What the F*ck Is Up With Eric Slick?

Another cool pre Gaiman haircut Eric I found on the desktop just now (Eric! Please share these cool photos with your mother so I don't have to snoop around! If you have any more, throw me a bone and email them to me, will you? Ha.)

From the brilliant Mike Keneally's MySpace blog:

"And to those of you who made it to the electric gig in St. Louis, I know you share my sentiments, in fact you virtually mouth along with me, "what the fuck is up with Eric Slick? How can he possibly be that cool and amazing?" Not only did he learn all of my shit, he MEMORIZED it in a month and played it all without charts at the gig and ate it and smiled. Beller and I were astonished. BB and Slick and myself ran around under the St. Louis arch the night before the gig and it rained down its magical archy mojo on us. I figured that the shared experience would cause us to play 6% better at the show, but I'm upgrading my estimate to 14% because it was just that good. Many love bubbles floated to Dan Kinney for making the gig happen and to Fazio's for the use of the rockin' gear we used."

That just made me really smile.

Here's something that decidedly did NOT make me smile -- a forwarded e-mail I received from my fellow Frank Zappa fan Dave down in Florida:

"Dear David,

This week something truly incredible happened.

When we first walked into the office Monday morning, everything seemed totally normal. We talked about our weekend. We talked about the baseball game. And, we went to go get coffee.

But, things were far from normal at a Wal-Mart store near Miami, Florida. At 9 a.m., over 200 employees of that store walked out (the first time in Wal-Mart's history) and protested Wal-Mart's unfair policies which cut their hours and wouldn't let them tend to a sick child.

These courageous workers not only got their hours restored, but demonstrated why it is so important for us to build public pressure on Wal-Mart to change into a responsible, moral employer.

Sadly, though, while Wal-Mart's own employees were protesting how bad conditions have become, Wal-Mart's executives in Bentonville were planning a full-scale attack on Democratic leaders who have called on Wal-Mart to treat its employees better.

Wal-Mart's planned attacks are a disgrace and, on behalf of those 200 employees in Florida and every hard-working American, we are not going to sit back and let Wal-Mart try and "Swift Boat" real leaders so that it can continue to mistreat its employees, eliminate health care options, ship American jobs overseas, oppose a living wage, and even lobby against strengthening America's national security.

Please check out our new TV ad and send it to at least 5 friends:

Video Clip

Starting Monday, October 23rd, we are launching a major new voter education campaign because we think every American needs to know that when you shop at Wal-Mart you are helping George Bush and the right wing take America in the wrong direction.

Why?

Because, Wal-Mart has contributed 80% of its campaign money to George Bush and right-wing politicians, and Wal-Mart supports a political agenda that hurts hard-working families.

This isn't about whether you are a Democrat or a Republican. This is about whether or not you are going to allow a big, powerful corporation like Wal-Mart to use our democracy against the best interests of the American people.

While Wal-Mart's political agenda may be good for Wal-Mart's rich executives and George Bush, it is bad for hard-working families and America. But, this Election, with over 278,000 supporters, we have the power to stop Wal-Mart's right wing agenda and turn the frown upside down.

Go to TurnTheFrownUpsideDown to learn more.

Thank you for all that you do,

The WakeUpWalMart.com Team"

Now you know this is what I've been saying since 2000, when that sick, evil moron stole the election. I refuse to ever set foot in a WalMart again...even if they do offer $10.00 CDs and cheap light bulbs. In fact, their $10.00 CDs, which are under-priced to lure you into their fucking piece of shit store, are the reason several mom and pop CD stores have gone out of business...hell, even Tower Records bit the dust. Yeah, yeah, I know there are those of you will blame downloads, but WalMart and their ilk contributed to the downfall bigtime.

Please, please, please do not forget to vote this November and show our Real Axis of Evil that we don't want his pals in office anymore.

Okay, stepping off my soapbox now, here's what's up for next week:

(1) I have finally broken down and hired an official webmistress to completely overhaul www.robinslick.com and the new site should be ready by next week;

(2) I'm hoping to debut my new book covers here in a couple of days;

(3) Julie and Eric did a PodCast for Krimson News which should also be up very shortly...don't worry...I'll post billboards as soon as it's available;

(4) Julie and Eric along with Sarah Zimmermann, a/k/a the Sarah Zimmermann trio, performed their first gig last night in Philadelphia. I hear it was great but since it was their first time playing together and were a bit nervous, I did them a favor and stayed home but their dad went and said they truly rocked...however, if you are in the New York City area, they will be playing tomorrow night at The New York Knitting Factory -- the show starts at 6:30 p.m. and they'll be performing in Asbury Park, New Jersey at Asbury Lanes on Sunday night at 8:00 p.m.

I also have a lot more music news about my talented duo but I'll be needing their permission to blab it, and since they won't be awake for hours...

This may or may not be it for now. We'll see.

Later,
xo

Odds and Sods for Thursday, October 19

This is the current cover for Three Days in New York City but ta-da, for its release into bookstores all over the world, both Three Days and Another Bite will have brand new spanking covers, which I hope to debut here tomorrow or next week. Julie and I worked out the new design ourselves but both books are now currently in the hands of a professional hired by Mundania...I'm curious to see if she uses our ideas at all or scraps them entirely. In the meantime, I still can't get over this, Three Days in New York City is now #7 best selling at Amazon in Canada? And #93 in the UK?

