leaving Saturday for a two week vacation at the beach, assuming Hurricane Ike doesn't screw things up. Whether I'll be blogging is debatable. Yes, we have wireless there now...but I dunno. I need some rest and relaxation. Just a heads up that this journal may be on hiatus until September 28.

But there's still the rest of this week. Maybe I'll even talk some writing news.

Later,
xo

F*O*C*K*ing Amazing: Belew, Levin, Jobson, Mastelotto & Slicks

ETA: I added a few things to the bottom of this post this morning (Friday)...scroll down (after you watch these incredible You Tubes, of course)

Okay, heart be still.

Here's Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Eddie Jobson, Pat Mastelotto, and Eric Slick performing Elephant Talk.



And the above, minus Eddie, plus Julie Slick on Thela! (Though damn, it cuts off at four minutes - I'm hoping someone puts up the full version)



Oh God. Here's Larks' Tongue in Aspic. Same crew as in Elephant Talk. This is mind-blowing.



The finale: Red



And if you don't read the comments section of my blog, then you missed this, from Victor, who attended last night's show in Moscow:

"The show was frigging amazing apart from a few moments such as the opening solo spot of some russian guitarist.

Although the show had been announced to start at 8:00 PM, it was delayed by an hour (which is sadly a normal practice here in Moscow).

During the intermission after the warm up, I was able to see Adrian (what a wonderful man!) waving to the most sharp-sighted members of the audience in a funny and simultaneously kind manner only Adrian is capable of. Also from reading your blog I could figure out it was nobody but Andrea himself, who was taking some photos from the corner of the stage.

KTU entered the stage approx. at 9 PM and delivered one of the most (if not the most) powerful, heavy and driving performances I've ever witnessed in my life! The surround sound really worked very well for them. And when Kimmo and Trey were playing phrases/riffs in unison with Trey covering the lower bottom of spectrum, they really sounded like an unstoppable monster! My father was initially skeptical about the whole affair (since I'm a bigger KC fan than he is) but he was completely blown away right from the start.

A short intermission and announcement from Sasha Cheparukhin followed and then Eddie Jobson entered the stage. He played an instrumental piano composition (incorporating a little piece of "Carrying no Cross" from the second UK album) and then a violin solo. Knowing it was his second stage appearance after a long break the whole affair seemed to be very intimate and fragile with audience trying to be as kind, polite and supportive as possible. Really who would have thought he'd be back on stage ever? And even more, in Russia? Anyway, everyone just seemed to be happy Eddie's back to performing live again and promised to provide nice reception to UKZ if they ever come to Russia in Dec/Jan.

Another intermission followed with ABPT entering the stage not long afterward. Adrian seemed to be in a very uplifted mood and interacted with the crowed a lot. I'm not a huge ABPT fan myself, but I recognized some of Adrian's solo tunes (I believe from Side One). Overall the band sounded very KC'ish but with more emphasis on steady groove and Adrian's playing (obviously).

Now onto the rhythm section (I guess this is the most interesting part for you, Robin!) :) To keep it short: completely mind blowing! Julie was a bit inaudible at the beginning but then the balance was set up right and she just blew the audience away with her playing. Highlight: Julie's extended solo while Adrian was busy changing the broken string. Being a drummer myself (but not really professional) I was really interested to see Eric's playing and I was amazed at his time-keeping and how fluent he is behind the drum kit. I was able to learn a couple of things too (I was really intrigued by his manner of holding the sticks, very relaxed yet powerful drumming) since I was standing not too far from him. All in all, I can only complement you on being such a wonderful mother, Robin!

After another short break ABPT were joined on stage by Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto. They played Thela which sounded a tiny bit messy to me (funny highlight: Tony losing one of the two funk fingers) although still very much fun. Then Julie left the stage and Elephant Talk followed with Eddie accompanying the rest of band on violin (ET played on violin?! OMG!) mostly by plucking the strings. LTiA pt. 2 featured a small trainwreck by Eddie (he proceeded onto the ascending bridge section too early, I think). Nighlight: Eddie Jobson singing the main "heavy" riff with a huge smile on his face before breaking into violin solo.

