The Epic Blog Post

Okay, so maybe it's not an epic blog post but I have a few days to cover and lots of photos so here goes.

For the first time in what felt like years, Julie, unlike brother Eric who is currently on tour with Project Object...oh, and if you live in the Anapolis, Maryland area you definitely want to check them out at Rams Head On Stage tonight...anyway, Julie was home for the July 4 holiday and decided to come over here and work her food magic.

But first she got me totally wasted on her home made Sangria, which she makes with like 3/4 of a bottle of brandy and a large bottle of white wine, so after two drinks I felt like I was tripping, or could it be it was a reaction to the appetizer, which Julie described for me thusly:



"The cheese is piave vecchio. Also on the plate is purple haze pita pizza with golden raisin-balsamic reduction, olives, and golden cherries (which also made an appearance in the Sangria)."

So I'm guessing it's that "purple haze" pizza which knocked me on my ass. What that really was, though, was an incredible mix of goat cheese and mozarella with a smear of Julie's famous golden raisin balsamic reduction (which gave it an almost figgy taste) on toasted pita with fresh basil. Simple, elegant, and insanely delicious.

We also had deviled eggs, which, in case you did not know it, are the new rage as restaurants look for ways to economize and yet still be cutting edge -- for example, a visit to Supper (a must click for foodies) yields said eggs as follows:

* Black truffle
* Sriracha with peanuts and coriander
* Safron with salt cod and roasted garlic
* Smoked chile with corn-red onion salsa
* Chevre with asparagus
* Pistou with ratatouille
* Horseradish with steak and Roquefort
* Scotch Deviled Egg with country sausage
* Wasabi with uni and crispy nori
* Lobster with dill crème fraiche
* Braised bacon and cheddar
* Curried with cauliflower and mint

Julie made them two ways - traditional (though with a shot of both horseradish and hot sauce which made them a little less so), and my personal now all time favorite, with curry, honey, fresh basil, and another shot of hot sauce.



Ha ha - notice the coffee table - Beatle coasters and the sleeve of the Live California Guitar Trio CD dangerously close to the food but as I said, the CD has been in heavy rotation at Casa Slick so the actual CD was already on the player. And I made/painted the little salsa tray and cup you see there, which is currently being used to store guitar and bass pics like every other available container in this house...

Anyway, between tripping from the pizza and Sangria and eating about 20 eggs, I was already satiated and ready for a nap by the time she started putting plates on the table and my eyes just got wider and wider as said table filled up. And yes, that is not a real baby but an antique, 100 year old doll which for whatever weird reason, makes me very happy to have sitting there dining with me every day and you can also see more Beatle stuff, too...someday I will do a post devoted to the Slick Family Beatle Memorabilia collection...it's that intense and goes back to the very beginning of time...



To give you a detailed description of everything Ms. Julie created, first she brought out grilled marinated farmer's market baby vegetables -- spring onion, eggplant, green and golden zucchini:



Which was followed by red white and blue lemon rosemary potato skewers...



Roasted, herb buttered corn...



Sweet curry and citrus glazed shrimp and scallops which were served over baby arugula with a roasted garlic vinaigrette...



We decided to just put it all on our plates like one big decadent salad (well, except for the corn on the cob) and here's how that turned out...



So while we had fresh berries and the makings for whipped, sweetened almond scented marscarpone topping, we opted out and drank more killer Sangria instead.

I also opted out of the fireworks but Julie watched them from the roof at Rembrandt's restaurant at the end of our block (and where Julie can be found serving/cocktailing when she's not on the road as bass player extraordinaire)...we did, however, catch the pre-fireworks free concert on t.v. rather than live and I'm so glad we did...way too many tourists in the area. One comment about that...how bad did I feel for Sheryl Crow having to go on AFTER the Roots. The Roots, man, they stole the show. I had no idea how fucking good they are. They are INSANE! And someone please tell me how the tuba player has the energy to run with that thing all over the stage. The guitarist/vocalist blew me away altogether, but he was rivaled by the fabulous @questlove (Twitter name - follow him!) on the drums and do I believe my son hangs at their studio and went to a barbecue at Questo's house? His life is so fucking cool it's ridiculous.

But yeah, Sheryl was really lame - she did an hour of her watered down greatest hits, and she was dressed in some hokey white pant suit full of shiny gold stuff like Elvis. As Julie remarked "Just because you can wear white doesn't mean you should!" Ha! Her band really left something to be desired, too, especially after the Roots just killed it before they took the stage. Worst part was when Sheryl played bass on 2-3 songs -- she just played a few notes and we were like "No. Please. No."

Sad.

In other news, before I launch into how fabulous Project Object/Eric Slick were at World Cafe Live the evening before Julie's great fourth of July feast, you already know I stalk both kiddies on Google and was quite pleased to see a couple of threads on various forum boards as follows:

Over at Talk Bass...

Favorite Prog Bassists

Julie Slick -- Adrian Belew Power Trio!

Also at Talk Bass - Top 5 favorite FEMALE bassists:

Three posts say "Julie Slick!"

From the Live Journal of Derk FZ:

"Project/Object #9 was great. More fun than ZPZ by a mile or three, and way more the price of admission. The 2nd set, in particular, may well be somewhere amongst the best of the 18 sets I've seen them play (not including encores and faux encores.. P/O encores as such are usually just one or two songs anyway) Set list, details, etc. to follow. I have a funny story about meeting Eric Slick. He knew me by name, but not from me introducing myself to him or anyone else in the band."

That blurb seems to be a preface to something bigger which hopefully will pop up today and I'll add it if it does.

On the way into the concert Friday night, we were stopped by a fan who recognized us and told a great (well, at least to me) story about meeting Eric years and years ago when he was a twelve year old student at the School of Rock and performed the music of Frank Zappa on stage at The Troc. He went up to Eric after that show and said "Some day I'm going to be waiting in line for an autograph from you."

