The Adrian Belew Power Trio - Coming to You Tonight from the Earth's Core!

So tonight marks a very important evening in radio history and for the Adrian Belew Power Trio.

From the forum board at WCOM Radio:

"Mojo Ballroom will be broadcasting from the earth’s core this Monday; which, will clinch, for us, the title of being the most underground/hip radio program of all time (The Guiness Book of Records people will be on-site to verify). Operations are underway to erect a giant slide trajectory sort of contraption that will fling FJM into the earth’s core for the remote broadcast.

To finance this costly operation, MJBR has made a time-limited compact with the El Diablo Repo Co. who are generously financing the project. All the Devil is asking for is one song request (what could be the harm in that?) in exchange for his/her/its services. El Diablo stated that commercial radio stations were hell enough to listen to and he/she/it wanted to eliminate the competition… By the way, El Diablo does not look like Ozzy Osbourne, nor Alice Cooper, nor W., nor Ann Coulter, nor Cheney, nor that monster guy from KISS, nor Britney. El Diablo does, in-fact, bear a striking resemblance to Dr. Phil. I noticed that he/she/it was offering unsolicited advice to Robert Johnson (who was jamming away; oblivious to the evil one’s never-ending-stream of banal exhortations)."

So yep, this will take place tonight from 11:00 p.m. until midnight, dj Jonny Mambo is going to play songs from The Adrian Belew Power Trio's Side Four Live, and here is the link for the live stream.

The Christmas Eve show at the same place, also courtesy of Jonny Mambo, will be a two hour tribute to Adrian Belew, Julie Slick and Eric Slick and will air next Monday evening from 11:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. and you can be sure I'll be posting a reminder next week. I mean, how cool to be wrapping Christmas presents whilst hearing the Adrian Belew Power Trio on the radio.

And if Jonny isn't sweet enough, he also posted a review of Side Four Live:

"adrian belew, julie slick, & eric slick=Adrian Belew Power Trio

cd: side four live

rating: totally enjoyable, just go get it
rationale: able to keep jonny's attention for extended periods of time and feels good "

So thank you, Jonny Mambo.

The reason I am posting this at dawn right now is that Julie and I are off to New York City today -- a 7:00 a.m. commute -- to do some secret, major Christmas shopping for the men in our lives and to eat lunch and dinner at the most obscene restaurants we can find. Sigh...oh who am I kidding, she's dragging me to vegetarian no-fat hell. But maybe not...let's see if I can go 50-50 with her; healthy meal; decadent dessert. Or healthy lunch...thai food for dinner. Yes, I know. I have a problem with food. But it's Christmas!

Hopefully this will be a fun, uneventful trip but if our prior New York Christmas jaunts are any indication, I'm sure I'll have much to discuss here tomorrow.

P.S. And if you are anxiously awaiting your shipment of the infamous Slick Christmas cookies, they are going out by UPS today.

Later,
xo

Gah! What a weekend, or Eric Slick update 2

A cell phone photo of a traumatized Eric Slick in the hospital emergency room where we waited for hours and hours and hours this weekend before the "official diagnosis" of appendicitis.

Okay, okay, so it was me who was traumatized - Eric was actually in pretty good spirits for someone in so much pain.

So out of respect to my son, I will spare you all the "fun" details of the weekend from hell (sob...which means I can't talk about Solomon the tranny in the e.r. or any other suchlike things/horrors we witnessed), therefore, I am just writing this as an update to let you know Eric is doing much better - still in pain and on some serious medication to relieve it - but I bet he's practicing drums by the time the week is out.

I do want to briefly give you the surrounding circumstances, but more as a thank you to bass player extraordinaire Dave Dreiwitz. A lot of you have written to me and said "Oh wow, poor Eric, thank God this didn't happen while he was on tour."

Erm...no.

Actually, Eric had just finished a gig with Dave up in Albany, New York late Friday night when he doubled over in pain which did not subside even after an hour had passed. So a very worried Dave drove Eric to the hospital in Albany and stayed with him all during the night while they tried to get to the root of the problem and even gave Eric a CT scan. Finally, at 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning, they released him from the hospital because the pain had somewhat abated, telling Eric "it's probably appendicitis...a normal appendix is normally six millimeters; yours is nine, and by the way, your white blood cell count is elevated. So we recommend you go home immediately and get an abdominal recheck at a hospital where you live within the next twenty four hours."

So what had to be a very drained and exhausted Dave then drove Eric all the way home to Philadelphia after playing a gig and staying with him at the hospital throughout the night. I didn't get the phone call about any of this until they were half way home.

"Oh good grief, Eric, why didn't you call me?"

"Because I know you. You would have jumped in the car in the middle of the night and driven all the way to Albany."

Damn straight I would have.

But oh my god, thank you so much, Dave Dreiwitz, for taking such excellent care of my son. I teased Eric yesterday, now that the debacle is over, that only he could get taken to the emergency room and get such loving care from the bass player for Ween and then get a phone call from Adrian Belew, who also paid tribute to him yesterday in his blog. And hey, did you see Adrian's new website? I love it, especially the fact that you can now sample all of tracks from their new CD, Side Four Live, right on the front page. And speaking of CDs, congratulations to Ween on their new CD, which was their highest debut ever on the Billboard charts and contains my current favorite non-Adrian Belew song, Your Party.

