From the folks at Rock Om...a wonderful interview with Ade:
Something In the Air August 18th, 2009
An Interview with Adrian Belew (Part I) By Tom Crenshaw, tom@rockom.net
Guitarist, songwriter and vocalist Adrian Belew has been at the art and craft of reinventing, innovating, and redefining the term "cutting-edge musician" since 1977. That was the year Frank Zappa walked into a bar in Nashville and first saw him performing on stage and subsequently invited him to join his band. Since that time Adrian has been an integral player in Rock and Roll history, spending time performing and recording with the likes of David Bowie, King Crimson, The Talking Heads, Paul Simon, Nine Inch Nails, Tom Tom Club, Tori Amos, and Herbie Hancock to mention a few.
Now Adrian Belew has a new band, the Adrian Belew Power Trio, who are beginning a new tour performing up and down the east coast and Canada starting August 21st. The Power Trio consists of Belew along with brother and sister rhythm section powerhouse Julie and Eric Slick on bass and drums.
RockOm recently had the honor of speaking with Adrian Belew about his prolific career. Starting with his teenage days spent learning songs by the Beatles, we move on to discuss his discovery by Zappa, recording and touring with David Bowie, his time with King Crimson, recording on Paul Simon's Graceland CD, and his new Power Trio.
In Part One of this interview RockOm brings you Belew’s thoughts on the new, just released Power Trio CD entitled E. Belew also expands on how music connects others and energizes both musician and audience, as well as how there is a spiritual element to performing that’s "unexplainable".
RockOm: E marks the first studio release by the Adrian Belew Power Trio. What inspired the music for the album?
Adrian Belew: I started writing this music three years ago. It’s been a very lengthy writing process because I first developed a kind of motif, a musically chromatic motif, and the more I worked with it the more ideas I got from it. It went from being one song or piece to being a lengthy piece of music in five sections. In working with and doing a lot of touring with Eric and Julie Slick [Belew's band mates in the Power Trio] over those three years, my relationship with them was growing and I felt inspired to try and write something that worked exactly for the Power Trio. I didn't want it to be songs; what I wanted to show was that muscular musicality and the ability of this three piece band.
RO: You’ve toured with Eric and Julie for several years now. What will make this tour different from the others? What can the audience expect that’s going to be different?
AB: First of all it will be the first tour where we play much of the material from E. In fact I’m hoping that somewhere along the line we’ll have enough time to rehearse during sound checks where we'll be able to even perform the whole piece in its entirety. Also, every tour that we do I try and introduce one or two new wrinkles, such as another "new" song from the past or a song from the King Crimson catalog, something that keeps everyone excited. The band just gets better and better. It's hard to believe that a band can do that [laughs].
What I think people can expect is a ferocious evening of great music. Everywhere we go we have the same kind of reaction. First of all a lot of people can't believe their eyes and ears when they see and hear Eric and Julie, these two young kids who play way beyond their years and have a maturity about their playing in the tastefulness that they use. Then there's the old guy in the middle, that would be me. This trio has given me wings because now I'm the only guitarist. I set up a lot of loops as I play so that there’s something else to play to and it gives me the chance to fly off in any direction I want. So there's quite a lot of improvising; no two shows are the same at all.
RO: You brought up the fact that your cohorts are a little bit younger than you. Age just seems to fall away naturally for musicians working together, whereas in other lines of work it may be a hindrance. What is it about music in particular that makes the age factor not an issue?
AB: I think it's the spirit of it. Music is its own language. Music doesn't - as you say - have any limiting boundaries to it. You can be an eighty-year-old musician and still be playing or you can be an eight-year-old kid. I think what keeps the spirit that way is the sharing, the commonality the musicians have.
RO: When the Power Trio is in the zone, you're connecting with the audience and you can feel them connecting with you, is there a spiritual element to that?
AB: Yes, that's exactly what I'm trying to say. There is a spiritual element too. I don't know how else you would explain it. It’s unexplainable. It's like something in the air that's shared, a type of energy and you can't see it; and when you feel it, it energizes you.
Don't miss Part Two of RockOm's interview with Adrian Belew coming in September. Register now at RockOm.net, in the top right hand corner of the homepage, to be notified when the conclusion of this interview is published as well as to stay in touch with all the interviews, news and stories exploring the connection between music and spirituality at RockOm.net.
