Some important info for Rock School All-Stars going to Germany (and Robin Slick unemployed, Day 2)

That's a photo of Zappanale 14 two years ago in Bad Doberan, East Germany, and yeah, yeah, that's me in front on the left with the long blonde hair. Wtf, I'm always posting pics of the kids...

Okay, as I enter day two of my retirement, I obviously have way too much time on my hands because I've been playing with the German to American translation book Eric went out and bought last night.

But first things first. I got an e-mail from Paul, who gives an educated guess that the kids will be seen on the webcast 2:00 p.m. on Friday and 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and probably around 2:00 p.m. Sunday for the finale. This is all eastern standard time. Seriously, just in case, I'd tune in sooner and like I said yesterday, you'll get to hear some great music and see some incredible sights so you've got nothing to lose.

Here is the link for the webcast: Fab Channel Zappa!

And now the moment you've all been waiting for -- important phrases you must memorize for hourly/daily use in Bad Doberan:

Nr., tue ich nicht Drogen

(No, I do not use drugs)

Wo ist das Badezimmer?

(Where is the bathroom?)

Nr., tue ich nicht Drogen

(No, I do not use drugs)

Ich bin zu jung zu trinken.

(I am too young to drink.)

Nr., tue ich nicht Drogen

(No, I do not use drugs)

Was ist gut, hier zu essen?

(What is good to eat here?)

Nr., esse ich nicht Schweinschnauze noch Schweinknöchel!

(No, I do not eat pig snout nor pig knuckles!)

Ja stimme ich, Präsident Bush bin ein dummes moron zu

(Yes, I agree, President Bush is a stupid moron)

Nr., tue ich nicht Drogen

(No, I do not use drugs)

Ich bin zu jung zu trinken.

(I am too young to drink.)

Ja stimme ich, Präsident Bush bin ein dummes moron zu

(Yes, I agree, President Bush is a stupid moron)

Wo ist das Badezimmer?

(Where is the bathroom?)
****************
Have fun, guys! I'm so, so jealous I'm not coming along this time but someone has to be victim of Julie the Social Director!

One major tip: The CD tent on the festival grounds is fucking awesome. I brought home Beatle and solo Beatle CDs that caused even the world's biggest Beatle historian to drop his jaw. The imports and bootlegs in that tent are a collector's dream, and the prices are incredibly cheap. Obviously the emphasis is on Zappa but you can find stuff you never knew existed and you're all gonna freak. Also, you will want to go to the "dollar store" on the main drag and stock up on Ritter Sport Bars, preferrably with coconut or hazlenuts. This is the best fucking chocolate bar you will ever eat and it's only one Euro and it's king sized. Bring some home for your poor parents!

And one more time, all together now:

Ja stimme ich, Präsident Bush bin ein dummes moron zu

Day 1 - Robin Slick, unemployed

Last night I dreamt about work and I was running around, because it kept getting later and later and I couldn't find my shoes; I couldn't find my keys, etc.

I woke up all freaked out and then I remembered: I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO FUCKING WORK EVER AGAIN! (Well, at least not in the law office! And more on that in another post...let's just say my last day did not include a gold watch...not that I'd be caught dead in a gold watch)

And so in celebration, my daughter and I are going to breakfast in the Italian Market to have the above mentioned world's best chocolate chip muffin at the Fitzwater Cafe.

Here's a quote about Fitzwater Cafe from a fellow food lover and writer: "What I went for is the muffins. Philadelphia Weekly food writer, Lauren McCutcheon, wrote that she would travel miles for their Chocolate Chip Muffin. Even if she tends to be hyperbolic, the opportunity to have a really great muffin was far to promising to let pass. Despite some skepticism, when I saw the uniquely saucer-topped muffin (pictured) I was sure it would be damn tasty. Sure enough, the muffin had a great browned outside with a dense interior that was milky and studded with tasty semi-melted chocolate morsels. I was suprised that the dense crumb was not dry at all, maybe because it wasn't overly sugared. A nice sweetness was provided by the sugar crystal-encrusted top".