After this weekend, I am so, so happy to be talking music.

It was pretty scary once we were at the hospital in Philadelphia because even there, they weren't sure of the diagnosis, throwing around words like gastritis, kidney stones, elevated white blood cell counts and what that could mean, the possibility of a perforated or ruptured appendix, etc. etc. and because the hospital in Albany had given Eric a CT scan, they couldn't give him another one because of the high radiation levels. So they did more blood work and contacted Albany who then faxed their CT scan results to Philadelphia...anyway, the bottom line of this whole nightmare was that we did not get to speak to the surgeon until after 6:00 p.m. Sunday night and he finally said "Look, I am "pretty sure" it's appendicitis. You have three options here. I can either send you home but it's my guess you'll be back here within the next day or so and by then the appendix may rupture but then again, there's always the chance that the appendix will heal itself and it's just an infection; I can do another CT scan but don't recommend it because of the radiation, or, I can just take out his appendix now and be done with it. The very worst scenario is that I take out a healthy appendix but at least he'll never have to worry about appendicitis in the future..."

Yep, that's what he said.

I looked him in the eye and said, "Well, if it was your son, what would you do?"

He didn't hesitate.

"I'd take it out now before it ruptures..." (and then he proceeded to tell me how deadly a rupture could be, as if I didn't already spend six hours on Google researching it myself once I got the first phone call from Eric. Note to self: Never, ever, ever research medical conditions on Google again. Oy. Web MD can turn a paper cut into something fatal)

Anyway, finally, at 10:00 p.m. Sunday night, they operated...and how weird was the pre-op room...dark, deserted...right out of a horror movie...and yep, it was appendicitis - the doctor made the right call...had it not been removed it would have burst and that would have been a total nightmare, especially if Eric was out on tour far from home or in another country...arghh...the scenario any way you look at it isn't pretty.

Unfortunately, the decision was made for invasive surgery as opposed to laproscopic surgery which made it more painful for Eric but the circumstances and placement of his appendix made it necessary -- and too funny, Eric had to sign forms permitting his surgery/medical records be used for "research and teaching purposes" because naturally his appendix was not where it was supposed to be -- his apparently was in hiding behind his colon...yikes..okay, I have already given you way too much information and my son is going to have my head so enough of that, he's fine and thank God it's over.

Oh, I do have to add one more thing. During the course of all of the questioning at the hospital, the doctors learned Eric is a drummer and the surgeon said "Hey, do you have your new CD here? We can play it in the operating room while we remove your appendix."

Ha ha, that was all I had to hear. I called Gary, who was enroute to the hospital with Julie (I made him stay home until we had the official diagnosis - there was no sense all of us being in the e.r. going nuts for hours and hours), and asked him if he had Side Four Live in the car. Der. Of course he did. And in a stroke of magical luck, he arrived at the hospital with CD in hand just as they were wheeling Eric into surgery.

We were then led to a "hospitality room" adjacent to the operating room to wait while Eric had his appendix removed. When the doctor finally came in an hour or so later to tell us the operation was a success, he added "Wow, all of us - doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists - were rocking out to the music during Eric's surgery."

(Eric would later tell me that his last conscious moment before the anesthesia took hold was hearing Writing on the Wall, which is the first track on the CD, and thinking to himself "this is surreal")

Now of course the best part of this story was Eric being wheeled from surgery into his actual hospital room where we were already waiting for him, because he said things under anesthesia which had us laughing so hard the nurse looked at us really, really strangely -- like, hey, your son just had major surgery and you three are giggling like idiots, but he was so fucking funny we had tears running down our faces.

No, no, I can't tell you what he said (or did)...but it sure took the edge off the two tensest, scariest days of my life.

And that is the story of Eric's appendectomy.

Later,
xo

Eric Slick Update

Thank you for all of your kind emails, which I hope to answer tomorrow.

After many harrowing hours at the hospital, Eric's appendix was (were?) removed at 10:00 p.m. tonight. We just got home this very minute though we would have liked to stay the night - he's very uncomfortable though the surgeon assured us the operation was a complete success and his recovery should be uneventful and fairly rapid.

Fingers crossed for that -- if everything goes as planned, he may even be released from Jefferson Hospital tomorrow afternoon.

I'm exhausted so I'm going to bed and will post more details tomorrow.

Later,
xo

Breaking news...

Eric is on his way home and will not be performing at the Parkside Lounge in NYC tonight...he spent last evening in the hospital with what could be appendicitis...more later

Tonight: Eric Slick at the Parkside Lounge in NYC and Side Four Live is Named a Best of 2007 CD

This Saturday - Dec 8th, 2007
Parkside Lounge, NYC
11:30 - Wrong
10:30 - Crescent Moon (duo featuring Dave Dreiwitz and Eric Slick)
9:30 - John Frazier and the 8 Year Olds

The 8 Year Olds feature multi-string player Pinky Weitzman and John Frazier is known for fronting the band "Works on Blue" with vocals and guitar. *standard 45 minute set.

