Adrian Belew Power Trio on Tour - Night Two continued

Julie Slick, Adrian Belew, and Eric Slick on stage in Springfield, Ohio

ETA: I was just over at DGM Live and Sid Smith is not only reporting on the Adrian Belew Power Trio tour, he just teasingly linked my blog along with that of Neil Gaiman. Ha! And here I haven't mentioned Neil for days...

(And now he's going to get a couple hundred thousand more daily hits on his blog courtesy of Sid. Ha ha - you can thank me later, Neil.)

So here's a portion of a cool review of Friday night's show I received from Kevin McKeehan, a member of Adrian Belew's tribe:

"The show last night was awesome...first time seeing Ade electrified and outdoors...very cool. I'm lousy with set lists unless I purloin one...which I did not. I really dug Matchless man and Lone Rhino...still one of my faves and he let loose towards the end.

Robin...your kids are excellent...two scoops to you and yours! I got to see the first iteration of the power trio and had been blown away with the powerful playing of Mike G. on the bass and spent equal amounts of time watching him wail away...Julie on the other hand is silky smooth and soulful, yet still powerful.....put the heart back into the songs instead of ripping it out, gave them a new depth.

Eric is simply staggering...such a young man with such chops....he definitely has a very, very bright future in the music biz..."

Wow. Thanks for that, Kevin, and for the excellent photos you provided -- especially the above group shot. I'll be putting up more in future posts. Oh, you know what? Let me post a few more here -- one of Ms. Julie and one of the Slickster on drums.


For those keeping track of such things, yes, Julie has many basses and I'm hoping someone sends me a photo of her playing her vintage fretless Gibson Ripper -- she uses it on "Elephant Talk" and uh-oh, did I just give away a secret song from the set list? Ha ha - nah, I see the set lists are published all over the web so I'm thinking I'm safe sharing that info at this point.

And let me also provide you with this link for more of Kevin's awesome photos of the concert. There are some amazing ones of Adrian.

It's too early for any reviews of last night's Chicago show to be in -- it's like 6:30 a.m. there right now. I'll either edit this post to include them as I find them later in the day or will gather them up for a blog entry tomorrow -- depends on whether I can control my excitement or not.

Also, it appears that Julie and Eric didn't have internet access in Chicago because we have AOL and I'm able to see that they both have considerable amounts of mail that they haven't opened so that also means Eric has been unable to enter anything on the tour blog for the Philadelphia Inquirer yet but he's doing it in Microsoft Word and will transfer what he wrote to the blog as soon as he's back on line -- which, I guess, will be later tonight or tomorrow morning when the Adrian Belew Power Trio returns to their home base in Nashville, Tennessee. And oh my god, do I believe they leave for Europe in a few days? What a life! And someone who was at the Ohio show posted this:

"By the way, there was chatter, after the show, about another east coast leg, and another west coast leg, after Europe.

I think that's the info I already had...i.e., there are several dates for an east coast and southern swing in August and plans to tour Texas and the west coast in November...but who knows, maybe there's more being added. I'll report it here as soon as I get any new information.

In the meantime, let me say this to the man responsible for the current Adrian Belew Power Trio...


Um, I feel compelled to add that this photo is meant to be funny. My regular readers know how I feel about the war and the Bush Administration...arghhh...I keep waiting to wake up from the nightmare.

Later, (with more Belew news I hope)
xo

Adrian Belew Power Trio on Tour - Night Two

Julie Slick at a gig at Rembrandt's Restaurant; Eric Slick on stage with Project Object in Burlington, Vermont

Happy Saturday!

Well, the first reviews of the Adrian Power Trio on tour are coming in and to say I'm excited is a major understatement.

They got a standing ovation in Indianapolis...and here's an e-mail from a fan I received that was meant for Julie but you know me, I'm going to post it here anyway:

I caught your show in Indpls last night with Adrian Belew. Great show. I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that I think you and your brother Eric are phenomenal talents. I think that you two will go far. I've been involved in music for over 17 years and I've seen a lot of people come and go and both of you have a talent that is both raw and seasoned at the same time. Best of luck in the future. Great show.

Tony
*****
ETA: Here's a comment I just got in my post below which I am copying here due to parental proudness:

Just saw Belew Plus Two in Springfield, Ohio last night. Simply amazing--all three were brilliant. These sibs have a really bright future
*****
And Thomas, President of the Arf Society and the man responsible for bringing Adrian and J&E to Germany next week to headline at Zappanale 17, wrote this:

Hi Robin,

You really make us terribly excited for the show here in Germany. Can't wait to see the trio on Zappanale-stage. 8 days to go - 8 days to wait.

Music is the best!

Thomas
*****
Here's a review of the show in Ohio last night which appears today in the Springfield News-Sun.
*****
Here's an interview Adrian did for the Calgary News which I will post here in its entirety because it mentions Julie and Eric:

Calgary's News & Entertainment Weekly
by MD STEWART
No Rest for the Wicked -- Guitar Great Adrian Belew Looks to the Future

Adrian Belew fondly remembers his very first electric guitar.

"A Gibson Firebird, I liked the shape of it, such a modern looking guitar, a very odd shape.... I paid $10 a week for the darn thing, forever, until I paid it off. I played it and played it and played it."

But back in the mid-’70s, the musical climate was harsh and inhospitable for guitarists of all shapes and statures.

"When the disco era hit, there was no work for live bands, here in the United States, except in the Holiday Inn circuit, which is a terrible place to play. I was offered a job in the Holiday Inn circuit, but as a drummer," Belew says. "And my thinking was ‘Well, I don’t mind playing drums to ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon ’Round the Old Oak Tree,’ but I would hate to try to play guitar to that dreck, so I had to sell that guitar to buy a drum kit and that’s what I did."

Since this inauspicious start to a phenomenal career, Belew has played with a literal A-Z of the most creative musical minds of the late 20th century – from Laurie Anderson to Frank Zappa, not to mention David Bowie, David Byrne, Robert Fripp, Trent Reznor, Paul Simon and, of course, William Shatner. The Nashville based guitarist, singer-songwriter continues to juggle full-time membership in two bands (prog-rock dynasty King Crimson and the Beatlesque pop combo The Bears) with his eclectic solo work. He’s garnered pop culture nods that include passing mentions on The Simpsons and the School of Rock,, as well as a recent Grammy nomination for best instrumental recording (Beat Box Guitar).