Well, that day happened last year when he saw Eric play with the Adrian Belew Power Trio and woo hoo, Ade has updated his website to include the most recent tour news...anyway, he said he knew from the first time he heard him that Eric was a major star and he tries to catch him at every show he's in, no matter what the band. How cool is that!

A couple of other neat things happened at the show - I met original Mothers of Invention keyboard player Don Preston for the first time, and he went on and on about how much he loves playing with Eric and not just what a brilliant drummer he is but what a wonderful human being he is, too...I was kvelling big time all over the place after that. I mean, come on, Don is legendary and has played with some of the best drummers in the world over the course of his decades long career.

Another ultra cool and bittersweet moment occurred when a long time fan and friend of the late Frank Zappa presented Ike Willis with a conductor baton which Frank gave Ike as a gift before his death in 1993. Ike got all choked up when he took it out of the box on stage, and then joked "For seventeen years Frank waved that fucking thing in front of my face...oh how I both hated and loved it..."

And then he spent half the night waving it in Eric's face but Eric of course ate it up and let Ike knock himself out conducting.

Here's some photos from the show taken by Eric's proud father, a/k/a Slickdaddy:

Keyboard player Eric Svalgård:



On bass for this tour but normally a kick ass guitarist, Robbie "Seahag" Mangano, and Eric Slick:



Ike Willis, happily sitting with his "new" baton and on lead guitar/vocals:





A partial band photo, which, for two songs, featured a lovely seventeen year old electric violinist from the Wilmington School of Rock named Grace Dewson, and you will see her featured prominently in a You Tube I have posted below...



Eric Slick, naturally...



Don Preston...



Ike Willis and Project Object's founder and guitarist/vocalist Andre Cholmondeley, appropriately dressed in July 4 gear and oh my God, did they have a back in the day Zappa inspired political blast up there on stage...there was much to giggle about - 'twas the day Sarah Palin announced she had a higher calling (snort...please click that link for one of the best New York Times columns ever on the subject) and of course we had the fabulous Republican Governor of South Carolina, King David Mark Sanford...yep, Ike and Andre really did a number on those two and it was most enjoyable. Yay for the first amendment and the fact that it still exists!



And last but not least, a solo shot of the awesome Andre Cholmondeley...



Finally, here's the You Tube I mentioned above -- the band is smoking on Zomby Woof and I suggest you watch this full screen...for some reason the quality is way better.



So as most of you know, when Andre isn't on the road with Project Object, he is tour manager/tech guy for several other bands, one of which is the Adrian Belew Power Trio. As you also know by now, Ade has released a rare, live recording of the trio performing overseas, and you can pick it up at either iTunes or Amazon where it has been consistently in the top 500 since being released last month.



Here's what some fans over at Adrian's Tribe (Yahoo Group - and if you aren't already a member, please join right here have had to say about this recording...

From Geoff:

"this recording simply shreds. what a performance!"

To which "Blockdog" replied:

"Indeed it does, I grabbed it overt he weekend and it is inshredable. this recording simply shreds. what a performance!"

John says:

"Everyone should grab it. I close my eyes and I'm back at the show."

But my favorite comes from uber fan Mike, who had this to say, in part, but if you want to read the rest, you will have to click on Mike's name and show him some love!

"This is a Rare CD….NOT to be missed!

I am listening to the 13min long version of Beat Box Guitar right now and the sonic attack of the trio surpasses all other past live recordings. When I first saw this I was a bit skeptical because I have heard so many versions of live recordings over the past few years. Often times with this same or similar song lineup. But there is something about this night that set the world on fire!

I cannot believe this song Eric is blasting away on his kit and Julie is bubbling up like a Mt Vesuvius about to erupt! From here they blast into A Little Madness and let me tell you. You will understand the name of this song after hearing the first 15 seconds of it. This is pretty ferocious guitar, bass & drums. We are not talking a lot of fancy ass drums that take up the entire stage here. We are talking just the most basic kit. Yet it sounds like the wildest drums you have ever heard. And Julie and Eric are still talking between themselves. They have a musical brother and sister bond, its some sort of language they use when playing. Like the kind of cerebral language only twins can speak and these two are not twins..."

Again, the rest of Mike's wonderful post can be found right here.

So that's it for my epic blog post but I have all kinds of stuff brewing, as does the Adrian Belew Power Trio. Did I hear a rumor about a possible extensive Canadian and WEST COAST TOUR this fall? Ha ha...that just may be true! As for me...I will have a new column up shortly at The Nervous Breakdown but in case you missed the last one, here's the link and...ahem...I just signed a contract for my latest novel...shhh...naturally, I will be back to talk about that bit of significant news in the very near future though.

But...hurrah!!!!!

So I'm on the lookout for reviews of any and all Project Object shows from the current tour and as always, you can email them to me or post them on your respective journals/blogs - you know Robin Slick, Champion Google Stalker will find them and add 'em in...

Later,
xo

Happy July 4th and some more California (Dreamy) Guitar Trio with Julie and Eric Slick

Happy Independence Day -- oh that I really felt free, but let's not even go there now.

There is much to to talk about -- such as last night's brilliant Project Object concert at World Cafe Live where I met my first real world Twitter friend...and by the way Project Object continues their tour with @mrericslick (Twitter, twitter) on drums at a place where it appears you definitely should not drink the Kool-Aid, a/k/a The Church of Universal Love and Music...also, the fact that @julie slick (I won't do the twitter, twitter thing again...uh oh, just did) is coming over later today to cook up a very unconventional gourmet holiday feast and yes there will be photos and lots of descriptions posted later along with pics of last night's Project Object concert.

But in the meantime, when I got home late last night, I noticed a comment on my blog which lead me to a whole page of You Tubes from the California Guitar Trio with Julie and Eric from their show on June 20 at the Sellersville Theater, and really, I've been so engrossed watching them all morning and shaking my head in awe that I want to post them here now for your holiday viewing pleasure. Cool? Cool!

First up, "Echoes" -- complete with amazing light show about half way through...



Next we have the brilliant "In the Middle of Nowhere in the Middle of Texas", which was written at Pat Mastelotto's house, by the way, in the middle of nowhere in the middle of Texas (ha ha, you can thank me later, Pat)...



