My Life is So Cool - Part III (where my family keeps popping up on the internet)

"Scream before go on stage
Most Rock band ceremony before go on stage, scream together as loud as possible."
...Hideyo Moriya


Said rock band Adrian Belew Power Trio on stage


2/3 Belew Trio father, Gary, doing merch with California Guitar Trio's tech, Aaron


Group shot of California Guitar Trio and Adrian Belew Power Trio

So I took a break from editing my new novel today to do some Google stalking on my crazy family and man, I hit the jackpot.

I found the above photos on the website of The California Guitar Trio who recently opened for my kids...err...I mean the Adrian Belew Power Trio out on the west coast two weeks ago. The pics are from Hideyo's Roadcam, the Portland show on November 15, but there are others as well here and here.

Next I discovered just an amazing You Tube with son Eric on the drums, the mind-blowing Katie Jacoby on electric violin, Eric Svalgard of Project Object on keyboards, Rock School star CJ Tywoniak on guitar, and Julie's boyfriend Matt Rothstein on bass. But you have to wait until the Adrian Belew song currently playing on my blog finishes before the You Tube sound will work, so hang around for a few minutes because it's really worth it, trust me. Oh wait. You can also double click on the You Tube and it'll work that way because it will take you to the You Tube site. D'oh!



In other news, I got an email from the person who maintains Stewart Copeland's website who stumbled on a blog entry I made when I met Stewart last year in L.A. and he asked me for more details and permission to post the accompanying photo...of course I said yes.

Julie on Stewart Copeland's website

Here's the photo which is now on their website in case you are too lazy to click:



That would be Julie and Stewart performing School's Out for the Summer with Alice Cooper at the LA Knitting Factory last May. Here's another photo, but you can't really see Stewart on drums:



Then we have Eric's tour over the weekend with Chris Harford...here's what they say on the Ween Forum Board:

"TONITE 12/3 - CHRIS HARFORD & BOC - D.C. AREA ***CHRIS HARFORD & BOC***

featuring:
Dave Dreiwitz - bass
Scott Metzger - guitar
Eric Slick - drums

SUNDAY, Dec 3, 2006
8:30p doors

IOTA CLUB
2832 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA
703-522-8340

www.iotaclubandcafe.com/

"sweet. that line-up rules. eric slick is a drumming prodigy."

"who is eric slick?"

"School of Rock prodigy"

"Eric is a great drummer. That is a great line-up."

"Eric looks about 15 years old, but I think he's 18 or 19. Unbelievable drummer period. Nice kid too.

Drums with Adrian Belew."

Ha ha - and that's what I found in the first five minutes. So yeah, life is pretty awesome right now. Eric is doing the above mentioned show in Washington, D.C. tonight; Julie and Gary are out buying Christmas lights, and the dog and I are sipping wine and fooling around on the computer. Okay, the dog is sipping wine, it's me on the computer.

Err...

Anyway, the Harford show at the North Star Bar on Friday night was a lot of fun; there's a funny story I could tell in connection with it but I don't want to horrify my son so I won't...but there was in fact a green room and I did pester him there but hey, there was a cooler full of free Yuenglings and no one else wanted them so what could I do? They put on a very tight, fun show...didn't even take the stage until 11;00 p.m. and finished up around 1:00 a.m., the guys from the Benevento Russo Duo showed up because they had a gig at the Electric Factory which wrapped up just as Eric was taking the stage at the North Star...Eric hung out with Joey Russo for a while, then they all headed back to the Ween house in New Hope to await arrival of their rental van for the rest of the tour, which was in Baltimore last night with the Duo and like I said, Washington, D.C. tonight.

In other words, no one is home and I should be writing and working on my novel, or at least talking about writing.

So I will.

I'm nervously awaiting word on two possible awards; I sent a story to a literary magazine via snail mail -- something I usually would never do because I'm not pretentious enough to imagine myself a literary writer (thank God) and more importantly, I'm a lazy sod who would rather save a tree and submit by email, but this magazine is special, it's called Tin House, and they have a special issue coming up which focuses on evil. Now I just happen to have a short story I wrote on that very subject so I decided to go for that snowballs chance in hell and subbed it.

I'm sure you'll read my sobbing rejection post here in about three months, but hey, you cannot win if you do not play. And oh my god, did I just quote a Steve Forbert song? You have permission to shoot me now. Please. Put me out of my misery.

Let me make up for it.

If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.

(My personal theme song...lyrics by George Harrison)

Or..

I'm never gonna know you now, but I'm gonna love you anyhow.

(If you don't know who wrote that, you're just not cool enough to read my blog)

.Just kidding...the late, great Elliott Smith...Waltz #2...and here's a heart-wrenching stripped down version, sans band...Elliott solo back in 1998:


Okay, back to work for me. And ooh goody, Julie and Gary are baking Christmas cookies tonight. To say that they are awesome bakers is putting it mildly -- the Slick family has an international reputation for our cookies. You can email me and if possible, I'll put you on our recipient list.

Ha ha - some people will do anything to be a Best of Blog 2006 finalist. Tsk, tsk, simply shameless, aren't I? Yoo hoo, judges? Care for some cookies?

Later,
xo

Odds and Sods for Friday, December 1

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My Life is So Cool - Part II

More fun sketches of Julie and Eric in concert by Family Guy cartoon artist Ron Brewer

Yep, I admit it Part II...my life is cool. This morning I came downstairs to find these new drawings on the desktop along with a few others I can't disclose yet, but all I can say is, they are just too amazing for words and I hope to post more as well as some very interesting news about them in the future.

Also, Part III of the podcast interview with Julie and Eric right before they took off on the west coast tour with Adrian Belew is posted now right here at Krimson News and both J&E are hilarious in this latest and last installment.

And because he knows I'm a total music freak, Sid Smith of DGM Live sent me the new CD by Jakko M. Jakszyk, which is called Bruised Romantic Glee Club. If you click on that link, you'll hear the title cut which absolutely blew me away and I've written to Sid and asked if I can get a download to put on my blog so that you can have a listen every time you come and visit me and read my daily ramblings, in which I'd like to include a more comprehensive review. But as a tease for now, get a load of who else contributes to this almost other-wordly recording:

Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree), acoustic bassist Danny Thompson (Pentangle, John Martyn), sax and flute from Mel Collins (King Crimson, Roger Waters) electric bass from Mark King (Level 42) piano & keyboards from Dave Stewart (ex-Hatfield & The North), drummer Ian Wallace (King Crimson, Bob Dylan), Soft Machine bassist, Hugh Hopper, ex-Egg drummer, Clive Brooks and guitarist Robert Fripp (King Crimson).

