Adrian Belew Trio on Tour -- Germany!

A considerably younger Julie Slick performing at Zappanale 14 with her even younger brother Eric on drums in the background.

ETA: For those who are asking, no, sadly there will be no webcast from Germany this year...see my reply to David in the comments section of yesterday's post. Also, please continue to check up on Eric's Phildelphia Inquirer tour blog -- he does have internet access in Bad Doberan and will be updating today/tomorrow.

So...for the first time, like, EVER? I am home alone here while Julie, Eric and their father are in Europe for ten days (Gary a bit less) on the Adrian Belew Tour. They are currently having the best time of their lives at Zappanale 17.

Um, would it be horrible of me to say what fun I'm having, too? Ha! It's kind of a lost weekend right now -- about 12 hours of writing per day followed by lots of good wine and strangely healthy food because I've been ordering in and having things delivered such as stir fried tofu with fresh vegetables. (Yes, I know. I plead temporary insanity to the tofu. Note to self: At least order shrimp tonight, or better yet, venture out and get yourself some awesome sushi).

For those who don't know my history -- here is the quick abridged version. Gary and I were married at 18 and I wasn't even pregnant (ha ha, though even at that young, naive age I could see everyone in attendance at the wedding checking out my belly) because I was never what you'd call ultra skinny and the fact I wasn't wearing white but I was a die hard hippie who wore a long blue granny dress (remember those?) which I'm sure added to the speculation. In true flower child style, I even had a Christ-like crown of thorns...I mean roses...in my hair. When my mom died, Gary and I became legal guardians of my younger brother David until he went off to college, and shortly thereafter, missing David so much, I got pregnant with Julie and fifteen months later Eric was born.

So yeah, I don't know what it's like to live alone. While I'm selfishly digging it now, I must admit I don't know how I'd feel about it in the long run. I'm having trouble sleeping, I'm hearing all kinds of strange noises, and holy shit, all the errands in this place are falling solely on my shoulders, like walking the dog three times a day (and of course this is the week we're having a 100 plus degree heat wave), and you should have seen my face yesterday when I realized we were out of both toilet paper and bottled water -- I'm quite positive that drinking Philadelphia water from the tap will mean instant death. Because the State of Pennsylvania does not want me ever driving again, this meant a four block walk to the store, and I figured I'd stock up on supplies, forgetting that I'd have to walk home carrying it. Arghh...I got a gallon of water and 2% milk as well as some fruit and veggies. What the hell was I thinking? I had to put the bags down every few steps -- it was like walking with 100 pound weights.

I've also noticed that with no one here, I've been talking out loud to myself. A lot.

Hahahaha - but on the plus side, I've written close to 10,000 words, the feeling of "freedom" is glorious, and while I wait to hopefully hear from someone in my family via international phone I found the following in guitarist great Robert Fripp's diary:

13.34:

Bredonborough,

The Minx took Director Bill to Bredonborough Station for his 10.53 train to London & two shows with Minus Five … before driving on to Nottingham & rehearsals as Cruella de Vil…

Have sent Ade some suggestions for the ProjeKct Five debut on July 28th. at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville.

18.35 Called & spoke to Ade, just arrived back from the debut gigs with his new band. Adrian is psyched to the max with it, and looking forward to his other new band – P6 – Fripp & Adrian.

21.15 Practising practising.
*****

Okay, let me translate this diary entry for those of you who may not be in the know.

Robert Fripp is of course the original guitarist in King Crimson. Please click on that link and read and you'll see that "Ade", or Adrian Belew joined the band in 1981. Robert lives in Bredonborough, UK, the "minx" is his beautiful wife, and he keeps a (mostly) daily diary over at DGM Live. It's quite interesting and full of awesome photos taken by Robert himself.

Robert and Adrian now have a side band known as "ProjeKt 5" and just as Ade, Julie and Eric return from Europe, Robert will be flying down to Ade's house in Nashville for a ProjKect 5 or is that 6 -- now I'm confused -- concert on July 28 where Ade plays drums and Robert plays guitar.

Okay, did you notice what Robert also says in his diary?

"Called & spoke to Ade, just arrived back from the debut gigs with his new band. Adrian is psyched to the max with it..."

Oh my god. His new band. That would be Julie and Eric Slick.

It's kind of hard not to fantasize about the four of them jamming together but most likely everyone will be too exhausted for that and I've heard nothing that it's even being discussed, but a girl can dream.