Belew has little time or appetite for nostalgia, having recently released the last of a trilogy of discs, unassumingly entitled side one, side two and side three.

"Over the last five years I’ve put a lot of effort and time into touring with and resurrecting King Crimson and, to a lesser degree, The Bears. I didn’t have a lot of time for my own stuff, for myself, but whatever time I did have, in between the cracks, I would record whatever new ideas I might have," Belew explains.

"After about four years of accumulating all these various ideas I started looking seriously at what I had and realized, ‘Wow, I’ve got 35 songs here."

On side one, he lets loose with the mother-of-all-power-trios – Tool drummer Danny Carey and Primus bassist Les Claypool. The results are as powerful and impressive as one would expect. With side two, Belew explores newer, less familiar territory.

"I had also been developing a whole bunch of other ideas more in the DJ music mode, where you have drum machines and long synthesizer pads and not much vocals but a little bit here and there, repeating phrases… a whole genre I had never touched on."

He plays virtually all the instruments and, as much of a departure as side two is from his past work, there’s still no mistaking it’s Adrian Belew.

Finally, on side three, Carey and Claypool return for a satisfying finale that is as eclectic and dynamic as Belew’s fans expect from his solo work.

"Side three was really everything else that didn’t fit in either one of those categories, which is why side three is a very eclectic record – it has all kinds of different things on it," he says.

"I worked hard on fitting them together smoothly, to make one record, and I’m kind of used to doing that with my solo records, they usually are a pastiche of different ideas." With an audible lack of arty pretension, Belew chuckles at his use of the word "pastiche."

The trilogy also showcases another new Belew passion – painting. His original abstract acrylics grace the covers and inserts of all three discs. For him, it’s all part of the same power-drive creativity package.

"The whole thing reminds me exactly of music. Painting is just like making a new song – You go in the studio, you have nothing and you just start," Belew says. "You might put a few textures on, a few rhythms on. You might do whatever, change this, change that, erase that off, put something else on and gradually you build something and then at some point you have to say that’s it, it’s done. That’s the hardest part."

Back from a six-week tour of Italy and Australia, Belew will begin rehearsing the following day with a new, fresh rhythm section. Young sibling prodigies, Julie and Eric Slick are both honours graduates of Paul Green’s School of Rock – the rock school that was the inspiration behind Jack Black’s film School of Rock.

"Out of 1,500 students, they’re the top students that they’ve ever had," Belew states proudly. He draws clear parallels between his work with the School of Rock’s alumni and his own experience with mentors like Fripp and Zappa.

"I do see the parallels, and for me it’s an honour, honestly, that there’s someone out there who’s been inspired by what I’ve done in the same way that I’ve been inspired by the Beatles and Hendrix and Jeff Beck and King Crimson. I was a big fan of King Crimson before I was in the band, that was one of my favourite bands – second only really to The Beatles and then one day I woke up and I was in the band."
*****
Oh my god, that is so cool and surreal, it gave me the chills.

As I also mentioned, Eric will be doing a tour blog for the Philadelphia Inquirer and here is the link!. I will make it a permanent link on the right hand side here as soon as Eric starts making regular entries and I'll see if I can twist Julie's arm to do a post or two as well.

Finally, I note on Pollstar that three additional Florida shows have been added -- August 17, 2006 (my birthday!) in Jacksonville, Florida; August 18 in St. Petersburg, and August 19 in Lake Worth.

Um, ya think I'm gonna be asking for a special birthday present this year? Can you say "airfare and hotel to Jacksonville?" Ha! Oh well family - start saving your money now...I'll settle for nothing less.

And yes, yes, yes, it looks like Adrian, Julie and Eric will be coming to Philadelphia for a show at the World Cafe Live on August 14. It's not on their calendar yet but should be there any day (fingers crossed!) and of course I will post a link for tickets as soon as it's available.

Okay. Where are all my Belew Tribe members who attended the show in Ohio last night? I want to hear from you! I'll come back in and edit this post and add your comments in later or if your remarks are really special, I'll create a new post just for you.

As for now...my novel is calling out...edit me...edit me...don't neglect me because your kids are on tour and you're excited...I need help....please....

Ha.

Later,
xo

Adrian Belew Power Trio -- The Tour Begins

Eric Slick lounging in Bad Doberan, East Germany prior to his performance at Zappanale last year; Julie Slick on stage at the Troc

So the Adrian Belew Power Trio kicked off their tour last night at the Music Mill in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tonight's show in Springfield, Ohio is going to be really wild because it's a free, outdoor event and tomorrow's show in Chicago is at the legendary Double Door where the Stones even played and oh my god, what was I thinking when I decided not to make the first three shows? By the way, click on the Double Door link - they mention Julie and Eric and Rock School in the advert.

I haven't heard from Julie or Eric yet as to how the first show went last evening...but I just got this comment on my blog post below and I'm going to copy it here because I'm so freaking proud! And I think what I'll do is come in here and edit this post throughout the day - you know, add those ETAs -- as I find any reviews online or get any more comments or emails.

"Jeff Curtis

I attended the show in Indy last night and I'm sure it is not news to you, but those are some talented children you have. It's obvious they have worked long and hard at their music and really deserve this opportunity. They are also quite personable and enjoyed talking with the fans after the show. They've got the autograph gig down pretty good too. Filling shoes like Tony Levin and Bill Bruford is not easy and they were amazing.

A fan yelled after the first song that he was in love with the bass player. This made Julie smile and seemed to embarass her a bit. All fun to see. I'm sure their youthful enthusiasm will also be infectious for Adrian as well. He told me they were also just fun to be around.

Good job on raising two wonderful and incredibly talented kids!"

Thanks, Jeff. I really appreciate that. Um, got any digital pics you can email me? I'm dying here!

Anyway, Eric will be doing an on-line tour blog for the Philadelphia Inquirer starting later today or tomorrow, so that's very cool, and I will post the link as soon as I get it.

