Tonight: The Adrian Belew Power Trio on WXPN!

I am so psyched it's ridiculous. First, I'd like to roll out my brand new amazing website. Isn't it gorgeous? Many thanks to Scott Abernethy, my incredibly patient and talented webmaster, who made it all happen. Scott is also webmaster for Planet Crimson, Eric Slick, and co-webmaster for Adrian Belew, among others. So to say that I am in very capable hands is putting it mildly.

You can now easily access this blog by going to my website. The opening lines of each day's journal post will appear on the home page and you can merely click on that to get here.

Second, heart be still, tonight, between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., dj Jim McGuinn at WXPN, the ONLY real rock and alternative music radio station in Philadelphia, will play a selection from Side Four Live!.



Here's a little bit about WXPN and what a big deal this is:

"WXPN, the nationally recognized leader in Triple A radio and the premier guide for discovering new and significant artists in rock, blues, roots, and folk, is the non-commercial, member-supported radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. WXPN produces World Cafe®, public radio's most popular program of popular music hosted by David Dye and syndicated by NPR, and the Peabody Award winning Kids Corner hosted by Kathy O'Connell. WXPN also produces the alternative rock service, Y-Rock On XPN as its secondary radio channel in HD that is also available online. WXPN serves the greater Philadelphia area at 88.5 FM, the Lehigh Valley at 104.9, Worton/Baltimore at 90.5 FM, Lancaster/Lebanon at 88.7 FM, Harrisburg at 99.7 FM, and the world via online streaming at XPN.org and XPoNentialMusic.org.

Broadcast Area
WXPN broadcast area includes Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg, Baltimore, and worldwide on XPN.org/listen_live/listen.php

* WXPN 88.5 FM in the greater Philadelphia/South Jersey area
* 104.9 FM in the Lehigh Valley
* 90.5 FM Worton/Baltimore
* 88.7 FM Lancaster/York
* 99.7 FM Harrisburg

WXPN studios are located at 3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

So. Tonight. Between 6-7:00 p.m. Tune in as described above, or listen via the internet to the live stream which you can access right here.

Special thanks to all involved in making this happen: Gary Slick, for relentlessly "stalking" XPN (just kidding, he's been unbelievable, though...racing to the station after hours of work and providing Jim with a CD, following up with emails and phone calls, and doing his best to convince him that we aren't crazed stage parents but devout music lovers who pinch ourselves every day that Julie and Eric are in a band with one of our musical heroes), Program Director Dan Reed, and DJs Matt Reilly and Jim McGuinn. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Now. What cut(s) do you suppose Jim will play?

Oh god. I am hyperventilating just thinking about it.

And if you really want to get the word out there about how awesome this CD is and personally thank the folks at XPN, please join their forum and post your thoughts. And erm, it would help immensely if you would also add that you'd like them to keep playing the CD, and even recommend your favorite selections.

Finally, before I go, just a note that Eric has updated his blog and he's got some really funny stuff in there. He makes me laugh out loud.

Later,
xo

Odds and Sods for Wednesday, January 2, 2008

So as you can see, I've been redecorating in here for the New Year and gone from basic black to classic white. Why? Well, in the next several days I will be unveiling my new, more colorful website, and I am OCD enough to want the blog to kind of match part of the site...especially since you will now easily be able to access my blog via my regular website and my brilliant new webmaster has set it up so that the first few lines of my latest journal entry will appear on the front page of my new site.



Oh, I am so dying to post a link to it now so you can all see it but it's still under construction.

You had to see what I went through just to change colors. Oh. My. God. If you change templates with blogger, you lose all of your links which would have meant I would have lost every single thing on the right hand side of this blog -- my awards, the photo of Dennis Kucinich (ha)...everything. So I tried to be a lazy smart ass and copy my entire template from the "basic black site" to the new white one, not realizing that the HTML codes for the colors are scattered throughout the entire template. So I actually had to make up a dummy white blog and manually, line by line, compare it to the template of my old blog, and switch the colors one by one...the whole process took me over two hours and I still don't have it quite right (like, I think I somehow lost the thick margin around the header, etc.) but I am so proud of myself for figuring this out myself! As I've mentioned many times, to say that I am technology challenged is putting it mildly.

Also, before I get to the news of the day, I'm just reminding you again about the release of 39 and Holding...Him, for which I had the pleasure of being editor:



"Let's face it, 40 is the new sexy! And Phaze is celebrating with this sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching, and always passionate collection of mature heroines who set out to prove that once you crest the hill, you begin to pick up a little speed.

Features stories by Robin Slick, Victoria Blisse, Fenner Jeckyll, Jalena Burke, N.L. Belardes, N, Missy Lyons, Shanna Germain, Rebecca Adamsi, and Belinda Franklin.

Get ready for the second exciting volume in this series: 39 and Still Holding!"

The print version should be out within the next couple of weeks, but for instant gratification for your Kindle, Sony Reader, or just an instant digital read in general click right here.

More importantly, today, January 2, 2008 only, the paperback version of Three Days in New York City and Another Bite of the Apple are on sale for 25% off - to get the discount, enter OHOHOH in the coupon code box when you check out. This goes for all other Phaze paperbacks as well!
*******
Okay, how hilarious is this? As you can see, I found it on the Fender Guitar Forum Board:



This all stems from the fact that guitarist Jeff Beck hired a bassist -- a young girl -- who kind of resembles Julie, and also hired Zappa drummer Vinnie Colaiuta...erm...the similarities to the Belew Trio end there, though...just know both bands are awesome -- but the Belew Trio came first!