What strikes me the most about Bruised Romantic Glee Club is that it's full of surprise. You may be lulled by a magnificent, classical keyboard piece and if you are like me, drift into that pleasant dream-like state...then the tempo suddenly changes and the music will really rock out. The songwriting is amazing and as evidenced by the stellar list of musicians who contributed to this effort, this is really a must buy CD. In fact, if you are so inclined, you can purchase it right here.

So thank you, Sid, for being so very awesome and sending me this masterpiece all the way from England.

Finally, today marks a sad day in music history. Five years...can you freaking believe it...five days since the passing of George Harrison. Click here to listen to his haunting guitar work and then take a few minutes of silence to remember a legend.

Yes, I know, I am a writer and should be hawking my books and those of my friends and I promise, I will begin doing that ad nauseam in the very near future, what with Christmas coming and all and the fact that I'm up for a couple of awards. But for now, just sit and listen to George, please check out the link posted above for Jakko Jakszyk, and remember what Frank Zappa said: Music is the best.

I know it's gotten me through some really tough times...and conversely, given me a high that can't be duplicated.

Oh, one final music note: Now playing, "Asleep" by Adrian Belew, inspired by the events of September 11. You can find that song on Adrian's brilliant solo CD, Side 2, and if you click on the link provided on the right hand side of my blog, you can pick up a copy at Mr. Belew's handy website store as well as read the very moving background story.

More tomorrow...and I hate to say it, but it's going to most likely be titled My Life is So Cool - Part III -- because yesterday was Gary's birthday and ooh boy do I have a story in connection with that!

Later,
xo

Okay, I admit it -- my life is cool

Okay, alright, I admit it. My life is so cool I can hardly stand it. Because yes, that is Stewie from Family Guy, my favorite animated television show of all time along with the Simpsons, drawn by his actual artist, Ron Brewer, especially for my son, Eric, after Ron met him in concert with Adrian Belew two weeks ago.

Ron is a friend of the California Guitar Trio, who opened for the Adrian Belew Power Trio for three nights beginning in Villa Montalvo, California. He was so blown away by the Belew Trio he trekked to their two subsequent concerts in Eugene and Portand, Oregon. So he emailed Eric that pic, and too bad I don't have a scanner because Eric's got an original Ron gave him on the tour as well.

Julie apparently received something from Ron as well which I'll post here as soon as she comes home and reads her email.

There's some pretty interesting news I could share about all of this, but, um, I'd better not. The jinx factor and all.

And now, before I say another word about anything, the real major news of this morning: Eric has updated his tour blog.

I've really enjoyed the past couple of days -- besides pigging out on some incredible food, I've gotten a lot of writing done and am hoping against hope that I will tie with Susan for our "finish our mutual novels by the end of November" competition.

This Thanksgiving was one of the most relaxed and awesome holidays ever. Julie was in the kitchen at 7:30 a.m. all business. By 10:30, she'd baked two pies, roasted beets, chopped seventeen different vegetables in preparation for the stuffing and sidedishes, had the wild mushroom soup simmering on the stove, and made fresh whipped cream. All Gary had to do was basically come downstairs in the early afternoon and assemble things. It was like he had his own private prep/sous chef.

Here is said soup -- and you can see the swirls of mascarpone cheese, which is so damn decadent and rich it should carry a warning label:



Julie's roasted beet and pistacchio salad with dijon dressing:



And then we went into full eating mode and forgot to take pics of the actual meal, but I did remember during dessert -- unfortunately we had already cut into Julie's magnificent lattice top apple pie, but at least I got a shot of a slice a la mode:



And here's what is probably the best sweet potato pie I ever tasted, sans the whipped cream, which she shot it with a minute later:



Anyway, like I said, we had the best time, and yeah, yeah, we did continue our lame tradition of going around the table before digging in, saying what we were thankful for this year.

Eric went first and he gave an actual speech, naming so many things he loved about all of us and his life that I started to bawl like a baby. Julie was next, and she said "Well, as usual, Eric went on too long and he said everything I wanted to say, so I have to cut it short before the food gets cold and look at Mom, she's sobbing and she's not even going to be able to talk, so I'm just going to say how much I love all of you and let's eat. Mom?"

"Wah...sob...dribble..."

Julie: "Okay, we're skipping Mom...and Mom...get a kleenex, will you? Your nose is running and it's disgusting. Dad?"

But ha ha, Gary was teary eyed, too, and he couldn't speak, either. He managed a choked up "I love my family". At least I think that's what he said, anyway.

And now for the question I know you are all dying to ask: Did the "I've been a vegetarian for a year" Julie taste the organic, free range turkey breast she coerced me into buying?

The answer is Yes. She tasted one small slice, then asked for another, but stopped after that because she was afraid she'd get sick after not eating meat for months. However, we all agreed that we were happy she insisted on this turkey, because, yep, it was the most delicious bird ever and I will happily buy one every year from now on.

Hours later, Gary and Eric were on the road to Nashville, Tennessee to visit with Adrian Belew and pick up Eric's drums. When they finished the tour in Portland, Oregon, Ade's roadies drove all of Eric's equipment back with them to Nashville -- at the time we weren't aware that Eric was going right back out on tour with Chris Harford this coming weekend. It's a twelve hour drive from Philadelphia to Nashville, but Julie was so cute -- she packed the boys all of the Thanksgiving leftovers, even pie, so they wouldn't have to eat at any fast food restaurants on the various turnpikes they had to travel nor leave said turnpikes and get lost in search of real food. So they pulled over at a rest stop at lunch time, bought some coffee to stay awake (I think it was probably six hours into their drive), ate, and got back on the road again where they listened to the Beatles Christmas records which Eric had wisely burned onto CDs before their trip. It's been a yearly tradition in our house since the kids were babies that we always play the Beatles' Christmas records while we're trimming the tree. These records were mailed to members of the Beatle fan club back in the sixties and as I've mentioned here before, Gary was in said club until they disbanded in like 1980 and we have memorabilia like you would not believe. But years of playing them have rendered them charmingly scratchy...it's almost like listening to something from the turn of the century (sob)...so to have new remastered copies on CD is kinda weird but cool at the same time.

When they arrived at Ade's house in Nashville, Ade took them out to dinner at a really cool place -- Ade's wife and daughters were at her mother's house in Kentucky -- so it really was a boys' night out. The three of them discussed music and how fantastic their recent tour was and how they never wanted it to end...and even better...Ade discussed his plans for the future and again, I don't want to tempt the jinx factor, but there's some potentially very exciting news that I just might be reporting here within the next couple of weeks...right in time for that special music fan on your Christmas list.

And that's all I'm going to say on the subject.

That, and it looks like definite plans are being made for an extremely cool tour the last two weeks of March...I have no other details other than the possible opening acts, which just may blow a few minds.