Crescent Moon features bassist Dave Dreiwitz (ween & tiny lights) and drummer Eric Slick (Adrian Belew & Project/Object). *standard 30-40 minute set

Wrong features the members of Wrong. Including me (robbie seahag). *Standard 1hr 30 minute set.

Please show up at 9:30 to party.
********

So yesterday I had the first of some unexpected painful dental work which...woo hoo...will continue through 2008.

Please kill me.

My food intake for the past two days has consisted of soup and brandy. But oh, what soup it was -- daughter Julie, the angel who can do everything, whipped up a vegetarian tomato curry with lots of "soft" vegetables for me which was freaking amazing -- she brought it over in a huge thermos. What a sweetheart!

Speaking of said sweetheart and her equally sweetheart of a brother, here's yet another most excellent review of Side Four Live written by my hero Scott over at Planet Crimson:

"My copy arrived yesterday and I spun it up right away but the house was full and I couldn't really give it a proper listen. The house is quieter today and I've escaped to some headphone bliss while working. My first reaction:

I've always loved good bass players so it isn't a surprise how often my attention is drawn to Julie's playing. Still I must say that Julie Slick is a BEAST. To see her perform and make it look so damn easy is enough to make an old frustrated player like me alternate between feelings of awe and jealousy. When I saw the trio play in Annapolis last year I told my friend that I was going to go home and sell my bass on eBay. Unfortunately for my family, I didn't.

Eric's playing seems to always be just right. He grooves when he's supposed to groove, and thrashes when he's supposed to thrash. Remembering that he's playing a small (5 piece?) kit makes the performance even more impressive. I'll go out on a limb and say that I think Eric Slick has quite a future ahead of him (and his present ain't so bad either).

Like Mark said, the old guy ain't bad either. It's no secret on this board that I really dig Adrian Belew. He's turned in so many great live performances in the past that you almost take it for granted that Ade will give you his all. He hasn't disappointed me yet and this recording is no exception. Looping parts to become his own rhythm guitarist with ease and then soaring guitar solos over top that seem to just pour out. The guy is one of the most expressive players I've ever heard. The best part is that he is obviously having so much fun that it's probably illegal in Utah. You can almost see the grin on his face after every song."

Scott is also responsible for my new banner at the top of this blog, which, if you click on it, will take you to Ade's website where you can then click on "Store Belew" to order Side Four Live. However, there is something very special planned for next week...and that's all I'm saying...so after that occurs, the link will take you directly to exactly where you want to go...right to Side Four Live.

And speaking of Side Four Live, Grant Street Press has already declared it one of its top five picks for best CD of 2007!

"2007 Albums of the Year:

Honorable Mention: King Crimson: The Collectible King Crimson Vol. 2: Belew's first live gig as Discipline in Bath, England (1981), drawn from a restored cassette recording. Also a Philadelphia gig from July 30th 1982. Excellent quality, great liner notes, we all should be drinking the Robert Fripp cool aid.

5. Explosions In The Sky: All Of a Sudden I Miss Everyone However you brand this type of avant-instrumental rock, this outfit has taken the helm. Everything I've ever heard from them is tight and original. It all comes down to if you got the palette.

4. Adrian Belew: Side 4 Lucky enough to see this tour at B.B. King's Times Square Aug. 8th, 2006, I can tell you that this is the 2nd best thing. Julie, and Eric Slick make up his Power Trio, and they rip through the first three sides, hit some classic Belew, and visit the Crimso years as well. I feel like ordering the grouper fingers, and an Amstel every time I listen to it.

3. Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank The addition of Johnny Marr to Modest Mouse was like adding triple sec to your favorite boozy concoction with a hint of fruit. It smooths it out. No matter what Isaac Brock puts out, it's something to be considered, and here he has a few tunes that to me are among his best. Mixed within another smattering of what should be America's most popular band.

2. Iron and Wine: The Shepard's Dog Listening to this album is the equivalent of spending a late evening amongst good friends. The dust blown off contemplative moments, raucous times, and the black bear claw that took grandma's dog. If the musical element wasn't intriguing enough, the enclosed lyric poster will bring it on home. An essential contemporary rock album.

1. Robert Wyatt: Comicopera: Whatever may come out between now and Jan. 1st could not top this album as the most important work of the year. Though I guess if I had a machine that could travel through time and still write this column, I would say that every time Robert Wyatt released an album. Though the present release puts Garcia Lorca to music, gets some Enotronic treatment, got some Paul Weller, Phil Manzanera, and even Dave Sinclair playing piano on a track. I don't want to give it all away, as you should make it a point to put this in your collection. No matter who you are."
*******

By the way, dj extraordinaire Jeff Menke will be playing cuts from Side Four Live on his show tonight, which runs from midnight until 2:00 a.m. You can get the live stream right here.