I am still not recovered from yesterday, the official DAY FROM HELL, which, to make a long story short, stems from my not listening to advice I got over forty years ago: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it. I made fun of someone whom I actually like very much, not knowing that he was anywhere within miles of me...and it turns out he was inches away and overheard the entire conversation. I am so mortified that I hurt this person and worse, that he possibly thinks I don't like him when it couldn't be farther from the truth. I attempted some damage control last night and will continue trying to make it up to him for probably the next six months, but I've learned a valuable lesson here.

Anyway, have you all got a chance to visit my interview over at brilliant author Susan DiPlacido's website? You know, the one where I only mention Neil Gaiman twenty seven times?

I seriously advise you to have a look at Susan's stories and novels while you are there...she is one hell of a writer and it's just a matter of time before she hits the bigtime.

One final note: Please check out Eric Slick, Julie Slick, and Sarah Zimmermann tonight for the debut of the Sarah Zimmermann Trio as follows:

THE BLACK LODGE PRESENTS:
l5O8 Brandywine
Thursday Oct. l9 8pm
The Sarah Zimmermann Trio
Featuring Eric and Julie Slick
With: **PRFSR**DRSZ**
Lithuania
And
Cheers Elephant

Too funny. Eric plays drums with the trio, Prfsr Drsz, Lithuania (a duo compromised of Eric on drums and a fabulous guitarist, Dom L. (cannot spell his lastname) he met while a freshman at University of Arts...and finally, Cheers Elephant features Julie's boyfriend, Matt, on bass, and I've heard their demo CD (recorded by Julie) and it is really something special.

So if you are in the Philly area you can check out these amazing bands for the low, low price of $2.00. Or is that $5.00. I'm not sure. Either way, a true bargain.



Very blurry photo of Eric I took before he caught me and cried out in horror. But the resemblance with that new haircut..hahahaha..it's still cracking me the hell up.



This one he mugged for on purpose. Sheesh. Everyone in this family makes fun of me all the time.

I wonder why.

Later,
xo

Rebel Yell!

So like today was a rough one. I don't want to go into it...there are just some days when you shouldn't even get out of bed and this was one of them. Maybe I'll be able to talk about it tomorrow...but anyway, the one bright spot for October 18, 2006 was that the lovely talented Susan DiPlacido, my fellow finalist in the 2006 USA Best Book Awards, interviewed me today on her blog.

I was brutally honest, I was hopefully witty (ha), and well, I was me.

And I only mentioned Neil Gaiman's name twenty-seven times.

Later (sob...I hope)

xo

Cool News All Around...

So how cool is this. Rebellion: New Voices of Fiction, in which I have a short story, was #1 finalist in the Best Book Awards 2006, Fiction and Literature Anthologies. Which really makes me happy, especially as that is the anthology which includes the short story Daddy Left Me Alone with God...the basis for and name of my current novel.

Here's the official press release, which states, in part:

"“The 2006 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States. As an executive in the publishing PR and marketing industry and president of both USABookNews.com and PubInsider.com, I wanted to create an awards competition that recognized books in their publication year rather than months after the original launch window. With a full publicity and marketing campaign promoting the results of BBA, this year’s winners and finalists will gain additional media coverage for the upcoming holiday retail season.”

Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, Warner Books, New American Library a division of the Penguin Group, Red Wheel Weiser and Conari, New World Library, and hundreds of independent press titles contributed to this year’s outstanding BBA competition. Bowen adds, “BBA’s success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”

Also, my reign as Off Color Empress of Cyberworld (heh) is back on track over at Fictionwise, where yes, yes, Another Bite of the Apple is once again #1 highest rated in erotica.

Here is a fan's review of the Mike Keneally Trio featuring Eric Slick on drums and Bryan Beller on bass, which includes a You Tube of dancing guy (alas he is not dancing for the Keneally Trio in that clip, but rather for the opening band, Fatback). If you click on the link for the review though, not only will you read this woman's gushing comments about the show, you will also see a couple photos of the Keneally Trio on stage.



Speaking of Bryan Beller, I had a really lovely email exchange with him yesterday, and here's a snippet of our conversation:

"Robin-

Hello there, Robin, mother of Eric and Julie, and published erotica authoress. I'm Bryan Beller, bassist and sometimes writer. Nice to meet you. And what a cool life you've got, with such talented kids and an opportunity to engage in the arts yourself.

I have to say that Eric is really, really, really good, and worldly beyond his years. He's also still a kid in all the right ways. Believe you me, when I was 19 I knew less and tried to act older to hide it. No fun. Mike and I had an absolute blast playing him, and we look forward to doing it again...".

As it turns out, Bryan is not only an amazing bass player, he's a very talented writer. He directed me to his on line novella, The Life of Bryan, and I have to say I had an extremely enjoyable time last evening reading this highly compelling and very well written autobiography of a brilliant, sensitive artist torn between the trappings of the corporate world and his music. I was freaking fascinated and could not tear my eyes away from the computer screen. I highly recommend that you have a look...I'm willing to bet that like me you will be sucked in and read the entire thing in one sitting.