I'm still hyperventilating over Robert's remark that "Adrian is psyched to the max" playing with J&E.

Heart be still. I'm not completely sure about this, but I think Julie and Eric will meet Robert at Adrian's house when they get back from Europe before they return to Philly for a few days (yes! yes! yes!) for some r&r before the first show on the east coast swing, B.B. Kings in New York City on August 8, 2006 - and if you want to come out and see an amazing, amazing show and meet me so you can see what I look like reduced to a wobbly mess of tears, you can purchase your tickets right here.

One final note which is a bit distressing but I hope I'm just being paranoid: I may have jumped the gun reporting on the Philadelphia show. I heard for sure it was a go but it's still not on the World Cafe Live calendar so until I see it, I'm afraid to broadcast it any further.

Anyway, the dog is looking at me with his big brown eyes which means it's time for yet another walk and I just remembered another one of my "chores"...I'd better get my watering bucket out and take care of all of the flowers in my boxes and garden before they wither away in this heat.

Oy. I'm such a princess.

You know what I really need right now? A Fabulous Lorraine like Neil Gaiman has.

Oh man, speaking of Neil and speaking of sushi, now that I know how to post photos so that you can click on them and enlarge them, this one definitely deserves a re-post:


What's that? I'm not a jet setting best seller author like Neil?

Hahahaha - well, maybe if I had an assistant...

But I don't. So it's off to walk the dog, water the flowers, and write, write, write...after which I will happily consume a bottle of fine wine with...tada...sushi from a great restaurant I just this minute discovered delivers!

Ah. Life is good.

Later,
xo

Real quick...

Eric sent me an e-mail telling me he's updated his tour blog for the Philadelphia Inquirer just now. Here's the link!

Adrian Belew Power Trio on Tour - departure for Europe

Julie Slick and Adrian Belew on stage in Springfield, Ohio

Okay, so I'm all alone here because the family has left for the European leg of the Adrian Belew Power Trio tour and I'm getting through it by pulling a writing marathon -- I made a firm commitment yesterday to send a finished, edited version of Baby Boomer out by the end of the month and I'm actually very calm about it because I work best under pressure and with no one home, I can really lose myself in the writing. There's nothing quite like that for me -- it's such a natural high. I'll start at 5:00 a.m. and the next thing I know it's dark outside and I look at the clock and somehow an entire day has passed. I know I must have taken bathroom breaks or grabbed a handful of raisins somewhere along the line but mainly I am shocked how fast the hours pass when I'm working on something I truly love.

Anyway, one final writing note -- I was solicited by a brand new magazine which looks absolutely awesome. It's called Greatest Uncommon Denominator, it will be published twice a year, has a more than interesting "we pay our writers" policy for its contributors, and it's got 200 pages of content. So I wrote back and told them I didn't have any new short fiction at the moment but I asked if I could do an interview or review (or both) and they took me up on my offer so guess what -- I get to do a review of Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things when it's released and I told them I'd also interview the Adrian Belew Power Trio. They wrote me back totally stoked! Of course it's going to be hard to be objective...

But I'll try. Ha.

So in celebration of that, this is for Susan Henderson, who just got back from Africa and I'm hoping this will lure her to my comments section and she can share at least one story from her trip:

I know, Sue, I know. He's so beautiful it hurts.

And speaking of Adrian Belew...

Oh.My.God.

Take a look at his updated website. I almost had a coronary when I saw that yesterday. Cool, huh?

And Eric updated his blog, which can be found right here on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer on line.

As I mentioned yesterday, I got some more great reviews on the Belew shows and the following is by Rena Fay, who also took the photo posted above:

"Short story --

WOW!! The shows were stellar!! Adrian, Julie and Eric really had a great time!

Longer version --

Highly anticipating the shows, I took my 'tour set' disc on the trip with me and listened to it repeatedly on the drive up to Indy. I was so ready!

It was a beautiful day, as the humidity was low after the downpour of rain they had on the 4th of July -- just what this California native needed. Hey, it's too freakin' hot with that humidity. I don't know how they do it. I arrived in Indy, realized that I had no idea where the show actually was, so I made my way off on Market Street and followed it downtown to a beautiful flowing fountain - a monument of some sort. I'm forced onto a one-way street heading north and about 10 blocks up, I cross 10th Street, so I know I'm in route, with only 80 blocks to go! Arriving at the venue, I sit outside for a few on the phone. Meanwhile, a car with a couple of guys inside pulls up, only to bump into the front of the rental car. Yes, of course I had declined the insurance. I always decline the insurance!