And how about a little Larks' Tongue in Aspic Part II...



Oh my! I really can't stop watching/listening.

Okay, Earth to Robin. Erm..where was I? Oh yeah. July 4. Whatever. God Bless America on this July 4...more importantly, the fact that Sarah Palin is at least temporarily gone from government but I don't trust the bitch. (Though I do hope it's because nude photos of her having sex with a moose are about to pop up although that thought just made me throw up a little because oh, that poor moose). Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow with the promised concert photos, Project Object show review, and hurrah, lots and lots of food porn!

Oh yeah, did I mention I live right down the street from one of the biggest fireworks display in the entire United States...and that said fireworks will include a free concert by Jeffrey Gaines, The Roots, and Sheryl Crow? Erm, on the one hand, it's very cool that is happening in my neighborhood; on the other hand, it means 2,000,000 obnoxious "tourists" (a/k/a people who do not live in or normally visit downtown Philadelphia) will be invading my space and leaving their collective mental and physical litter. Ha! Oh well. I think I'll watch the concert on T.V. and head outside just for the fireworks. But of course that will all depend on what Julie wants to do and how much of her deadly home made Sangria we drink...

Later,
xo

California Guitar Trio with Julie and Eric Slick

Cathedral Peak and Portland Rain by California Guitar Trio with Julie and Eric Slick at the Sellersville Theatre, June 20, 2009



Breathtaking...

It's All About Me, Me, Me

Happy Monday (an oxymoron, I know)...

So today's post is all about me but you know, it is my blog and every once in a while I have to promote my own sweet self so here goes.



First of all, my debut column appears today at The Nervous Breakdown and here's a direct link.

And if you are in the New York City area on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 8:30 p.m., the kind folks at the Nervous Breakdown have invited me to read this piece at the D Lounge, 101 East 15th Street, NYC.

Hey, check that place out -- veddy cool.



Ha ha - definitely one of the nicer places I've read though actually, come to think of it, I've had the pleasure of reading in some pretty amazing venues - KGB Bar (twice), Happy Ending Lounge, Box Car Lounge, TIXE Art Gallery -- well, I sort of read there -- half-way through I had a case of hysterical blindness due to having to read 10 point font in a dark room standing under a bare lightbulb with all of my New York writer pals in attendance...argh...must write a column about that some day...anyway, I've also even read at the Community College of Philadelphia. Yep, for someone totally anti-social, I do get around.

In other me, me, me news, you know that little documentary about "the hair down there" I'm in? There's all kinds of exciting things happening with "Why We Wax", the DVD actually has my photo on both the front and back covers, and is available for sale right here.



And there's a brand new trailer on Current TV (yep, Al Gore's channel)...oy vey...there I am again...and I just learned this is being shown on Channel TWC 103 in New York City every time they have a six minute slot to fill. Oh. My. God.



And even more press over at Jezebel where they have the same clip along with a cool article but it's worth it to visit the site just to read some of the comments...such as "If someone is elbow deep into your vagina for a waxing, you probably should check their references again..."

Finally, as I've been sort of promoting for months, I have a new book out, and if you haven't already ordered it, well, please do!



I am proud to say I'm now a member of Indie Bound and here's a little of what that's about:

"Why shop Indie?

When you shop at an independently owned business, your entire community benefits:

The Economy.

Spend $100 at a local and $68 of that stays in your community. Spend the same $100 at a national chain, and your community only sees $43.

Local businesses create higher-paying jobs for our neighbors.

More of your taxes are reinvested in your community--where they belong.

The Environment.

Buying local means less packaging, less transportation, and a smaller carbon footprint.

Shopping in a local business district means less infrastructure, less maintenance, and more money to beautify your community.

The Community/

Local retailers are your friends and neighbors—support them and they’ll support you.

Local businesses donate to charities at more than twice the rate of national chains.

More independents means more choice, more diversity, and a truly unique community."

So yes, indie bound is a wonderful, beautiful thing. Here's the link to buy my book and bypass the evil corporate system.

Sigh, but if you must, shop elsewhere, here's the wretched Amazon link;

And here's the one for Barnes and Noble where my sales rank is considerably more respectable for some unknown reason...woo hoo...maybe there is an Amazon backlash? Hope so! But again, buy indie, damn it!

Finally, I again remind you to follow me on Twitter. It's where I hang out more often than not...140 characters is about all I can handle while I juggle various writing projects.

Oh..speaking of projects...I know this is the me, me, me post...but don't forget that Eric Slick is on tour with Project Object starting this Wednesday night at Maxwell's in New Jersey, but of course I'm most excited about this Friday night's concert at World Cafe Live.

See you there!

Later,
xo

On Sale Today: Adrian Belew Power Trio Rare Live Overseas Recording

Okay, let's have a big welcome for the Adrian Belew Power Trio, finally on iTunes and Amazon! But not just any recording...a rare, live performance from overseas!



Where was it recorded and when? That's a secret. One which I cannot reveal.

But trust me, it's amazing. Side Four Live tunes...and yet it's not Side Four Live. And not just because of bonus songs Neurotica and Frame by Frame. Have a listen to the samples over at Amazon or iTunes and you'll see what I mean.

Here's the track list:

1. Writing On the Wall
2. Dinosaur
3. Ampersand
4. Young Lions
5. Beat Box Guitar
6. A Little Madness
7. Drive
8. Neurotica
9. Of Bow and Drum
10. Frame By Frame
11. Three of a Perfect Pair
12. Thela Hun Ginjeet

The link to buy it/listen to some samples on Amazon...

And the link for iTunes...and if for some reason the iTunes link does not work because we all know I'm technology challenged, try this one.