*****
In other news, yep, it's true, Papa Slick has updated his blog and I know I am prejudiced but it's a most interesting read. Gary is extremely knowledgeable about music -- I mean, the man even saw the Beatles and Hendrix live as a little baby hippie -- and is incredibly passionate about "Saving the Music" and not in VH1 terms (though there's nothing wrong with that). Please pop over and have a read and as I sit here, I am thinking of ways we can all make a difference. One small but significant baby step I am considering is to start a grass roots on line Petition which we will all sign, post on our respective blogs and websites, and with which we can then all bombard radio stations, record companies, etc. across the country. Your additional suggestions are more than welcome - please post any thoughts you have over at Gary's blog. Cool? Cool!
****
And as you can see from the poster above, just a reminder that son Eric, who has been on the road with Crescent Moon, plays tonight in New York City at the Parkside Lounge, and oh oh oh, I wish I could be there, especially since today is also Santarchy in Central Park.



Julie and I accidentally stumbled on that last year, and I would normally have not missed it for the world but Julie and I will be in New York on Monday and oh boy, will I have a story in connection with that for you next week...

But seriously, if you are anywhere near New York City today, you really need to go to Central Park and see this. Trust me - it is so, so worth it. And then you can catch Eric at the Parkside Lounge afterwards and make it an absolutely perfect day altogether.

In other Eric news, he's got some more gigs lined up with Delicious...more on that later...but in the meantime, here are the dates and venues:

24 Jan 2008 22:00
Funhouse Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
25 Jan 2008 20:00
Black Lodge Philladelphia, Pennsylvania
27 Jan 2008 21:00
Asbury Lanes Asbury Park, New Jersey

Ha ha - I just realized the times are "military" and I can never figure that out but I am making an educated guess that 22:00 is 10:00 p.m. and 21:00 is 9:00 p.m....please correct me if I am wrong. Or not. We have six weeks to go so I'm sure I'll have it sorted out by then. I just know that sometime between his gigs with Crescent Moon -- and don't forget the show on December 28 at John and Peters -- Eric will also be returning to Casa Belew in Nashville for lots of pre-tour work.

I know I've said this before but I really want my kids' lives. Although my life is more than a little interesting lately, too...stay tuned for further details.

On a final sobering note, as I just went to post this entry, I realized that today is December 8. I can never see or say that date without feeling the worse sense of pain and loss. A moment of silence, please, for the late, great John Lennon.



Later,
xo

Side Four Live! The Reviews Are In!

Cover Painting by Adrian Belew

Before I get to the news of the day, which are incredible reviews of Side Four Live, two major, important events are occurring today.

First, Thursday, December 6, 2007, Gary Slick launches his brand new blog, which is cleverly titled "Sir-Realistic Fellow" and please visit to find out (1) why it has that name and (2) for a way cool, behind-the-scenes story about the trio and their new CD. I also love the name of his opening post: Greetings from 21st Century Schizoid Dad. Ha! It's a fun read but even funnier was Julie's face when she walked into the living room at 10:00 p.m. last night and saw Gary at the computer busily typing away while I sipped a brandy moodily at the dining room table. She totally cracked up, like, What's wrong with this picture?

"What's the matter, Mom, is Dad stealing your computer time?"

"No!"

She laughed again. "You are so lying."

"I am not. Daddy is working on his new blog. I think it's awesome. I'm just tired -- you know me, I'm in bed by 10:00 p.m. but I'm staying here in case Dad needs my help."

"You can go to bed," Gary said.

Julie giggled again and then turned her teasing to him.

Gary pouted.

"Oh come on, Dad. Eric and I teased Mom like crazy when she first went on line back in 2000. (Yeah, I was a late bloomer). It's part of the initiation."

I stuck my tongue out her; she left to go see her boyfriend Matt's band -- more on that in a minute -- play at a bar in Old City...Gary resumed typing, and I finished my brandy and gratefully accepted his kind offer to call it a night. Monty Dog and I snuggled under the covers, and I don't know what time he finished up, only that when I came downstairs this morning there was a new and shiny blogpost all ready to go.

So yay, Gary! Welcome to the world of blogging!



Which brings us to new item #2. Julie's boyfriend Matt, as you know, is in an awesome band known as Cheers Elephant, (by the way, Julie produced the tracks on their CD which you can sample on their website)...and they are taking part in a wonderful concert tonight at World Cafe Live as part of Musicians on Call, which is a community outreach program that brings live music performances to patients in healthcare facilities around the Philadelphia area. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. tonight and the show starts at 7:30 -- anyway, I hope to see a lot of you there.
*****

Okay, I know I am prejudiced, but I also consider myself a musicologist. So when I heard Side Four Live for the first time, I was like, is it just me or is this the best freaking new CD to be released this year?

Apparently, I'm not alone in my sentiments.

From Ramiro Rodriguez over the Planet Crimson Forum Board...and I have to say, Ade seem to have the most artistically talented fan base of any musician out there. Click on Ramiro's link - his work is outstanding and I think that's one of the things I love most about this blog...that I am constantly turned on to the coolest people.