Mmmmm. It's at least a three mile walk which we will do round trip to offset the calories of said muffin, but then we are continuing on for a shopping spree in the Italian Market where we will buy fresh baked bread, homemade mozzarella cheese, jersey tomatoes...oh man, we're going to have a simple, peasant dinner tonight with lots of wine for me. Eric and his dad will be leaving for the Zappa festival in Germany on Wednesday so Julie and I are considering this week and next our official vacation from the world weeks - the recording studio where she works is closed for two weeks as well while the owner vacations in New Hampshire, and other than some projects she's got going with some fellow musicians, she's MINE ALL MINE. We're going to be taking some day trips to New Hope, PA, New York, the beach...and then it's back to work for her and serious writing for me.

By the way, I don't know if Rock School parents know this, but the kids will be simulcast on the web during Friday and Saturday nights' performance and I will of course provide the exact link starting Thursday. Taking into consideration the six hour time difference between here and Germany, I'm thinking we should start huddling around our computers around 1:00 p.m. but in reality, they probably won't go on until at least 3:00 p.m. our time. I've searched the Zappanale website everywhere for times but all it will give me is schedules and dates. Rock School is headlining and I'm trying to remember when the headliner played in Germany when I was there two years ago at Zappanale 14...I'm thinking it was 9:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m. there but I'm not sure...but wtf, most of you are at your computers anyway. I know the truth!

Don't worry -- I will research this and I will find out one way or the other; if not, the very worst that will happen is that you'll get to see some great music for a few hours before our kids go on. And...it's totally free! And not only that, after the shows, the kids will be given an immediate DVD of the performance. Well, not sure if each kid gets a free DVD or just Paul...but still, I know they're available for sale so make sure your kiddies have a few extra Euros.

Oh, and the finale is on Sunday! Don't know what time, but all I can tell you is, last year our kids, in my opinion anyway, stole the show. So you don't want to miss that, either, and I have a feeling as the festival progresses we'll be getting more info either via cell phone calls from the kids or the webcast itself.

I do know the kids have to be at the airport at 3:00 p.m. and if you cannot provide a ride, BK and Dave will be leaving from Rock School so you can get in touch with them or the school. I also have the info for the return trip home as well as some other tips for the trip since I am a Bad Doberan vet so you can also feel free to email me with any questions. Like, pack sunscreen, change money into Euros at the airport, a little pocket translation book is a must because absolutely no one, and I mean no one, in the shops of Bad Doberan speak any English at all and that includes all of the restaurants as well; bring a towel because the hostel does not provide them and you're gonna be pretty miserable taking a shower without one and that goes for soap, too...arghh..you know what, maybe if people have questions I will type a comprehensive list here for everyone.

(See? Already I'm working again and this time without pay!)

Anyway, more later...that muffin is calling out my name!

So this is it...