Despite driving for twelve hours immediately following Thanksgiving dinner, Gary and Eric really wanted to be back in Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday to enjoy the rest of the four day weekend here, so they grabbed a few hours sleep before heading right back on the road again.

But not before Adrian woke them at dawn and whispered "I'm going out to get you guys some really great donuts. Any special requests?"

Eric put the pillow over his head but Gary, used to me being awake at obscenely early hours, was fairly alert and replied "Chocolate for Eric, cinnamon for me."

So how endearing is that. This famous rock star -- this legend who played with King Crimson, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Paul Simon and Tori Amos -- went out at sunrise and bought my guys donuts.

Our two families have this mutual admiration/love thing going on which is so beautiful I'm getting teary eyed just typing this. Oh, I should add that while Eric and Gary were on the road to Nashville, Ade called here to check on their progress and to let me know he was reading my blog about the tour and he made me blush over how much he enjoyed it. We spoke for like almost an hour!

Anyway, back to the present. So Gary and Eric did in fact arrive home Saturday exhausted and happy; the drums are back in my living room, and let me give you the info for Eric's upcoming tour with Chris Harford:

This Friday night, December 1, they will be playing at The North Star Bar;

Saturday, December 2 -- and this is where it really gets interesting, they will be opening for The Benevento Russo Duo at The Recher Theatre near Baltimore, Maryland, which looks like the coolest venue ever...and here's how they have it listed on their website in case you are too lazy to click on the link:

"Walther Productions Presents
BENEVENTO / RUSSO DUO
Tom Hamilton's American Babies
Chris Harford and the Band Of Changes
featuring:
Dave Dreiwitz (Ween) - Scott Metzger (Particle)
Eric Slick (Adrian Belew)

Saturday, December 2"

I'm kinda bummed because I hear Benevento Russo are incredible, it's probably going to be a huge, sold out show, but it doesn't appear I'll be able to go because Gary has another committment that evening and I have no way of getting there.

Damn...

And on Sunday, December 3, Eric will be playing with Chris Harford at The Iota Club and Cafe in Washington, D.C.

Even more exciting, Eric, Chris, Scott, and the guys from Ween will be at WXPN, a public radio station which plays the only listenable music in the entire City of Philadelphia, doing a live radio interview/performance next Friday, December 8, 2006 at 1:00 p.m.

I'm pretty sure that's all the news for today but you never know. In the meantime, I need to edit a few thousand more chapters...arghh...I've learned the only real way to pick up errors is to print out the entire manuscript and read it out loud.

So that's what I'll be doing in case anyone needs me.

Later,
xo

Talking Turkey...

Adrian Belew and Eric Slick at The Vault two weeks ago

Hey, you didn't think I was going to post a picture of a pilgrim, did you?

Okay, this blog has been around for three Thanksgivings and now, as has become my yearly tradition, I am stoked to post what the whacked-out Slicks are having for dinner.

But first...

Much to my considerable relief, we decided years ago that the best way to spend holidays is to hide and basically stay hidden until Christmas.

And so we celebrate Thanksgiving by not inviting anyone over and enjoying the company of our immediate family and the dog, whom I secretly think we all love best...and yeah, yeah, okay, really digging the food.

This year is tricky because it's the first holiday both kids are vegetarians but I do believe Julie may be starting to crack. She instructed me to buy an organic, free range turkey breast for like $99.00 a pound at a gourmet butcher shop as opposed to a generic .88 cents per pounder at the supermarket.

"If I do this will you eat some?" I asked her through narrowed eyes.

"Err...maybe," she said, obviously dreaming about delicious, moist breast meat and her father's famous fresh orange rosemary gravy.

Aha! She's caving! I can tell!

But why oh why when I hear the term "free range turkey"...though in this case, turkey breast...do I have a mental image of a headless, legless turkey wearing a pair of Nikes running wild and doing somersaults all over some farm?

Okay, enough musings from my sick mind though let me add that I will be reporting back here on Friday just how good a $99.00 turkey tastes and if Julie doesn't at least sample it, she may also know how it feels to wear one and I'll be reporting that as well.

Oh relax, I'm just joking. At least she's not in the kitchen right now trying to fashion a bird out of tofu.

Anyway, here's the rest of the menu, which will be a joint effort between Gary and Julie (think Iron Chef with two totally insane people who really, really know how to cook) while Eric and I fight over the computer in the living room and take turns yelling the football scores in to Gary as he slaves over a hot stove.

"Who is winning the Dallas game?" he'll shout while banging pots and pans.

"Psst...Eric...are we watching Dallas?"

"I have no idea, Mom. Are their uniforms yellow and black?"

"Err...I think they must be red, white and blue. Wait. Let me check on line."

"Mom, I can look. You've been on all day!"

"Do you two knuckleheads know the score yet?" Gary will holler again from the other room.

Eric and I will exchange guilty glances while one of us frantically starts changing channels on the television and one of us starts googling football teams.

Woo, I just really went off track, didn't I. Okay, I'll stop. Here's what we're having for dinner:

Wild mushroom soup featuring five different kinds of mushrooms, fresh herbs, vegetable stock, pureed and finished with mascarpone cheese;

Roasted beet salad with feta cheese, pistacchios, and mixed organic greens tossed with a roasted garlic dijon dressing;

Truly sick homemade biscuits with organic honey;

Stuffing made with toasted whole wheat baguettes, fried onions, baby carrots, celery and about a pound of butter;

Fresh string beans stir fried with crispy shallots and sliced almonds (no, sorry, no Campbells cream of mushroom soup or god forbid, canned onion rings);

Buttery mashed potatoes made with heavy cream and baby yukon golds;

Traditional lattice top mile high apple pie topped with Bassetts cinnamon ice cream and yes, Julie taught herself how to do lattice tops (picture to follow);

Sweet potato pie with brown sugar pecan streusel topping served with fresh whipped cream...and here's what a dork I am -- we have a real whipped cream dispenser which requires nitrous oxide cartridges and I go in to buy them at Williams Sonoma making all kinds of strained stupid small talk with a bored, pimply twenty year old clerk because God forbid he thinks I'm a junkie and am going to use them to get high.

Well, okay, I did consider it once...but that was the year I didn't buy enough wine.

Kidding, kidding.

Maybe.

Well, that had to be the one year we did have company...

We do have this one lame tradition right before we eat where we go around the table and each one of us says why we are thankful...okay, yes, I know, I did say it was lame, didn't I? But this year I have so much to be happy about that the family is going to start looking at their watches when I start talking and the free range bird is going to hop out of its roasting pan and make a getaway. I'll spare you all the details of what I'm probably going to say, though.

You can thank me later.

Now. On to some writing news.

Both Susan Henderson and I are nominated for The 2006 Web Blogs Award. Sue is nominated for Best New Blog and I'm nominated for Best Diarist.