"My impressions of the new
Adrian Belew (and the Power Trio)
Side Four (Live) cd

Ade’s powerhouse trio kicks off with a frenetic yet tasty “Writing on the Wall” that is solidly grounded by Julie Slick’s bottom end. Makes me wonder if this is why the young woman wears no shoes on stage – to keep Adrian and her brother Eric’s fast paced chops from sailing off through the roof.

An old Crimson favorite from THRAK, “Dinosaur” comes next. The composition gets some new twists from the Trio, mainly substituting the synth guitar break for some signature Belew dino blasts. The Power Trio does the Double Trio proud.

The main groove of “Ampersand” gets more of an ebb and flow feel than the previous “Sides” cd versions. The drumming is not as busy yet still powerful with the right amount of finesse.

“Young Lions” has all the galloping jungle rhythm of the cd version. An added, almost bolero-esque, break provides the base for some crazy Belew guitar pyrotechnics.

Eric leads off “Beat Box Guitar” with some fine high-hat sticking. The trio has really expanded this gem into a highlight jam platform. The talented Slick rhythm section really holds it down while Adrian works over the top with an assorted bag of guitar sounds that are pure Belew. However this isn’t just a showcase for Ade, the three musicians really lock in with some great interplay and even drop in a “Discipline” nod.

Adrian’s layered backwards guitar sound on “Matchless Man” is one of the most strangely beautiful effects I’ve ever heard.

Eric and Julie lay down the ominous grounding groove to one of the harder songs for me to listen to on cd - “A Little Madness.” It’s difficult listening for sure. Live, however, this beast builds with the layered architecture of maddening looped Belew wailings. The live experience feel is excellently captured on Side Four and this track is the proof of the quality engineering and mastering done by John Sinks and Saul Zonana respectively.

The hypnotic, “Drive,” allows an intermission of sorts as the Slicks take a breather. Adrian accompanies himself via rhythms built from loops. My very favorite part in this solo piece speaks to my inner Beatlemaniac - the “Within You Without You” reference. Wow!

The Slicks rejoin Ade for a rollicking “Of Bow and Drum” complete with ghost harmony vocals by Biff Blumfumgagne. I’ve always loved the pinched squeal of the guitar on this piece but it’s Belew’s attention to contrast in texture that really makes it for me. Julie and Eric’s groove at the end is a treat as well.

The re-vamped, big drum sound of “Big Electric Cat” made me think I was going to hear “Gun Man” for the first few beats. The update polishes up this older favorite.

Two classic 80’s Crimson songs played as encores during the tour close out the cd. “Three of a Perfect Pair” is probably my favorite KC tune and watching/hearing Adrian playing his and Robert’s parts while singing in odd time is amazing. Julie’s playing and rich sound should make Tony smile. A short nod in the “Frame by Frame” direction is fun to hear as well.

A run through “Thela Hun Ginjeet” makes for the perfect leave-them-wanting-more ending to a great set and cd. Adrian is always a pleasure to experience live. I’ve seen him many times over the years with Crimson, the Bears and solo. Every time I’ve seen him play he always looks like he’s having the time of his life on stage. It’s nice to hear a recording that captures that sense of joy and satisfaction. Time to hit repeat."
*****

From my pal Robert Belew (no relation to Ade; he just coincidentally has the same name) over at My Belew Marble:

Side Four (live)

"I received this tasty slice of time in the ol' postal receptacle yesterday.

Recorded live at Canal Street Tavern in Dayton, Ohio on February 16th, 2007

If you have seen The Power Trio, or better yet, if you haven't, you are going to be enthralled with this sonically thrilling roller coaster ride that is anything but coasting.

As Adrian proclaims in the brief liner notes, "this is the raw unadorned account of most of what happened next."

I actually like the fact that it's unpolished after the fact and shows how cohesive and gifted this unit is.

On the other hand, it still has that edge to it that says "this is live", warts be damned, of which there are few.

Julie Slick's bass comes through thunderously on this recording and really shows her understanding of the material, Julie is a Thonk Queen. Eric is capable of drumming with the best, and has.

I started listening, as I could, in my car and it sounded awesome. I decided to move indoors to my HDCD decoding surround system and start from the start.

Wow!

This is as close to what it might sound like on the studio monitors as a poor boy could get on a shoestring.

The disc clocks in at a tad over 67 minutes with a minimum of stage banter and a focus on the music, as it should be.

John Sinks has settled nicely into the sound engineer seat and this recording shows it. We all dearly miss Ken but I think he would be tipping his hat to his friend for his work at the helm.

Biff Blumfumgagne has taken over as stage tech and provided those hither to mysterious backing vocals and harmonies.

The Crimson cuts, while having been recorded live in many settings before this, take on a new life and are welcome additions to the Trio cannon. Dinosaur seems fresh and driven with a slightly quicker pace to my ears.

Young Lions, which has been one of the "solo" spotlights in the past, is given the full three piece treatment here and it is a rollicking rendition indeed.

The true "star" here though is the new material plus "Of Bow & Drum". (Is it too late to tour the Op Zop album proper?)