And I guess because Bryan and I exchanged the dreaded MySpace stuff (why oh why do I still struggle so with that site...but here's the thing...all of these really cool people keep inviting me to be their friends despite my insistence that I cannot or will not participate...so I'm caving. Big time)...I then got an email from this incredibly cool guy...ha ha...when I just went to collect the link I see my son is one of his friends...Eric, I'm sorry, I promise I will not stalk you around the internet but I can't help it if we have the same musical taste...anyway, here's what he wrote to me as well:

"Thank you so much for trusting me with your son over the past weekend. Eric is a special kid like no other I have ever met. His enthusiasm is unbeleivable.And his playing, words can not describe. He will be a giant at some point. I hope I helped. You can tell he has wonderful parents. I should know I am trying to raise two children in this crazy business as well. Again thank you, and if there is anything I can ever do to help please feel free to call.

Dan Kinney
Sound Mind Productions
(Off Broadway Promoter)
1906 McCausland
Saint Louis, Mo. 63117"

And if that wasn't enough, Steve Vai's brilliant keyboard player, Chris Opperman, had this to say in his My Space Blog last night:

"Monday, October 16, 2006

Waiting for the Charles....

Hello, hello.

I'm feeling quite cheerful and I have a few extra moments to spare, so I thought I'd say hello. Just had a nice conversation with Mike Keneally (he had a great time playing with Eric Slick in St. Louis) and I'm really looking forward to his show in San Diego Saturday. He's performing an entirely improvised set with Scott Thunes, whom I've never gotten to see perform live before, so that'll be pretty exciting, and the drive to San Diego will be nice.

Right now I'm waiting for playwright Andy Mitton to arrive. We're going to hopefully finish "The Charles River Love Song" tonight so I can arrange it for the Halloween show, which is coming up like a freight train. We have so much new music to learn for it (and which I have to finish writing all the charts for) that I'm feeling a little overwhlemed.

Went to Largo Friday night and saw Sean & Sara Watkins w/Jon Brion, Gillian Welch, Benmont Tench, and a bunch of other people. Every time I see Benmont perform it always makes me go home and practice for like 8-10 hours because he's just such a great player with the kind of instinct that only comes from someone who is constantly practicing and perfecting their craft. It was actually one of the most amazing shows I've ever seen. By the end of the show, I really thought that ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING could happen. It was total magic.

Speaking of total magic, I picked up the Deluxe Edition of Sonic Youth's "Dirty" album Friday and my Sonic Youth obsession is in full swing. Their music is endlessly fascinating to me and I think it'll be a good influence when we go in the studio on November 4th (Thanks to Mr. Vai!) to put the finishing touches on "Johannah" and "White Willow." Not that either of those songs sound anything like Sonic Youth, but whatever.

We may record a section or two of "The Porpentine," I figure maybe at least the movement called "Thessaly Calls Down the Moon" because I'm still trying to decide whether we're going to do it with MIDI or use real instruments. I just don't know where I'm going to find a tuba player, 4 trombones, an entire woodwind section, chimes, string players, blah blah blah, but I can be quite the resourceful lad when I put my mind to it.

And that's where I'm at. Gotta get back to arranging now.

Music is the best."

Okay, even though I wasn't going to do it, how can I let this go by without a comment? Chris has been writing the Porpentine since I met him last July when Eric performed with him at the Lion's Den in New York City, and now that I am the proud owner of Neil Gaiman's Absolute Sandman, I realize that Chris named his piece Porpentine after a quartz amulet in the Sandman series.

Speaking of that, yep, the reason I own it is because when it first became available as a pre-order on Amazon, Neil kindly mentioned on his blog that it was inexplicably (more like HUGE MISTAKE on Amazon's part) for sale at the unbelievable price of $14.00, instead of its list price of $99.00. I must be honest, since I've never been part of the graphic novel scene (not because I don't like it; I was just oblivious and busy having babies and raising them when Sandman and I guess the inevitable copycats were first published), because of the $14.00 price I grabbed it. Apparently I was one of the lucky few because a day or two later Amazon realized its error, rescinded the offer, and in a lot of cases, did not honor the sales of those who were able to sneak in and purchase the series at that low, low price. But because I read that blurb in Neil's blog like a minute after it was published and headed straight to Amazon, I guess I was one of the chosen ones. Anyway, I had a quick cursory first read yesterday, fell madly in love with it, and here, in the event you, too, have been living under a rock and have never read The Sandman series, let me give you the official blurb:

"THE SANDMAN, written by New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, was the most acclaimed comic book title of the 1990s. A rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven, THE SANDMAN is also widely considered one of the most original and artistically ambitious series of the modern age. By the time it concluded in 1996, it had made significant contributions to the artistic maturity of comic books and become a pop culture phenomenon in its own right.