So that's me looking very pensive though I guess I should be smiling because today is my last day ever as a legal assistant at Friedman & Levin and also, my last day ever (I hope!) in the 9-5 workplace, but I'm surprisingly sad. I grew up in that office; I experienced everything as a young girl from the death of my mom to the death of John Lennon and George Harrison; the birth of both of my children; both kids joining Rock School and becoming superstars, performing with Eddie Vedder, Jon Anderson, Alice Cooper, Ann Wilson, James Iha, Stewart Copeland, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ike Willis, Marky Ramone, Carlos Alomar, Chris Opperman, etc. etc.; (and yes, I will once again say it: I got hugged by Jon Anderson over my kids' talent and had pizza with Eddie Vedder and yes, yes, Eddie Vedder also hugged me and told me Julie and Eric were incredible...I still don't quite believe the events of May, 2005) the retirement of my beloved boss Larry Friedman; the move from Rittenhouse Square after over twenty years...ack...as I take a walk down memory lane, I realize no one will be interested in this besides me, so I guess I'll stop now before I start sobbing uncontrollably and worse, I bore you all to death. Anyway, with today being my last day, I can now concentrate solely on my two projects, i.e., the sequel to Three Days in New York City -- my publisher has already had the book cover done for months and she's been more than patient waiting for the actual contents -- it's called Another Bite of the Apple and features the same wacky cast of characters in Three Days and a few new ones: And of course, I continue to work obsessively on my creative non-fiction memoir, The Tour, which has turned out to be a study in what happens to all of us rock and roller, pot smoking baby boomers who are suddenly getting mail from AARP and prescriptions for colonscopies and high blood pressure/cholesterol medication (raises hand) when they swear to themselves they are still 19 years old and who the hell is that middle aged person staring back in the mirror? Like when I went to see Eric play in NYC recently and the whole audience was made up of NYU students and here I'm thinking I'm so cool with my long blonde hair, black t-shirt and jeans...arghhh...I may as well have been invisible; in fact, I probably was. So there's a lot of emotion pouring out there, as well as a lot of fun flashbacks to the seventies music scene and free love era. (Well come on, you didn't really think I'd write a book without sex, did you?) Anyway, instead of singing the Who's I'm Free at the top of my lungs like I've been doing for the past two weeks since I gave notice, instead I surprisingly find myself melancholy and singing the Beatles "In My Life", which I dedicate to Larry Friedman, who shaped me as a human being and in turn shaped my children as human beings -- something for which I can never, ever thank him enough because Julie and Eric...well...they are without a doubt my proudest accomplishment and really, the only thing I feel I've done in life without fucking up in some way: In My Life There are places I’ll remember all my life Though some have changed Some forever not for better Some have gone and some remain All these places had their moments With lovers and friends I still can recall Some are dead and some are living In my life I’ve loved them all But of all these friends and lovers There is no one compares with you And these mem’ries lose their meaning When I think of love as something new Though I know I’ll never lose affection For people and things that went before I know I’ll often stop and think about them In my life I’ll love you more Though I know I’ll never lose affection For people and things that went before I know I’ll often stop and think about them In my life I’ll love you more In my life I’ll love you more *********** I also want to thank Larry's partner, Craig Levin, who has been my sole boss for the past three years, for putting up with me when he knew my heart was elsewhere; that I wanted to write and no longer had the passion nor drive to give him the attention to which he'd become accustomed. Craig is a great guy as well and I feel bad abandoning ship, but it was time and I'm pretty sure he understands and may even be somewhat relieved. Ah well, it appears I'm way too emotional to post any more today, so I will leave you with some fun pics of the kids performing Sunday night in New York City that appeared in New York's premiere nightlife pub, Paper Mag. Click on "Party Pics" and enjoy!

Photos from the Rocks Off NYC Cruise

Eric Slick on drums and Fil Smith and Kenny Liu on guitars performing Part I of Approximate, a song in three parts, i.e., first they play it as a band; then they sing acapella; then they're like bizarro mimes dancing...anyway, it was very visual, very cool. Also featured in this piece are C.J. Tywoniak on guitar and Brian Purcell on bass. This was just one of the highlights of an amazing cruise around New York City courtesy of Rocks Off on Sunday night. The kids were in top form; the set list was incredible; and the audience was pretty much enthralled. At the time, I didn't realize it, but since this coming Sunday's Baltimore gig cancelled, this was the second to the last Rock School show in which I will see Eric participate and it's the end of an era for sure. He goes to Germany with his dad next week to perform with the All Stars at Zappanale (where they are headlining!) and then he has his final show with Rock School ever on August 13 when he performs with the All-Stars in a Pink Floyd tribute at World Cafe Live. So yes, the end of an era for sure; both Julie and Eric were with Paul from the very beginning in 1998 when he started out with 17 kids in his apartment. Sigh...

Ah well, back to Approximate. Here are parts II and III:





Here are Eric, Jeremy Blessing on guitar, and Lauren Pollock on vocals doing another major highlight of the evening, Zep's Achilles Last Stand. Also featured is Max DiMezza on bass and he's in the second photo:





Here's Eric, Fil, and Max again performing another Zep song and yep, another brilliant interpretation:




At one point in the evening, Paul announced the first Rock School All Star dance concert, ever, which was kind of hilarious. You know this was an event made in heaven for drummer/vocalist Joe Reno:



Here's a view from the boat of the Statue of Liberty at sundown -- oh how I wish I still felt it represented freedom in this country, or, how I wish I still felt we were truly "free" (don't get me started on that fucking Patriot Act); and below that, a view of NYC from our ship. So yes, once again, it was just an incredible evening; great weather, great music, and great, great people.

Rock School DVD in stores 9-13-05

While I must again nag my son to upload the rather awesome pics I took on the NYC Rock School boat cruise Sunday night, I'll just give you this bit of news in the meantime -- the DVD of Rock School, the movie will be in stores on September 13, 2005. You can pre-order it here as well as other outlets.

In other (sad) news, the Baltimore gig this Sunday is cancelled and will be rescheduled in the future; alas, my son will have already graduated Rock School and will not be a part of the show.