Anyway, when I found this via Google and read that guy's remark, I broke out laughing out loud and just had to post it here.

So I have a new link on the right hand side of my blog - it's a fantastic, creative website/journal I visit daily called Cecil Vortex. And as if I wasn't already a fan, Cecil recently published a three part interview with Adrian Belew. Here is part one, here is part two, and most importantly, here is part three!

"...CV: With all the projects you've been working on, what are you most excited about?

AB: Right now the trio that I have has touched a creative nerve, has done something amazing that I can't really explain. It's like it's reinvented my music for me -- the trio being Eric Slick and Julie Slick. Eric is twenty. Julie is his sister; she's twenty-one. Eric plays drums; Julie plays bass. And it's just so incredible to have this newfound canvas, which is the three of us playing music together.

They are young, energetic, unjaded, and just completely ready to do anything, like eager little puppies wanting to do it all. And yet they're so adult in their abilities and the mechanics of their instruments and in their understanding of all music.

Because of their parents, they grew up in their living room surrounded by twenty-five guitars, a set of drums, and three thousand vinyl records. They live in Philadelphia; they still live with their parents. They don't even have driver's licenses yet.

CV: Oh my God.

AB: From age eleven on, Eric and Julie have been learning all the music that I grew up learning and everything beyond that. So they know the Beatles -- and they shouldn't at age twenty, but they do -- they know King Crimson and they know Zappa and they know all the stuff. The end result is suddenly I'm thrown into this wonderful fire with two young, brilliant players, and it's caused me to almost rethink what I do. I have to now take everything I've done and I can put it back into a new form -- a trio form -- with a younger, more aggressive kind of attitude.

CV: What drove you to bring on players that age?

AB: I was looking to form a trio and had tried two different lineups. The first lineup I tried, my thinking was, use someone locally, so we could woodshed here in Nashville where I live and I have a studio. And I tried some local players [but] that didn't work. So my second thought was, okay, I'll go to tried-and-true people that I've known for a long time -- some older players, older friends of mine. And that worked a bit and was pretty good, but it wasn't perfect; it wasn't the right chemistry.

So I was still looking and thinking, “Well, I still really want to do a trio.” I felt that that would help define my current writing as something different from the Bears or from King Crimson or from my past solo work. So it was important to me to get that kind of lineup.

At the same time, Paul Green brought me to his school [The Paul Green School of Rock Music] to be a guest professor for a week. And while I was there he said, "I just have to have you play with my favorite two students I've ever had, the Slicks." And so I did. I played just one song with them and I knew. I just knew, wow, there's something amazing here. It was almost like a chemistry that you couldn't manufacture and you just knew it. They were really wonderful kids, and the more I got to know them, the more I realized, oh, this could really be the trio that I've been looking for.

It didn't immediately work once we stepped out. I mean, every show has been good. But they've all gotten better. And this last round where we just played six shows on the East Coast was almost phenomenal. I couldn't believe it. Every night was just great. Every song sounded fantastic. The tour was happy. Everyone was in good spirits. The audiences were, I think, blown away. And so this is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing….

I'm still in the Bears and I'm still in King Crimson, so it doesn't eliminate those things. It just means that here's another thing that is more my own personal form. And I can really see what I can do with it and how I can take it further and further. So creatively that's very exciting. It's like you've found a new vein in the mine.

The strange thing about creativity in general and being musical and so on -- it's entirely what keeps you young. And this is off the subject of anything you've asked but, to me, that’s one of the best rewards about it. I feel like a twenty-five-year-old. You know, I'm fifty-seven years old; I don't feel that way at all. And when I went to my thirtieth class reunion, I looked like I should have been in a, you know, a different class. [laughs] Because all the people who turned out from my class, they look so much older than me now. And it's not just your looks; it's not that. It's more to do with your spirit. It keeps you so young, to do this for a living.

It's all work. Everything is work. No matter what you're doing there's some work involved in it. It's your livelihood. But I see so many people whose livelihood just burns them out, and the idea of my livelihood being something that really kind of energizes me all the time is -- it's very fortunate. I think it's true and I think it's true of a lot of musical and creative people. It becomes like a bonus. Even if you're not as successful as someone else, you still get the bonus that it keeps you young."
*****
So how cool is that?

And to All Good People on the Yes Forum Board, thank you!

And to Andrew Greenaway, a/k/a The Idiot Bastard, thank you so much for this review:

"ADRIAN BELEW: SIDE FOUR (LIVE) (Adrian Belew Presents, ABP2167)

Track list: Writing On The Wall/Dinosaur/Ampersand/Young Lions/Beat Box Guitar/Matchless Man/A Little Madness/Drive/Of Bow And Drum/Big Electric Cat/Three Of A Perfect Pair/Thela Hun Ginjeet.