Encore: Red. Amazing deliverance. The whole band played very tightly and glued: the piece sounded as it had been originally composed to be played on guitar and violin! I remember the surrounding audience going completely ecstatic with the first chords of it (so did I!).

All in all, a wonderful evening, completely mind-blowing performances from all parties involved. Hopefully we'll see and hear more of that! The amazing David Cross band comes to mind, for example.

P.S.
I didn't take any pictures or recordings of the event, but I'm sure you'll be able to find plenty of them on the web.

P.P.S.
The word "white" can be transcripted from Russian into Latin/English as "belij" :)"

Aw, thanks Victor. I love you.

Later (after I recover from the thrill of it all)
xo

P.S. Julie and Eric are now two hours away from Philadelphia; Gary is picking up pizza, and I think I'll watch all of these videos a few thousand more times
*****
Friday, September 5, 2008

Okay, I can't resist posting the following:

A comment on my blog today from "Vladmir"

"Dear Robin,
I've been both to Kazan' festival and Moscow performance two days ago - it was absolutely amazing. The Moscow gig was the best live gig I've ever seen - Adrian was beyond any praise and Julie and Eric were unbelievable.

Any friend - musician or not - who I talked to told me: it was ****ing amazing!

And Lark's Tongues in Aspic - with Eddie Jobson!!! Mastelotto and Eric were playing together - best and most inventive drumming ever!

Regards,
Vladimir"

Wow, Vladimir - thank you!

And a review in a Russian newspaper today of the King Crimson Festival...again, I am relying on Google translate and would love if one of my Russian readers would do a better job for me - here's the actual link...

"The engine of progress
Progressive-rock group King Crimson made in Moscow

They included various years the group King Crimson musicians arrived at a Moscow concert immediately after taking part in the Kazan international festival "Creation of the world." If there they showed themselves separately, then in Moscow were made in the genre of worship group King Crimson.

The first number was a draft programme KTU Treya Ganna guitarist and drummer Pat Mastelotto. They were supposed to speak in Moscow, two Finnish musicians. However, responsible for electronics Samuli Kosminena not been at the concert. But bayan-player Kimmo Pohonen Spent for two. Dressed in the eastern Giant in long black dress, he once again refuted the perceived slowness of the Finns and phlegm. On the bayan in the hands, nor seconds Pohonen not conducted safely. If he does not rashazhival on the scene, the gnulsya and swings in all directions by issuing inarticulate sounds. His shamanistic rites and sometimes delivered from a panel where mixed with other noise, while Trey Gunn demonstrated mastery of guitar teppinga. Fingers flew his hands on the neck so that was even afraid to watch. Run of the Finnish psychedelics lasted longer hours, after which the musicians came out several times on stage.

The tone has changed dramatically sedovolosy concert violinist and keyboard Eddie Dzhobson, in 1970 - e to play along with King Crimson. At the scene, he withdrew after 27 - the summer lull: last spoke with a group Jethro Tull in 1981. Massacres shoulders, Dzhobson became naigryvat on synthesizer something slowly. And after 10 minutes went to center stage with a violin in his hands. The tool consisted of his iron frame and strings with restricted. The first chords were taken into custody have not yet zatihshy sound synthesizer. But tension grew violin parties with each minute until recoverable Dzhobsonom not reached the acoustic sounds similar to revuschim engine airplanes.

Mastity guitarist Adrian Belew much longer represented its audience of young protégé - brother and sister Slick originally from Philadelphia. Both were music to 10 years. Eric learned to play drums, Julie - on bass guitar. At the time, King Crimson team was standard for them. Now, clearly and another: Belew progadal not by taking them into his draft Adrian Belew Power Trio. This hour speech proved the most energetic at the concert. Umopomrachitelnye sbivki drum, bass guitar party, during which Julie incredible lush kudryami seemed Charged strength of this hurricane.

When the curtain on the stage by other participants left the concert, including behind the scenes otsizhivavshegosya King Crimson bassist Tony Levin, drummer Slick delayed on stage to play with lots of twin drum Mastelloto. During the impactor duet they happily looked at each other, playing almost blind and has never sbivshis the course.

Resulting in late 1960 - x group King Crimson is considered one of the best manifestations of progressive-rock. Experiments with timbre and rhythm, drawing from medieval horalov and Indonesian traditions gamelana - only a few features that at various times helped musicians captured at the height of intellectual fashion.