I go inside where my idea of standing in front of Adrian is immediately crushed. There are fold-up chairs, about 300 of them in rows, starting a good 4 feet back from the stage. The room is a large black box with a very high ceiling and right away I see j.sewell and his lady setting up to video (hi you two.) After saying hello, I take a seat in the 1st row and within a minute The Residents start playing, making this kid feel right at home (thanks Ken!) Scoping out the stage, I decide to make my way to the other side of the room, closer to Adrian seat. It was hard to sit in my seat. I was so anxious that I could hardly sit still.

The show opens with Graham Elvis - a very trippy dude to say the least!! "THAT'S RIGHT NOW!!"

The Belew Power Trio take the stage and open with Writing on the Wall. Adrian was very proud of his new team and it really showed. As soon as the song ended, an admiring audience member commented on "the beautiful bass player" causing Julie to smile and blush for the first of several times. Next came Dinosaur with a different arrangement for the drums, much faster than usual. Let me stop here for a second and say to Robin -- OMG! I don't want to sound repetious, but your kids can ROCK! Eric is one of the fastest drummers I've seen. His drumming on & was my favorite. The part that comes after the double beat was amazingly fast. His bass kicks were out of league with anything else. Wow! And Julie's playing is so smooth! She makes it look like it's the easiest thing. Her fingers just float across her bass strings! After the first couple songs, Adrian, like a proud papa, introduced them to us, and the whole place rose to a standing ovation! He is truly proud to have them on the tour! And again, the admiring audience member makes another comment on Julie's beauty and abilities...much to her embarrassment. The show continued with Young Lion, Beat Box and Matchless Man and Adrian comments on the enthusiasm of the crowd and gives thanks to the crowd for making a Thursday night in Indy most memorable. The place really loved it! The killer set continued with a very Dark Shadow-y version of Madness then Julie and Eric left the stage. Adrian took a seat to play Drive mixed with Within You Without You then Lone Rhino, turning it into a sing-along with the audience!!! Julie and Eric returned and played another long set including I Remember How To Forget, where Adrian, towards the end,looked over toward Eric and while laughing said, "I almost did forgot the ending." (It sounded just perfect to me.)

The first encore -- Frame by Frame / Three of A Perfect Pair was awesome. It sounded quite different than KC or other solo Adrian I've heard. They returned to a final encore of Elephant Talk and Thela, where by this time I was dancin' with some chick on the side of the room away from the fold-up chairs. We had a blast!

Adrian had a line for signatures about 50 deep. Eric and Julie were surrounded by people asking for autographs as well (yeah Robin, look for picture of that to come your way soon.) They were very cool to talk to and they told me, I think it was Eric, that they love their mommy very much! :-) I gave away stickers and talked to Adrian and friends for quite a while before driving back for some much needed sleep. I was happy that Martha was there! :)

Here's the setlist --

Writing on The Wall
Dinosaur
&
Young Lion
Beat Box Guitar
Matchless Man
Madness
Drive -> **
Within You Without You -> **
Lone Rhino **
Bow & Drum
Big Electric Cat
I Remember How To Forget

Encore 1:
Frame By Frame
Three of A Perfect Pair

Encore 2:
Elephant Talk
Thela Hun Ginjeet

** Adrian Solo

*****
Hey, thanks for that, Rena. That was awesome of you to send me and I'll be posting more of your photos in the future.

Anyway, I'm incredibly bummed that there will be no webcast from Zappanale this year but I guess it's just as well -- I need to finish editing my book.

And that's what I'm off to do now.

Later,
xo

I interrupt this broadcast of the daily Adrian Belew Power Trio Tour report for some...gasp...writing news!

Ha ha - yeah, that's me again at the Zappanale Festival in Bad Doberan, East Germany (with some strange guys looking on)...where...sob...everyone in my family will be this week except me. However, it has recently come to my attention that Dubya will be there, too! Oh my god. Most people have never heard of Bad Doberan...now you're going to be reading/hearing about it ad nauseam on Thursday when Bush arrives for a worldwide summit. 15,000 FBI and military are also attending. I told Julie and Eric's father to make sure he wears nice underwear for his strip search at the airport. And there goes the hash tent!