Later,
xo

A Day of Insane Music featuring, among others, The California Guitar Trio

Have I mentioned how in love I am with the California Guitar Trio? I have three favorite bands right now and they are one of them. The show at the Sellersville Theater, which of course featured @mrericslick and @julieslick (their official Twitter names and if you don't already follow them, you should), was just mind blowing amazing. Two standing ovations, I had chills the entire evening from the magnificent level of musicianship...I can't keep my eyes off them when they play. Like Adrian, they are totally unique and otherworldly...just no one like them in the universe. These photos were taken last year when the California Guitar Trio opened for the Adrian Belew Power Trio so while I do have some new ones from last night which I'll post here as well, these are cooler:

Paul Richards


Hideyo Moriya


Bert Lams


From the Planet Crimson forum board:

Paul's latest Twitter post: (Note from our author: That would be @CGTPaul over at Twitter world)

So much fun playing with Eric and Julie Slick in PA last night. They are amazing! Driving to Northampton for the show tonight.

"No surprise there. You all know (or should know) what a CGT performance is like by now, so there's no need to repeat the usual stuff. I'll just add that (as with anything they do), the addition of the Slick siblings takes it into another dimension ENTIRELY. We got to hear several new tunes last night, which was a treat in itself, but there was something special about hearing them this way. "Cathedral Peak" is the kind of tune that coasts on a bouncing rhythmic groove, so it's only natural that a rhythm section would make the perfect addition. "In the Middle of Nowhere in the Middle of Texas" was great at conveying that dusty-desert feeling, even before Eric added some brilliantly placed rattlesnake rattles. "Andromeda" - already my favorite of their new songs, and now in serious contention for my favorite ever - was truly otherworldly. And that goes just as much for "Echoes," which was made even more effective by a trippy animated backdrop of stars that wouldn't have been out of place at a real Pink Floyd laser show. Tyler made better use of the visual elements than I've ever seen before with shifting effects timed to complement the songs, plus well-chosen synaesthetic backgrounds: green & blue for the aquamarine stuff, yellow for the surf moments, deep red for "Larks' Tongues II," etc.

Yes, that's right, "Larks' II." When Robin (tease that she usually is) mentioned something about them playing a Crimson song the other day, I'd thought of something from the dual-guitar era - 3PP, "Discipline" or the like. But of course they couldn't do the obvious thing. I should have realized that such a rhythmic track would have been perfect for this lineup. Paul really raised those neck hairs with the eastern-tinged-violin solo, and Bert anchored it all with the most dirty heavy sludge tone I've ever heard from an acoustic guitar. Meanwhile there was nobody to do the Jamie Muir allsorts coloring, but Eric came damn close with all kinds of little cymbal skitters (all in the middle of a bass-drums rendition that would have done Wetton & Bruford proud). Bert said they'd love to have the Slicks play on the CD when it's recorded this summer, so let's hope it happens. It'll really be something special."

In case you do not believe the person who wrote this review, a man who obviously reads my blog and I saw him at the show (How Come You Didn't Come Over and Say Hi? Ha ha - I know, it was late, the place was mobbed, etc. etc.)...here's the CGT/Slick version of Larks' Tongue in Aspic Part 2 to which he refers:



Oh man, as you can see, I have a new widget and now I know how to post songs...this is just too cool.

As promised, here are some shots from the show last night, including soundcheck:










The next two photos were taken during the grand finale, an unbelievable cover of Pink Floyd's Echoes and of course also the title of CGT's latest CD, which you can purchase right here, and now I can't resist posting the version Julie and Eric did with them last night:






How amazing was that? I think it's a safe bet to say that the CD of this performance will be in daily rotation at Casa Slick for a very long time. Last night was such a high I can't even begin to tell you.

But let me backtrack here and tell you about the entire day.

Eric broke the news to me that even though his show at NEARfest with Oblivion Sun wasn't until 1:30, we had to be at the venue by 9:00 a.m at the very latest for sound check because the first band went on at 11:00 a.m. And yikes, on a sunny day the venue was an hour and a half from our house, but in a monsoon like it was that morning, we were looking at more like two hours. In other words, we had to leave at dawn knowing he had two shows twenty miles and eight hours apart.

So Eric loaded the drums into the car and away we drove into the pouring rain on the Pennsylvania turnpike, where some moron in an SUV zoomed by going 95 miles an hour but not before he tried to cut us off, causing Eric to have no choice but to swerve big time to avoid a collision at which time his drums came tumbling forward along with a sliding box of his drum hardware weighing, oh, about five hundred pounds, and yeah, you guessed it, the entire left side of my body was the lucky recipient. We were so shaken, though, that pain was secondary. We just sat on the shoulder of the road for a few minutes, trembling at our brush with death.

So we get to Nearfest and please, I mean this in the nicest possible way, it is really "Nerdfest" and trust me, don't take offense to this remark because I am the world's biggest music nerd, too, but anyway, even the guitarist/vocalist of Oblivion Sun stood in front of the mic and cracked a joke (while the bassist changed a string which snapped after the first song) which went like this: "Why do seventy year old women love Nearfest?" Answer: "Because it's the only day they can clean out their basements."

Get it? Here's a photo of the crowd...



I seriously believe the reason for the mature audience is because of the stupid label prog rock. Anyone who loves quality music, anyone who KNOWS music, would have been thrilled by this three day festival. But I guess the word "prog" has a stigma...and then I ended up hearing that this fest has been around forever and the same people go every year, so maybe that explains the lack of youth, too. One funny thing, though. There's an indoor parking garage adjacent to the auditorium (it's part of Lehigh University) where the event is held, and that's where fans tailgate. Yep. Parking the car was an experience...tons of people in the indoor lot sitting on lawn chairs, and then, the funniest thing ever, a big bad police officer who came through on foot like the gestapo knocking on car windows.

"What are you doing in there? You smoking weed?"

Erm, no. They were caught eating chocolate or jelly donuts maybe, but smoking weed...nope, didn't smell any. But they did have beer with their donuts.

Mmm...donuts and beer...

See? I really am a nerd, too. No worries.

Anyway, a very cool moment -- Gary Green of Gentle Giant, who is a big Adrian Belew fan and has seen Eric in concert a couple of times, came out and introduced the band.