In Moscow, is amply confirmed the audience. At the concert came respectable men over 30, 40 and 50 years old, the very people for whom King Crimson - is not only the music of youth. Under it is not ashamed to even begin vzroslet and old. Let the concert and not allowed to see the group as a whole. King Crimson founder Robert Fripp, without which the reproduction of classic material, seemingly losing all meaning, categorically refused to tour.

However, the final jam of musicians made it clear that King Crimson fans not in vain kept long-standing sympathies. The fact is that not pursuing the goal to remember former, current alliance resulted in this parade of virtuoso capable at such a tight and powerful rock sound that is not within the framework of obsolete vpishesh progressive-rock, avant-garde jazz or something else. Nobody pulled a blanket, they all just played excellent and were happy to speak at the overall scene. And anyone who earlier inspired - a group King Crimson brother and sister Slick or vice versa, was no longer important."

And this just in from "Dan":

"Dear Robin, just found your blog accidentally - googling the KC festival.
I was to the Moscow show, it was AMAZING. Three hours and a half of perfect happiness - and the Trio was the best part of it. Eric and Julie were INCREDIBLE. And they fit in with Belew brilliantly.
Thank you!
I wish they came back as soon as they can, on a separate tour, pleeeeeze.
(and, yes, the Beatles are the best group of the XXth century. Undebatable)

All the best,
admiringly,
Dan "

Wow. What else can I say? Thank you all so much.

xoxoxoxoxox

A King Crimson Festival: F*O*C*K*ING AMAZING

ETA: Well, here's the first You Tube of the show in Moscow last night. Oh my God. This totally rocks. Watch the part during the break in the middle of the song, before the last chorus, where Julie and Ade interact. Wow. And listen to the crowd go nuts when they do that dual lead.



ETA 2: Well, they just added another You Tube of the same song - and while the sound quality is not nearly as good as the first, this one features the incredible Eric Slick:



So right now the Adrian Belew Power Trio are on a plane, heading back to America, after spending ten days in Kazan/Moscow, and as Eric told me, this trip was "freaking ridiculous!" meaning, it was unbelievably fantastic.

I got to email with him at 3:00 a.m. last night and I asked him how the show went.

"F*O*C*K*ing Amazing!" he replied.

Ze set list:



Here's Eric, getting his traditional pre-concert haircut, but this one was courtesy of Deborah, Pat Mastelotto's significant other:



Apparently, the huge, sold-out audience who witnessed this show felt the same (focking amazing!) but oh my God, Google translate gave me fits this morning though it is kind of funny:



First review:

"Genius one of the best guitars peace Adriana Balu (King Crimson with 80 - x to the present day) could not usidet on the ground and in the U.S. to dig out two young guys - brothers (Erik Slik-drums) and sister (Julie Slik - bass guitar) ( them all the way to 21 and 22 years respectively =). and where he found a Christmas tree-sticks? at first I thought that the children untold lucky. but was lucky not only them - Balu also received from the maximum. game these guys can not leave indifferent - because they are really masters. playing style, close to King Crimson, but quite another to arrange and play, they really create an impression of continuity of generations. Incidentally, Julie struck twice. if the world has at least one basistka still the same, let me look at the eyes! ")



Number Two:

"That group King Crimson has changed the whole course of rock music back in 70 - e, moving at an unprecedented level of the last composers' thinking, depth and stylistic synthesis of different strata, is beyond question. It turned out that even if today to collect half of the group King Crimson, repeatedly breaks, at one stage (yes, and even with the attendant every musical projects), it will turn out a huge King Crimson Festival, which took place on September 3 in the Club B-1. Maximum , Becoming a real parade of the most resourceful instrumentalists world. Drummer Pat Mastelotto and bass guitarist Trey Gunn, united with the Finnish "dzhimmi hendriksom bayan" Kimmo Pohonenom in the draft KTU, opened the concert hall immerse themselves in diverse polyphony at the junction of avant-garde, progressive-rock and meaningful ethno not trivial. The legendary violinist and pianist Eddie Dzhobson who is not on the scene within a 27 (!) Years, interrupted the silence on this concert by making a long solo network and colleagues in the group. Adrian White, one of the best guitarists of peace, made a solo project Adrian Belew Power Trio (apart from him in the band is composed virtuoso basistka and drummer, brother and sister, very young, but amazingly talented). Well, and finally the final chord, already deeply after midnight, 4 songs were performed gold composition of the actual repertoire King Crimson, including the title song from the album Red (1974) and insturmental from album Lark `s Tongues In Aspic. Here musicians joined by no less than landmark people - bassist Tony Levin, playing on the unique instrument chapman stick (symbiosis guitars and bass). Among the participants were not only the founder and ideologue Frippa Robert King Crimson, which according to organisers, at all invitations politely refused and not chosen from the USA on tour, even in Europe. But even despite this past King Crimson Festival has become one of those concerts that are really can not miss!" (Note from our author: Adrian "White" is interesting...it's the Russian to American translation of Belew, obviously...)



Review Three:

"Then followed composition with the best guitarist the world - Adrian Balu. Satriani rest. Add to that he had a beautiful voice, akin vocalist Dream Theatre) At bass they had 21 - year old girl, a second drummer was her 20 - year old brother. Along with the legendary violinist, who after 27 years, held off the stage, and since December, began his tour, joined in this coherent improvisation - the words here do not help ..."

So yes, a very nice way to end an absolutely incredible tour...and to think that the trio heads to Europe for over three weeks next month...sigh...yet another trip I'll be missing but again, huge thanks to Andre Cholmondeley for keeping me in the loop and sending me the above photos...I'm sure I'll have many more courtesy of Julie and Eric once they return home tonight (where we are planning a huge pizza party...we figure they'll be in the mood for that big time)...anyway, I leave you with one last photo of those wacky kids in Moscow...I dub this photo "City of Tiny Lights"...



Later,
xo
P.S. Gary has updated his blog!

In the Court of the Crimson Queen - Part III

"I don't know, Tony. What do you think?"

"I think it looks pretty interesting. You should try it out."

Ho-hum, Queen Crimson Julie Slick goes shopping at a cool little music store in Moscow this morning with legendary bassist Tony Levin. When the photo arrived from Andre in an email this morning, the caption said "Your favorite picture this week?"



Yep.

"Hey, Tony, can you please help me?"

"Why sure, Julie. Your every wish is my command."



Oh, I'm kidding. But as I've said here many times, ever since Julie first graced this world on January 30, 1986, every single one of her wishes has become our command and we wouldn't have it any other way.

And the same could be said for our young lad, Eric Slick, who was over in the drum department, checking out their stock:



First review out of Russia came from this website and I apologize in advance for using a free internet translater...but this seems to be pretty fantastic. It's both a little difficult and a little amusing to read. But hey, if anyone stops by this blog and can do a better job of interpreting it, please shoot me an email.

"When I came to the square, on a stage played a guitarist once in three guitars. His I have not been identified. But he played well, so rhythmically. With the lights. shouted something about Kazan. Local probably.

Then came the leading - and Xenia Strizh Seva Novogorodtsev impressive, and so unobtrusively announced that are saying, here are these guys also agreed to take part in our show. And these guys are called "Adrian Belew Power Trio", Adrian Belew and actually played some time ago in the group King Crimson. And these guys in my opinion immediately reduced to half of all the negative impressions of the festival, which might by then postponed from spectators. These guys have a real drive! Magnificent al guitar prozhzhenogo Adrian Belew, a girl on bass, drummer and a young winding. It was a very simple and very cool! I hope that attended bystanders something for themselves made this speech. At least, I at this time, moving Thoughts on the area, poglyadyvaya it on people, the city, the sky, just physically felt the atmosphere is changing as this is not the most fun places on earth. There is a unity of the world, the greatness of the human mind and other good things ... At this point, my majestic idiliyu interrupted an old friend, who spoke of how he recently Hoya to work in local PTDC № 2 for the post smetchika that life, he gradually developed, that he almost did not drink recently, and today are quite sober, and that even something that you want to listen to music with a solid stack of pocket money, and that after five years, he certainly can imagine it with a clear conscience allow. I politely agreed that the idea is not bad, in the secret hope that they are here not long delayed. And so it happened...