A couple of cool news articles about Adrian and the upcoming tour have popped up and here are the links:

Intelligent Rock Guitarist Is Cutting Edge Go-To Guy

Belew A Graduate of School of Zappa

Okay, that's it for now. Be back later with any updates.

xo

Julie and Eric Slick may be down in Nashville but they're in the Philadelphia Inquirer today

Julie Slick on stage at the Troc in Philly; Eric Slick on tour with Project Object

So yesterday was way weird -- we dropped Julie and Eric off at the airport for their flight to Nashville and for the first time in over twenty years looked at each other and said "Oh my god, we're the only ones home now." Ha ha - we've had a steady parade of friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, their friends' parents...you name it, in here ever since the two of them could walk/talk. And I'm anti-social! But that's nothing compared to how surreal it is to have both of your kids about to go on tour with a guitarist you've idolized for years...

Anyway, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Michael Klein was kind enough to write about J&E touring with Adrian in today's newspaper right here...but of course me being me will cut and paste it due to the excitement factor:

"ON THE ROAD

Brother-sister Eric and Julie Slick, who live near the Art Museum and were original students in the Paul Green School of Rock Music, are the backup band for guitar legend Adrian Belew. (Eric, 19, is a drummer, and Julie, 20, is a bassist.) They're in Nashville preparing for the tour, which begins Thursday and hits Europe before landing on the East Coast. (No Philly date as of yesterday.)"

Cool, huh?

Look for a possible daily tour blog written by Eric to appear in the on-line version of the Philadelphia Inquirer starting later this week...I will furnish details as soon as they are available.

So that helped ease the pain of missing the two of them this morning though I will probably have to hold Gary's hand tonight when he hears the fireworks down at the Art Museum -- it was his job to take the kids there since they were little while I stayed home because (1) I hate crowds and (2) I abhor the music they play with said fireworks (Can you say Neil Diamond's America and Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA? Arghhhh...) and (3) We have a dog who is a neurotic mess during thunderstorms let alone fireworks and when they start going off at the museum, they sound like they are in my living room.

Even when the kids were no longer kids, Gary continued with the tradition and we always had a yearly open house barbecue here for their pals until dark after which they would race outside for Gary's infamous annual illegally purchased in Maryland fireworks display in the schoolyard around the corner followed by a group trek down the street to the official display.

We're still barbecuing today but it's just the two of us, well, three of us if you count the dog who truly does believe he's one of our children most likely because we treat him that way so yeah, he'll have his own burger on a real plate (he apparently is just like me and does not care for the paper version because he tears them to shreds when he's finished har har). And we would have had to barbecue some type of freaking spinach/tofu/cardboard burgers for Julie and Eric today anyway since they are now both officially vegetarians and oh my god, I'm rambling, aren't I.

Ah well. The older I get the more apparent it is: The only thing constant in life is change.

Bleh.

But hey, it's worked out okay so far. My kids are about to have the summer of their lives (and beyond - as I said before, the tour extends throughout November) and I have a new book out...may as well pimp it again right here.























Later,
xo

Fireworks, anyone?

Hey hey hey! Happy Independence Day! Oh that I still thought we were really still free in this country but okay, I refuse to discuss religion and politics because I hate them both and know I won't change anyone's mind so if you do not feel the same and insist on talking about either with me, I'll ignore you. (Ha ha - unless of course you agree with me, said the way liberal pro-choice anti-Bush agnostic)

So a bunch of cool stuff is going on here in the Slick household as I get ready to say good-bye for the summer to both Julie and Eric -- both of whom, as you know from my prior one million posts -- are taking off for Nashville on Monday morning to hang out with Adrian Belew for a few days before opening night of their tour in Indianapolis, Indiana on Thursday, July 6, 2006. Oh how I wish I could be there but I ultimately decided not to attend the first few shows and will catch up with them either in Europe or on the east coast portion of the tour which starts in New York City on August 8. I did see that a new show has been added on August 18, 2006 at the State Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida - details here.

Also, I believe next week will see the release of the above pictured anthology in which my story "Daddy Left Me Alone With God" appears and of course as soon as it's available, I will furnish you with a link because this book contains short stories by some absolutely incredible authors and I promise you won't be disappointed.

Speaking of short stories, I know I said I was on Neil Gaiman hiatus but I just received my copy of Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren't As Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You Feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones, Creatures from the Sky, Parents who Disappear in Peru, a Man Named Lars Farf, and One Other Story We Couldn't Quite Finish So Maybe You Could Help Us Out from McSweeney's Books, which cost me a big $5.00, and I absolutely guarantee you that this is the best $5.00 you'll ever spend. It's even a hardcover edition! Besides containing a short story by Nick Hornby, the brilliant author responsible for like my favorite movie/book EVER about rock music and relationships, High Fidelity, this book also includes "Sunbird", the story for which Neil Gaiman just won a Locus Award as best short story 2005 and trust me, it is.

I know Susan Henderson is in South Africa right now but I find it hard to believe she won't be near a computer for two weeks so I'm doing this for both of us:

Susan, that is Neil being attacked by a flamingo (shades of Anansi Boys) in Poppy Z. Brite's apartment.

Not being a horror fan, I didn't know who Poppy was but now I'm addicted to reading her daily journal and I love her so much I wish I was her girlfriend. Or her boyfriend. I'm not sure. If one is to believe Wikipedia (and in this case I do because Poppy herself addresses this many times in her journal archives), though "born a biological female, she has gender dysphoria/gender identity issues. She identifies more as male than female but makes no attempt to dress or appear male and also does not expect to be referred to as "he". Brite is comfortable with the term "non-operative transsexual".

She's a kick-ass writer and funny as hell, which is all I care about. Okay, I'm lying. She's married to a (male) chef named Chris and oh my god would I love to question her about her sex life. After which I would adore eating at Chris' restaurant.

Okay, what else. It's finally sunny here in Philadelphia, which, if you watch the national news, has been flooded for the past three days. Things like that just don't happen here. We have shootings galore, yes, but natural disasters, no. Kelly Drive, which is adjacent to the Art Museum and where we ride our bicycles and walk the dog, etc., was completely under water courtesy of the Schuylkill River overflowing its banks. Luckily my house is up on a hill facing the Art Museum or I suspect I'd have sump pumps going full steam in my basement right now. But Eric put me through a real scare on Tuesday. He went to New Hope, Pennsylvania to jam with some members of Ween which is where the Ween house/studio is located. He had an absolute blast except for the fact that New Hope is now completely under water and he got out just in time...right before they closed the bridges. I was watching the news that day with my heart in my mouth. Yeah, so getting back to Ween, Eric jammed with their guitarist and bass player - Dean Ween and Dave Dreiwitz, who are doing a side project with Chris Harford. Assuming Adrian Belew has no plans for Eric to tour or record in October...and it looks like that's the case because Adrian is touring for a few weeks with Robert Fripp at that time...Eric will be touring with those guys for a few weeks opening for Trey Anastasio. And then in November Eric and Julie will be joining Adrian Belew again for a swing through Texas and the west coast.