Just kidding, just kidding.

But if I see a picture of Dubya with that bust of Zappa that's it...I'm gonna have to kill myself.

And wait...I do have music news, but just two quick things:

(1) Eric's Adrian Belew Tour blog for the Philadelphia Inquirer can now be accessed daily at www.phillynews.com and it looks so cool on their front page...have a click and see (though he hasn't updated since yesterday but will do so by the end of today)

(2) I was watching a You Tube of Eric on tour playing drums with Project Object back in May and it's so damn good I'm posting the link again here. For some unknown reason, the guy who put it up removed the imbedded version so you'll have to click on the link but trust me, it'll be worth your time.

Soo...I have way cool stuff to report -- if you are me, that is -- as concerns the writing world.

First of all, I have to publish this as I received it -- it's got to be one of the most enjoyable acceptance letters I've ever received as concerns one of my short stories:

Robin Slick,

Good News! I am pleased greatly by your fictional "Interception" and shall publish it upon our Poor Mojo's Almanac(k). It shall be displayed within the next few weeks (bearing to mind that new material is posted every Thursday at 4:00am EST.) Thus, it may behoove you to keep an eye out for it on the site. If you are ever in San Francisco, CA or Ann Arbor, MI, contact us poste haste; we owe you a beer (or comparable soft beverage of your choosing)-- a social engagement which I will likely relegate to one of my several sub-editors (I have few stray moments for beverage imbibing-- a squid's work is never done.).

Additionally, neglect not the enhanced remuneration plan: If you have five pieces published with us and have not retrieved a beer (or soft beverage), than you can exchange those promised beers for one t-shirt. This t-shirts are most appropriate to two-torso-limbed writers of the medium, large or extra-large variety, in either male or female flavor.

But wait! There is more! At year's end (or, to speak with precision, after the publication of issue #250) I shall randomly select a piece displayed upon he site within the last 50 issues, and award its author . The first annual Poor Mojo's Bonanza of one-hundred American dollars was awarded to r.wade for her "Your Librarian Hates You!" (PMjA Issue #146, http://www.poormojo.org/cgi-bin/gennie.pl?Rant+146+bi) and the second to Jonathan Hayes for his "Chicken Poem" (PMjA #164, http://www.poormojo.org/cgi-bin/gennie.pl?Poetry+164+bi). Hearty congratulations ring the globe, and their destination is r.wade and Mr. Hayes! Since I shall randomly select among pieces published, the more pieces of yours we display, the greater your chances of acquiring those U.S. dollars, which may be exchange for goods and services throughout the Colonies. Let us call this "the PMjA Bonanza."

So, to enshorten an already lengthy tale, you might want to consider submitting more scribblings.

Of course, any physical remuneration is in addition to all-encompassing, world-wide fame and Glory stretching infinitely both backward and forward in time-- you shall still doubtless receive such as that.

All for the Best in the Best of All Possible Worlds,
The Giant Squid
Editor-in-Chief
PMjA

Ha! Is that great or what? I may just take him up on that offer of a beer if the Adrian Belew Power Trio does in fact tour the west coast in November and I manage to make a show or two.

Next, my two novels, Three Days in New York City and Another Bite of the Apple are reviewed here and here.

I'm way too excited so I can't help it, I've got to post a portion of each. The first is from the review of Three Days:

"...When I read a story about a woman that has as much weakness as strength (a little bit like me), I am immediately delighted. To see that the heroine can show that she is as white as black, and all grey in between means that I will enjoy my reading experience. Which I did, with Three days in New York City.

Ms. Slick is a serious and enthralling storyteller that cooked us, just like her character Rob, a perfect story with enough love, passion, sex, friendship and. life! Writing about real life can sometime be a challenge. Finding the right words or right expressions to tell a living truth takes a lot of talent. For those of us who are realistic but like to read a remarkable good story, Three days in New York City is the book!"

And this next one is from the review of Another Bite of the Apple:

"...How can I not applaud Ms. Slick's work? I find again one of my favorite heroines and she is still less than perfect, which is perfect for me! The dialogues were more than well written, so well in fact that I had to read twice (made that three times!) Elizabeth's conversations with her ex, Glen and then with her son, James! Ms. Slick knows her way around words. She uses them in a way that I love to see! Thumbs up for you, Ms.Slick!

Now, about my reading experience, ask me if I laughed? Yes, I did (in the public bus! Imagine that!). If my attention was solely absorbed by my reading? Oh yes! If I want more? Oh yes!"