Apparently before this was released, some radio station in the US was playing the Adrian Belew Power Trio’s tracks from the Zappanale #17 CD I helped compile. And it’s pleasing that for those CDs we included two tracks not found here: I Remember How To Forget and Lone Rhinoceros. Not listed on the sleeve here is Adrian’s foray into Beatles band’s Within You Without You during Drive. Nice. Adrian and Slick siblings, Eric and Julie, are rightly named the Power Trio – the force of some of their playing can knock you clean off your feets: try the thunderous opener or A Little Madness (renamed here due to dead Mr Katchaturian, and featuring a reference to 21st Century Schizoid Man slipped in by bassist Julie), and see if you can stand still. My favourite track though is the more dreamy and effects-laden Matchless Man – one he unfortunately couldn’t play at Zappanale due to some of his gear going astray. This sure is a fine album, and a great record to start your career with – we’re gonna hear a whole lot more from Julie and Eric, that’s for sure. And if Mr Belew can keep coming up with tunes like those from his back pages covered here and playing as great as this, then he too is gonna be around up for a goodly while longer."
*******
Awesome, Andrew. Thank you!

So today is back to reality, the holidays are over, and normally I am mildly depressed this time of year but there is so much to look forward to I cannot complain. A new website, daughter Julie's 22nd birthday (lunch reservations at Le Bec Fin and dinner reservations at Amada already made), Eric's mini-tour with Delicious at the end of January and then the month long Belew tour in February/March...yep, no reason to be depressed at all!

And there is also lots of writing news as well but this post is already on overload so I will report back here tomorrow with that. Those of you who have submitted to 39 and Still Holding - I hope to have acceptance/rejection letters going out by the end of this week so we can start the ball rolling with that. Cool? Cool!

Later,
xo

Book Sale!

Okay, Happy New Year and all that -- a lot more later -- but for now, two very important writing announcements. Today...okay, yesterday...marks the release of 39 and Holding...Him, for which I had the pleasure of being editor:

"Let's face it, 40 is the new sexy! And Phaze is celebrating with this sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching, and always passionate collection of mature heroines who set out to prove that once you crest the hill, you begin to pick up a little speed.

Features stories by Robin Slick, Victoria Blisse, Fenner Jeckyll, Jalena Burke, N.L. Belardes, N, Missy Lyons, Shanna Germain, Rebecca Adamsi, and Belinda Franklin.

Get ready for the second exciting volume in this series: 39 and Still Holding!"



The print version should be out within the next couple of weeks, but for instant gratification for your Kindle, Sony Reader, or just an instant digital read in general click right here.

More importantly, today and tomorrow only, the paperback version of Three Days in New York City and Another Bite of the Apple are on sale for 25% off - to get the discount, enter OHOHOH in the coupon code box when you check out. This goes for all other Phaze paperbacks as well!

Okay...more...lots more...

Later,
xo

A Review of Side Four Live!

I just woke up and am sitting here with tears (of happiness) running down my face because of this newly posted review of Side Four Live:



"...With headphones adjusted comfortably on my ears, I pushed play, and heard the best live album of the year... maybe the best album of the year... I haven't heard all of them yet can't say for sure.

The Listen

Writing on the Wall erupts like a volcano on a primordial landscape. The thundering sound makes me feel like some kind of Primusaurous Erectus is coming to scoop me up and devour me. Fast as punk and tight as a fine Swiss watch. Suddenly, another Dinosaur rears its head for an old familiar Krimson cover. The bass is masterfully executed, the drums are precise and deliberate. Adrian's voice is powerful as he delivers every note with convincing passion. Pretty freakin' good for an old guy. Oh, and the guitar... Oh, yea... and did I mention the bass? What really stands out on this track is the bare foot pretty's phenomenal frettery. Wow! Queen Crimson.

I had always hoped of one day seeing and or hearing Les Claypool play Ampersand live with Belew... this is probably better. &... I've never been satisfied with the way the song ends. Next, Adrian introduces his masterful young musicians who have just made such an impression on the audience (and listeners at home like me). Young Lions sounds as though the trio has played together for a decade. Adrian's guitar solo roars and reminds everyone what they're there for. He manages his custom-made Parker Fly guitar as though it is an extension of himself. No wonder Beat Box Guitar was nominated for a Grammy a couple of years ago. Infused with a touch Krimsonesence, it really grooves, and is a lot of fun to listen to too. It sounds like the band is having a great time... like three kids in a sandbox. One of the most beautiful songs in the sides series is Matchless Man. The lyrics and backwards guitar give this piece a bit of a Lennon flavour.

Next the band plays A Little Madness. I wonder how mad folks feel about the title. I don't think they'd like it, but I do... really... what, do you think I'm Krazi? In a couple of months, I'm going to Drive all the way to San Fancisco to see this dynamique trio because they're not coming to the vegetarian and barefoot-friendly Santa Cruz. The Slicks sit this one out as Adrian commandeers the wheel and takes everyone a Belooperistic adventure. Nice!

One of my favorite Belew songs is Of Bow and Drum, from the Op Zop Too Wah album. I couldn't ask for a better live presentation. Great job. Last November, I was impressed when these three played Big Electric Cat at the Catalyst here in Santa Cruz. Listening to this track reminded me of the excitement in the air that night. From frogs croaking in the jungle to the slick presentation on this disc, there are now lots of versions of Thela Hun Gingeet for the Krimsonnoisseur to enjoy.

Not Kids Anymore

Now that I've heard Side Four, I feel like it isn't fair to refer to Eric and Julie Slick as kids any longer. They've proven themselves. Any band would be thrilled to have either one of these exceptional performers in their ensemble... Adrian Belew is fortunate to have both of them. He'll have to work hard to keep up with these two.