The Grammy nominated "Beat Box Guitar" has some space in the middle for Adrian, Eric and Julie to play around a bit and, they do.

"A Little Bit of Madness" is a barn burner and I'm surprised that the venue is still standing at the end.

Adrian gives full voice to the Belewps concept in "Drive" with the rhythm section on break. The sound of the car starting this track off moves around in my speakers and drives right on by as Adrian digs in.

"Writing on the Wall", "Ampersand", Matchless Man" all come across as fresh and exciting, considering that Eric and Julie did not play on the originals, they have had space to make these versions their own.

"Big Electric Cat", a favorite of college radio in the way back when, is always fun and welcome, this rendition is no exception with new life.

In the musical circles that I frequent, talk of the annual "best of 2007" lists has already begun in earnest. I'm glad that Side Four has hit the ground in time to be in mine.

As with the previous "sides", this one has cover art as painted by Adrian with a great band photo by Mark Colman.

Mixed and Mastered by Saul Zonana.

Thanks to Rob Murphree, the official Webmunky, for keeping us informed and providing a home for the Elephant Blog and download store which has provided a whole new way for us to appreciate and keep tabs on the world of all things Belew.

Thanks to Adrian for taking the time to share in the Blogosphere and regale the loving public with so many fascinating tales.

Oh, and, thanks for the great music of which there has been an abundance, in the past few years."
*****
So how freaking cool was that?

Today has therefore started on the kind of note I like, and I even got what could be some very interesting...okay, great...writing news which I will share as soon as I know more.

In the meantime, make yourself or someone you love very happy and pick up your copy of Side Four Live today. To make it easy for you, I will repost the link again right here.

And hey, hey, it's not on their website yet, but another show has just been added to the spring Belew tour - March 2 at the Fox Theater in Boulder, Colorado.

And oh my, today is also the birthday of two very special people - my way cool brother, David, and my brilliant writer pal Maryanne Stahl. Happy Birthday, you two!

Later,
xo

Odds and Sods for Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Amazing poster of the trio put together by Scott Abernethy of Nerdy Rhino Development.

So some really sweet reviews are starting to come in for Side Four Live and I'll post a few snippets here, but first I want to give you a heads up as to a couple of new shows just added to the Adrian Belew Power Trio spring tour:

On March 1, the trio will be in Aspen, Colorado at the Belly Up and after having a look at the photos of that venue and Aspen itself, I'm wishing I was on this entire month long tour and not just the west coast leg as previously planned but oh well...maybe next time. I think I already mentioned this, but there is also a show now scheduled for Cleveland, Ohio at the Beachland Ballroom on March 7.

As far as I know, the tour schedule is almost complete now, but look for a date or two to be added in Chicago the first week of March and possibly a date in Denver...stay tuned...you know I will post the news here as soon as it's confirmed. I'm kind of freaking out that this tour will be like a show a night for an entire month. Can you believe how amazing this trio will be after playing together that much? Don't kill me for this, but you should hear the Japan recordings when they played two shows a night for over a week. If there are three tighter more talented musicians in the universe, I do not know who they are.

So here's a couple of blurbs I've found/received so far as concerns Side Four Live:

Tom says:

"...I realized I needed something rude and noisy to kick me out of the funk I’d gotten into, and that thing was Adrian Belew’s Side Four (Live), which arrived yesterday bearing the signatures of all three members of the trio. The amount of noise that guy can create on one guitar, live, is simply astounding, and he’s backed by a very able rhythm section in the form of the brother-sister duo of Eric and Julie Slick on drums and bass, respectively. She is especially impressive, nailing not only Tony Levin’s bass parts but his tone - and all at all of 20 years old. She’s going to have quite a career ahead of her."
*****

Mike Inman, a very talented artist who should really get himself a website (ha ha - I hear Scott at Nerdy Rhino is most excellent, Mike) sent an email which blew me away:

"Did you get yours yet? The new ADRIAN BELEW - SIDE FOUR LIVE?

I must say as amazing as Adrian is on guitar.....when i watch or listen to those two play I have to say that Adrian is truly the third of a PERFECT PAIR!

I have seen them live now once and I was so blown away! As much of a guitar freak as I am......when i was there I was paying more attention to Eric and Julie....because it's like the two of them make up this most incredible wall of sound and Adrian is wedged in between....anyone else get what i mean?

His playing is INCREDIBLE and he is one of my all time favorite guitarist... and I live for guitar playing like his but when the bass and drums can make me watch them more than the guitarist... well I think that is nothing short of MIRACULOUS! for me anyway!

I am listening to this new cd and THIS CONCERT WAS TRULY MAGICAL!

The recording really does do the live performance justice and that is a very hard thing to capture!

HOWEVER This cd is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES NOW! And hey...I even had a few audience recordings from this tour.....but this show..this recording this mix...i must say its AMAZING!

KEEP THOSE TWO AT YOUR SIDE ADE! YOU ALL THREE ROCK!