It was Adrian Belew with their kids who looked to be pretty much!"

So I just emailed with J&E - it's around 3:00 a.m.; they went to see Patti Smith tonight, partied backstage with the band, and are having an amazing, amazing time. I ask them silly groupie Mom questions like, "So are you hanging out with Eddie Jobson?" and Eric replies, "Oh, we just had dinner with Eddie. We love Eddie!"

I dunno. In a band with Adrian Belew. Shopping for effects pedals with Tony Levin. Dinner with Eddie Jobson. Hanging out with the Patti Smith Band...as I said before, ho hum, just another day in the life of Julie and Eric Slick.

Tomorrow is the big show. KTU/Tony Levin; then Eddie Jobson does a solo thing, after which the Adrian Belew Power Trio ends it with a seventy-five minute set...and then the grand finale...four King Crimson songs with everyone on stage (and one more song for the encore) and nope nope nope, I am not telling which ones but I repeat: Why oh why oh why am I not on this tour?

Later,
xo

The Adrian Belew Power Trio: On The Road to Moscow

ETA: (See, I told you!)

Okay, my day is made...hahahaha...more like my life is made. I'm walking around with a big-ass grin right now because I just received the following email from Tony Levin:

"Here's the photo you need for your blog!

Best, tony"



Wow, I'll say. Thanks, Tony! How cool was that!

So the Adrian Belew Power Trio and friends are currently on a plane to Moscow (well, now that I've already edited this to add the above photo, I think it's safe to say they are in Moscow now), where they will perform Wednesday night at the B1 Club with most of the musicians (though not Keith Emerson, who has a gig in St. Petersburg) who played the Creation of Peace Festival...it's being billed as a King Crimson Festival but each band, I believe, does a set of their own before they all join on stage for an hour long jam of Crimson tunes. It'll be Ade, Tony, Pat, Trey, Eric, Julie, Eddie...I'm not sure who else will jam but I do know some of the set list...just don't want to blab it before it happens.

Here's where Eric, Julie, Pat and Tony were hiding during the grand finale of the Peace Festival:



And for those of you who can translate Russian, I think, and I stress the word "think" because I failed miserably with Google translate, that Rolling Stone in Russia has something about the Peace Festival today...here's the link for those of you more wide awake than I am right now. I see there's a photo of Patti Smith on the front page, but she's playing a show at the B1 Club on Tuesday night so it might very well have to do with that...and the question of the day is: Will the ABPT and friends show up at that gig? Will they be spectators or...

Oh, there I go fantasizing again, but here's some more after party pics which led to my ponderings.

That would be Julie Slick, Adrian Belew, and the incredible Lenny Kaye -- and as a side note, obviously Julie and Ade did not bring their respective axes to the party and are playing borrowed instruments...Ade, as you know, endorses Parker guitars and Julie endorses Lakland basses...I know most of you know that but I just didn't want to cause any confusion/problems here:



Lenny and Andre:



Here's a pic of Sasha, and Andre, I hope you don't mind that I'm quoting you again, but Sasha is a nickname for "Alexander. He was a major guy in putting this together. HUGE King Crimson fan -- friend of TLev, has booked him over here several times...he is watching the show..and even made it behind the mic for a bit. KUDOS SASHA, thanks for your hard work and great crews!"



Here are some professional shots taken at the Creation of Peace Festival which I stumbled on here, and let me give a shout out to the fabulous photographer, Marat "thought1ess" Badrutdinov. If you click on that link, you will find many, many more pics of all of the bands/performers - really great stuff.

The beautiful Julie Slick:



The equally beautiful Eric Slick (ha ha, Eric - I'm ducking right now):



Another of Julie:



And the also very beautiful Adrian Belew (I'm still ducking...though I know Ade won't throw anything at me; he'll just smile his beautiful smile):



So that's all I've got for now, other than I know the whole gang went to tour a mosque yesterday, they all went to dinner together and had a blast and I may have some pics of that hopefully later today...last I heard the entourage was headed to the hotel bar for one final smackdown before leaving for Moscow today...and that's about it.

Since this is a short post, if I do hear from anyone or get any more pics, I'll just come in and add them here so you might want to check back...

Later,
xo