I have to wonder what is next for the Twang Bar King now that the Sides are complete...

and what of the siblings Slick?"
*******
I can answer that for you, sir. They will be touring tirelessly with Adrian in 2008, there will be a new studio CD, and the sky is the limit. Eric will continue to also tour with Project Object and Crescent Moon in his "down time" as well as a whole bunch of other projects he has brewing -- more on that in a future post. Julie graduates Drexel University with a degree in Music Industry; has a state of the art recording studio she built from the ground up, and will continue to record and produce local bands. Her latest accomplishment is the brilliant CD by Cheers Elephant, who, ironically are getting air play on our local NPR radio station, XPN while inexplicably the Power Trio are not. Though I have to tell you, I may chain myself to their studio in a raging protest soon because this station is supposed to be "indie" and promote local bands but so far Gary and I have been feeling like we've been banging our heads against the wall with them and the last thing we want is for the program director to think we are crazed stage parents nagging "ooh ooh, our kids made a CD, please play it on your station". I am hoping with upcoming articles about Julie and Eric in Philly Style Magazine and Bass Player Magazine, maybe they will come to their senses.

Or maybe we can entice them with Gary's Christmas cookies -- to all of you lucky recipients who have received them, I am sure you will agree that those things are the best form of "bribery" in the entire universe.

Speaking of Eric, raves continue to come in from his performance with Crescent Moon on Friday night mentioned in my last blog post, and here is a great photo of Eric Slick and Claude Coleman, Jr. of Ween double drumming:



This photo was taken by my pal Joe Maida, and he also wrote a cool review so click on that link which includes another You Tube which ROCKS! Thanks, Joe.

Gary and I have a bunch of photos from that night as well and it was my full intention to post them here this morning but then I saw that Side Four Live review and got so joyously distracted that I will have to upload them later and make it a separate post, okay?

Okay!

Finally, I am pleased to announce the debut CD release of the Black Lodge Ensemble featuring Eric Slick, Dan Nitz, Dylan McConnell, Mike Long, Gina Gleason, Meg Callen, Foster Longo, Cheshire Augusta, and many more. Here is the link so that you can be one of the first to own a copy.


Later,
xo

Ladies and Gentlemen: Eric Slick, Claude Coleman, Jr., and Dave Dreiwitz (with special guests Chris Harford, Mickey Melchiondo, and Reverend B-ill)

What can I say about last night that you can't see for yourselves in this (albeit blurry) You Tube -- the double drumming sensation of Eric Slick and Claude Coleman, Jr. of Ween along with Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz. In the audience were Chris Harford, Sound of Urchin's Reverend B-ill and Mickey Melchiondo, a/k/a Dean Ween and you just knew they were going to pick up guitars. Or in this case basses. Everyone traded off instruments, Dave played keyboards, trumpets, Chris and Mickey played bass, then guitar, Chris even drummed at one point and as if my heart wasn't already melted by the end of the evening, Mickey sang Clapton's Wonderful Tonight accompanied by all of the above musicians to end the show.

Oh God, the music lasted until 2:00 a.m. and we didn't make it home until 3:00 a.m. and I'm so exhausted and deaf it's insane but I have to say it's one of the most memorable evenings I've ever had at John and Peters and I've been going to that club for more years than I care to admit.

From the Ween Forum Board:

"Claude and Eric. well, what can you say? I spent the week with some of the premier drummers in the country and they were certainly no better than this duo. as the night went on they got more and more in synch and by the time they whipped out Santana for the next to last tune, they were in lock step. not to mention two of the nicest guys you ever want to meet.

Dave was as fluid as he always is and as in the pocket. the dual bass Harford/DD rocked. mickey and bill played their asses off and an the final song with mick doing You Look Wonderful Tonight in semi-falsetto put the icing on the cake."
*****

"...The show at J&Ps was awesome...

...Two drum sets on the tiny J&P stage. Claude on one side, Eric Slick on the other. They would intermittently SWITCH drum sets mid-song, yet would continue to play as they both walked from one set of drums to the other. FUCKING SICK.

Then of course Dave doing the best of Crescent Moon and Instant Death catalog with those two on drums the entire time...Dave also played this mini-trumpet, and some sorta odd moog keyboard or something from time to time while simultaneously playing bass. FUCKING SICK.

Then Rev. B-ILL joined on guitar. Then Mickey joined on bass. Then Chris Harford joined on a second bass. At several points in the show it was a double-bass, double-drums, double-guitar, synth, and cowbell combo ensemble up there. FUCKING SICK."

Yep, that's basically what I said, too.

Gah! I am way too tired to blog - like I said, I only had a couple hours sleep and am feeling comatose. Okay, there's only one thing to do...I'm gonna watch that You Tube again and CRANK IT UP LOUD!

Later,
xo

Merry Goo Year!

Dave Dreiwitz and Eric Slick, also known as Crescent Moon

So tonight is the Crescent Moon gig at John and Peters in New Hope, and I've been informed that there will be a "special surprise guest". And that's all I'm saying, except for one other thing: The second half of the set will blow you away. And guess who is opening for Crescent Moon? The fabulous Stinking Lizaveta! Is this a must see show? You betcha.