But in better news, today is day two of the final stretch of Robin Slick, nine to fiver. My last Tuesday ever at Friedman & Levin. Three more days and I am a free woman!!!!

(Unless I get so nuts I leave today, but I'm far too guilt ridden and responsible, damn it!)

Eric Slick on tour with Chris Opperman! Cool!

So okay, we all know my son is an incredible drummer; I'd already heard Chris Opperman wanted to do a northeast tour with Eric this fall, but today it's confirmed on his website. I'm going to edit out some personal stuff Chris writes for brevity's sake, but if you want to read the whole thing, check him out at www.oppymusic.com. and click on blog.

Special Opps Invaded New York City!


So the show was fantastic! The audience was freaking excited, the band had the guts and the ferociousness of a lion, the music was all played professionally with a high degree of ACCURACY and I loved it so much. It was also really great to see all my friends again...I can't believe I hadn't been back in four years, but I feel like we made up for lost time. You guys really showed me the love and it did so much for my heart. Thank you. We will be doing this again! Currently, we're planning to do a Northeast tour with this line-up, so if anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

Speaking of thank yous, the show wouldn't have been nearly as fun if it weren't for all of the following people:

Andre' Cholmondeley, the leader of Project/Object, for putting the whole thing together and for having such an awesome attitude. There's no way this could have happened if it wasn't for your efforts and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

C.J. DeAngelus (who has been playing my music since 1997) for randomly being in NYC and bringing his bari sax! Your impromptu solo on "The Park Bench Canal" was one of the most surreal moments in the show. Great job. REPO!

Dr. Dot for singing "I'm the Slime" with us and for being the one who suggested that I get Project/Object to be my back-up band for a New York City show.

Hugh Gilmartin @ Korg for the assistance in getting a Triton for the show.

Dave Johnsen for the hot bass solo in "Tanya's Song." It was nasty.

Kelda & Mike Keneally for sending out e-blasts about the show to their respective mailing lists.

Jeff Paitchell for proving himself big time! He did a great job and if you're a NJ or NY-area band (or you're a singer/songwriter playing a show in the area) and you need a guitarist, let me know and I'll give you his contact information.

Jordan "J-Ro" Shapiro for playing everything right and for the cool solo in "Gen-Ebulous."

Eric Slick for knowing that the "2" sign meant to play TWICE as many drums and for answering the question "What would John Bonham's drumming have been like if he had been trained by Frank Zappa?" Also, I found out that he's only 18, not 19 (Sorry, Mrs. Slick!). He's deadly and he's ready to tour!

**************************
So. The band is:

Chris Opperman (keyboards, vocals)
Andre' Cholmondeley (guitar, vocals)
Jeff Paitchell (electric guitar)
Jordan "J-Ro" Shapiro (keyboards)
Dave Johnsen (bass guitar)
Eric Slick (drums)

***************
Yep, Chris, I know he's deadly and I know he's ready to tour, even though I will cry big tears (and probably hop on busses and planes incognito to catch him play everywhere. I'll be the one in the brunette wig hiding in the corner so as not to embarrass him). And oh my god, Chris, I am not Mrs. Slick! That's the name of Eric's grandmother. Please call me Robin!
***************

Anyway, of course I also want to talk all about last night's Paul Green School of Rock Music All-Star gig on the Temptress boat cruise around the Statue of Liberty -- it was really, really awesome but I'm waiting for Eric to get home and upload the zillions of photos I took last night first.

Stay tuned!

Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars cruise around New York City!

Tomorrow night, the Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars will perform on a really cool boat which -- I swear to God -- is a three hour tour (Can you say Professor and Maryanne?) around New York City. Here are the details. Hope to see some of my New York pals there; it's going to be an awesome evening. All eight of the graduates, the kids like my son who are now in bands of their own and either in college or out of high school, got to pick their two favorite songs to perform and the set list is going to be freaking incredible.

In other news, I recently heard that Chris Opperman thinks Eric is going to be one of the major forces in drumming world and has an incredible future...he mentioned something about getting him out to L.A. and being his full time drummer. Arghhh....(nah, I'm all for it. This has only been Eric's dream since he's three years old; he could drum before he could speak in entire sentences)

Julie also has an interesting opportunity -- she was approached to do some bass work by a singer songwriter who already has some gigs, etc. and a CD in the works (he wants her for that, too) and she met with him on Friday and had a blast. Watch this space for more info in that regard.