I was actually a top ten finalist for the Best New Blog of 2004 Awards though of course I came in 10th and was actually cranky about that. I didn't realize the odds when I was nominated two years ago...it's pretty freaking incredible I managed to even make the finals but that was the year I blogged an entire novel. Now the competition is even more intense - there's something like 50,000,000 blogs out there. But seriously, if Sue and/or I do make it to the finalist position, I have no choice but to undertake a serious campaign for your votes. Cool?

Cool.

Guess who is not nominated? I know because I checked. Missing from the lists I checked, anyway...though admittedly I did not check them all, just Best Blog, Best Individual Blog...is Neil Gaiman!



Happy Thanksgiving, Susan.

I notice that I was nominated by some guy named Mike I do not know so Mike, whoever you are, I thank you...and I was also nominated by Susan. Too funny. Mike writes in the nomination that my blog is "A hilarious daily diary of a baby boomer mother with two rock star siblings.

But yeah, it's true. I can't find Neil Gaiman's blog listed anywhere. I guess it's up to me, huh. Okay, I'll do it. How embarrassing. I am now a certified uber-dork. Oh well, in case you want proof, I have just nominated him for Best Blog right here.

But only because I don't want him nominated as best "diarist". Ha!

Hey, I'm up for a blog award. Cut me a break. From now on I have to play dirty and post my best stuff!

How about my kids on stage in Amsterdam following a brilliant concert with Adrian Belew?



Oh, I am so shameless.

How about my son the drummer, sporting Gaiman locks?



A pic of my beautiful daughter?



My son and daughter hanging out together pre-Belew show in San Diego?



Oh God. I really am bad. Offering up my kids, Adrian Belew and Neil Gaiman for a Best of Blog Award. God forbid I actually do make it to finalist. I'll be setting up a webcam.

Ahem. This time I am kidding.

Maybe.

Whatever.

To redeem myself, I also just nominated DGM Live as Best Music Blog, 2006. And it is.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Later,
xo

Odds and Sods for Monday, November 20

Eric Slick and father Gary Slick crashing out at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago...where they spent like twenty-four hours waiting for a connecting flight to Philadelphia

So things are back to normal around Casa Slick...and when I say normal, that means quite the opposite of what most people consider ordinary but hey, that's why my life is interesting.

No sooner does Eric get back to Philadelphia after midnight Thursday night that he gets a telephone call, yells "Mom, wake me at dawn", and Friday morning hopped on a bus for New York City 9:00 a.m. Friday morning to play a Chris Harford gig in Vermont that night -- some ten hours away -- and then another gig Saturday night in Latham, New York (which is about six hours away near Albany). Then, after playing for hours Saturday night, he got a lift into New York City from one of the band members and then took New Jersey transit home...where he arrived totally wiped out at 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning.

Then the telephone calls started. One from a management company interested in Eric and Julie's project with guitarist Sarah Zimmermann who wanted to meet with them in New York City tonight...then one from a guitarist with whom Eric had a previous commitment made six weeks ago to record today and tomorrow somewhere in New Jersey. Eric had to juggle his schedule still semi-comatose from two weeks of touring the west coast and that crazy two day swing with Chris...and in typical Eric style, tried to make everyone happy and wished he had a cloning machine. Just as he's about to lose his mind altogether, he had a wonderful telephone call with Mr. Belew himself, setting up plans for a weekend in Nashville...Gary and Eric are leaving Philadelphia right after Thanksgiving dinner to take the eleven hour drive to Ade's house so that Eric can pick up his drums because we can't wait to have them shipped...Eric goes on tour again with Chris Harford the following Friday.

Anyway, that's enough out of me because I have a novel to finish but have a look at this pic from one of the final shows on the Belew tour...it says so much (again) about how much these three love each other and well, I just adore it.

The West Coast Adrian Belew Power Trio Tour: Wrapping it up...and even big stars still get starry eyed over the Beatles

The above photos are of Julie Slick and Adrian Belew playing/holding Paul McCartney's bass...yeah, that's right...Paul's bass, which he then signed and gave to a promoter friend of Adrian's (whose amazing Frank Lloyd Wright house the trio visited when they performed in Phoenix, Arizona)



And there's Ade, playing a guitar signed by all four Beatles! I have it on good authority that even Adrian was excited to be holding that axe in his hands let alone playing it.

So my family is home...finally. I say finally because even though they left Oregon at 5:00 a.m. for Philadelphia, the insane weather we had on the east coast combined with helacious weather on the west coast prevented them from getting home and they were re-routed and stuck in Chicago's O'Hare airport for literally a full day.

"I think the airport should put us up in a hotel," Julie sniffed to me on the phone. "It's their obligation, right?"

Right, Jules. That's why we never see television/newspapers photos of people camping out and sprawled out on airport floors when their flights are cancelled. Ah, the innocence of youth, thinking that when you are wronged, adults will make it right for you. Uh-uh, especially huge corporations.

Well, in any event, I did try to help them from my computer in Philadelphia...scoping out nearby Chicago hotels to put on my credit card, etc. but the thing is, the airport wouldn't give them a specific time for a new flight nor would they officially cancel theirs...though of course then I got the telephone call from hell from Julie that "the plane isn't taking off yet because they say it's too small to handle the weather but they said it should be okay in maybe another hour."

Let me tell you what that telephone call did to me. First of all, when Julie called me, we were under a tornado watch for the next two hours and severe thunder and lightning storms for the next five. High winds took every single leaf off of the giant tree outside my house within minutes -- and that tree usually isn't bare until Christmas. The rain sounded like it was going to break every window in this place...and she tells me they are going to board a tiny commuter plane?

I was already pretty shaken up that day. As I reported here a few days ago, Julie and Eric knew I was depressed and lonely while the family was out on tour so they sent me a beautiful pair of handmade turquoise and pearl earrings from New Mexico. I was walking downtown in said rain storm and when I got home, realized I was only wearing one earring...somewhere, somehow, I'd lost one. I burst into tears, even though that's not like me. Having lost my mother at a young age, I'm proud of the fact that mere possessions don't mean much to me anymore...things can get lost/broken, etc. and I know it's not the end of the world. But these earrings are really something special and I also knew Julie and Eric spent a couple of hours picking them out during their precious little down time on the tour which gave them even greater significance.

How would I ever tell them I lost one on the second day I wore them? I went on line frantically, trying to find a replacement, but no luck...they are that unique. I then thought about taking the remaining earring to a jeweler and having him/her re-create it, but how could I get away with that because I knew Julie would want to see me wearing them as soon as she got home.