Now, DC Comics is proud to present this comics classic in an all-new Absolute Edition format. The first of four beautifully designed slipcased volumes, THE ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL. 1 collects issues 1-20 of The Sandman and features completely new coloring, approved by the author, on the first 18 issues, as well as a host of never-before-seen extra material, including the complete original Sandman Proposal, a gallery of character designs from Gaiman and the artists who originated the look of the Sandman, and the original script to the World Fantasy Award-winning THE SANDMAN #19, "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," together with reproductions of the issue’s original pencils by Charles Vess. Also included are a new introduction by DC’s president Paul Levitz and a new afterword by Gaiman. ".

You realize I have to hide this from Gary. I'm already accused of being "Comic Book Guy" from the Simpsons. Because as readers of this blog know, Gary despises computers and I am the never ending butt of his computer geek jokes. He is fully aware and only mildly amused that everytime something cool happens in this family I rush to shout it out on my blog. So he'll tease me in his best Simpson's Comic Guy voice -- and he does a killer version -- "Oh...I must immediately report this magnamimous event to my friends on the internet!"

I can't get mad at him; it is kind of funny because he's right -- but if he actually sees me reading a comic book...err...I mean, graphic novel...I'm toast. Next he'll be buying me a short sleeved button up shirt equipped with a pocket protector full of mechanical pencils and a pair of glasses held together with bandaids and scotch tape.

Then I'll have to counter that by dying my hair black and going Goth...because those are the REAL readers. Um...or so I'm told.

So because I am in a most excellent mood today, here ya go, Sue:



Yep, you have a photo of Neil driving his fabulous convertible Mini Cooper to add to your collection. You can thank me later, Susan.

Later,
xo

Rock and Roll Mama

Mike Keneally on guitar, Eric Slick on drums, and Bryan Beller on bass in St. Louis Friday the 13th of October

Yeah, google stalking 101 redux -- this morning I find out I'm a Rock and Roll Mama. Read all about it here. I don't know who is responsible for that, but hey, whoever you are, I thank you kindly.

From Bryan Beller's blog

"I'm in St. Louis right now. The gig with Eric Slick on drums is tonight. He's cool. I'm thinking it's gonna sound good. If you're in St. Louis, get your ass on down..."

From Mike Keneally's website

"ST. LOUIS, MO, October 13, 2006: For the final gig of their three-week Taylor Guitars tour of the midwest, Mike and Bryan decided to maximize the volume by debuting a new trio format with drummer Eric Slick (Adrian Belew, Paul Green's School of Rock "All-Stars). Slick spent weeks boning up for the show and didn't miss a beat, as rockingly attested to by the ubiquitous Dancing Guy (front). Many thanks to Off Broadway promoter Dan Kinney and cohorts, who heroically made this magic evening possible."

From Spyder Monkey, one of the bands who opened for the Keneally Trio Saturday night...

"Last Updated:
Sunday, October 15, 2006

MIKE KENEALLY is a baaaaad man!!!
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Music

Well, just back from our whirlwind visit to the Lou, that's St. Louis my friends and let me tell you nothing could have been finer than to open for none other than legendary ZAPPA guitarist Mike Keneally and his power trio!

The man's record speaks for itself, so enough said there. But to see him in action .....(a gift we have never beheld) was dizzying! Pure tones. Flying up & down the fretboard effortlessly. Fast breaks morphed into sweet long bent notes. It was nothing short of sickly skilled compositions that these fellows churned out with amazing precision. If you don't know what I mean, I highly suggest you run dont walk to his page just for a tiny taste of what was going on. We had to shake off the chills and shut our gaping mouths many times in disbelief! We will never forget this man, his band or that night at Off Broadway in early Autumn!"

Three Days in New York City is still on the bestseller list at Amazon UK which has me completely stymied. It's now like #67 but who cares...I've been jumping around the house like a lunatic ever since I saw that last week. Also, I just learned that trailers are being made for both of my novels by a company whose said trailers are seen in movie theaters. They are anxious to blurb new authors so I sent them my proposal information...they responded almost immediately that I'd be highlighted mid-November. This is a free service which is pretty amazing...I'll provide a link once they're live.

Mundania/Phaze has also recently published an audio book company so Yes! Three Days and Another Bite will be in an audio format soon, and yeah, yeah, I'll be doing the reading because I have a very sexy speaking voice. Oh, okay, I have a big bad Philadelphia accent but I know how to do sexy and am already practicing. Ha!

And um, I'm sitting on some possible major news as concerns both my books and Julie and Eric and you're just going to have to keep watching this space...these respective announcements could end up being HUGE...but if I even give you a hint now I'll jinx it all so I'm staying quiet.

But I do want to remind everyone that Julie and Eric's project with insanely talented guitarist Sarah Zimmermann, The Sarah Zimmermann Trio, makes their debut this Thursday night at the Black Lodge in Philadelphia...Saturday night at the Tap Room at the New York Knitting Factory, and Sunday at Asbury Lanes. Yep, it means I get to spend another weekend in New York. What a pity. (heh). I'll put up links and posters probably tomorrow or Wednesday.

Finally, for all of my writer/musician/artist pals, Susan Henderson has a most interesting Question of the Week -- and I encourage anyone reading this to go over and tell your story -- anyway, her question is: "What do you when the art you create doesn’t easily fit within a particular commercial label? For those of you who are out-of-the-box, tell me your story.