The Adrian Belew Power Trio kicks off their tour August 21
Oh man, here's a tasty You Tube from Friday (8-14-09) night's show in Germany - Project Object featuring the usual suspects (Eric's back there on drums - you can hear him even if you can't see him...ha ha, the plight of the drummer)...along with Geronimo Black on guitar (the late Jimmy Carl Black's son) and the insanely talented Robert Martin on sax.
So yeah, today is my birthday though as I just remarked on Twitter, I'm now officially at the age where I must begin either ignoring said birthday or start counting backwards.
No, that is not my cake, I found that pic on Google images just now and thought it highly appropriate. But my cake, a rich butter pound confection that will be the last fattening thing I consume this month and next (and this time I mean it!), will be from here because they are truly the best pound cakes in Philadelphia.
And while Julie is in Nashville prepping for the upcoming Adrian Belew Power Trio tour, Eric will be arriving home tonight from Germany and he's coming straight here to have dinner with me and, yep, to sing Happy Birthday though he probably won't have cake, being vegan and all. I know, I know, I should have ordered a vegan cake but that will be for next year, I promise. The best part of the birthday song is that the dog always joins in. I'm totally serious. I will get Eric to record it on his iPhone and will post it later.
Now watch, this will be the one year the dog doesn't sing, but for whatever reason, that song drives him nuts and the minute you launch into it, he starts howling along. It is seriously one of my life's most simple and joyous pleasures.
So nothing much is happening right now, EXCEPT THAT I'M LEAVING FOR NASHVILLE ON THURSDAY AND I'M GOING ON TOUR FOR THREE WEEKS, TOO!!!!!
Ha ha, yeah, I know I've already shouted that from the rooftops a few times but I'm just a tiny bit excited. My plan is, at least in theory, to live blog from the entire tour. Now of course that will depend on a lot of stuff - whether the venue has Wifi, whether the hotels really do have internet (so many times they either charge way too much or tell you that you need an ethernet cable which they have at the front desk, only you go to the front desk and they are out of them. I am not going to go out and buy one myself in advance because I can never get them to work right, anyway). Also, it will also depend on how busy I am. I am hoping to be so busy selling merch and meeting and talking with fans I won't have time...but I figure if I have Blogger set up and just point my mac with iPhoto in "your" direction, I'll be able to post photos and at least short blurbs daily. In any event, trust me, I will find time to at least do regular blogging if I can't manage the live stuff and I'll still take plenty of pics to post in my down time.
So what I'm trying to say here is: If you come to the shows, don't be shy, come up and say hello, and special preference for your photo to be posted on my blog is to WEAR YOUR E-SHIRTS! Cool? Cool!
I also learned that ABPT tour out west for October is a GO GO GO, so people on the left coast, start saving your money!
Anyway, I think that's it for me today - I am taking the day off to hang with the dog, do some writing, and take care of some last minute stuff before I leave on Thursday. But of course if there is any breaking news, I'll be back.
Behave yourselves today, and if you want to buy me a present, instead of doing that, why not buy yourself a good book instead? Ha ha - I know a great author and here's her page at Amazon.
ETA: If you are around at 2:00 p.m. eastern on Friday, August 14, a radio station out of England will be broadcasting the brand new studio album by the Adrian Belew Power Trio, also known as "e". Here's the link.
So in October, 2005, Eric Slick sat behind the drums and performed for Les Paul in honor of his 90th birthday. Les had a smile plastered to his face the entire time - he was really tickled because the band played a few of his most famous songs. Here's a photo from that day (Eric still had his shoulder length hair) and my accompanying blogpost, which includes the very first photograph of Julie Slick and Adrian Belew when Julie was "just a fan" and a poignant photo of Jack Bruce with Julie's significant other, Matt. Oh yeah, John Mayer was there, too.
That night, Eric and Julie would meet Adrian Belew for the first time. Adrian was performing at the Roseland Ballroom that night in further celebration of Les' birthday, and Julie and Eric were performing with the School of Rock Hall of Famers (all-stars who had graduated the program). Eric and Julie would later play with Adrian in March of 2006 at the New York Knitting Factory as Hall of Famers again, and it was there that Adrian found his band, the trio that has now toured four continents in three years.