Can I trade lives with them?

Nah, I'm pretty happy these days. Disgustingly so. Revisions/edits to my novel, Baby Boomer, are going really well and in a perfect world will be ready to be shopped around at summer's end. And ta-da, I've finally updated my website. Okay, I'm lying -- Eric did it for me. I'm totally hopeless at web stuff which is why I love this blog. Anyway, it's still a work in progress but I really needed to get rid of old news and dead links. So right now it's bare bones but Eric was kind enough to link my blog to the site which is what I really wanted and I'm still playing around with the idea of adding photos and some other stuff. But since I'm surrounded by clutter in the real world (big pack rat here), I kind of like the idea of a stark, minimalistic website so that's what I have at the moment. Anyway, here's the link. As I said, I'm still tweaking it but it's a start.

Anyway, if for some reason I don't make it back here until next week, have a Happy 4th of July! Sob...this is our first one without Julie and Eric and Gary will have no audience for his illegally purchased in Maryland yearly fireworks display -- the one which keeps me in the house shaking, waiting for one of the kids to run back in screaming "Call an ambulance! Daddy blew off his arm!" -- but I suspect he'll round up some neighborhood kids and have a little party anyway just to continue the tradition of me here at the computer a total mess with one hand on the phone ready to dial 911. And getting back to said Independence Day, again, I would love to get on a soapbox right now and tell you how dismayed I am about our current lack of freedom (Can you say Patriot Act?) but well, you know, I did say I refuse to discuss politics, so...

Later,
xo

On Sale Today: Another Bite of The Apple

So for those of you who were kind enough to purchase my novel Three Days in New York City, the sequel, Another Bite of the Apple, was released today and you can read an excerpt and purchase it right here.







I like how they have it advertised -- this is the first time I've seen the promo for the book and it made me smile.

"The man she loves is engaged to a woman who could be a supermodel. The man she despises but can't seem to resist is beckoning once again. Her life isn't going nearly as she'd thought it would when she moved to New York City.

What's a girl to do?

Elizabeth is back, attitude, insecurities, and all, in this sequel to Three Days in New York City."

Yeah, that about sums it up. It's being released in digital format today but of course you know I expect sales to be brisk and like Three Days in New York City, it will be out in paperback and at a Borders near you sooner rather than later.

Okay, I'm hoping sales will be decent.

Oh alright, I'm hoping to make one sale. Will it be you? Pretty please?

Nah, all kidding aside, I had a blast writing this book and if you liked Three Days, you will probably really enjoy the sequel because it brings, um...here comes that catchword I despise...closure...to the series. Don't hate me for using "closure", I honestly couldn't think of a better word. But oh god how I hate when people say it ad nauseam.

I also learned that a 7,000 word short story I had written a few months ago -- a light-hearted sexual comedy categorized by Phaze as a Samba -- was a contest winner and will be available for sale in the middle of July. Trust me on this. It's the best $2.00 you'll ever spend. I give good erotica, you all know that. Ha! And yeah, click on the Phaze link I provided in regard to that -- Another Bite of the Apple and Three Days in New York City look awfully cool on their front page along with the announcement of all six Samba contest winners.

Speaking of my pals at Phaze, hey hey hey, we're invading New York City on August 11 for a reading at the Happy Ending Lounge. I'll be talking that up more in weeks to come but have a look at the cool flyer (which I will soon be illegally stapling to trees and poles all over the tri-state area har har but fear not, I am conscientious and will then take them down once the event is over)




As for now, I continue to toil away at Baby Boomer, my first mainstream novel in a couple of years, and for once I was thrilled by the copious amounts of rain we got yesterday and are expecting all week because yes! that means no construction workers next door. It was so quiet in here I was in heaven. I wrote upstairs in my journal in longhand so I wouldn't be distracted by things happening on the internet though I'm sad to say I've forever abandoned the idea of a fountain pen, damn it...but I really do like a certain black rolling marker by Uniball so that's what I'm using and loving it.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll be back tomorrow with more news from the writing and music world...unless, of course, something else exciting happens in the meantime.

Later,
xo

What should I eat first?

No, no, I'm not going to eat Neil Gaiman -- this pic is for Susan Henderson, who is leaving for Cape Town, South Africa on Monday and made a special request because, well, she knows I have a knack for giving good Gaiman. Hey, Sue, aren't you happy I know how to upload photographs to this blog full size now so that we can use our little mouses to click and enlarge? Ha ha, too bad I don't have a stat counter to monitor how many times we both do that today.

And oh that we could click and enlarge in real life.

Now, now. You saw that one coming, didn't you? And more stuff on Mr. Gaiman below, by the way...I have to get it all in now before Sue leaves on her trip.

So yeah, Susan is going to South Africa to give a reading of her brilliant work with the equally brilliant Liesl Jobson. Liesl lives in South Africa with her husband and graciously invited Sue and her family to stay with them for two weeks. I'm so jealous! Meanwhile, I'm usually skeptical about people who claim to have psychic powers though I try to keep an open mind, especially as I have those little flashes myself -- you know, where you sing an obscure twenty year old song in the shower for no apparent reason and then you're sitting in a restaurant later that day and the same song comes over the sound system; or maybe you start thinking of someone you hardly ever see and they either call you ten minutes later or you walk down the street and there they are...stuff like that -- but Liesl, man, she is scary. She once did a quick reading for me via AOL instant messenger a few years before I started this blog and she knew things about me she couldn't possibly know...so much so that when she offered to do a full reading, I chickened out because Liesl tells it like it is and if there's a gruesome, horrifying death in my future, I didn't want to know. Psychic talent aside, she's just an amazing writer and the link I gave you is her Google listing so that you can treat yourself and read some of her incredible short stories.

ETA: Actually, as Sue just posted in my comments section, she is not staying with Liesl. She's staying with Mr. Henderson's childhood friend whom they haven't seen since he put traffic cones in their hotel room on their wedding night. Now you know I need details on that one and I've asked Sue to provide them in the comments section so you might want to check there later if you are as curious as I am.