Writers often hear this kind of feedback from publishing houses: We love your book, it’s compulsively readable and I finished it in one night! But, sadly, we have to turn it down because we wouldn’t know what shelf to put it on at the big, chain bookstore, and we’re not sure if we should market it as memoir or a parenting book."

I know a lot of you will have very interesting stories to tell in that regard. I have a huge one myself and don't know if I want to burden Sue with the whole sordid tale so I'm working out an abridged version which I'll post later today or tomorrow...but again, I encourage you guys to go play over at Sue's site...she's a gracious host and fun to get to know.

And speaking of Sue, because she was kind enough to sit with me last week and endure that lovely public radio show in hopes of hearing Eric (well, she at least got to hear Eric's name), I promised her Neil Gaiman with furry arms and glasses. Damn it, Sue, I had furry and I had glasses, but not together. Hope this will suffice:





Later,
xo

Google stalking 101

A great pre Gaiman haircut photo of Eric Slick I just found on the desktop in a file I never knew existed: Eric's pics. Woo hoo, a treasure trove in there.

Speaking of treasures, Google stalking has provided me with a freaking chest of them this morning.

First, I am stunned and overjoyed to see a mention today in Robert Fripp's diary as follows:

"An enjoyable performance. Probably, we played well, but I have no idea...

Visitors: Hellboy Tom with Mrs. Hellboy & one Hellgirl. Also Adrian’s Slick new rhythm section with their Parents, bearing Brownies of wonderment, terror & delight."

Okay, now I can get over feeling like a stupid, babbling git when meeeting Robert backstage. Whew. (Right. Like there's any chance of that. But still...)

See yesterday's post for a link to our recipe for said brownies of wonderment, terror, and delight. Ha. I think that will now be their official name.

Next, and trust me, I know how these things go with Amazon and by this afternoon it will probably be gone, but at this very moment, Three Days in New York City is inexplicably #5 on the Amazon UK best seller list?! Are you kidding me? I almost fell off my chair when I saw that.

Also, I learned that Rebellion, New Voices of Fiction, an anthology in which I have a short story "Daddy Left Me Alone With God" and which is the name and basis for my new novel, is up for a USA Book News Best of 2006 Independent Press Award. I may have already mentioned that Another Bite of the Apple is nominated for an Eppie Award so that's pretty cool -- finalists will be announced the first week of December so I've got my fingers crossed, white candles lit, etc.

Here's a link to a Dutch review of the Adrian Belew Power Trio's concert in the Netherlands...I tried using Babblefish to translate it and it's funny as hell but hard to make sense of...if these things are important to you, go for it, if not, just click on the link and look at the great pictures of Adrian, Julie, and Eric on stage.

Speaking of Eric, special thanks to Susan Henderson, who was kind enough to endure the torture of a truly bizarre public radio station from St. Louis (which streamed live on line) with me yesterday in hopes of hearing my son on the radio with Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller. As it turned out, Eric did not make it to the radio station in time because his flight was delayed. Why was it delayed? Because Air Force One, carrying our (gag) illustrious leader, was landing at the same airport and Eric's plane was forced to stay in the air in a holding pattern for thirty minutes. As I told Sue, it's a good thing I wasn't on that plane because I surely would have lost it and would currently be front page headlines...ack...like I'm not on enough subversive lists already har har. (I am a voracious letter writer...starting with Watergate when I was a baby hippie...escalating big time when I was convinced the CIA killed John Lennon...and well, if you think I've changed now, forget about it...especially with the power of email. And I wonder why I'm pulled out of line for searches in every airport I visit. Yeah, that's right. Big bad me.)

Anyway, as it turned out, Mike and Bryan mentioned Eric's name three times and said he was an absolutely phenomenal drummer so at least I got to hear that...and if you would like to have a listen at just what Sue and I had to go through yesterday and trust me, I'm not exaggerating, it was pure torture, the radio show is archived right here. Actually, let me take that back. Mike and Bryan were brilliant and did a totally awesome live performance on air which you can also hear by clicking on that link. It's the DJ with his rather idiotic statements and his choice of music which made us both queasy. Sue made me laugh out loud when she emailed me during all this and told me she was carefully marking down the artists and names of songs this bozo played on his show so that she could present me with a gift next time she saw me.

Thanks, Sue, and in return I will be presenting you with a special flash fiction collection...never mind...I'm getting myself in enough trouble here as it is.

Happy Friday, everyone.

Later,
xo

Just call me the Domestic Goddess...

Julie Slick and Adrian Belew on stage this summer in Chicago

ETA: This just in -- Eric will be interviewed on the radio this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. eastern time with Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller right here...it's a live stream!

ETA 2: Well, apparently Eric's plane didn't make it to St. Louis in time enough for him to get to the radio station, but I heard Mike and Bryan interviewed and they said Eric's name more than once and used the word "phenomenal" when describing his drumming. Anyway, these shows are archived right here every week, so check back tomorrow or next week and the interview will be up then.