Tomorrow night, Eric takes the stage in Bad Doberan, East Germany at Zappanale, where he will perform with Project Object and Frank Zappa alumni Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ike Willis, Denny Walley, Robert (Bobby) Martin, and Don Preston. One of the songs he's going to be playing, with Robert Martin on vocals, is Whipping Post, and yeah, Duane Allman played a Les Paul. So in honor of that, and in memory of the late, great Lester William Polsfuss, a/k/a Les Paul, who flew away today, I give you the Allman Brothers, 1972, Live at the Filmore...Whipping Post:
I can't resist. Here's the Frank Zappa version, with Robert Martin on vocals. Have I mentioned what a lucky bastard my son is? Here's hoping someone posts a You Tube in a couple of days of that one.
It was a pleasure meeting Les Paul. He was brilliant, charming, and he mesmerized us when he spoke. I will never forget that day, ever. And he autographed the pickguard of our vintage Les Paul. Maybe tomorrow I'll post a photo.
ETA: Oh yeah, baby, Keep it Greasy as performed by Project Object with Eric Slick on drums in the Netherlands last night. This is sick!
Awesome. Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled blogcast.
I won't keep you in suspense. When @julieslick (as I now like to refer to her twitterly self) came over on Saturday night, she created one hell of a meal.
We had a mixed grill - everything was cooked on the barbecue: Coconut curried scallops, endive, zucchini, wild mushrooms, and fingerling potatoes over arugula and Julie's fresh spicy basil salsa verde. The carnivores among us had steaks -- grass fed strips.
Then, as part of an elaborate ruse to throw a surprise birthday party for her significant other, Matt, last evening, she swung by here yesterday morning to pick up supplies she had hidden in my refrigerator as well as wine, a paella pan (for that is what she made - both traditional and vegetarian)...anyway, I reminisced about how great the previous evening's dinner was and sighed, "God, that was awesome but now I'm so hungry. I don't suppose you have the time to make your poor old mother who-is-not-invited-to-the-party breakfast before you leave, do you?"
To which Julie responded by going into the kitchen and whipping me up the following: Curried over-easy eggs with a splash of hot sauce and arugula in whole wheat toasted pita with sliced white peaches and blackberries on the side. I mean, really. Look what she just "throws together":
Okay, so I did have the white peaches and blackberries in the house so good on me for that...and eggs, hot sauce, curry and whole wheat pita bread are staples here, but still, I would never have thought to do what she did. At least not so effortlessly.
So I got a very nice surprise when I just downloaded these photos - I found some very sweet shots I didn't know I had from the Adrian Belew Power Trio's show at the Canal Street Tavern last month, taken by their proud father, Gary Slick:
Oh man, look at Julie in this next picture -- how freaking beautiful is she?
And notice @mrericslick clearly has great fashion sense - he's wearing his e-shirt!
The trio's traditional autograph/meet and greet after every show.
I am getting more stoked by the moment about this tour (click on link - it's Pollstar and there's new shows added - one which stood out is at the Turning Point in Piermont, New York - it looks like total hippieville). It's hitting me that I'm going and I'm like a little kid, all excited.
It doesn't take much to make me happy -- like, I smiled when I saw this on the Zappa Forum board...I found it under "Last Non-Zappa Album you bought":
So now you know what the autographed copies of e look like, but of course if you buy one from me on the upcoming tour, the trio just may personalize one for you special.
By the way, both Julie and Eric have updated their blogs recently. Eric just played a Project Object show in the Netherlands...he's off until Tuesday when he plays in Spain. Julie is working like a madwoman in her studio in a valiant effort to make sure there are Slick/Seahag CDs and yes, DVDs of the Adrian Belew Power Trio ready in time for the tour...and maybe...just maybe...a very special surprise...fingers crossed...for those who attend the shows.
And just in from the Netherlands - several You Tubes of last night's Project Object show. I am posting this one, Florentine Pogen, because even though he's on bass for this run, you'll get to see the amazing Robbie "Seahag" Mangano and Eric Slick along with fellow geniui (that's plural for genius in my world) Ike Willis, Andre Cholmondeley, Eric Svalgard, and Don Preston...and yeah, you can only imagine how good Robbie, Eric and Julie are as a band together, too...but wait...you will get to hear that soon. And as awesome as Robbie is on bass...oh man, on guitar...well, I'm sure many of you who read this blog regularly are already hip to Robbie's talent but watch him here on bass:
And here's the link for a whole slew of You Tubes from last night's show. I gave up trying to decide which others to post so just go to the page and watch them all!