In other news, today is my first day back on real food since this whole sordid tooth affair began two weeks ago.

Strangely enough, I don't feel like eating anything unhealthy. I've lost so much weight I may as well really go for it so I can experience life as a skinny person. Oh god, this means I have to make room in my closet for about a thousand black wintery long sleeved blouses and sweaters because I've been using all of my exercise equipment as seasonal clothes racks for the past five years.

So even though it's not even 7:00 a.m., I've got a craving for miso soup and sushi. Hey, the Four Seasons Hotel is a mere eight blocks from my house and they have Wa-Teishoku, which is a traditional Japanese breakfast. It's to die for -- here's what you get:

Yakizakana – Grilled Salmon
Ni Mono – Vegetables Simmered in Chicken Broth
Tamago – Coddled Egg
Tsukemono – Pickled Japanese Vegetable
Gohan – Steamed Rice
Miso Soup
Nori – Seasoned Dried Seaweed
Japanese Green Tea

Yep, I should go there now but I still have a low grade fever, damn it. I wonder if they have take away? Oh, Eric....

Poor kid. He's probably still asleep because he spent yesterday in New York City hanging out with Keith Emerson, Jan Hammer, and Roger O'Donnell of The Cure. The lucky bastard got to sit in on a song at B.B. Kings last night, too. He has such a tough life, my son. Actually, he ended up spending the night in New York but he told me he's taking an early train home so he should be here in a few hours.

Speaking of Eric (and Julie, too), Adrian Belew has added another show to the tour. This one is in Pittsburgh on August 12 at The Club Cafe. Eric just played there last month as drummer for Project Object and he said it's an amazing venue.

While I'm talking about music, assuming this stupid fever goes away and I feel nice and healthy after my Japanese breakfast (I'm dead serious about having Eric swing by The Four Seasons and pick one up for me. I just realized if they have room service, they have take away)...I'm supposed to see Robin Trower Saturday night at the TLA in Philly. Yeah, yeah, I know. Once a stoner guitar god fan, always a stoner guitar god fan. But of course my musical taste is all over the place and oh how I wish I could post MP3s on this blog. That's the only thing I like about My Space but alas, it's not enough to keep me really active there. I just can't get into it nor can I figure out how to navigate it properly. I mean, I've never once ended up in the same place twice when I click "Home". Just how many "homes" are there on that site, anyway? But there is one cool thing about My Space and that's the fact that all of these strange and unknown-to-me writers keep inviting me to their sites and I've read snippets of some really interesting new books which I'd never have found on my own. So I guess it's just a matter of working the system. Once my mainstream novel is published and I'm out there promoting (notice how I say that with such conviction?) I will use it to network but I'm way too afraid to push erotica there. I'm finished with erotica now, anyway...though every time I make that decision, I get an email about a contest or a cool new anthology and I can't help myself. Which reminds me. Another Bite of the Apple should be out any day now. What can I say? Writing erotica comes naturally to me. And yeah, yeah, of course I read Neil Gaiman's journal entry about it the other day and because I was still on pain meds when I read it, naturally I assumed it was written just for me. Hahahahaha - seriously, I'm just messing around but I did read it with great interest and was quite pleased by what he wrote. But then again, when aren't I pleased by what he writes?

Wait - did you see this link on his blog yesterday? Oh my god, that's the most...never mind. I probably should not have posted it but it's just so bizarre I couldn't resist. So yeah, I highly recommend you click on that link because it's kind of entertaining in a very disturbed sort of way. Good lord! While you are on that page, make sure you visit links such as this though I think I just made my daughter nauseous because I just IMed her said link. (She's at her boyfriend's house which is why she isn't being sent out to fetch me breakfast)

Okay, enough Neil. I really am putting him to bed (oh god) for a while. Especially with Sue away in South Africa for two weeks. It just won't be fun without her.

Let's see. What else? Right. There's an acoustic guitar album, “Imaginational Anthem Vol. 2” which is very, very cool. Pitchfork Media reviewed it pretty favorably and here's the link. The reason I am writing about this today is that IA2 is currently on tour to support the release, and they are in Philadelphia tonight to perform at First Unitarian Church. If you are in or near Philly and reading this, you know what a cool venue that is, so why not go and support these fine guitarists? To quote the late, great Frank Zappa..music is the best!

Meanwhile, I can't believe that Julie and Eric are leaving for Nashville to rehearse for a few days with Adrian Belew one week from Monday and then they are gone until the end of summer. Well, that's not entirely true -- they have a week off between the time they get home from Europe at the end of July until the east coast portion of the tour begins in early August. They never went to overnight camp as kids and I went with them on all of the Rock School tours so this is my very first taste of empty nest syndrome. The only upside is doing any requested edits/revisions to my novel without distraction, if I don't count the construction next door. Just when I thought it couldn't possibly get any worse, yesterday I hear thunderous crashing and banging that was so intense I had to open my front door and see what the hell they were up to. Oh my god, they ripped the entire facade off the house! So basically the people who bought it shelled out a ton of money just to live on my street because they are building an entire new, custom home. I'm still having a very hard time digesting how gentrified and yuppified this neighborhood has become. Maybe I'm still living in 1980, but to me, if you pay a million dollars for a house you should at least get a nice plot of land and a single home without adjoining neighbors. But because we are within walking distance of downtown Philly and right adjacent to the Art Museum, all of a sudden I'm living in this wealthy neighborhood and I can't believe it. When I first bought my house at age 24, it was mostly blue collar people who'd lived here for generations and worked at the old Schmidts Brewery but we were part of the pioneer movement -- artists and writers and musicians who bought homes in the area because of its proximity to downtown.

I should probably think about selling this place and taking the money and running but where would I go? I love Philadelphia, and while I'd really adore living in the UK, whatever profit I made would be worth 50% less so that wouldn't make much sense, would it. But oh oh oh, to live in England. I dunno. Maybe when empty nest syndrome happens for real.

And why am I even talking about stuff like this? God help me, being surrounded by yuppies is getting to me after all. They're trying to convert me and succeeding! Help!

Speaking of that...

Oh, Eric...come home...you need to walk to the Four Seasons and get your mother her Japanese breakfast...

Har har.

