Ike and Reno

Ike Willis and Joe Randazzo in Germany last week. Perfect, eh?

This isn't one of Gary's photos, this is one I found on line which for some reason cracked me the hell up.

More later...lots of family stuff to deal with right now for a change.

Oh my god...

The Rock School set list from Zappanale 14

Can't do a proper post now but two things:

Rock School All Stars - start saving your money as I will soon be blackmailing you all -- Gary told me EVERYTHING! HAHAHAHAHAHA - Oh my god, I so wish I'd gone. YOU GUYS ARE HILARIOUS!

Seriously, and more importantly:

Olaf of the Arf Society slipped Gary a DVD of nothing but Rock School's Friday night Zappa performance and I've never, ever, ever seen or heard anything so great in my life. And in a teary eyed mother moment for sure, the back of the 2005 Zappanale DVD talks about the history of Rock School - the title says 'THE KIDS ARE BACK", there's an awesome photo from 2003, and right on the cover it talks about my daughter Julie and says that she's so great even John Entwistle would have gone crazy. It also gives a nod to Ms. Lauren Pollock and Dom Malandro.

Eric and Gary also came home with rare Zappa imports - DVDs and CDS, a Pink Floyd bootleg CD with a live version of Echoes and a stripped down version of Great Gig without the female singers; a bootleg of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles playing together (oh my god, I almost fainted when I heard Dandelion), and the Stones with Muddy Waters.

I am one happy woman today.

More...much, much more...later. They used a 35 mm camera so I need to take 16 (yep) rolls of film to get developed and made into a CD so that I can post them...Gary said he took pics of every All-Star and a lot of...moments...which is why you All Stars had better start saving your money. (Kidding, kidding)

Just heard from Germany!

(Julie and me at Zappanale 14 - photo courtesy of Janine Pollock. I'm the one with the beer har har)

Okay, hooray for Joanne Milandro who has an international cell phone. Gary just called me. It's well after 3:00 a.m. in Germany now and he said it was insane -- the crowd would not let the kids off the stage and he's so excited he can't sleep (they just got back to the hostel!) He said the audience kept screaming for the kids to play more; over 5,000 people were in fucking awe and the Paul Green School of Rock Music stole the entire Zappanale 16. He said he's never experienced anything like it EVER (and Gary saw not only the Beatles play at JFK Stadium but Jimi Hendrix as well); that the kids -- every one of them -- played the best music of their lives; that they are all superstars and are being treated as such by every adult fellow musician in attendance from all over the world, many of whom played with Frank Zappa at some point in their careers; and that the only low of the trip is that it's 44 degrees and hailing! Gary said it's so cold smoke is coming out of their mouths when they talk, but that the folks running the festival handed out free sweatshirts (very cool Zappanale 16 ones) to all of them. Wow. When I was there with the kids two years ago at Zappanale 14 it was so hot we wore tank tops or t-shirts and shorts. But oh my god, they played for three and a half hours tonight. That's like...unreal.

Anyway, most importantly, I instructed Gary to bring home many DVDs so that all the parents can have one and Linda, Joey is doing fine; the kids are all eating more than enough...in fact, they are getting their faces stuffed by everyone everywhere -- Gary said the food at the festival is incredible and the kids don't have to pay for anything. Gary is sharing a room with 10 kids - Jeremy, Dom, Haffy, Matt, Bosco, Cameron, Joey, Mike, Dan, and Chris. He said he's taking care of all of them and they told him he's the coolest dad ever (hahaha - unlike me on tour, who probably scared the hell out of all of them because I'm so fucking neurotic).

Carolyn, Gary also told me he took Eric shopping for something special for you, so, err..act surprised.

Anyway, he sounded so wired on the phone now he has me all wired and I can't sleep either...and we have to all wake up at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow because yep, that's when the finale begins in Germany, only it will be 11:00 a.m. there.

Night night.

Reminder!

Beginning in just a half hour, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time, the Zappanale Festival begins broadcasting right here!. While my son, Eric, and the rest of the Paul Green School of Rock Music All-Stars will not take the stage until after 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, the kids will be standing in front or by the side of the stage throughout the whole concert watching the other bands until it's time for their performance and who knows, the camera may very well pan the audience.

While Eric Slick and the Paul Green School of Rock Stars are in Germany performing at Zappanale 16...Robin Slick unemployed, days 3 and 4 Part I

Asparagus appetizer at Chloe Restaurant

Hi, there.

Well, I haven't posted in my blog for a few days because I've been too busy eating. This is sad but true. No, actually, it's not sad, it's fantastic. Eric and his daddy left for Germany yesterday at 12:30 p.m. and Julie and I immediately embarked on our latest culinary tour of Philadelphia.

We had dinner at Chloe at 2nd and Arch Street. Chloe may now be my all time favorite restaurant. Okay, okay, I know I say that about every cool place I visit, but my God, this is as good as it gets, and it's BYOB...people were showing up with a bottle o'red and a bottle o'white and drinking them all down with each course. Next time, I will do the same; this time, because I was with a 19 year old and it was 100 degrees out and she is making me walk everywhere (there and back...mapquested it...6 miles roundtrip) I decided to stick with water.

First up: A warm bread basket with complimentary homemade hummus. Hummus like I've never tasted. Not merely rank cloves of garlic and mashed chick peas, but a puree of chick peas, corn (yep, corn) and chipotle, rimmed with a circle of high quality olive oil. Julie and I started eating it with a spoon; they give you so much it was like eating the world's best mashed potatoes with half the calories.

Okay. Appetizers next.

Julie elected to have the daily special, which was a chilled peach soup with champagne. (Oh sure, she got to drink...I tasted it and there was like half a bottle poured in there so I helped her finish it bigtime). It was topped with an adorable miniature almond taco. It was tart, refreshing, and maybe the best cold soup ever.

My appetizer ended my search (at last!) for the best freaking mussels I ever ate in my life. These were from New Zealand, and each mussel was the size of my fist. There were at least a dozen of them, floating in a sauce made of white wine, tarragon butter, leeks, and dijon mustard. Came with grilled bread. When I was finished the mussels, I used an empty shell as a tablespoon to eat all the "soup" once I'd killed the bread. I will dream about these mussels for weeks to come; in fact, my birthday is in two weeks and this is what I will be having.

Pictured above was the appetizer I almost got and will certainly try on another occasion -- grilled asparagus wrapped with apple wood smoked bacon and boursin cheese, served with spicy tomatoes and reduced balsamic vinegar.

For entrees, Julie chose sushi grade tuna seared rare in banana ginger soy broth with jasmine rice, seaweed salad and crispy wonton chips. I don't even like tuna that much but went nuts over the forkful she reluctantly, well, forked over.

But mine was the real winner. Pan seared sea scallops served atop a crispy potato pancake with spicy watercress and red onion salad and smoked chile and sour cream drizzle. Oh my god, I never wanted that dinner to end.

Dessert? Oh yeah, we had room. I don't know how we had room, because the portions were so big they were falling off the plate, but we made ourselves have room because the desserts, which are daily specials and change every day (duh), were so spectacular. We did decide to share, though, which was smart, because that too was HUGE.

Hot banana bread pudding sitting in a pool of half caramel, half raspberry, topped with home made toasted coconut ice cream.

Sigh...

More later. I just realized how much I miss Eric and now I need to go upstairs and listen to the Rock School soundtrack so I can hear him play drums.

By the way, please buy the CD. You can find it at www.towerrecords.com or www.amazon.com, etc.

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!)