Anyway, to make a long story at least a little bit shorter, hours and hours later, the Slick family arrived home exhausted after midnight...I was a complete wreck watching the flight arrivals on line at Philadelphia International Airport, memorized their flight number, and actually had television on and made deals with a God I don't even believe in...please no bad news about Flight 638...please no bad news about Flight 638...by the time they got home I was a complete basket case and wouldn't you know it, the first words out of Julie's mouth when she saw me was "You're not wearing the earrings!"

But like I said, when they got home it was really late and we were all exhausted so I acted like I didn't hear her and excitedly oohed and ahhed over seeing them for the first time in over two weeks and then we all crashed to our respective bedrooms.

I don't know what drove me to do this, but early the next morning, before either Julie or Eric were awake, I re-traced my exact path into town. Now mind you there had been the aforesaid terrible storm the night before, there were mud puddles, flooded streets, and leaves everywhere. I'd walked approximately two miles, too. But I remembered my route, which included a cut through a tree lined area/path right off the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, which was now in even worse condition than the rest of the area...wait, let me see if I can find a photo on line of this part of town...yeah, here's one, but it's taken on a summer day. Picture this same area in a monsoon.



Anyway, I was in tears and I have lousy vision to begin with despite obscenely expensive custom contact lenses but when I'm determined, look out. And sure enough, as I trudged through all kinds of disgusting mud and piles of wet leaves, I saw a glimpse of turquoise. My heart raced and I couldn't believe it, but there was my earring...a little bit bent where someone must have stepped on it, but for the most part, in tact.

What are the odds? But you know what? Something told me I was going to find it, despite the weather from hell and despite the fact that the area is huge and there are 2,000,000 people who trudge through there each day. Anyway, I just tried taking a picture of myself with my new earrings and it kept turning out so hilariously bad that I took one last shot where I was laughing my ass off at what a complete and hopeless geek I am and anyway, I finally managed one where at least you can kind of see said earring:



Yeah, I learned how to use photoshop and I'm dangerous now. (Not really. iPhoto has an "adjust your photo" feature I just discovered and I played with it, made myself orange, and then couldn't change it back.)

Anyway, back to the Belew tour -- so my family said it was the most amazing experience of their lives; the tour will resume in approximately March of 2007 but it could be sooner, could be later depending on a number of factors...and definite plans are in the works to record Side 4 Live.

I got a cool email from a guitarist with whom I wasn't familiar...her name is Jennifer Batten, and man does she have some creds. Well. of course I had to immediately google her after she wrote to me -- I mean, this is me we are talking about. Anyway, here's what she had to say:

"I played guitar for Michael Jackson for 10 years and Jeff Beck for 3. Saw your kids last night in Portland and holy crap---FANTASTIC!!!! So refreshing also whenever on the rare occasion, I see a great female player on stage!!!! Kudos--Jennifer"

So then I of course wrote back and thanked her and she sent me another cool message:

"I told Adrian as soon as he's done touring with your kids....I GET THEM!! They're going to go a long way in the business I think..."

So that was very cool, and I had a listen to Jennifer's music...I'm going to see if I can get an MP3 of hers to put up on my blog in a few weeks.

And speaking of that..

You will notice that I have retired Citizen Cope for now and my plan is to post a new MP3 every week of someone who may be new to a lot of you -- I really want to promote independent artists and encourage you to buy their CDs. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know for the past month or so I've been flipping over a CD called "View" by Bryan Beller. A song off of that recording, called Seven Percent Grade, is what you are listening to now. So I've put up a link on the right hand where you can grab a copy of View...and if there's anyone who is reading now who would like me to consider posting their music in weeks to come, drop me an email with the link to your site. Your stuff has to be uploaded to an actual web address that I can embed in the template of this blog for it to work, okay?

Okay!

Later,
xo

The Bittersweet Post

Fans all over the west coast continue to find me via this blog and send me the world's coolest photos -- these are courtesy of Peter, who caught the Adrian Belew Power Trio in Santa Fe, New Mexico

So the tour is officially over -- it ended last night in Portland, Oregon and my family will be home today. While I miss them like you would not believe (well, yeah, you would, actually) and they miss me, I don't think any of us want this tour to end...especially Adrian. I talked to Gary on the phone yesterday and he was close to tears...Ade has said repeatedly that this is one of the best tours of his life; that Julie and Eric are his band and even more importantly, we're all like his extended family, and he is really excited about future plans which of course include recording Side 4 Live with an accompanying DVD and a 2007 tour which will take the trio all over the world.

In the meantime, though, Ade will return to Nashville and record with his other fab project, The Bears, Eric goes on a three day tour with Chris Harford starting Friday, December 1 at The North Star Bar in Philadelphia, then December 2 in Baltimore and December 3 in Washington, D.C. -- I don't know the venues yet but will of course post them as soon as I get that info from Eric -- then he takes off from December 28, 2006 through January 13, 2007 with Project Object, and those dates I do have and here they are:

Project/Object with Ike Willis
performing the music of Frank Zappa
New Year's '06-'07 Tour

12/28 Thu - The 8x10 Club - Baltimore, MD
12/29 Fri - Mexicali Blues - Teaneck, NJ
12/30 Sat - Century Lounge - Providence, RI
12/31 Sun - Pearl Street Nightclub - Northampton, MA

1/2 Tue - Club Cafe - Pittsburgh, PA
1/3 Wed - Club Cafe - Pittsburgh, PA
1/4 Thu - The Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH
1/5 Fri - Martyrs' - Chicago, IL
1/6 Sat - Martyrs' - Chicago, IL

1/9 Tue - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA
1/10 Wed - TO BE ANNOUNCED - TBA
1/11 Thu - Regatta Bar - Boston, MA
1/12 Fri - Nectar's - Burlington, VT
1/13 Sat - Revolution Hall - Troy, NY

In between all this, Eric and Julie will continue their work with the Sarah Zimmerman Trio, and wonders of all wonders, I managed to add one of their songs (written by Julie -- think I'm a little proud?) to my own pathetic MySpace site...and I realize that being a writer, I need to make that a better place since most of my "friends" are fellow authors so I will be updating that shortly and even though I still don't love it, I will be participating more on MySpace in the future.

Or not.

I really don't dig it, I'm being honest here, but I sort of feel like I have no choice at the moment. And at least I get to hear my kids' music when I sign on, so wtf.

Julie's plans include recording several bands at her new studio -- here's her MySpace site with further details and contact information, and she will also be teaching a Master Class in recording at the Paul Green School of Rock Music, Downingtown branch on Saturdays. She's also contemplating a return to Drexel University to finish out her senior year and graduate but may continue to defer if her career continues to flourish and she goes into the recording studio herself.