Ooh ooh. One final thing. I have this hunky oh so hip friend, writer Dennis Mahagin, and he's running a very interesting promotion over at his blog. Go check it out! Here's the link. In case he adds something additional, it's the post dated June 22, 2005 which says "Shhh...". Dennis will probably blush when I say this, but he reminds me very much of a favorite poet of mine, Gregory Corso. Hey, please visit that site as well so you can hang with the cool kids like Dennis and me.

Later,
xo

The Evil Tooth Fairy

Yeah, so the evil tooth fairy took my tooth yesterday and when I felt under my pillow this morning, nothing. All he left me with is a swollen face (again) and an insatiable hunger. I'm allowed nothing but pudding or yoghurt today and woo hoo, tomorrow I get to have warm soft food like a bowl of noodles or oatmeal. Wait, I see I'm allowed a can of fruit cocktail. Huh? When were these instructions written, in 1950?

However, the evil tooth fairy's agent --my oral surgeon -- did give me a prescription for Codeine so that tells you what kind of pain was involved. Now here's something you would have thought I'd have learned by now: Never read the paperwork that comes with your prescription or you will make yourself nuts...or, in my case, even more nuts.

"Codeine can cause drowsiness or hyperactivity".

Okay. Which is it, then? Even in my worst (and much younger) partying days, I only indulged in things of a hyperactive nature for a brief time. A few episodes of my heart skipping a beat and imagined trips to the emergency room where I'd be instantly arrested was enough for me.

Now those drowsy drugs...mmm...but I suffer from insomnia and natural hyperactivity so that's why they used to appeal to me but these days a glass of good wine with dinner is all I really need.

Oh god...dinner.

Sorry. I'm really, really hungry. And I just had to drink a cup of cold coffee because as I said, I'm not allowed anything warm until tomorrow and I'm not willing to have the headache from hell because of no caffeine.

Note to self: Break the coffee addiction once and for all when this is over. Go back to tea. Tea is the new coffee, anyway. I know this is true because In Style Magazine told me so in the oral surgeon's office yesterday.

And what a character my oral surgeon was -- first time I'd ever met him and initially I thought he was kind of scary and then my imagination really took over because what kind of person picks that as his/her career? Day after day of blood and spit flying and people screaming in agony, or, in my case, having a full-fledged panic attack while in the chair.

Yep.

As I sat there trying to absorb all of the information he was throwing me about the tooth, what to expect and having me sign all of those dreaded release papers about jaw deformities and strokes, I had a brief moment of clarity and said to myself "Well, an oral surgeon is nowhere near as bad as a person who decides to be a proctologist" and I calmed myself down.

And then I saw the velcro arm restraints on either side of my chair and frankly, I started to lose it because the surgeon told me he didn't feel it was necessary to put me under, he could probably do it in fifteen minutes with a local...but it would take that long because he fully expected the tooth to break.

Arghhh...

And then he started to sing.

"Oh here comes a little pinch in the cheek la la la and open wide la la la another little one and now a big one LA LA LA on the roof of the mouth doobie doobie doo..."

Okay, like, I never received that much novacaine in my life and then he walked out of the room with the dreaded Terminator line "I'll be back".

One second alone and I realized I couldn't swallow. I was so numb I couldn't feel my tongue or back of my throat and I started gasping for air.

"The stroke...the jaw deformity...Rob...get a grip...deep breaths...you aren't going to choke to death in this dentist's chair anymore than you were going to choke from peanut butter asphyxiation in your Neil Gaiman dream."

So I somehow forced my brain back into a happy place thinking of that (ha) and in walked the singing dentist again, this time wheeling in an evil cart of sharp instruments.

"Ready?"

"Gurgle gurgle," I replied and damn it, this really was like my dream of the other night except it was real and what, now I think I'm psychic? Oy.

To be honest, I couldn't feel any pain but then he starts with the singing again "La la la I'm pulling out your tooth bibbity bop bop bop" and I swear, he lifted me three inches off the chair as he yanked.

That's when I had the panic attack.

"Stopppppp..gurgle gurgle...can't...gurgle gurgle...want to be put under...no no no."

Well, I tried, but I was speaking in tongue and he kept on singing and pulling and then out came the tooth and he showed it to me in all its gory glory. Oh my god. Eww!

"Ice on your face as soon as you get home, Advil, Codeine, nothing but pudding/yoghurt for 36 hours blah blah blah..."

Got home, did as he said, but as soon as that novacaine wore off, I started howling.

I took the damn Codeine even though it was 50-50 I'd have the preferred reaction.

You know I'm not that lucky.

Midnight I was still up with my heart pounding in my ears and now I was really screwed because I couldn't have a glass of wine because it said in huge letters on my prescription bottle DO NOT TAKE WITH ALCOHOL.

Now. I suppose I could have gone by my initial reaction while in dire pain, which was "Oh, this means you need to swallow it with water, not wine, but you can have wine in a few minutes" but I am not a complete idiot so I sat here all night alone with an icebag on my face surfing the net. Half of my family wasn't home and the other half was upstairs snoring but after a while I passed out and this is how they found me this morning:


Yeah, so now we know who really cares about me in this family.

Just kidding. Eric was awesome. Because he was the only one in the family available yesterday, he was the one stuck accompanying me to the great tooth extraction of 2006 and he did a great job of calming me down the whole way home in the cab where I was convinced that underneath the gauze I was chomping on, I was probably hemoraging to death.

Anyway, I have more music and writing news but I seriously need to find something soft and cool to eat so... (Ha ha - I know what you are all thinking -- wash out your brains with soap right now!)

Later,
xo

Dreaming and other cool stuff...

So of course that's Eric Slick on drums and Julie Slick on bass and here's the official Adrian Belew press release on the School of Rock website written by Paul Green:

SCHOOL OF ROCK STUDENTS MAKE GOOD
PGSORM alumni and Uber Rhythm section Eric and Julie Slick have gotten a dream gig-they are now the back up band for guitar legend ADRIAN BELEW! For those who aren't familiar with Adrian, he's a former guitarist for Frank Zappa, David Bowie, and The Talking Heads, as well as the frontman for King Crimson since 1981, not to mention his own fantastic (GRAMMY NOMINATED) solo career. He is also, IMHO, one of the greatest guitarists walking the earth, and a beautiful human being to boot.