And the band itself:



Excellent band, very creative, and nope, not going to use the word progressive. The crowd screamed for an encore at 3:10 and I hyperventilated, knowing that Eric had to be 20 miles away by 4:00 p.m. for sound check for the California Guitar Trio, but it all went well and despite the continuing monsoon we got there ASAP, and oddly enough, met up with Julie and her significant other, Matt, who arrived from downtown Philadelphia at exactly the same time.

As I said, the CGT show was beyond incredible; I adore the Sellersville Theater, and all I can say is, if you are anywhere even remotely nearby, please come out and see Eric, Julie, and Adrian on August 26 where they will be performing "e".

By the time we left the Sellersville Theater, it was past midnight, another hour's drive home, and I don't think I was ever more exhausted in my life, but there was one person far more tired than I was: Eric. The poor boy played two shows and Eric being Eric, practiced non-stop in between, so he was toast.

And that was my day of insane music. I am sure some more California Guitar Trio and Oblivion Sun reviews will pop up shortly and when they do, I'll add them in.

Thanks again to CGT for inviting Julie and Eric to join them on stage. It was a brilliant evening.

Later,
xo

Adrian Belew Power Trio/Julie and Eric Slick: Gigs, gigs, and more gigs

If you've already been here before 11:25 a.m., scroll down check out the ETA under the California Guitar Trio mention. Bet you didn't know Julie and Eric were members of King Crimson! Ha ha, neither did I...

So as I've been shouting all over cyberworld, "e" is coming, and I am pleased to show you the cover artwork for the CD by the brilliant Mark Colman.



And yes, this will be the logo of the new ABPT t-shirt, arriving in a city near you next month, along with the band and their new, first ever studio CD! Now I know I already told you about these upcoming shows:

Fri 17 Jul 09
Canal Street Tavern
Dayton, OH

Sat 18 Jul 09
Indianapolis IN 46220
Radio Radio

Mon 20 Jul 09
Ann Arbor, MI
The Ark

Tue 21 Jul 09
Cleveland, OH
The Grog Shop

Wed 22 Jul 09
Chicago IL 60610
Martyr's

Fri 24 Jul 09
Kansas City, MO
The Beaumont

But hurrah! Here's some new dates you probably didn't know about...

fri 8/21 knoxville, TN @ bijou theatre
sat 8/22 atlanta, GA @ smith's old bar
mon 8/24 asheville NC @ orange peel
tues 8/25 vienna, VA @ jammin' java
wed 8/26 sellersville, PA @ sellersville theatre
fri 8/28 new york, NY @ bb kings
sat 8/29 hoboken NJ @ maxwell's
sun 8/30 annapolis, MD @ ram's head
mon 8/31 philadelphia, PA @ world cafe live
tues 9/1 northhampton, MA @ iron horse
wed 9/2 t/b/a massachusetts
thur 9/3 boston, MA @ harper's ferry
fri 9/4 wellfleet, MA @ beachcomber
sat 9/5 fall river, MA @ narrows center for the arts

Then on to canada, oh, canada

Yes, on to Canada. Details to follow but how cool is that. And I believe, possibly, the Ukraine and Turkey in October. Shh....

The gig on September 4, which is the Friday night of Labor Day weekend, looks freaking amazing. It's at a beachfront establishment on Cape Cod. Link! Hey, I just noticed they have a live stream so for those of us unable to spend Labor Day weekend on Cape Cod, we'll be able to watch from the comfort of our own homes. Oh joy!

One more reminder - well, no sense promoting NEARfest because it's sold out, but if you do have a ticket, come over and say Hi this Saturday, June 20 at 1:30 p.m. when Eric Slick will be on the drums with Oblivion Sun. But as soon as he's done playing at 3:00 p.m., we have to hightail it out of there twenty miles down the road to the Sellersville Theater where Julie and Eric will be performing with the California Guitar Trio. It looks like there are still tickets available so grab them while you can...they are selling out everywhere...here, I'll make it easy and give you a link.

ETA: Here's an article about the California Guitar Trio in today's Montgomery News!

"Experience California Guitar Trio’s musical synergy at ST94
By Julia Fisichella
Correspondent

The California Guitar Trio is excited to return to the Sellersville Theater 1894, Saturday, June 20.

“The Sellersville Theater has become one of our favorite venues to play at,” says Paul Richards, one of the three acoustic guitar wizards. “There’s not a bad seat in the place and the sound system is great. We’ve played consistently good shows there and have a strong following in the area.”

Last year’s performance at the theater was recently featured on WHYY’s TV12 program “On Canvas.” This episode can be viewed online here, which includes insightful interviews with each of the members.

The trio formed from the friendship of Richards, who hails from Utah, Bert Lams (from Belgium) and Hideyo Moriya (from Japan). They first met in 1987 as participants in Robert Fripp’s (of renowned progressive rock group King Crimson) Guitar Craft Courses in England.

“On one day off [from the courses], I heard Bert playing some of Bach’s cello suites and was really impressed by his musicality and approach to this complex, deep music,” says Richards. Moriya was a little on the quiet side, but Richards’ interest in Japanese culture allowed him to form a friendship with him. The three soon developed a strong musical connection.

“Things flow and happen when we sit down and play together. Music keeps things alive for us,” says Richards.

After touring internationally with Fripp’s League of Crafty Guitarists, the three friends moved to Los Angeles and formed the California Guitar Trio in 1991. They have been going strong ever since, inventing original compositions and creative acoustical re-workings of songs ranging from classical, rock, blues, folk and jazz to country and surf-rock.

Their last album, “Echoes,” recorded in May of last year, earned them a Top 10 spot in Amazon.com’s Best New Age of 2008 category.

The album includes a swirling cover of Pink Floyd’s “Echoes.”

“We choose songs that inspired us when we were younger, or based on suggestions from friends,” explains Richards. “Often, we try something and see if it works. There’s a challenge in re-creating a song on guitar, and making it make sense musically. We have to bring the piece alive in an original way.”

Their cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” in which the group re-created a mainly vocal piece, is a perfect example of this challenge.