Speaking of MySpace, I found a cool review of the Belew show in Seattle right here courtesy of my new pal, The Propheteer (love that name):

"...Adrian is touring with what he calls his Power Trio, himself, Eric Slick (19) on drums and Julie Slick (20) on bass, a brother & sister duo introduced to Adrian by Paul "School of Rock" Green in February of 2006. You may have seen the movie about Paul Green's efforts? There are two other efforts (possibly inspired by each other) you may have heard of, the Jack Black movie or Gene Simmon's Rock School. These kids are in Adrian's words, the two best young muscians in the United States at this time. And that was exactly what we saw last night. Tonight they will be playing at the Aladdin Theatre in Portland, Oregon with the notable California Guitar Trio.

Together, they are mind blowing."

The Seattle show had some luminaries in the audience - ha ha - the Vice President of Starbucks and the man who does story boards for The Family Guy -- in fact, he attended 3-4 of the shows. It's amazing how many great fans attended more than one show -- Daryl Darko, Burton Lo, Rena Fay -- see my Incredible Thank You Post below for links and more details. It's a testament to what great musicians these guys are and what a fantastic show they put on.

Here's some more stuff I found via blog/google stalking:

The California Guitar Trio, who opened up for the Belew Trio in California and both Oregon shows and already had one blog post about them, wrote about the experience again right here:

"...This past Friday evening we played with the Adrian Belew Power Trio at Villa Montalvo. The carriage house theater is an actual carriage house that was converted into a beautiful small theater. The show was completely sold out. CGT played a one-hour set to open the show. The highlight of the show for me was playing 2 pieces with Adrian at the end of our set. We've known Adrian for many years, but this was the first time that we actually played together. After a short intermission the Adrian Belew Power Trio began a very powerful set. With Julie Slick on Bass and Erick Slick on drums, the 19 and 20 year old brother and sister that Adrian met at the School of Rock are absolutely amazing players! The show was absolutely phenomenal. I had heard reports from friends that had seen the Power Trio recently that they were good. And I was completely blown away. So good!"

I also couldn't help but notice Eric received some really cool comments on his soon to be up-dated tour blog...here's a few of them:

"Hey Eric, A saw the show in San Fran, man, I CANNOT believe your talent! amazing show. I met your teacher too, he seemed like a pretty interesting guy. It was great when you'd do little random things in between songs, you did em good too!

I don't count on you remembering, but I was the only kid in Slim's, a young Crim-head at age 16, and I'm so jealous you get to tour with the man himself at your age!"
****

"Eric,

I was the guy you stuck your tongue out at in Solana Beach (memorable moment between you and I, I'm sure...) and then I stalked you in a respectful manner following you to Long Beach. Your mom got me stoked up on Wednesday afternoon so I felt compelled to make the drive.

Love your music, love your energy. You three definitely have a great groove with Adrian and I'm grateful to have been able to catch up with you three.

I hope you continue to have amazing adventures and I look forward to seeing you again."
****
"Hey - just saw the power trio last Friday (11/10/2006) at Villa Montalvo - You all tore it up! I've been a Belew fan for many, many years and I've liked all the lineups, solo to sextet (w/Crimson).

You and your sister bring a great deal of energy and talent to the shows and are such a great mix with Adrian's "I'm the happiest guy in the world and I'm loving what I'm doing on stage right now" attitude.

Anyway - you all rocked Montalvo and we'll all be watching you and your sister's career with great interest."
****
"Whooooo Hooot!
Eric, I saw you last night (Nov 5, 2006) in Phoenix. You guys rocked like Atlas

Amazing drumming, Eric. You got all the licks and back beats. You and Julie nailed Frame by Frame, complete with time-gone-missing!"
****
"I was at the Rhythm Room show last night, as well, and was absolutely blown away. I've seen King Crimson three times, and it was great, but the three of you playing last night absolutely blew me away. You and Julie have an amazing energy together, and everyone on stage seemed to be having a blast. I can't wait to see what the two of you do next.

Good luck with the rest of your tour!"
****
"WHOMP!! I was so happy to see the power trio back to back, nov.7 and 8. They rocked hard. Just like the good old days. Three musicians with minimal equipment(sort of...ADE) in a small club setting. IT WAS GREAT!!! doing Thela Hun Ginjeet was ambitious and totaly mind blowing with Adrian going all the way to the stratosphere and julie and eric holding down the beat. UNREAL. I hope someone video taped it.
Thanks for everything!"
****
"Eric,

I'm following your and your Mum's blogs with great interest from the safety of my workplace desk here in England. I've just read that you stayed at the Habitat Suites in Austin, a place I always stay at when I'm over in Austin. It really is a little haven isn't it and Donald, on reception one hell of a nice guy!
Keep up the good work boy!

Steve Luckett"
****
Hey, Steve Luckett, is this you? If so, very cool and drop me a comment here, okay?
****

Anyway, it goes without saying that I cannot wait to be reunited with my family today and escape the madness, meaning I'm currently watching the news and am totally appalled at what's in the headlines -- airline mergers which will cause huge fare hikes for all of us and what the hell happened to the American concept of no monopolies? -- murderer OJ Simpson, craving the spotlight with a new book and tv show How I Would Have Did It (if he did kill his wife and Ron Goldman...IF? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? HE DID IT, ASSHOLES...ARE YOU ALL INSANE?) and Fox Broadcasting system has really stooped to a new dirtball level in promoting the same; people camping out for three days in helacious weather to get a Playstation 3 (get a life, morons. Why not expend your time and energy doing something worthwhile, like protesting the war and global warming and the aforesaid monopolies)...and dear God, also making the national headlines is which celebrity couple won Dancing with the Stars?

Give me a break.

Oh well, thank god for music and the fact that my family is unaffected by bullshit like PS3 and celebrity dancing. Oh my god, I'm getting nauseous just thinking about how far our society has declined...but I'm hoping that this new generation -- the kids Julie and Eric's age (do they have a name yet? They certainly aren't the Me Generation or Generation Slacker) are our real hope for the future. These kids want to make art and music and helped to vote the evil Republicans out of office. Yes!!!!

Anyway, that's it for now -- I have tons of writing news to report and once I finish acting as unofficial publicist for the Belew tour (hey, I still need to find out what happened at the Oregon shows), it will be back to the business of being an author and hawking my books and those of my friends.

Well, okay, you know I'm still going to talk music. You guys enjoying the Citizen Cope MP3 I have playing now? Just you wait...I have all kinds of cool stuff lined up in the future for your listening pleasure.

Later,
xo

The Huge and Incredible Thank You Post

Photo of the Adrian Belew Power Trio at Villa Montalvo, CA, courtesy of the California Guitar Trio

So I spoke to a shaken Gary yesterday -- after two weeks of sunshine in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California, the Adrian Belew Power Trio had to endure driving eleven hours in a snowstorm to Oregon for their final three shows. What made it more difficult is that they don't salt the roads out there -- in fact, it's against the law to drive without chains on your tires, something which is totally illegal on the east coast (driving with chains, that is)...and between the eleven hour distance and the fact that they were driving a huge rented van, Gary and Adrian, who shared the driving, were happy to reach Eugene, Oregon alive and with everyone in one piece.