*********

In my little world, I continue to be absolutely astounded at my courage to walk away from my job and I only wish that yesterday was my last day and I didn't have to go in for one final week on Monday, especially with the New York cruise Sunday night which means I'm not getting home until well after midnight, maybe more like 2:00 a.m. And this is what a wus I am -- even though I can't be fired, I'm still afraid to call in sick on Monday or even go in late. Oh, my boss might think this is for the best because he understands how burnt out I am with the legal field and how much I want to write (and therefore not giving him the 500% he's come to expect) but he's going to miss me! At least I hope so...sigh.

You know how it is when you decide you don't want to be somewhere anymore? It's like torture to stay, but I do owe it to my boss to take care of last minute details. Besides, I need to get all my porn off my office computer and that's taking me longer than I thought!


Kidding, kidding.

Bang Bang Bang

I'm rushing around this morning and will do a more coherent post at some point today I hope, but in the meantime, I found this to be hilarious. Okay, it's high school humor but certain things make me giggle and this was one of them. I apologize.

Oh, and in light of fuckwit's recent nomination to the Supreme Court, the timing of which of course is supposed to take our minds off that other fuckwit, Rove, I also want to post a letter to all you Republicans out there:



Dear Red States:

We're ticked off at the way you've treated Pennsylvania and California and we've decided we're leaving.

We intend to form our own country and we're taking the other Blue States with us.

In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation and especially to the people of the country of New Pennsylvania/California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.

We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get Elliot Spitzer. You get Ken Lay.

We get the Statue of Liberty. You get OpryLand. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.

We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs.

You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.

Please be aware that New Pennsylvania/California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners), 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy League and Seven Sister schools, plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S.mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you believe that you are people with higher morals than we lefties.

Chris Opperman/Eric Slick...Part II...and stuff

So there's Eric again on drums with Chris, Dr. Dot, Andre, Jeff, Jordan, and Dave.

And guess what. Eric is now listed on Chris Opperman's website as his official east coast drummer.

Chris Opperman General Info
Member Since March 14, 2004
Band Website oppymusic.com

Band Members SPECIAL OPPS West Coast:

Chris Opperman (piano)
Frank Macchia (flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone)
Chris Spilsbury (electric guitar)
Jen Kuhn (electric cello)
Daren Burns (electric bass)
Craig Bunch (drums)

SPECIAL OPPS East Coast:

Chris Opperman (keyboards/vocals)
Andre' Cholmondeley (electric guitar/vocals)
Jeff Paitchell (electric guitar/vocals)
Jordan "J-Ro" Shapiro (keyboards)
Dave Johnsen (electric bass)
Eric Slick (drums)

Check it out and hang on the site long enough to hear the music play. It's truly incredible.

*********

Stuff:

Once again, I cannot believe I quit my job today! You have no idea how liberated I feel. I've been working one way or another since I'm eleven years old (oh god was I the babysitter from hell. More on that another time...) Anyway, I even went back to work four weeks after Julie and Eric were born. Meanwhile, it's also hitting me that I actually get to spend a couple of weeks at the beach without that dreaded Oh my god I'm so stressed about going back home and dealing with two weeks of work piled up at the office...and that sinking horrible feeling in my stomach the last night of vacation...and the office itself -- no more stress of trying to keep everyone happy and realizing it's impossible so I end up making no one happy including myself. No more mountains of paperwork. No more voicemail hell. Oh my god, I didn't know it was so easy to be this happy. Why didn't I do this years ago?

Oh yeah, right. I needed the money. Well, yay, I'm finally flush enough to say Screw it!

But err...you may not be reading about future lunches and dinners at Le Bec Fin or The Four Seasons any time soon. Julie and I are going to have to learn to love diners.

(Nah, we'll be fine. There's always Thai and Mexican. Mmmmm...Thai and Mexican...)

Guess what...

I've just quit my job of the past 20 odd years.

No really, I did. I've decided to take a few months off to write; go on vacation; then I will re-evaluate my life and decide my next move. I just felt it was time.

Next Friday is my last day.

I've been here since I'm 21 years old. It's going to be weird as hell. But you know what?

I'M FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!