Eric is off today to fly to Spain, where the lucky bastard gets to play tomorrow after spending two days at a luxury beachfront hotel there. I know I already posted a photo of that in a blog entry below so I won't make you all (and myself) jealous again. I'm kicking myself that I didn't throw financial caution to the wind and join the band for Zappanale, where they will not only be joined by several infamous Zappa alumni, but holy cow, Terry Bozzio is the headliner. Which means that for the final jam on Sunday night where all the performers join in, Eric Slick, whom everyone calls "Baby Bozzio", will share a stage with his "old man" Terry. Arghh...what was I thinking? Why aren't I there?
Oh well. Next time!
Still waiting for reviews to come in from this tour...you know the drill...if I find any, I'll add them in. I sort of think this is going to happen as I notice I'm getting website visitors from various news agencies all over the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and the Czech Republic. Stay tuned...
So my curly hair is back and woo hoo, I've only owned it since Christmas but I finally know how to work some of the basic features on my new macbook. I managed to take this totally raw, untouched picture of myself today...and I'm excited because it just may be the only good photograph of me in existence now that I'm an old broad so I'm stoked to see I've still "got it". Well, at least a tiny glimmer of "it". Whatever. I'm just glad I at last have something I can use for bio pages for all of my various haunts and projects which actually looks like me. I'm not kidding when I say I am so unphotogenic that more than one person has remarked "Wow, you are so much better looking than your pictures."
Okay, okay, so I'm not a super model but at least I'm not a two bagger (one for my head and one for your head in case my bag falls off).
Anyway, I'm in a great mood. My muse has returned in full force and I'm working on two books at once, maybe more. A random email that went around my publisher's loop asking about authors who wrote series got me thinking that the Three Days in New York City trilogy is still not done. When Bitten to the Core comes out this December, I not only leave another window open for a sequel but grew to love one of the new characters so much that I suddenly got a strong urge to do a spin off for him/her. (Sneaky, aren't I?) So that will bring the series to five books and who knows what will happen once I start writing the novel featuring character #2. Also, to add to the fun, out of nowhere, I've regained enthusiasm for what started out as my first YA book but quickly realized -- due to usage of the word "fuck" 37 times in 100 pages -- that it would never qualify for Young Adult though still a coming of age story; anyway, I'm on a roll and quite happy. It also means that when I go on tour for three weeks with the Adrian Belew Power Trio, I will be in my room writing on the laptop during down time which suits me just fine...in other words, I won't get in the band's way.
And in other good news, at my request, and I can't believe that I did this because I am always adamant about print books over e-books...well, I realized I've lost the war and the entire modern planet now owns Kindles, Sony Readers, iPhones, etc. because they are cool! I am not going to relive 1990 again...i.e., when I walked into Tower Records all dazed and confused. "But...but...where's all the albums?" Overnight, it seemed, the world had changed and I was like some bumfuck nitwit without a clue and more importantly, without a CD player. Anyway, what I'm trying to say here is that Daddy Left Me Alone with God will be available on Kindle in the very near future and also in other e-book formats. I've decided to join the 21st century in this regard enthusiastically after all and I'm not even kicking and screaming. In fact, I'm going to get myself a Kindle because I am a voracious reader and I can't be bringing 500 books with me when I do things like go on three week tours...it blows my mind that I can instantly have any book I want, 24 hours a day. The concept is amazing.
Speaking of tours, I heard from Eric, who is in the Czech Republic - Prague, to be exact, and yes, it must be said, since he's playing Zappa music in the Czech Republic he will indeed be playing "Prague Rock" (*ducking*)...anyway, he just emailed me this photo:
And then I checked out his hotel, and found this photo on my own - it's adjacent to where he's staying, as is the photo of the river he sent:
There was a nice little article about Project Object and their show in Prague tomorrow night which popped up...in fact, Eric made the news twice, though the second article managed to have what is becoming an alarmingly frequent journalistic mistake...this time the damn Philadelphia Inquirer, published in the city where he was born and raised, managed to fuck up his age and say that Eric is 19. Eric is 22. What do they teach these kids in journalism school, anyway?