With two shows left on the Adrian Belew Power Trio...tonight in Seattle at the Triple Door and tomorrow in Portland at the Aladdin Theater, I wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude to the following...oh, but first, when I was just on the website for the Aladdin Theater lifting the link, I noticed that if you review a show you attend there, you can win free tickets to an upcoming concert as well as having your review posted on their website...so why not kill two birds with one stone and write a stellar summary of the Belew show tomorrow night and win tickets to see some legendary performers on their upcoming schedule -- the first names I saw were Mose Allison and Al Kooper -- and I am glad to see the name of Al Kooper because I know he had some serious medical problems and if you aren't familiar with his work, he was a giant back in the underground rock movement of the late sixties, early seventies. His work with the late legendary guitarist Mike Bloomfield is fucking classic and a must listen for all aspiring musicians out there.

Anyway, without further ado -- thank you, thank you, thank you, to:

Daryl for his absolutely fabulous blog posts of the last few days...a few of which actually brought tears to my eyes...here's an excerpt from his latest entry:

"I'm not sure how to start to delve into the story of what happened to me last night. Through my life becoming less private (through the simple act of blogging) my world has become larger. I was invited as a guest to photograph a concert last night! Bleeding hell! You all saw the shitty snapshots I posted from the show at Slim's (which the allowance of my attending that show is attributed to the graciousness of Leah and the management at Slim's. Honest to god they have given me free tickets to 5 different shows there!). And one lonely mother sitting at home the next morning was searching the internet for pictures of her dear children that performed the night before. One soul found another...

I wasn't nervous in the least strangely enough. An hour before the doors opened I saw Julie Slick looking in the window of a music store next to The Catalyst. "Are you Julie?" I inquired. "Yeah." she said. -=Well, I've been talking to your mother on the internet... *Are you Daryl?=- I was talking to a musician from "the band"... I've never! And then after the show I walked up to Eric Slick and told him that my retirement dream was to start a Captain Beefheart cover band. He blew that idea out of the water by boasting that he was "already in a Beefheart cover band..." hahahaha! anyway, told him that I had been talking to his mom on the internet.. "Are you Daryl?" I almost feel part of the family, gosh!

To Daryl again for teaching me how to add music to my blog...right now you are listening to the amazing, amazing Citizen Cope but in weeks to come, I will try and post something new every couple of days.

And to Daryl once more, because I just noticed this, for putting up amazing animated photos of the Belew Trio on his blog (I just saw those pics two minutes ago...he must be adding them the same time I'm posting now...Daryl! How freaking cool! Teach me how to do this! Please?) Meanwhile, I love hanging on his blog because Three of a Perfect pair plays throughout and I sit here singing along. Hey, I told you he was the one who taught me how to add music to my blog, and if anyone else wants to know, drop me a line and I'll email you the top secret code. Ha!

To Joel Klein, who not only took the fantastic photos I posted here of the Belew show in Phoenix, Arizona, but actually snail-mailed me a dozen eight by ten glossies of said photos, which are currently being matted and framed and will be hung on a prominent wall in my living room...stay tuned for a digital shot of that when it's finished;

To Burton Lo, who also furnished me with breathtaking photos of the Long Beach and Solana Beach shows...see Burton's blog post about that as well;

To author Sid Smith of DGM Live, who not only provides daily updates of all things Belew on his site, he just sent me an amazing CD -- Jakko Jakszyk Bruised Romantic Glee Club -- and as soon as the Belew tour ends, I promise a comprehensive review of this simply awesome recording on my blog.

To Bryan Beller, speaking of amazing musicians and CDs, for the kind mention in his blog today (ha ha - I'm such a vanity Google stalker)...which states, in part:

"THE SLICK FAMILY: You probably have heard about the amazing new young phenom drummer Eric Slick, who played a gig with Keneally and I in St. Louis back in October and kicked major ass. He also has a bass-playing sister named Julie, and the two of them are currently serving as the rhythm section for none other than Adrian Belew (is that not the coolest, cutest thing you've ever heard of?). So when a female Slick found me on MySpace, I quickly approved the friend request and wrote her back, telling her that I couldn't wait to see her play with Eric. Imagine my embarrassment when Robin Slick wrote me back and informed me that she was, in fact, Eric's mother. But that miscommunication turned into a new friendship with a very cool self-confessed "rock 'n' roll Mom" and professional, published novelist. I highly recommend checking out her voluminous, constantly updated blog, as well as her brand new website (and not just because she has kind things to say about about my album View). She's a warm, wonderful spirit and, obviously, she brought those kids up pretty damned well."

Thanks, Bryan. I'm blushing. And please click on the actual link to Bryan's blog, there's some really cool stuff there as well as information on purchasing a special tribute DVD to his late friend, bassist Wes Wehmiller, who died tragically of thyroid cancer at age 33...Bryan writes beautifully about Wes here and I can't read it without my eyes filling with tears. I posted this link before, but Bryan's amazing autobiography, The Life of Bryan, which also includes poignant memories of Wes, can be found here.

To Belew uberfan Rena Fay, a/k/a Tickledrop, who not only attended four (I think four, could be five, could be six) of the west coast Belew shows, she provided unbelievable goodies for the Adrian Belew Power Trio and Gary, which included incredible concert stickers, buttons, and best of all, a huge basket of organic goodies with breads and pastries...all I can say is, my family and Adrian are totally overwhelmed with her generousity.

To Todd V. Wolfson, the amazing celebrity photographer from Austin, Texas, who was the first fan to send me photos (Austin was the second night into the Belew tour), and with whom I had two really cool telephone conversations over possible plans to work together in the future...yet another kindred spirit and I'm really chuffed to know there are still people out there my age who are still hip and cool and didn't forget what we learned in the love and peace era;

To Zappa historian Andrew Greenaway, who provided me with information about a certain celebrity Gary met on the tour, and then was kind enough to link my blog and talk about Gary on his own website right here;

To the California Guitar Trio, who opened for the Belew Trio in California, last night in Eugene Oregon (no news of that yet, though as the family is probably still asleep), and again tomorrow night in Portland, Oregon...for being super nice and supportive to Julie and Eric...in fact, I found the above photo on their fantastic and comprehensive website, which includes lots of cool tour related stuff and most importantly, guitarist Bert Lams' tour diary, which states, in part:

"At the end of our set Adrian walked out and joined us on two surf tunes: Pipeline and Walk Don't Run. This was the first time we played with him; another exciting moment on this tour! Adrian plays with two very young and amazing musicians from the School of Rock in Pennsylvania. Their dad was traveling with them. I saw him on the side of the stage, beaming with pride and joy during their set. Adrian is a legendary guitar player; he played with Frank Zappa, David Bowie, King Crimson, Laurie Anderson and Talking Heads, to name a few. He uses a lot of unusual effects, delays and distortion sounds; I loved his reverse delay playing, and his wild rhinoceros and dinosaur sounds in his set! He creates an amazing array of sounds on the guitar, and not only that; he IS one of the finest guitarists on the planet! It was a great honor to have him play with us."