Thanks so much for Robin letting me know the other day that the CD was on its way...for me THIS IS CHRISTMAS NOW! This is MY BEST PRESENT ALL YEAR!.......

I am only on song 5 BEAT BOX GUITAR! OH BOY! ...if you don't have this RUSH AND GET YOUR COPY NOW!

ERIC REMINDS ME of the POWER OF MOONEY ON DRUMS! KEITH MOON!

PEACE to all in the TRIO! KEEP UP THE INCREDIBLE WORK and PLEASE COME BACK TO CHARLOTTE NC..."
*****

My good buddy Rena, who I am finally going to get to meet in person when the Belew tour swings by San Francisco in February (and by the way, I will be doing a reading/signing in that city and maybe another west coast town or two at a couple of bookstores while I'm there...more details to follow) left me a comment on my blog yesterday:

"Guess what I'm listening to?!!! I love everything about it. The note, the pics, the music - I love it all! And I couldn't help but notice that your name is listed inside too! What a thrill! Congratulations on the kids first, with many to come I'm sure. It's only just begun.."
*****

Yeah, I didn't want to mention it until the CD actually went on sale and people started receiving copies, but imagine my delight and shock and yeah, yeah, tears, when I saw that Gary and I are thanked on the inside flap of the CD. I mean, come on, a rock and roll legend acknowledged the two of us on this brilliant recording and I wasn't supposed to break down weeping? Ha! Now I haven't been able to wipe this goofy ass grin off my face for days.

From the Planet Crimson Forum Board:

"Eric Slick Rocks!!!

It needed to be said."
*****

"Julie Slick Rocks!!!

The old guy ain't bad either."
*****
So that's just after day one...the CDs literally were just sent out and I cannot wait to read more reviews after others have had the chance to have a listen. I will trade books for CD reviews - my books, that is, so if you forward me your reviews to either post here or to send to various music 'zines on the web, I will in turn forward you an autographed copy of Three Days in New York City or Another Bite of the Apple or both...your wish is my command.

In other news, as I mentioned here the other day, Eric is currently on tour with Dave Dreiwitz of Ween in this amazing bass and drums band known as Crescent Moon. Their schedule is as follows:

Thursday, December 6 at Nectar's in Burlington, Vermont;

Friday, December 7 at Red Square in Albany, New York;

Saturday, December 8 at the Parkside Lounge in New York City.

For more details on this mini-tour and other nice things, visit the Ween Forum Board.

Okay, that's it for now...more dish later when I have a chance to recover from all the excitement of this morning...

Later,
xo

All kinds of cool stuff...

I love those photos of Adrian, Eric, and Julie. They were taken at the Quebec Summer Music Festival, July 11, 2007 by Yves Gagnon.

So a bunch of cool stuff happened recently as concerns the release of Side Four Live.

My absolute favorite, of course, would be a comment posted on my last blog entry as follows:

"festinagreg has left a new comment on your post "Art Appreciation Day on the Slick Blog...:

Side Four arrived today! I wasn't sure they could capture the power and intensity of the live show but it is so amazing. Your kids have taken Adrian to a new level."

Tell me that didn't make my day. I got the chills.


There's Adrian, autographing several CDs at Casa Belew, which, as you can see if you click on the photo and make it grow before your eyes, already contain Julie and Eric's signatures and which a bunch of lucky fans should be receiving as early Christmas presents this week. And hey, please also notice the amazing photo of the trio taken by Mark Colman which appears on the inner flap.

I don't remember if I posted this or not, but this month Julie will be interviewed by bassist extraordinaire Bryan Beller for Bass Player Magazine.

Friday, we had a photo shoot at our house for a feature which will appear in the March/April issue of Philadelphia Style Magazine. Julie and Eric are being interviewed as "Vanguards" - Philadelphia celebrities - in connection with the release of their new CD and show at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia on March 12, 2008.

On Thursday, Gary was listening to WXPN and they were having their pledge drive. One of the premiums being offered for a large pledge was a scholarship at Rock School. Jim McGuinn, the program director for YRock at XPN mentioned that two of the rock school graduates had gone on to play with Adrian Belew and how excellent was that.

Gary works five minutes away from XPN's studios and decided to swing by with a copy of Side Four Live. Jim McGuinn freaked out and got on the radio and said "The coolest thing just happened. Gary Slick stopped by with the new Belew CD, and yeah, his daughter, Julie Slick is Adrian's bassist and son, Eric Slick, is his drummer, and they are the first two graduates of the Paul Green School of Rock Music to officially "make it"." Anyway, off the air, Jim and Gary had a chat and Jim was really psyched about the CD and said he would be in touch so fingers crossed you'll be hearing cuts from the CD on YRock on XPN sometime soon as well as some other possible cool stuff in connection with XPN...

Eric is doing a couple of shows this week with Crescent Moon - he'll be in Vermont on Thursday and New York on Friday - never a dull moment in that man's life...and Julie and I are busy planning our annual Christmas trip to New York...that always yields a hell of a good story. The best might have been last year when we stayed the Bates Motel and saw 10,000 Santas and a dildo menorah but then again, it is hard to beat Christmas, 2005 when I had a panic attack in Chinatown...check out the archives here for December 2005 and 2006 if you want a good laugh.