Eric and Julie will be joining him for his upcoming tour dates, including Zappanale 2006 (which also features the School of Rock All-Stars.) While on tour, they will also be recording a live album: SIDE FOUR!

To see all of the tour dates for the Adrian Belew Trio, as well as read Adrian's own announcement about Eric and Julie, please check out Adrian Belew's website.

************

Pretty wild, huh?

Actually, I'm so excited let me cut and paste the dates here and yes! I see the Rome, Italy date confirmed and now I can get my act together and see if I can swing the Italy/Amersterdam portion of the tour:

2006 TOUR DATES
●07/06 Music Mill - Indianapolis, IN
●07/07 VPASAC - Springfield, OH
●07/08 Double Door - Chicago, IL
●07/16 Zappanale - Bad Doberan, GER (more)
●07/17 Laghetto Di Villa Ada - Rome, IT
●07/19 De Boederij - Zoetermeer, Netherlands
●07/21 Berg Herzbert - Herzberg, GER
●08/08 B. B. King's House O Blues - NY, NY
●08/09 Stephen Talkhouse - Amagansett, NY
●08/10 Turning Point - Piermont, NY
●08/11 Buffalo Icon - Buffalo, NY
●08/16 Chastain Park - Atlanta, GA

Also, I'm pretty sure August 13 and August 14 are the World Cafe Live in Philadelphia but it's not on their website yet because their webmaster has been on vacation. And I believe they expect to add more shows after the Georgia date...Florida is one possibility.

Okay, on to some writing news. In spite of the tooth from hell and construction next door, I've been on a real tear to finally finish Baby Boomer (and I may change the title yet again but that's the least of my worries) so that I can send out the whole thing before I start bouncing around Europe. Congratulations to Jordan Rosenfeld who also just signed with a new and wonderful agent as did two of my other close friends who are always in the comments section here but since I didn't read it on their respective blogs, I don't want to let the cat out of the bag for either until they are ready.

And please take notice that another one of my great pals Ellen Meister has a brand new website and finally, Amazon put the cover of her new book on their site so now it appears in all its glory on the right hand side here where I have "recommended reading" instead of that sad empty white box that's been there for the past several weeks. I say take this opportunity to pre-order it! Trust me on this, it's an incredible read.

Okay, you know this post so far has been too normal for me, and I can't even believe I'm sharing this because I swore I was going to give the whole Neil Gaiman thing a rest but yeah, it's true -- after writing about him for months and giggling about how adorable he is with my pals, last night I had my first official dream about him. While I was asleep, I mean har har. It's what just woke me up and initially I couldn't make heads or tails of what it means -- which is fine, I worry about people who take dreams too seriously -- but sitting here now and sipping my first cup of coffee of the day I do have a few theories which I'll share at the end of this thing.

But first, remember that I am still on antibiotics and painkillers so my imagination is on overdrive...the tooth from hell gets removed tomorrow which is a whole 'nother story. I'm scared!

Anyway, the dream. I'm sitting in a cafe in Germany with my family -- and that would be my entire family -- Julie, Eric, and yes, even Gary, who, exactly like Neil's Mary, likes to stay in the shadows and hardly ever travels with me except maybe once or twice a year where again, he keeps himself distant from my writing life -- affords me both solitude and freedom to come and go as I please -- hence why the relationship still continues after all of these years. And mutual adoration for Julie and Eric along with all things music of course. (As a side note, because I'm a yenta I freely admit to googling Mary/Gary but I got nothing. Well, in Gary's case that's not entirely true. There is a very staid, academic Dr. Gary Slick who is a doctor/college professor and lives in Oklahoma -- not my Gary for sure, who spent last night hollering at the television and clamoring for a revolution to overthrow the Bush administration and take control of the oil fields. Anyway, even stranger there is yet a third Gary Slick who does the dog show circuit with beagle gundogs. I couldn't resist clicking on Google Images and there he was, Beagle Gary, with a dog that looked exactly like my Monty! They won third place. What's hilarious is that our Monty isn't even a purebred but a mix of beagle and God knows what else but I swear, he's a ringer for the award winner. But as far as Beagle Gary goes, he looks Republican and wears a baseball cap. He raises gundogs for Christ sake. Wait. What is a gundog exactly? I don't think I want to know. For those of you wondering, my Gary has shoulder length hair, a full beard, and plays guitar.)

Okay, I'm digressing for a change. So the four of us are at this little cafe in Germany, and I'm pretty sure it's the restaurant which really exists with the yellow umbrellas outside in Bad Doberan where all the musicians hang during the Zappanale Festival. The waitress hands us menus and none of us could understand anything on them, even Gary, who believe it or not took German in high school because like me, who took Latin, wanted to be "different" and god forbid either of us took anything normal like Spanish. Even in my dream, I knew to warn everyone that we had to be careful of what we ordered because Julie and Eric are both vegetarians now, so that eliminated anything schnitzel-wise but as Gary pointed out, there was nothing schnitzel on the menu, anyway, and were we really sure we were even in Germany? (Another side note: Gary is the one going to Zappanale this year in spite of his hatred of airplanes and I'm incredibly jealous but I've got to stay here and baby-sit the dog. Don't ask. But as I said, I'm obviously going to immediately see about Amsterdam and Italy and a bunch of U.S. dates, too, now that they are official. Gary and I will probably be on planes flying in opposite directions on July 17. And did you ever see anyone digress so much and take so long to just spit out a story? Okay...I promise to just tell the rest of the dream now.)

So...we're sitting there all confused and starving and trying to comprehend the menu when I look up and see with a jolt that Neil Gaiman has joined us. He takes an empty seat next to me and says "Hi" and Julie, Eric, and Gary all said "Hi"...he takes a menu, looks it over, sees our anxious faces, and says "Don't worry...I'll handle this," he said.

"Julie and Eric are vegetarians," I warned him.

"I know. I read your blog," he replied. (Oh please. He probably read it twice and both times caught me gushing about him which wasn't too mortifying and there I go sidetracking the dream again)

So I blushed and could hardly talk at all and Neil says "Relax, Robin, you're part of the family now."

Ha ha - I'm still trying to figure out what that meant. I'm part of my own family now or I'm part of Neil's?

No, it means you are insane, Robin. Continue on with the dream before you lose the rest of your three remaining readers.