To Julie and Eric Slick, who knew how lonely and depressed I've been getting as the days progress here all alone, besides calming me and humoring me with telephone calls and emails, sent me a magnificent pair of turquoise and pearl earrings made by a Native American which they bought when they performed in New Mexico which I just received late yesterday...if they didn't have my digital camera, I'd take a pic of them now but I surely will when the return;

And to Susan Henderson, who knows I need to be using this down time to write and has a true handle on my competitive spirit...we've challenged each other to finish our novels by the end of the month and even if that doesn't happen, at least I know we're both giving it our best shot. Susan, I know you are having some "problems" right now and here's a new Neil Gaiman (and unidentified friend) to cheer you up and make you melt...actually, I think this is the girl who is an amazing seven year old published comic book artist but I'm not sure.



And hey, speaking of my novel, which Susan had the NERVE to insinuate I wasn't working on, I posted an excerpt in my comments section yesterday but it was unedited and full of..arghh..errors...so in yet another unprecedented move, I'm re-posting that section right now: (Minor children hide your eyes but no, this is not erotica, this is from my mainstream creative non-fiction novel)

"“Ho ho, you want to know about The Rubber Room, do you?”

“Uh…not if it’s anything scary.” I was dead serious when I said that but Mick thought I was kidding.

“Ooh yes, very scary, love. Terrifying even. It’s merely a place on the third floor with a high tech bar and thick rubber walls. Three guesses why the rubber…”

“So people don’t get hurt dancing drunk?”

He burst out laughing. Hey, I thought it was a good answer. I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Okay, Mick, why the rubber?”

“It’s easily washable.”

“Easily washable? What, do people get shot in there?”

Now I had him really going – he giggled like an idiot. But why else would walls need washing if not for being splattered with blood? Ugh, I didn’t want to go to Stage Three after all. Topless men, people stuck in air ducts, bloody murders…

“You daft thing, you,” he said, ruffling my hair. “Easily washable for all of the sex and drugs going on up there.”

“Oh. My. God,” I replied, unable to keep my cool. Well, the coke didn’t help with that either. I had to be seconds away from a coronary. I’d never live to see my eighteenth birthday. And I actually preferred the idea of cleaning up after a shooting as opposed to walls that had to be hosed down after sex.

“Oh, don’t worry. First of all, there are actually even more secret places above The Rubber Room. Areas where private sex takes place. In fact, it’s an inside joke that while hundreds are dancing downstairs, the club’s owners are above them, fucking their brains out and snorting kilos. When you hear people talking about “upstairs at Stage Three”, well, there’s upstairs and there’s the real upstairs,” he said with a bored shrug.

“Oh. Okay. So now I know. But um, why did you say ‘First of all’? What’s second of all? Let me guess -- that must be the second floor. What happens up there? Lobotomies?”

Ha ha, thanks for indulging me...but I couldn't bear the mistake ridden version I posted yesterday and who knows how many people might have read it. Err...judging by the comments, at least two? Ha! Have I mentioned how neurotic I am? And how anal retentive?

Oh well. There's much that needs to be done today. And just two days now until my family returns. So that's it for now.

Maybe.

Later,
xo

Adrian Belew Power Trio: Santa Cruz, CA...and some other stuff

I thought for a change of pace I'd post some very cool black and white art shots of the Adrian Belew Power Trio taken last night in Santa Cruz, California...but you can view the whole incredible slide show, which includes many more amazing shots both in color and black and white, courtesy of Daryl Darko, right here. I haven't talked to my family yet as to how the show went or any other details, but I will report back as soon as I do. I did talk to Gary before I went to bed last night, which was 8:00 p.m. Pacific time and 11:00 p.m. here, and he said that Santa Cruz was an amazing town...hippies everywhere and really cool shops owned by people and not corporations. Have I mentioned how jealous I am to not be on this tour? Gah!

But you know, the internet is really amazing. I continue to make friends daily via this blog and people who find it after attending Belew shows. Daryl, who took the above photos, really touched me this morning when I read his most recent blog post.

I don't talk about my "former" pre-writer life a lot, but for many years, I worked for a wonderful man named Larry Friedman who was more than an employer -- he is a mentor, best friend, and major influence in my life. I went to work for him as a very young girl and one thing he taught me was to always thank people for a job well done and make them feel appreciated. Larry undid years of damage suffered in my childhood by giving me a sense of self-worth and confidence...he made me feel good about myself every single day. When he retired four years ago, he broke my heart but realizing I couldn't stay in that office without him, his retirement gave me the chance to pursue my dream of being a writer. Anyway, so as I've been google searching every morning for blurbs and photos about the Adrian Belew Power Trio's west coast tour this week and last, I make sure that I leave grateful thank yous and comments on the blogs of strangers kind enough to post about shows they've seen and every single one of them has written back to me...and I now have many new acquaintences this week -- living everywhere from Austin, Texas to all over California -- who I know will be friends for life.

Life is pretty funny, though. I see Daryl has a poll on his blog which asks:

Who would you most love to have a cup of coffee with?

Bob Dylan
Roger Waters
Neil Gaiman
Clive Barker
Christopher Walken
Natalie Portman
All of the above
None of the above

Ha ha, notice name #3. Naturally, I voted. Now listen. Check out the current results. How in the hell is Christopher Walken beating Bob Dylan and Neil Gaiman? C'mon, hit the "back button" on that poll and vote. This is a travesty!
****
Okay, it occurs to me that I now have five days left before my family returns and two novels to wrap up, so I must get off-line and start writing. But before I go, here's the new cover for Three Days in New York City -- I gave you the UK link because it's been doing much better in sales over in England (I wonder why ha ha)...and it's got a new cover because for some unknown reason, Borders wasn't happy with it and asked for a new design before stocking it on their shelves. Another Bite of the Apple will have a similar cover, but with a red bitten apple instead and a few other differences...I'll post it when I get it from my publisher.



Finally, for all of your writers out there, this totally cracked me up. It's called "About That Novel You've Been Writing...." (Family Guy is like one of my favorite shows on television right now. What the hell is going on with the Simpsons? Did they fire all of their writers? Good god, they are spiraling downhill this season -- some of their shows this season are literally unwatchable -- and it's breaking my heart. Oh Matt G? I'm available and I'm funny! Hire me!)



Later,
xo