Another interesting re-make on this album is Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells,” made popular as the opening music for the movie “The Exorcist.” Richards explains how the group decided to cover this piece.

“This song became a landmark instrumental rock piece. It incorporated a new and different minimalist approach, unlike what was heard in the early ’70s. The introductory line lent itself very well to our playing style.”

In addition to putting a new spin on old classics, the California Guitar Trio puts together intricate original arrangements infused with feeling.

“Writing pieces is one of the most challenging things a musician does,” says Richards. “Since what we do has no vocals, the challenge is to create something musically interesting that people can emotionally connect with — we have to reach people in a different way.”

The trio typically introduces its new arrangements on tour before recording, to gauge the audience’s reaction. Keeping with this tradition, guests at the June 20 show will get a sneak peek at what the trio has recently been putting together for their new recording.

This show will include an unusual creative expansion from the group’s traditional three-acoustic guitar lineup. Special guests Eric and Julie Slick of the Adrian Belew (also of King Crimson) Power Trio will add new elements of drums and bass to the mix.

Richards raves, “They’re young prodigies of the [Paul Green] School of Rock who have an amazing ability to learn and play. At the end of the tour, we will record half of the new album, and we’ve invited Eric and Julie to play on those pieces.”

Electronic violinist Caryn Lin will open for the show.

In addition to the performance, the trio will be holding a guitar workshop from 2:30 to 4 p.m. that afternoon. Richards says this is something the group really enjoys doing.

“Educating is a big part of our background; we came together studying music.”

The trio has held similar workshops at the Sellersville Theater in the past. Richards explains, “[Participants] bring their guitars and we focus on playing together as a group.” The Trio will introduce techniques, and according to Richards, “It doesn’t matter what your skill level is.”

For the full California Guitar Trio experience, Richards says it’s all about seeing them in action. He likens playing acoustic guitar to “a dance of the fingers. Some rock bands perform with 10 dancers onstage. We have 30 dancers — our fingers!"

So yeah, I think Julie and Eric will be surprised to learn they are also in King Crimson...too funny.

But wait a second. I just read this article over thoroughly again. Julie and Eric are going to record a new CD with the California Guitar Trio? Oh wow, it's the first I'm hearing about this! How freaking cool is that?! And actually, as I do re-read the article, it's Adrian to whom the reporter is referring when mentioning King Crimson but having read it quickly the first time...and if you weren't a King Crimson fan and didn't know otherwise...you might misunderstand.

Or, I'm just dyslexic.

Erm...ETA 2: I just spoke on the phone with Eric and apparently that bit about recording a new CD with the California Guitar Trio is another misquote or misinterpretation. What Paul really said is that "Julie and Eric will be performing half of the songs on our latest CD, Echoes, at the Sellersville Theater this Saturday night."

So that explains why neither kiddie told me...

Getting back to touring news...

The following week, Eric returns to his "roots" with a very cool Project Object tour which kicks off July 1 at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey and those of you living there, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Annapolis will be treated to a double dose of Slick when he returns with Mr. Belew later that month and in August. Too cool!

WED 1 - NJ hoboken maxwells
THU 2 - NY peekskill 12 grapes
FRI 3 - PA phila world cafe live
SAT 4 - PA acme love&peace festival
SUN 5 - OH cleveland beachland ballroom
MON 6 - PA pittsburgh club cafe'
TUE 7 - MD annapolis ram's head live
THU 9 - PA wilkes barre jazz cafe

This line-up of Project Object will also be touring Europe at the beginning of August and features original Zappa alumni Ike Willis and Don Preston, with special guest appearances at some shows by Ray White and Robert Martin. Actually, Ray will be at the July 4 show and I teased Eric not to drink the Kool-Aid there but all kidding aside, the Love and Peace Festival seems very interesting - it's actually "The Church of Universal Love and Music" and you can read all about it here.

So basically in July, Eric tours with Project Object, has a few days off, then flies off to tour with the Adrian Belew Power Trio and if that isn't crazy enough, he's flying home right after the final show in Kansas on July 24 because he's playing the XPonential Music Festival Saturday night, July 25 with Tom Hamilton's American Babies. Eric is filling in for legendary drummer Joe Russo. Or, would that be Sir Joe Russo? Ha! That is a "must click" link.

As for me, I am busy writing my first column for The Nervous Breakdown and normally I would be done by now but I'm extremely intimidated by the brilliant authors over there and every time a new piece pops up (daily, and I get Twitter updates) and I rush over to read the latest, I get a little more scared yet thrilled to be in such stellar company. To give you a hint on what I'm writing about...well, it's about my experience staying in a youth hostel in a place where no one spoke English (God forbid I should have brought a translation book with me) combined with the fact that I am not a "youth" and more accustomed to staying at hotels where they offer fluffy robes and leave imported chocolate on the pillow. So yes, I am definitely having some fun with that and hope to have it finished by the end of today or tomorrow.

Trust me, I will be twittering and posting billboards all over the internet when it's published so you'll all have a heads up.

In the meantime, I figured I'd put up this blog post, do some wash (yeah, as glamorous as my life might seem, I have a feeling dirty wash will always be a part of my routine), and return to "real writing". Ms. Julie will be over here later in the afternoon and then we're headed out to dinner. I'm trying to talk her into this cool Venezuelan restaurant but even though I see she's on line right now, she has failed to respond to my email which means she either wants to eat somewhere else or hasn't had her coffee yet.

I'll let you know and maybe this time I'll remember to bring the camera. I feel like it's been ages since I posted food porn!

So I think that's a wrap. I'm really hoping to meet many of you at NEARfest on Saturday and also saying Hi at the California Guitar Trio on Saturday night at the Sellersville Theater. Seriously, for those of you attending NEARfest, Sellersville is only 20 minutes away and you can definitely make both gigs. What a cool Fathers' Day present, eh?