So Neil motions the waitress to come over and he speaks to her in some strange, foreign language that sounded more Martian than anything else. She writes down what he says and walks away. Neil looks at us and says "I've ordered us all the same thing. You will absolutely love it."

And then a few minutes later our food is delivered and we look down and we all have four huge black bowls (ha...a little Neil/Robin dining attire thrown in) filled to the top with peanut butter and milk. I'm totally serious. It was like two scoops of Skippy Extra Crunchy swimming in milk, as if it were cold cereal or something. And we all just kind of stared at each other and then at Neil, who was happily spooning the stuff into his mouth so naturally I took the first spoonful on behalf of the Slick family, my family followed suit and from that moment on, none of us could talk because the peanut butter was totally stuck to the roofs of our mouths and had rendered us all mute.

And that's when I woke up, gasping for air, and when I realized I wasn't dying of peanut butter suffocation I started laughing out loud and went downstairs to write this up before I forgot the details.

I am sure dream analysts could have a field day with me but as I sit here now, I've just come up with five explanations on my own:

(1) The dream means that in reality, I have a terrible longing to return to my childhood and peanut butter sandwiches and big glasses of cold milk were a part of that. Also, I know that Neil writes childrens' books;
(2) I am very worried that Julie and Eric aren't getting proper nutrition since they've decided to be vegetarians but that doesn't explain Neil Gaiman at our table unless I just wanted him there to look at;
(3) I really want to go to Zappanale and I'm pissed that I can't because Gary is and someone has to stay home and take care of the dog. That doesn't explain Neil Gaiman at our table, either, unless I just wanted him there to look at;
(4) I am a complete lunatic who is even being badgered by my sleeping sub-conscious to shut up by attempting to glue my tongue to the roof of my mouth;
(5) All of the above.

And now with this post I realize that I've probably finally given my Gary his first real Google listing. He would be extremely annoyed if he knew but he won't find out unless someone tells him. He never goes anywhere near a computer unless he absolutely must and considers the internet and most modern technology the Mother/Father of All Evil and the death of true creativity.

Ho ho. Not me. Give me anything electronic with either a battery and/or a plug and I can guarantee you I'll find happiness.

Later,
xo

I Did Warn You That He Is A God...

"You didn't mention that he was a complete and utter pain in the arse, though."

Ha ha - hardly. So I will spare you all the gory details of the last few days and focus on the way cool stuff instead. A couple of days ago when I blogged the whole sad story of my infected tooth, I was completely freaked out to receive an e-mail from Neil Gaiman Himself along with this..ahem...previously unpublished devil-eyed photo as bribery to get to a hospital or at least let him know that I was on the mend. Right. Like I would ever say no to Neil.

(And I finally learned the secret of uploading a photo to blogger so that when you click on it, the photo goes full size so if you want to really swoon, click away...)

Actually, dire pain and fear of death led me back to bed and conferring with the dentist again after which I am now happy to report that I am home and the infection and fever are gone from my body...just not the area of the tooth itself which alas must be extracted on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. Root canal is no longer an option because I was such an idiot but okay, I admit it, I'm relieved about that. Then woo hoo, I get to spend another week or two on antibiotics recovering. Luckily, it's the back tooth so my perfect beauty will not be ruined. Oh god. That's the pain pills talking, trust me. Anyway, I should (but won't) post a photo of the new, improved skinny me as a result of not being able to eat solid food for a week...right now I am sitting here in bed wearing a pair of size ten jeans "just because" even though I'd be way more comfortable in pajamas.

So speaking of Neil Gaiman and how cool he is, I recently read an interview in which he was asked "What is your greatest achievement?" and he replied "My children."

No wonder his fans love him the way they do. And of course my answer would have been exactly the same.

Because really, the true silver lining of this tooth debacle and being bedridden at home is that Julie and Eric have been rehearsing non-stop for the up-coming Adrian Belew tour and I am their ecstatic audience. They've got the CD from their rehearsals with him down in Nashville last month (which I totally confess to downloading on my iPod and have been listening to whenever they aren't rehearsing) and they've been playing along. First of all, what a freaking awesome set list. It spans Adrian's career. Secondly, I am just blown away by my kids' talent. I've been turning off all sound in my room and opening the door so I can hear every note and it's like I'm living in some kind of wonderful musical fantasy world. Yep, I admit it -- I am the luckiest woman in the universe right now, wonky tooth and all.

I'm plotting and planning to see if I can make their show in Amsterdam in July. I've never been there and well, you know, I'm a natural for that place. They're also playing in Italy but that date isn't confirmed yet so I can't schedule a flight but I understand the Amsterdam and Italy dates are a few days apart so it would be amazing if I could attend both. But if I can't manage it, there's always the midwest U.S. shows in early July and of course the east coast swing in August -- I'll post the entire tour schedule as soon as it's complete but there's a partial up on Pollstar.

And finally, if you don't understand the heading of this post or the subsequent quote beneath, do yourself a HUGE favor and treat yourself to Mr. Gaiman's Anansi Boys. Hey, I'll even provide you with the Amazon link. You will not be sorry - it was my one of my favorite books of 2005 and I was fortunate enough to have read it while traveling through England by train last October which was the coolest thing ever. I was reading one particular chapter while on the train to Newcastle and I looked up and saw the most beautiful double rainbow. And then in January when Neil was in Philadelphia, I got the book autographed and got to meet him and oh god...

Okay, enough. It's all in good fun.

Meanwhile, this you can't believe but knowing me, you probably will. While I was in the middle of writing this post last night and was about three-quarters of the way finished, I received a second e-mail from Neil because I'd written back to him and asked if it was okay to post the above pic he sent me on my blog and obviously he said okay. Sigh...what a guy. He really does have a generous heart. Anyway, I use AOL mail so I heard "You've Got Mail" as I was writing this. When I saw who it was from, I got so excited that I closed my Firefox browser so I could read it instead of merely minimizing the screen. Unfortunately, Firefox was what I was using to type this entry and I lost the entire post. I just stared at the screen numbly in disbelief because in almost two years of blogging that's the very first time that's ever happened to me. I tried the "recover post" thing but because I'd closed the browswer altogether without saving anything I wrote, there was nothing to recover.

Anyway, I did the best I could this morning to try and reconstruct what I wrote last evening but damn it, I know I'm missing some of my best material. Have I mentioned what a dork I am?

Later,
xo