Okay, yep, I'm really stoked because I don't know this reviewer personally (nor did I pay her anything to write these, I swear!) -- her name is Anne Chaput -- nor was I familiar with the wonderful website, Sensual Ecata Romance, until she sent me a heads up email yesterday. Anne, seriously, thank you so much time for the time and effort you put into these reviews. I had goose bumps reading them.

So that's it for today (I think, anyway)...my family is off to Europe and I'm wondering how I'm going to spend the next week here all by myself. Har har. I don't know what to do or what not to do first.

(But of course since preparing this blog post I just received three more stellar reviews of the Adrian Belew Power Trio on tour so who knows, I may come back with a new blurb later this afternoon or save it for tomorrow.)

Later,
xo

Adrian Belew Power Trio on tour - Night Three

Adrian Belew on stage July 7, 2006

Man, I have a lot to talk about today. Go get a cup of coffee or tea or something and come back.

Just kidding. But it might not be a bad idea.

So first things first. Eric is blogging about the Adrian Belew Power Trio tour for the Philadelphia Inquirer and here's the link. After today, you will be able to access Eric's blog by simply going to www.phillynews.com but of course I'll put a permanent link up on the right hand side here and remind you constantly (ha) when that happens. I know he's my son, but I really like the way Eric writes. Hey, that could be his back-up plan if he doesn't make it as a musician.

Har har.

Second, I've been reading/receiving some incredible reviews of the Chicago shows.

Andrew Hester had this to say:

"I was there, and it was an excellent show. The Crimson tunes rocked harder with his new trio than they had previously on last year's tour, with more standard arrangements in use similar to the original album cuts. For example, he did not do that unusual rearrangement of Frame By Frame he was doing last year. Also, there were fewer musical and technical issues in general. Adrian really seemed to stretch out and and just jam a bit more than in the past with some extended soloing on his part. He seemed to be having a lot of fun, and so did the rest of us in the room!

The new rhythm section, Julie & Eric Slick, were very tight, and they both displayed some impressive technique and taste to excellently complement Adrian's spastic alien at the zoo nuttiness.

The bass was more classic bottom end and in the pocket then we had grown used to with Mike Gallaher and his jazz guitar chops and octave pedal. This resulted in a more cohesive and solid performance overall. Less overtly flashy & cluttered, Julie's tasty & tasteful improvised fills added quite a few nice surprises at several unexpected moments. Excellent stuff!

The drumming was equally impressive, and, at times, explosive. Eric seemed to add a bit of intensity and urgency to the music that brought a certain youthful freshness to some very familar music to my ears.

Close to the end of the show, at some point, Adrian mentioned how he'd like to hold on to his new bandmates for a while (I can't remember his exact words). I hope he does."

Wow. Thanks for that awesome review, Andrew. And yeah, I hope he holds on to his new bandmates, too. xo
*****

Over on the Planet Crimson forum board, here's what they're saying about Chicago:

Adrian Belew @ Double Door, Chicago, 08 July 2006

Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 1:05 pm
"Great show. Adrian was at his playful best, and the Slick (sp?) siblings were right with him. The bassist was very good, but she really let her hair down only during the encores ("Elephant Talk" and "Thela"), where she managed to play all those Levin stick parts on a standard bass guitar. I really really really liked the drumming, though; Eric worked extremely hard during the night, but always kept it dynamic and stayed far away from sounding mechanical, all while throwing slightly exhausted smiles and grins towards his sister and Adrian. Ade himself amazed, especially since this was the first time I saw him without KC. With all his gadgets, he's a one-man band himself and played two songs ("Lone Rhinoceros" and another one I couldn't name) solo, looping rhythm guitar parts and soloing over them; no need for bass and drums there, then. Smile Don't ask me about a set-list, though, since I only know the Side One stuff and random other pieces that stuck in my mind...

Overall, lots of smiles were thrown across the stage tonight, which for me is a good sign of a band having fun together. As a power trio, they've got enough power to do a few albums, and I do hope Adrian is going to ask them to participate in studio projects once this tour is done..."
*****
Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 2:23 am
"I agree with Nadim on all points: Adrian was absolutely smoking throughout; by the end he was soaked in his sweat. I really need to check out Side 2 (thanks for direction L.Ray) and probably go to 3 and 1 from there. Some of the best solo-Belew I've heard.