Speaking of Dave Dreiwitz, Drew Vanderburg sent me a trailer for a new documentary which looks AMAZING. So without further ado, here you go!



In other news, if you want a fun read...okay, if you want to spend most of today reading...pop over to Jon Swift's blog. Jon asked a select group of bloggers, including yours truly, to choose their best posts of the year, which he then linked. What did I pick as my very favorite blog entry for Robin Slick: In Her Own Write, 2007? You will have to visit Jon's blog to find out.

Jon (well, Jon is not his real name and as I've said before, I am almost certain I know his true identity because we share a mutual friend) has made me feel guilty because I'm a slacker this week...usually I, too, do a yearly wrap up but I've got so much on my plate right now it's crazy. I've been asked to rewrite the opening of my new book which is way cool but for a few days I wasn't sure I had the voice right. Then, in one of those moments writers just love, all of a sudden it came to me and everything clicked into place. So I'm just letting it sit for a few more days before sending it off with fingers crossed.

I also finished Bitten to the Core, which is the third book in the Three Days in New York City series, so if you are interested in seeing what kind of convoluted mess Elizabeth has gotten herself into now, stay tuned. But if you can't wait and would like to read an out-take from the book, I have good news...okay, great news. The anthology which I edited for Phaze Publishing will be available both in print and digitally on December 31, 2007. It's called 39 and Holding Him and contains stories by Victoria Blisse, Fenner Jeckyll, Jalena Burke, N.L. Belardes, N, Missy Lyons, Shanna Germain, Rebecca Adamsi, Belinda Franklin, and like I said, me...and my story is called "An Affair with a Poet Much Younger than Myself" which is pretty much the plot of Bitten to the Core. Or not. You will have to read the story and then the book to find out.

I really dig the cover of 39 and Holding Him which okay, I must admit, I selected myself -- and it's the fabulous photography of Nick Belardes, who also has an absolutely fantastic piece in the anthology as well.

By the way, last call for submissions for 39 and Still Holding Him, which, d'oh, is the second volume of the anthology. My publisher is going to have my head if I do not send her my selections this weekend, and I'm still undecided about a couple of stories so, um, if I were to receive something stellar this weekend, well, that would be awesome and would be of great help. If you have any questions about submission guidelines, email me or leave a comment.

Oh God, do I suck as a saleswoman or what? Ha! Buy the damn books, okay? I will give you candy...

Anyway, that's about it for today...I have emails to answer, and yeah yeah, I know, I haven't responded to the fantastic comments in my blog for the last few days which is very unlike me so I will try and rectify that today as well but in case I don't get to it, just know that I love and appreciate every one of them and all of you are just so cool it's ridiculous.

Merry Goo Year!

Later,
xo

Slick Christmas 2007

So there is a blurry, first pic of our tree taken on Christmas morning pre-coffee after Gary and I were woken up at 7:00 a.m. by our twenty-one and twenty year old who burst into our bedroom excitedly and then the dog, who was just as comatose as we were, suddenly became a puppy again and alternated between barking, licking my face, and nudging my entire body with his nose to propel me out of bed.

By the way, he then raced downstairs, went right to what he knew to be his presents (peanut butter bones baked by Metropolitan Bakery) and ripped off the wrapping paper and started eating before we were even out the bedroom door.

The same photo of Julie and Eric Slick we have taken every Christmas since 1989 or so and give or take several inches (taller), they are all practically identical. Ha ha - oh to be our kids at Christmas.



Gary looks like he needs his coffee given to him intravenously as Eric excitedly wraps one of like a thousand DVDs/CDs he had on his list for Santa. I think his favorite gift, though, besides a suit from Zara which he knew about since he had to try it on, was this awesome practice pad from Beatnik. Eric also got a wallet by local artist Thom Lessner, a melodica, a t-shirt from Tim and Eric, and all kinds of assorted cool stuff.



There's Gary unwrapping what had to be his favorite gift - a Foxx Tone Machine...and what do you know, it says right on the package "as used by Jimi Hendrix and Adrian Belew".



Speaking of Adrian, the best surprise of 2007 had to be the one pulled off by Eric Slick, who called Adrian on the phone and told him that Gary and I were in love with his artwork and was there any way he could arrange for an Adrian Belew original so that Eric could give us one as a Christmas gift.

Tell me that Gary and I are not the two luckiest people alive:



Isn't that amazing? I was so excited I stopped unwrapping presents and spent an hour re-arranging artwork until I found the perfect spot, directly over our sofa.

First I had it to the left of our John Lennon lithograph but then I decided it looked better right in the center of the wall above the sofa in between John Lennon and a painting done by Julie and we were all really struck by the similarities in drawing/painting styles of Lennon, Belew and Slick:





There are no photos of Julie unwrapping this year because (1) she was the photographer and (2) the excitement level at our house really was on overdrive. There are a couple photos of me but it is apparent that I ate too many Christmas cookies this year and I refuse to post any of them. Oh, just kidding, but there are so many other photos I want to post that if I were to post them all, it would take an hour for this page to load.