So many thanks to Sid Smith over at DGM Live, who sent his many readers over to me as concerns my review of the Projekct 6 show Saturday night and also published the recipe for Julie's fabulous brownies -- you know, the ones she baked for Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp Saturday night (ha ha - while you are over at DGM checking it out, click on "Forum" and read some of the remarks about that. Anyway, one of Sid's readers commented on my blog that he'd also like the recipe for our family's peach cobbler (which Julie baked for Adrian during the summer tour)...so if you look in the comments section here, you'll see how she put that together as well. But yeah, if you want the brownie recipe, you'll have to click on the DGM link...normally I'd cut and paste it here but I really want you guys to visit Sid and say hello. He's a very cool guy and it was very kind of him to humor me when I was bugging him about what to bake for Mr. Fripp.

Yeah, yeah, Julie and me...domestic goddesses.

So this is also kind of cool -- when I was doing my usual google stalking this morning I stumbled on the Projekction Forum Board (and I hope that link works for you...I had to join the site to be able to read the whole thing)...but in case it doesn't, here's what it says as concerns the aforesaid Projekct 6 show we attended Saturday night:

Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 1:00 am

"Holy shit! I was sitting directly behind (2 rows) the Slicks at the show. I thought it was them, but I wasn't sure, so I didn't say anything. Now there's no mistaking that haircut.

Damn, I wish I had taken the opportunity to congratulate them on the show back in August."

So yeah, it was neat to read that...and crazy that someone was sitting two rows behind us wondering if we were the "ones". Ha! Yep, it was, and sorry if Eric's new Gaiman haircut threw you off.



Eric left this morning for St. Louis for the gig with Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller and he had a layover in Chicago...he just called me from the airport to let me know that it's snowing there! Julie in the meantime is busy recording Sweatheart for their new CD so I'm actually home alone and I should be working on what I hope is the final draft of my novel but I had an epiphany of sorts the other night and now I want to delete a 5,000 word passage which means...oh god...I need to write 5,000 new ones.

Oh well, a piece o'cake, right? (Cake seems to be the theme here today, huh)

I'm already getting submissions for the 39 and Holding Anthology (sex after age forty...it does happen and it's good, trust me har har) so if you are thinking about it, even though the deadline isn't until next year, send me your finest. Actually, no, you need to send it to Phaze as per their guidelines. I'm trying to snag a major, well known writer to contribute to this book as soon as I work up the guts to write to that person and flat out ask (or drink enough alcohol, whichever comes first) and I'll keep you posted as to how it pans out. What's the worst that can happen? I'll get a no and lose the remaining shreds of dignity I have left. No biggie. I've been down that road before.

But hey, Another Bite of the Apple is up for an award, is still rated #2 in erotica over at Fictionwise, and sales of all three of my books seem to be brisk so I really can't complain.

I don't have any other news at the moment and really want to work on those 5,000 words, so I leave you today with something you may have seen on the Daily Show the other night; if not, you MUST watch it now in its entirety...one of the funniest skits ever about our illustrious and not so funny fearless leader:

What exactly is the President's job?



Later,
xo

Odds and Sods for Tuesday, October 10

So the above is the poster for Eric's show with Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller this Friday night in St. Louis. Eric is in circle #3 pre-Neil Gaiman haircut (see post below) -- man, this is going to be such an awesome show, I wish I could be there. He flies to St. Louis early Thursday for two days of rehearsals and then returns to Philadelphia Saturday night...then two weeks later takes off for Texas with Julie for the west coast portion of the Adrian Belew tour.

What a life, huh.

My beautiful, talented friend Ellen Meister is having quite a week, too. First, her book gets a mention via our mutual beautiful, talented friend Jordan Rosenfeld on NBC!


(Go to the NBC site and click "Play" -- Jordan does an amazing, amazing job talking up Ellen's book!)

If that's not cool enough, Ellen is interviewed at Novel Journey...and I just had a look at some of the other authors interviewed...holy cow, Ellen!

I'm just so freaking proud of my friends. Not only are they incredibly talented authors, they are generous, caring women who somehow find the time to offer support and kindness to fellow writers (while simultaneously taking care of their families..ha ha...I know Ellen personally of course and don't know how she manages it...read the interview and you'll see what I mean).

And...another Ellen interview on Jennifer Prado's site...Jennifer has also interviewed a couple of other great authors like Roy Kesey and Jim Tomlinson, who have both written "must read" books...check out their interviews as well. Good stuff.

Sue Henderson has a brilliant, provocative piece at The Huffington Post today. It will be very interesting to monitor her essay for comments and I hope that some of my readers will weigh in, too.

So that's it for now. I still have the head cold from hell and want to assume the fetal position but I have my own book to work on and have already received a submission for the anthology I'm editing which I cannot wait to read. I'll talk more about that and some other projects I'm working on later in the week when I'm feeling more coherent.

Later,
xo

You Must Be The Mother

Eric Slick shocked us all by coming home with the above new haircut on Friday...I absolutely love it and if you are a daily reader of this blog, you probably already know what I'm going to say in that regard.

Anyway, that's Eric last night following the Projekct 6 show at the Keswick Theater in Glenside. We had dinner at Athena Restaurant across the street and it was one of the best Greek/Mediterranean dining experiences I've had in the Philadelphia area. Five stars, especially their vegetarian appetizer combo platter for four...so good we inhaled one and ordered a second.