Crimson: Dinosaur was the second song. (Again, truely, best version I've heard--I never liked this song much until last night.)

Last two songs of the set: Frame by Frame and Three of a Perfect Pair.

Encore: Elephant Talk and Thela

It's a good thing they did these last 4 at the end, as even the 19 year old looked exhausted--and with good reason. Smile..."
*****
Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 6:16 pm

"What Nadim and Michael said - A great show...

I believe this show was a few notches above last year’s show at Park West with the Mikes. This was only the third show for this line-up. The two Slick siblings add great energy, solidness, and playfulness to Adrian’s show. Eric’s drumming is solid, playing on a 4 piece set with double bass pedal on a few songs (like “&”). Julie’s bass playing was great and I too was amazed at her playing of the stick parts from ET and Thela on a 4 string.

Set list as I remember it:
Ampersand
Dinosaur
Writing on the Wall
Beat Box Guitar
Young Lions
Of Bow and Drum
Drive
Matchless Man
Madness
Big Electric Cat
I Remember How to Forget
Frame by Frame
Three of a Perfect Pair
Elephant Talk
Thela Hun Ginjeet

The set list was similar to last year’s show. “Dinosaur” was done without the cool middle section (but we get a taste of that at the end of “I Remember…”). I was glad to hear “Beat Box Guitar” as it had been stuck in my head all day as Jason and I made our way around Chicago. “Drive and Matchless Man” were played solo with looped rhythm parts. “Madness” surprised me again as it did last year. The recording is always difficult for me to sit through some times but the live version just blows me away everytime. Julie and Eric really laid out a funky base for Adrian to get crazy over. The last four Crimson songs were played amazingly. I couldn’t decide who to keep my eyes on, Eric for seeing how he adapted Bruford’s parts, Julie for how she took on Tony’s parts or Adrian for how he played his and Fripp’s parts..."
*****
Okay, I'm happy now. Man, this is intense, reading all this about J&E. I admit it, I'm getting the chills.
*****
On the Primus forum board:

"Amazing. I never heard the Double Door roar so much after each song and you can tell the 2 School of rock kids were having a blast playing w/ Adrian and Adrian having even a better time playing w/ them.

And Julie Slick, the bassist was hot.....and very much talented"

"Julie Slick on bass is a goddess and rips on bass and her brother Eric on drums needs to join a speed metal band as his double bass and insane cymbol work would fit in perfectly.

All of Adrians songs had a really heavy fast feeling to them w/ them backing. Total amazment."

"Julie and Eric Slick were much better than Les and Danny on all the L.A.D. tunes"

"I'm telling ya the show was fuckin phenomenal the other nite."
*****
Continuing on, here's what Clint had to say in his blog:

"2 days later

I'm still wowed by the show Saturday evening.

Just incredible.

...Then Adrian came on stage with his new Power Trio - backed by the Slicks, Julie and Eric. On the second song, "Dinosaur", the crowd really started getting into the music. I, however, had a brief moment of deja vu. In 2001 at the Chicago Theater, King Crimson played. On the second song, Adrian Belew lost his voice. The rest of the 2 hour set was totally instrumental. The second song was, you guessed it, "Dinosaur". However, his voice stayed firm and he brought the house down with several tracks from his recent three albums, several Crimson songs - including a thank you to Andreas Kapsalis by playing "Frame by Frame", and even a couple of the "classic" Belew tracks from "Op Zop Do Wah". I have to say that I was very impressed with his bassist and drummer. Despite their age - 20 and 19, respectively - they had great poise and commanded the audience's attention during their solo portions of various KC songs (songs written with very specific musicians in mind - Tony Levin, for instance).

What really wrapped up the performance for me was the energy and pure joy that came off the stage during the performance. Adrian Belew is a man who loves what he does and there is no mistaking it. The audience couldn't help but be wrapped up in the music and whisked away for 90 minutes. He wasn't there to converse with the audience, he was there to perform his craft (even said early in the show "You know how much I like being here, so let's get on with the music.").

I left the venue with a signed copy of "Side One". Definitely one of those more memorable experiences."
*****
Finally, my good pal Andrew Greenaway, a/k/a the Idiot Bastard, has a photo and some cool links up on his website including some new press releases for the Zappanale festival in Bad Doberan, East Germany later this week, which of course Adrian and J&E are headlining.

So did I mention how happy I am?

Later,
xo

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