In the gift department, I was given what I wanted most - a brand new upstairs bathroom. Gary, Julie and Eric really came through - I got everything from a cool new sink, toilet, etc. to the exact white paint I wanted for the walls, new towel rings, new towels, medicine cabinet, Hollywood make-up mirror style lighting...I cannot wait for the installation which will take place during the next two weeks. Good grief, I am finally a grown up. I didn't ask for one frivolous item - I wanted a new bathroom just like a real adult and even though I'm sure it wasn't fun for my family to shop for that as much as my usual requests of artsy type things (cool jewelry, vases, sculpture, etc.) I was totally thrilled.

In addition to his guitar effects pedal, Santa gave Gary a zoom lens for his camera, a ton of CDs and DVDs, and a t-shirt with the world's most hilarious story behind it. Okay, it's not that funny if you are not a member of this family but to us, it was an outrageous coincidence. Eric and I were out shopping downtown the other day, and we were approached by some hippie looking dude with a black t-shirt which says "Stop Bitching, Start the Revolution". He said that they weren't for "sale" but we could give a donation and get a shirt, and that the donations were usually $15.00.

"Daddy would love that shirt," I said to Eric.

Eric looked skeptical but didn't say much. I bought the shirt (but not before mortifying Eric and telling said hippie dude that Eric was a drummer for the Adrian Belew Power Trio and did he know who that was, etc.) and as we walked away, I asked Eric why he wasn't as excited as I was over the t-shirt.

"Mom, I am seriously worried you just bought dad a shirt from a bunch of Scientologists or Jews for Jesus...there was something weirdly cult like about them."

"Oh no. I didn't just give money to a bunch of freaks who worship Tom Cruise, did I?"

"Err, they gave you some reading literature with the shirt. Did you look at it?"

"No. Oh God, now I'm afraid. But Daddy will still love the shirt, won't he?"

"If you say so."

When we got home, I looked at the handout they gave me with the t-shirt which contained a web address. Grimacing and scared to look, I went to their site and broke out laughing. Oh, they are a cult alright...a cult of artists who live together and worship beat writers. This was even more hilarious in light of the fact that Adrian recently told Gary he loves his blog and comments on his (Adrian's) blog because Gary's writing...the way he writes in phrases and half sentences and uses a lot of dots, dashes, and streams of consciousness...remind Ade of Jack Kerouac. So the fact that there's a cult out there who worships the Beats and I just happened to buy Gary one of their t-shirts was just too damn funny.

Julie scored big this Christmas - tons of pots, pans, serving dishes, bowls, clothes, gift certificates to both Lucky Brand Jeans and Ritz Theaters (they only show indie films), a messenger bag (vegetarian) from Poketo, a way cool artist collective, a necklace from Pashupatina, earrings, cookbooks, magazine subscriptions (Bon Appetit, Vegetarian Times, Cooking Light), etc. etc.

One of my favorite gag gifts was that I had a custom made Lance Armstrong style rubber bracelet made for Eric (and Julie) which says "Vegetarian". This was because..and forgive me if I already told this story in my blog; I know I've told it to every human in person already....but when Eric was about to have his appendix removed and under the anesthesia, they put new hospital bracelets on him in pre-op. One was a new in-patient name bracelet, the other was a bright orange one that said ALLERGIES on it in big black letters because Eric is allergic to shellfish and they use iodine in the O.R. As Eric was being wheeled in to surgery and already high on whatever they gave him to knock him out, he shouted "Wait! Wait! I need another bracelet!"

"Why, Eric?" the nurse asked kindly.

"I NEED ONE THAT SAYS VEGETARIAN!" he shouted just before conking out.

I laughed so hard my side hurt. I guess he was afraid they were going to serve him steak while removing his appendix. So when I stumbled upon a site which sold custom made bracelets and learned I could have whatever I wanted printed on them and there was no minimum on how many I could order, I jumped on it knowing he would love the joke/sentiment behind it. He did, and yeah, I did get Julie one as well because it was so damn funny.

After we finally finished unwrapping our gifts and I was at last pleased with where I placed my original Adrian Belew masterpiece, we realized we were starving and Princess Julie said "Let's go over to (boyfriend) Matt's house. No one is there and I will make you a fantastic brunch using my new serving platters and dishes. I'll go over now and will call you when it's done."

Hey, that sounded good to us! Even Monty dog was invited, but since he gets hyper when he is in a "new" place other than home, Eric and I took him for a long walk first and played ball with him in the schoolyard. For a dog going on ten years old, he played like a puppy. The weather was sunny and around 45 degrees - just perfect, and we had a hard time getting him to give up the ball.

By the time we got back home, Julie rang us up and said "Breakfast is ready!" so we walked the six blocks to Matt's and oh man, she wasn't kidding breakfast was ready.

First to come out - French toast casserole with caramelized apples and pecans and yep, aren't her new dishes beautiful?



Next, hash browns formed into potato cakes made with shallots which I could live on...seriously...if I were stranded on a desert island, this would be what I would pick -- I don't need any other food, they are that good:



She topped all that off with scrambled eggs which she makes with hot sauce and oregano - you cannot believe how amazing they are:



After stuffing ourselves like pigs, we went back home and Eric didn't even have his coat off before he sat down with his drumsticks and played with his Beatnik. I sat in the living room and just kept staring at my Adrian Belew painting; Gary took out his new pedal and plugged in his guitar...then Julie, who stayed behind at Matt's to clean up, came back over and started on dinner. Actually, it was a beautiful, joint effort on Gary and Julie's behalf - they made two huge unbelievable vegetarian lasagnas with homemade tomato sauce, roasted eggplant, mushrooms, and zucchini which were sick, sick, sick and we had that with toasted baguettes and roasted garlic oil...Julie, Eric and I split a bottle of champagne; we then watched The Simpson's Movie (one of Gary's gifts)...and that's all I remember; I fell asleep early for a change but I know the rest of the family stayed up well past midnight -- Julie and Eric actually autographed more copies of Side Four Live to send back to Nashville...they are almost sold out! Hey, if you haven't ordered your signed copy yet off of Adrian's website be forewarned...there will only be a few more sold as they are now limited edition; autographed copies are being cut off at 500 and from here on in you will only be able to get a signed CD if you attend one of the shows on the upcoming 2008 tour.