But you don't want to hear about the food. Let's talk music. Projekct 6 is OUTSTANDING! Adrian was kind enough to provide us with tickets and backstage passes and yes, yes, we got to meet Robert Fripp after the show.

It was one of the more interesting concerts I've attended in the recent past. Kind of disconcerting to see Adrian behind the drums at first but he's one of those musicians who is magnificent at whatever instrument he picks up (or sits behind as the case may be) and I was sucked right in. He was brilliant! Robert Fripp is a fucking genius. Just an amazing, amazing guitarist. They walked out on stage together, sat down, and started to play music which was startlingly unique -- sometimes haunting and beautifully melancholy, other times rocking and hard-to-sit-still-in-your-seat stuff -- certainly nothing like I've ever heard before. Both musicians made their instruments sound otherworldly.

They didn't speak to the audience, simply played their set, stood up, and took a bow together. Extremely classy. There was a strict no camera policy at the venue so I'm sorry to disappoint with no photos of the event and I wasn't about to pester Robert and Adrian backstage...I was bad enough babbling to them about Julie's cake, thereby once again doing what I try to avoid most...coming off like a pushy obnoxious stage mother. Ack! But it's love that makes me do it and I can't help it. I'm just so insanely proud of both Julie and Eric that sometimes when I'm in their presence with musicians such as Belew and Fripp I turn into a gushing, blubbering idiot.

Oh alright. I'm always a gushing blubbering idiot but most of the time I manage to keep it within the confines of my family.

Anyway, about Julie's cake. So if you do read this blog, you'll know that while on tour with Adrian this summer, Julie baked him a peach cobbler, and if you haven't read my rather comprehensive report about that, here's the applicable blogpost where I told the whole insane story.

In furtherance of the peach cobbler episode, Julie wanted to bring Adrian a special dessert to the P6 show last night and even though he'd flipped over her peach cobbler, she wanted to do something different but couldn't decide on just what to bake. I thought about it and after also coming up blank, said, "Let me write to Sid Smith over at DGM Live and see what Robert enjoys in the sweets department." So I did that and Sid was kind enough to humor me with an email that told me anything with chocolate.

Since Julie is famous for the world's most decadent brownies, which are really not brownies at all but more like dense gooey fudge squares, it was a no-brainer. And as it turned out, they were a huge hit with not only Adrian but everyone else backstage, too. I took a pic before we left the house for the show but it doesn't do them justice:



Anyway, Adrian introduced us to Robert backstage (he's a good looking guy. Love the way he dresses...Robert and Ade both)...Robert was extremely cordial and smiled at Julie and Eric and then I had to start the above mentioned brownie babbling...but not before Robert looked at me and said in his lovely, lovely accent:

"You must be the mother. I've seen your blog."

Oh god oh god oh god.

I also met Porcupine Tree backstage -- they were great but alas we could not stay for their show because Julie wasn't feeling well -- we've a head cold running through the family -- and all she really wanted was to go somewhere and have a bowl of soup (for those interested, white bean vegetarian at that fabulous Athena...she swooned). Julie had a fun conversation with their guitarist who plays barefoot just like she does - they talked about the benefits (pedals and laughingly joking about feeling "grounded" in an organic sort of way).

Anyway, Robert had old friends visiting him backstage so he took off and it was extremely cool to hang out with Adrian and see and hear how psyched he is about the upcoming tour with Julie and Eric (I can't believe they leave for the west coast in three weeks!) as well as just joking around with him and making small talk -- he's just a terrific, terrific human being and my kids are so incredibly lucky to be in his band I continue to pinch myself daily. But what's even nicer is that it's pretty apparent Adrian feels the same way about them.

Have I mentioned how much I love my life?

********

Okay, I can't stand it. I have to say something. With his new haircut, my son is now a dead ringer for Neil Gaiman.




Later,
xo

39 and Holding...Him

So remember a few days ago I mentioned I was solicited to edit a new anthology? Here's the official press release (and ignore that comment I made earlier where I said I probably wouldn't be writing any more erotica. Ha!)

NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS for a literally and figuratively steamy erotic romance anthology for Phaze.

You won't truly experience a hot flash until you get a hold of HIM!

TITLE: 39 and Holding...Him - Stories of Sex Over 40
EDITOR: Robin Slick
PUBLISHER: Phaze
TENTATIVE RELEASE DATE: August 14, 2007 (eBook), October, 2007 (print)
SUBMISSIONS DUE: June 1, 2007

Calling all heroines over 40! We want to read your most vivid fantasies, live vicariously through your smoldering passions, and delight in your continued defiance against gravity. Authors don't necessarily have to be over 40 to submit, the only requisites for this anthology are that:

1) all stories must be primarily heterosexual (M/F, but if a gal can get two hunks for the price of one orgasm or do more than flirt with the lady next door, we'll take a look at that, too!)

2) all heroines must be portrayed as 40 and over (and everybody involved must be of legal age, of course), and

3) all stories must burn longer than than the hottest flash.