Now. If only this rain would stop. Holy cow, I haven't had to water the flowers/herbs for the past two weeks. If it wasn't pouring out now, I'd go out and take some photographs. The "garden" (downtown Philadelphia word for "flower boxes and plants around the tree outside") has never been more beautiful. It's an explosion of color and lots of fresh basil and rosemary (already used in an amazing homemade vegetarian chili and quite a few salads)...yeah, if it does ever stop raining, I will definitely snap some pics...

Later,
xo

More on the Adrian Belew Power Trio, "e" is coming, and I'm having a Nervous Breakdown!

Have I mentioned that "e" is coming?


Photo by Wendy King
Guitarist Julie Slick and her brother Eric (not pictured) are on tour with Adrian Belew with their latest performance taking place on the Bud Light Stage at Riverbend Wednesday evening.

ETA: CHECK OUT THIS REVIEW OF LAST NIGHT'S SHOW! HERE'S A LITTLE TEASE...

"Slick Is the Word: A Review of the Adrian Belew Power Trio at Riverbend — June 10, 2009

The last time Adrian Belew played Chattanooga, the rhythm section of his power trio consisted of two bald dudes (Mike Hodges and Mike Gallaher) who successfully aided the Lone Rhino in tearing up the Nightfall stage. Both were experienced players: Gallaher, an accomplished jazz guitarist, switched to bass to play with Belew, and Hodges was the drummer when Belew was the music director on (yes) David Bowie’s “Sound and Vision” tour. They were fantastic both that night and a few nights later when I drove down to see them play in Atlanta. If I had never seen another Adrian Belew Power Trio show, I would have been satisfied.

Fast forward a couple of years: Gallaher and Hodges eventually left Belew and were replaced by a brother and sister rhythm section, Julie and Eric Slick, both in their early 20’s, both graduates of Paul Green’s School of Rock, and both ridiculously talented. The new band’s first recorded effort, 2007’s live Side Four, is a testament to how quickly the new trio jelled. It is also a testament to another fact: As great as Hodges and Gallaher were, they were, in essence, Belew’s backing band. The longer the Slick’s have played with Belew, the more evident it’s become that they are, well, a bit more than that. The strength of their collective contribution to the band was probably best summed up by my buddy Joe Lance (a great musician in his own right) when the trio played Riverbend last night, “When Adrian eventually hangs it up, those two will still have a long, long career ahead of them.”

The trio kicked off their 115-minute Riverbend performance with ripping versions of “Writing on the Wall” and “Young Lions” before Belew introduced some new music, two “movements,” titled “A” and “B,” from the forthcoming all-instrumental album, E. The two pieces contained many elements common to Belew’s previous work: feedback, ferocious bent notes, smart and irresistibly gorgeous chord progressions, and layer upon layer of Crimson-esque interlocking guitar parts, all of which Belew played by himself by creating—and then playing along with—a dizzying series loops. And the Slicks more than kept up. They pushed Belew’s already envelope-pushing ideas forward by either deftly doubling his riffs or aggressively soloing against them. In all honesty, I can’t remember when I’ve been more knocked out by a single song or performance...."

To read the entire article, which is absolutely amazing and terrific and wonderful and my deepest gratitude to the author, Bill Colrus, please go here!

Whew. That has me all verklempt. Talk among yourselves for a few minutes.

So thanks to the fact that I am a total compulsive who checks her email every five minutes, I learned -- 5 minutes before showtime -- from the fabulous Andre Cholmondeley that last night's Adrian Belew Power Trio's concert at the Riverbend Festival was being live streamed so I rushed to the website and got to see the entire performance! It was fucking amazing...I was blown away by the new material...and then an hour or two later, Andre real timed me another photo of the trio called "Big Chill".



Don't know if Big Chill pertains to what they are doing or if it's actually the name of a bar in Chattanooga. Will check Google as we speak. Yep, it's a bar. Ha ha, what a huge surprise.

Oh yeah! Here is a most awesome review of last night's show!

"Thursday, June 11, 2009, 1:45 p.m.
Riverbend: Deciphering the weird, wild world according to Belew

If you weren’t one of the hundreds of people crowded around the Bud Light Stage Wednesday to witness the bizarre majesty of Adrian Belew’s guitar playing, you missed one of the highlights of Riverbend so far.

Belew has a decades-long career that includes stints with the Talking Heads, Frank Zappa and King Crimson, as well as session work as a guitarist for everyone from Paul Simon and David Bowie to Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.

His wonderfully experimental style centers on electronically bending and distorting notes beyond all semblance of ordinary. He uses loops and effects pedals to create an incredibly diverse range of sounds that form stimulating, evocative atmospheres. At one point, it sounded like dinosaurs having a conversation in a haunted crystal cave. (You had to be there to get what I mean.)

That might not sound like your cup of tea and if not, fair enough, you didn’t miss much. The majority of us, however, were standing in slack-jawed amazement at his mastery over his instrument.

Admittedly, there were times during his 90-minute performance that got so cacophonous and bizarre (or plain loud) that my mind just couldn’t digest what was going on but, for the most part, I was blown away.

The other members of his power trio, bassist Julie Slick and her brother Eric, were certainly worthy of mention as well. Throughout an incredibly complex series of highly technical pieces of music, they managed to be both incredibly precise and to maintain a high energy level. It was like jazz rock cubed.

As much fun as I’ve had throughout Riverbend thus far, there have been unavoidable times that I’ve had to miss seeing performances I’ve been looking forward to for months. Belew’s mindblowing show would have been one of those, but I had yesterday off, which gave me the free time I needed to see it. It’s going to take days to really digest what I experienced, though...

...See you out there.

E-mail Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com"

I dig his remark about needing days to digest his experience! I'll be waiting, Casey...you know where to find me. Or not. Maybe I'll write to you, just in case.

Man, I love me a good review. I'm waiting on another one and will ETA (edit to add) when it pops up.