Before I end this post, I want to give special thanks to the various disc jockeys across the country who have been tirelessly supporting Adrian, Julie and Eric by playing Side Four Live on their radio broadcasts. So my very best wishes for a happy healthy New Year goes out to Jeff Menke over at WNKU - NPR; Jonny Mambo over at WCOM, and Vince and Daisy over at The Dividing Line.

So that's it for now -- I have all kinds of writing news going on; a lot more music news...but reality is a bitch, and Gary, who just took the dog out for an early morning walk, came back in with the announcement that someone went through our holiday trash outside during the night and there's a huge mess which freaks me the hell out because not only is it a terrible and scary invasion of privacy, I'm not especially in the mood to go out and clean up garbage at the moment but oh well, that's life in the big city but someone please tell me WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?

Later,
xo

Happy Hollandaise

So Ho Ho Ho to all of you - just popping by to give a few (oh God forgive me for using this term) shout outs:

First, tonight there will be a very special radio broadcast from 9:00 p.m. until midnight eastern -- An Adrian Belew Christmas featuring Julie and Eric Slick -- brought to you courtesy of Famous Jonny Mambo and he's going to play Side Four Live in its entirety along with other gems from Adrian's career and lots of commentary -- he'll also be taking requests. Here is the link to the live stream.

Second, I was so overwhelmed with last minute Christmas shopping yesterday (why, why, why does this still happen to me every single year?) I totally blew wishing Adrian a happy birthday, and also, blew the chance to celebrate Festivus. So, we are going to do this all belatedly.

Ready? Happy Birthday, Adrian! And Happy Hollandaise as well! Were you aware that your birthday falls on the sacred holiday of Festivus?

And now for said Festivus! If you are so inclined, in accordance with the holiday, you can celebrate in my comments section by doing the following:

(a) Airing your grievances;
(b) Naming your feats of strength;
(c) Any Festivus miracles you have had...

You can interpret these Festivus rituals any way you like.

Or not.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Later,
xo

Odds and Sods for Thursday, December 20, 2007

Monty posing for the camera with one of his past Christmas presents. Okay, one of the kids' past Christmas presents from many years ago with which he likes to greet us at the door when we come home and it makes us feel great no matter how bad our day might have been.

So I haven't felt much like blogging because I get kind of stressed around Christmas and can't focus on much else. I mean, not stressed per se, but I'm always worried about picking out the perfect gifts, baking enough cookies (and oh God, Gary is going to kill me since he's not only been the Master Pastry Chef this year but also doing the UPS end of it...argh, I just remembered two people to whom I forgot to send cookies so guess what I will be doing later on...)

That, and I am just completely worn out. I realize I owe people a bunch of emails and even comments on this blog and I will try and get to all of you within the next day or two, I promise.

Monday, Julie and I went to New York and we really do have magical fun times together. We decided on a day trip and not to hotel it this year because we realized that instead of spending $500.00 for an overnight stay where they kick you out by 11:00 a.m., we could use the money for something much cooler. So we did.

We had lunch at a decent restaurant that I'm not going to name because I really cannot in honesty say "Oh, you must visit so and so when you are in New York" and I doubt we'll ever go there again but it was pleasant and pretty and we shared a cold vegetarian appetizer and a hot roasted vegetable platter. I mean, it was vegetables so how bad can you fuck that up and I did it to appease Julie who tells me you can never order seafood in a restaurant on Monday because it's not fresh so I decided to join her team for the day and not eat any meat. Anyway, I've seen restaurants be pretty creative with hummus and tahini but this place was pretty straightforward so no, I'm not going to recommend it.

Now where we had dinner was so great I can't tell you because we want it to be our secret place. It was so beautiful and cool - candle lit and velvet drapes and chairs with faux suede walls and great artwork -- we had three huge glasses of wine and the best baked eggplant rollatini ever (yep, I stayed vegetarian all day) and the total bill was $32.00. Not to mention it included an outrageous sliced warm baguette and really quality olive oil.

We went to a bunch of music stores which was a blast, especially when Julie is recognized. That happened at Sam Ash and the sales guy almost had a heart attack because he's a big Adrian Belew freak. He asked me to take a cell phone pic of Julie with him and he was so nervous he couldn't even show me how to work his phone and that was pretty damn funny. That, and other than Julie, his most famous customer was Michael J. Fox, who was just in there the other day and I can't give details because it was for a special Christmas gift. And yeah, yeah, the salesman showed me his photo with Michael and I oohed and aahed even if I was being the world's biggest phony. Speaking of guitars -- oh man, I saw the most gorgeous guitar ever at Chelsea Guitars on 23rd Street. It was a custom Rickenbacker, the entire body rainbows of mother of pearl inlays, with John Lennon's portrait. I didn't have the guts to ask the price in person but I did send them an email which they still haven't answered so I'm guessing it's either not for sale or in excess of $100,000.00. We have a pretty impressive vintage guitar collection in this house but I've never seen anything like that Rick in my life. Hey, if I do sell my books to Hollywood there will be no fancy car or house in my future -- just that guitar. You see? I have my priorities straight.