You know the poem that goes "When I'm an old woman I will wear purple?" How about turning HIM purple? How about taking Demi and Ashton to the next level? How about stories of reunited passion with a high school sweetheart after spending decades apart? How about rekindling the fire with hubby on your 30th anniversary? The kids are gone, the pets have run away, it's just you and him. Make the most of it, then tell us about it!

All sub-genres will be considered for this anthology: interracial, BBW, comtemporary, romantic comedy, historical, etc. Show us that love and passion are timeless.

STORY LENGTH: We're looking anywhere from 5K-15K. Please visit the Phaze website for formatting guidelines, and when you're ready send your submissions to: submissions@ phaze.com with OVER 40 STORY SUBMISSION in the subject header. NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS FOR THIS ANTHOLOGY PLEASE!

Reprints will be considered if you have complete control of the rights.

ABOUT ROBIN SLICK
Robin Slick is the author of Three Days in New York City, Another Bite of the Apple, and "Buenos Noches, Justine," erotic comedies published by Phaze. Robin's short stories have appeared in print and on the web everywhere from heady places like In Posse Review and Slow Trains Literary Journal to give-heady places like Clean Sheets. She lives vicariously through her rock star offspring Julie and Eric Slick, who were featured in the Picturehouse Films documentary, Rock School, and are now members of the Adrian Belew Power Trio. Visit her online at www.robinslick. com and www.inherownwrite. blogspot. com.

****

One thing I want to add to this is that I'm pretty selective and will be choosing work that is way over and above the usual formulatic romance/erotica...it must also be literary in nature. By that I mean your writing must be of the highest quality and either make me smile from your brilliance and wit...or make me, um, run upstairs unable to remember my name (ha). (But no, I will not accept a story just because you write a love scene with me and Neil Gaiman in it so don't even try)



Ha ha - that's another photo of Neil during his visit here in Philadelphia

Anyway, I'm putting out the call to all of my friends and colleagues, those of you from Zoetrope Studios as well...let's make this anthology something incredibly special. I also want to add that Phaze Publishing is a subsidiary of Mundania Press -- with one of their sci fi authors being the fabulously talented Piers Anthony -- and has undergone major changes with a brand new editor in charge. All of our print books will now be carried by not only Borders but Barnes and Noble, Chapters, and many independent book sellers as well.

In other writing news, Susan Henderson comes clean about her obsessions over at Lit Park today and I swear, Sue really is my long lost sister. Sue, I will admit this to you here and Eric, if you are reading this, I advise you to stop now before you turn purple. Okay? Okay. You want to talk about obsessions? When I was fourteen years old, I was so obsessed with a boy (Gary II...I had like seven Garys in my life...I think their mothers were all in love with Gary Cooper and it was "the name" of the fifties and sixties) our first date was my accompanying him on a night of crime. Yep, he was a fourteen year old hoodlum who took me on a rampage with a piece of metal pipe which he used to crack open everything from parking meters to the change machines at the local laundromat, after which, when we scored $5.00 in quarters, he treated me to a can of warm beer he'd been hiding in his jacket all night and a gave me my first hickey on the counters where you fold your clean clothing. I not only saved the piece of pipe in my memory box, I saved his cigarette butts.

And now you know how sick I really am.

Ha ha - I just remembered something I haven't thought about in years. After I got that hickey, I was so paranoid I wore turtleneck sweaters for a week, even to bed. My way cool mother never ever raised an eyebrow at me and I'm sure she knew what I was hiding, but for some reason, it was important to me that she didn't see it.

I would however be humiliated by my said mom at breakfast a few years later when Gary III and I were dating and she innocently replied "Oh, by the way, Robin, I washed Gary's handkerchief -- I found it on the basement floor".

Ahem. I don't suppose I need to go into any details here about that, huh.

Ah, my old basement with the ratty sofa and black and white t.v. Gary III and I held the world's record for getting our clothes back on the minute we heard footsteps approaching the stairs.

I'm gonna cry.

And to wrap this post up before I do start sobbing, I just learned that Another Bite of the Apple and Buenos Noches, Justine received a couple more great reviews -- right here and here.

"Robin Slick has created a lighthearted, yet realistic tale of a woman who’s in search of herself....I really enjoyed this story with its fast pace, its convoluted twists and turns, and the first person point of view." (from review of Another Bite)

"...Intimate encounters are well detailed and adventurous, and the reader is kept guessing as to who will be Justine's sexual partner. For a quick steamy read, pick up Robin Slick's Buenos Noches, Justine today!"

That's pretty cool...and much to my surprise and pleasure, Another Bite, Justine, and Three Days in New York City -- which is almost two years old! -- continue to dominate the erotica best seller list which is why I've changed my position and will continue to dabble in that genre. Truth to tell (ha ha - I have Gaiman's American Gods on my mind still, which to me had many highly erotic scenes in it)...I do enjoy writing it because I know I break out of the typical genre and incorporate real writing and a lot of humor in my work. Because really, if you can't laugh and/or smile at certain sexual situations, you aren't having a good time. Or you aren't doing it right. (Ha ha - American Gods again)

Happy Friday.

Later,
xo