So Eric is already off to Bonnaroo and here is the schedule for his wild and crazy band...and I do mean that...think odd percussion, fire eaters, belly dancers...Gypsy Hands. He'll be playing with them all four nights on the "Solar Stage" and the first show will be at 4:00 p.m. today with another show at midnight! On Friday they have another two shows...at 12:00 p.m. and at 12:00 a.m. Saturday they perform 5:15 and again at midnight, and on Sunday, 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. All shows are one hour each and do you freaking believe it, with eight (8!) shows scheduled, I think Eric is playing more than any one band at the entire festival. If you are planning on attending, go over to the Solar Stage and show him some love!

Oh. By the way. "e" is coming "e" is coming "e" is coming "e" is coming

And so are the wonderful, fabulous, brilliantly talented California Guitar Trio. In fact, they'll be at the Sellersville Theater next Saturday night, June 20, and you can buy tickets right here. And do you know who will be performing a whole bunch of amazing songs with them?



Yep, you guessed it. Julie and Eric Slick. And yes, I am just so impressed with myself that I now know how to take a pretty screen shot. Too bad I can't figure out how to make the links contained therein work, but oh well, I gave you the link manually so no worries. I for one cannot wait for that show, especially as it will be a true music marathon day for me because earlier that afternoon, Eric will be playing drums with Oblivion Sun at NEARfest. I will be in total paradise that day for sure.

But I'm also pretty excited as concerns things myself. I just got an offer I can't refuse - to be a regular monthly contributor to one of the finest journals the web has to offer, The Nervous Breakdown. Ha ha, perfect for me or what? Right now they concentrate mostly on creative non-fiction (I told you it was perfect!) but will be branching out into fiction and poetry in the months to come. My only problem is that I have about 1,000 ideas for columns so my plan is to go searching through back issues to make sure I don't in any way duplicate someone else's. If you take a look at the list of contributors, I'm in the company of the literati royalty so that really puts the pressure on. Or not. Ha ha, you know me, I'm loose, and I never run out of things to talk about.

I may even talk about "e". I did tell you that "e" is coming, right?

Okay, I'll stop. Hopefully that other review will be up soon (Hi, Bill) and I'll be back.

Later,
xo

Pardon Me Boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo? Adrian Belew Power Trio in Real Time

Thanks to Andre Cholmondeley for sending me a real time photo of the Adrian Belew Power Trio doing sound check for tonight's performance at the Riverbend Festival in Chattanooga, TN:



And the east coast leg of the tour is slowly taking shape...I can tell you for certain that the band is playing at the Sellersville Theater on August 26 and with seating for approximately 350, the tickets will go fast...you can buy them right here and it's pretty amazing how they are advertising the band...here's a screen shot:



Yep, I'm thrilled about that and as I've also mentioned here, next Saturday Julie and Eric will be joining the California Guitar Trio on stage at the Sellersville Theater and I will relink that tomorrow with another screen shot because yep, I finally taught myself how to do those correctly.

The trio is also booked to play BB Kings in New York City on August 28 and you can purchase those tickets right here though I just noticed they are not on sale until Friday so I will relink that as well. I believe there will also be dates in Anapolis and Virginia...stay tuned.

Have I mentioned "e" is coming...? Next month. In time for the tour. Yes!

And if you click on the Andre link above, you'll see lots of Project Object shows coming up, including one at World Cafe Live in Philly on July 3 and several featuring some INSANELY FANTASTIC Zappa alumni...more on that in future posts as I want to devote a separate entry to talk about that.

Other interesting news...I love reading all things King Crimson related which includes the blog of Robert Fripp's wife, the lovely Toyah Willcox...and wow, what an interesting blurb she's put up today:

"...Toyah, Chris Wong and Bill Rieflin meet in Seattle to write and record THE HUMANS second album with ROBERT FRIPP as a new member for this particular album. TOYAH says…."I always know I have a good idea………..when Robert wants to join the band!”

Additionally, THE HUMANS tour dates for the UK and Europe 2010 will be announced on this site later in the year. More news soon…"

Wow. That's pretty damn cool.

Here's a great You Tube of The Humans with a Robert Fripp cameo:



Continuing with the theme, King Crimson bassist Tony Levin has a whole slew of new tour dates on his blog (click link) but what really interested me are his blog archives...man, he really was the first person I know to keep a blog...these entries date back over ten years ago and are super, super interesting. You can find them right here and I have to admit, I read them all...was totally sucked in and cannot believe he was on line and keeping a journal before I knew anyone who even owned a computer.

And in other news...

"e" is coming "e" is coming "e" is coming "e" is coming

Oh, that's right. I already told you. Wait until you see the graphic for that and what is planned. Should have that for you in the very near, near future.

And we're planning a big "e" surprise party! It's such a surprise the only ones who know about it are...I can't tell. Let's just say even the band doesn't know.

Okay, they do now. Eric, don't even bother calling me, I'm not telling.

Julie, did you join Twitter? I heard a rumor to that effect but you have not added me as a friend. For shame! I bet I can find you...let's see...hang on...yep...Julie Slick on Twitter...ha ha, I'm going to friend you, you better friend me back!

Getting back to Adrian, one of the things Julie has been doing down in Nashville is working with Ade in the studio and it looks like she's going to be flying down there a lot in the future to act as co-producer with him on various projects..hurrah! I mean, she has a $100,000 college education with that as her major...yep, even managed to graduate Magna Cum Laude while on tour...so how totally cool that she gets to use her degree! And to work alongside her bandmate and great friend...not to mention a brilliant producer in his own right. What a win/win situation for them both.

You may also be wondering what Julie has been cooking for Ade and his family while in Nashville. I know I was. So I dropped her an email and here's what she had to say but this is obviously the abbreviated version and I'm sure she'll have photos and recipes up on her own blog soon:

"let's see... in reverse order: mixed vegetable curry; chicken with pan-roasted asparagus and wild mushroom ragout topped with toasted garlic chips; cod en papillote with leeks and carrots over tomatoes provençal; lighter fish and chips (baked and served with yukon gold fries)."

I am so hungry reading that...

Okay, I think that's it for today but you know the drill, if anything else pops up, I'll be back.

Oh yeah. One more thing. "e" is coming.

Later,
xo