On the bus ride home (yeah, Julie made me take the bus instead of the train. Please kill me), we had a hilarious experience. The bus driver made an announcement to please not use cell phones but if you must, do it quietly and discreetly. Julie and I did not get to sit next to each other as it was a full bus but she did sit directly behind me. We were pretty much at the back of said bus but behind Julie was a fellow who must have not liked the no cell phone rule and decided it was not meant for him. Not only that, his phone had one of those awful ring tones - loud and like you are at a circus or carnival in some bumfuck town. Sometimes he spoke loudly in Spanish, sometimes loudly in English, but it went on and on during the entire two plus hour ride home. I managed to sleep my way through most of it, but when we were almost back in Philly and his phone rang for like the twentieth time, I lost it and slapped myself on the forehead and said out loud "Oh my god!". I hear this laugh behind me and I turn around and Julie says "Mom, you can't believe this. The whole time he was on the phone, this whole trip, I did nothing. But when his phone rang that last time, I did the same thing you did and I saw you do it simultaneously...we both slapped our heads in the same place at exactly the same time."

We really do have a Like Mother, Like Daughter thing going on...

I see Eric has updated his blog which makes me very happy because I love the way he writes. And while I'm on the subject of Eric, if you are in the Bucks County area, in case I take a break from blogging over the holidays altogether (hey, it could happen!), please do not forget he's got a gig at John and Peters on December 28 with Dave Dreiwitz which is going to be awesome and you just never know who is liable to show up at these shows...I know who is on my Christmas wish list but um, I'd better not say it. (Mickey Mickey Mickey)(whoops...sorry...I said it after all but that is because in addition to being an awesome guitarist, he is also the world's best club dj and I still cannot believe he played Savoy Brown last time we were at a John and Peter's show and also does play with Dave and Eric from time to time)

Also, and this is really important, I mentioned in my last post that on Christmas Eve there would be a two hour tribute to the Adrian Belew Power Trio. Well, it's actually a three hour tribute; dj Jonny Mambo will be playing Side Four in its entirety, and it runs from 9:00 p.m. until midnight. Can you think of a better soundtrack for gift wrapping?

Here's the link for the live stream Monday night.

Speaking of music, and when don't I, head over to Susan Henderson's Lit Park for a veddy interesting interview with Paul Green. What made me laugh out loud were the audio clips. Susan questions Paul about the first All-Star tour and all you can hear is Paul asking "Did Robin tell you anything? What did Robin tell you?"

Hey, if I told her anything, it was that in retrospect I would not have missed that experience for anything in the world. I just wish I could have been twenty years younger!

Susan also has the trailer for Rock School in her Monday post and it cracks me up to see a 15 year old Eric and 16 year old Julie sitting side by side, trashing the band 311. Eric on drums with short hair and glasses opens and closes the clip, and there are glimpses of Julie on stage in Germany toward the end. They've changed so much in the five/four and a half years or so when the movie was filmed and I hadn't seen it in a while so it really made me smile.

WXPN, the NPR station out of Philadelphia, is really the only radio station in town who plays indie artists and goes outside the box, so to speak, so we've really been trying to get them to play Side Four Live. We passed a copy on to dj Jim McGuinn who has been very receptive but it's the program director, Dan Reed, who will ultimately make the decision and Jim gave the CD to him so we have our fingers crossed. I mean, Julie and Eric are native Philadelphians...there's human interest here in addition to great freaking music. Anyway, the other day Gary heard Jim on the radio saying that he was going to play the top five female bassists at 5:00 p.m. Naturally Gary called him and gave him a gentle reminder about Julie, and Jim was kind enough to talk about her on the air as being from Philly and someone to watch - someone we'll all be hearing about in the future in a big way, etc.

So now I see his comment made it on the XPN Forum Board and some other people left remarks about the Adrian Belew Power Trio being great and that they plan to see them on March 12, 2008 at the World Cafe Live and yeah this is a link for tickets, too. Since we are trying to get XPN to play the CD, if any of you would please add a comment to that effect on the forum board, it would be greatly appreciated.

Also, there are some new You Tubes up of the trio down in Florida this summer - they are montages and pretty well done:





So that's pretty much it for today. I have edits to do on my new book; I'm in the process of redesigning my website completely - and Scott Abernethy, who does the webwork for Adrian, Eric, and Julie, has been kind enough to offer his services to me so I'm currently trying to figure out what I want. And on top of that, I'm still trying to select which pieces I'm accepting for the Phaze Anthology 39 and Holding Him Part II -- there is still space available and if any of my writer friends reading this are interested, write to me for submission guidelines.

If I don't make it back here before Christmas, Happy Holidays! (But I'm thinking I will, if for nothing more than to remind you all about the Christmas Eve Adrian Belew Power Trio radio broadcast and to tell you what Julie and Gary are cooking for Christmas dinner...)

Later,
xo

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