And hey ho, I see that mysterious, infamous author has posted the blurb I wrote for his/her new collection of short stories, which, by the way, I strongly urge you to order right here. Trust me on this. You will thank me later. Big time.

Finally, don't forget to check out the always changing eric slick dot com for Eric's most recent news, tour dates, and updated blog posts.

Later,
xo

Art Appreciation Day on the Slick Blog, or, My un-birthday card from, erm, Neil Gaiman, I mean, Eric Slick, and the brilliant work of Julie Slick

Too funny - even though it was Gary's birthday, Eric, who always creates the absolute best greeting cards, felt compelled to make me an un-birthday card, and before I even read it, I burst out laughing as soon as I saw what I think is an incredibly great drawing of Neil Gaiman and immediately reached for my camera...then I read what the card actually said and broke up giggling altogether.

So yeah, as I pointed out in yesterday's post, Gary is now officially middle-aged (ha ha) and maybe it's just me, but on a scale of one to ten, his birthday was like off the charts. First, as I showed via the photographs I put up in my aforesaid blog entry of November 28, he got to finally hold Side Four Live in his hands (we only listened to it like a thousand more times last night, nothing too extreme) and then we (all of us, even Monty dog) walked over to boyfriend Matt's house where Julie prepared probably the best dinner ever, and even though I had my new camera phone with me, I regret to say that I was so busy stuffing my face, I forgot to take photos of the meal, which is really regrettable since as delicious as it was (details to follow), the presentation was magnificent. However, I did finally remember to take photos of some of Julie's artwork hanging on the walls at Matt's place, and I was so preoccupied with that I totally forgot to take food pics.

Here's a portrait she did of one of my heroes, Kurt Vonnegut, and Julie, I know you don't read my blog but Eric, tell your sister I want one of these for Christmas!



Next, we have her amazing sketch of Nietzsche;



How about a little Camus...



And finally, last but not least, from Terry Gilliam's brilliant Brazil:



Julie and Eric do not have too much talent, huh. But all kidding aside, if you look at some of the great musicians out there, many of them are/were great artists as well...Lennon, Clapton, Ron Wood, Bowie, Belew...the list is endless. I honestly thought Julie would go to art school; Eric was drumming at age two and Julie didn't seem interested in music until one day at age eleven she idly picked up one of Gary's basses and then asked for a mega-expensive Fender for Christmas, which I said we'd buy her if she would agree to take actual music lessons...and that's how we met Paul Green and the rest is history...

Okay, so what did Julie prepare for Gary's birthday dinner?

She made four different meals, which is mind blowing in itself - one for vegetarian Eric, one for carnivores Matt and Gary, seafood for Julie and me, and then she actually made me a separate lunch to have for today.

For Eric, she stuffed huge portobello mushrooms with roasted artichokes, spinach, tomatoes, and cheese and a side of those sick mashed potatoes she also made at Thanksgiving. For Gary and Matt, braised short ribs which sat in a puddle of horseradish cream served over mashed potatoes, topped with a stuffed portobello mushroom ala Eric's platter, and for the two of us, the same dish, minus the cheese and short ribs, but with seared scallops instead. For my noon meal today, she made brown rice which she tossed with all kinds of veggies, more seared scallops, and topped with a honey mustard shallot dressing.

Is it lunchtime yet?

Dessert was a cream cheese pound cake with a fresh blackberry compote - she found berries the size of softballs...it was truly one of those meals where you let out sensual sighs with every bite.

Life is so, so good right now...

Later,
xo

Happy Birthday Papa Slick!

Wow, what a birthday Gary is having today - it already started at midnight when he hung out downstairs while Julie and Eric autographed mass quantities of Side Four Live.


Julie has obviously just caught of glimpse of Gary lurking downstairs and is looking at him suspiciously.

Even though she was working last night and didn't get home until very late, a very excited Gary stayed up because the CDs needed to be autographed and sent back to Nashville today. My instructions to him before I fell asleep:

"Take some photos of J&E signing the CDs," I yawned.

"Oh god. There she goes, giving orders from her warm spot under the covers. Okay, I'll try to get some pics but they are going to hate you," Gary laughed.

"Maybe they won't notice. Be discreet."


Erm, I think they noticed.

And now they will obviously know for sure, but how can I not post this? I mean, is it every day your brilliant offspring are asked to autograph mass quantities of their very first CD, Side Four Live, starring the incredible genius Adrian Belew?

Gary is a saint. Not once did he suggest that I stay up and take said photos myself and be the one to suffer the consequences - the wrath - of Julie (not Eric, he's my good child...hahahahaha...just kidding)

I can't divulge the "liner notes" but suffice it to say that if Gary ever had a better birthday in the, gulp, decades and decades I've known him, I cannot think of one.

Happy Birthday, Gary! We love you!!!!!



(Dad, how about we spend tonight at our favorite spot at the beach? Love, your other child, Monty)

xo
Later