So yeah, Eric plays Prague tomorrow night, then heads to the Netherlands. He's living the dream...well, Julie, too, that is for sure.
By the way, I heard the recording from the show on July 15, 2009 at John and Peters in New Hope featuring Eric Slick, Julie Slick, and Robbie "Seahag" Mangano. It is amazing! Julie is busy producing/mixing/mastering or whatever it is she does and there will be a CD of the show available any day. Those three musicians are so good it's sick! It's also magical...when you hear it you'll know what I mean.
Hey, speaking of truly magical CDs, great reviews continue to pile up for "e', and notice the new banner at the top of my blog here? It's a direct link to Adrian's website, where you can purchase the new CD, signed or unsigned, rare CDs and downloads, as well as your very own e-shirt. Or, you can get your e CDs and e-shirts from me on tour starting August 21. We can even take our pictures together with my macbook har har. But about those reviews...
Let's start with Progressive Ears: "I haven't heard the Power Trio live yet (maybe next time they come to Carrboro), but I have Side Four and also Live Overseas, both of which are outstanding. But even with those high expectations set, "e" is blowing me away.
The comparison that has to be drawn is with King Crimson at its heaviest and most experimental. This is all instrumental, with none of Adrian's pop tendencies showing at all. There's very little here that feels like improv or "ProjeKct" work, though; the playing is very tight and high-energy.
I can't say enough good things about Julie and Eric Slick. Both as a pair, and also as individuals, they stand up very well in comparison to any of Crimson's rhythm sections. Eric's drumming is highly inventive, with driving polyrhthms that come as naturally as breathing. Julie plays her bass like a lead, and she's fully capable of matching Adrian note for note. Their unison runs are simply marvelous.
Adrian, of course, is Adrian. The liner notes say that this is performed live in StudioBelew, but I can't imagine how he's doing some of this stuff live. There's got to be two of him somewhere! This is his best work in quite some time, which is not to suggest that he's been slacking off anywhere along the line. It feels more like the Power Trio is bringing out the best in all three musicians, and I can't wait to hear more." *****
"This puppy is easily the best Crimson to come along in quite a while!
The e-shirt is very comfy. I slept in mine last night." ***** From Planet Crimson: "On the first listen, I liked it okay. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood. On a second listen, I was grooving to it. On the third and fourth listens I was digging it. Fifth, sixth, and seventh listens, air-trio rocking to it. On the now eight listen it has me grinning like a baboon." *****
"I hear so much Crim in this release. Much more than any of Adrian's solo stuff. I have to wonder how much (if any) of that is deliberate. Do you think this could be a musical statement of sorts? To me it sounds like Adrian letting folks know just how large his contributions to King Crimson was (is?)." *****
"I doubt Ade specifically intended to make that kind of statement and I doubt he really has anything to prove in that regard. I think that's just the direction the muse has been going.
Any group propelled by such a powerhouse rhythm section is almost inevitably going to reach Crim-like levels of intensity anyway..." *****
So that was some interesting commentary and as usual, I'll add to them as I find them. It's nice to see intelligent conversation and various fans' thought process here...it says a lot about the CD.
Oh, and once again, for all of those who are asking about the absence of a track list on e, here's Adrian's official explanation: "e" is actually one 43-minute piece. but I sub-divided it into 5 sections (a,b,c,d,and e) and further into sub-sections when necessary. for example "a" has 3 different sections so one is called "a" one is "a2" and a third is "a3". I really would have preferred to have NO track markers: one big piece. but for those listeners who would perhaps want to skip a certain part I made it into 11 different tracks. they are:
a a2 a3 b b2 b3 c d d2 e e2
Cool? Cool.
Hey, thanks to everyone who has been sending me "where to eat" suggestions in all the various cities I'll be visiting on tour. They are most appreciated and of course I will be blogging from said tour every day so I'll be providing you with daily reviews and photographs. I'm going to try and do it mostly vegan, though, with two exceptions...Quebec City where I will eat whatever the hell I want because they have some of the best food in North America, and Annapolis for the alleged world's best ice cream. (My whole family has had it two years in a row...I have never even been to Annapolis...and they've been torturing me with it ever since.)
Speaking of that, my own daughter just sent me an email including those very words "Just to torture you" in the subject line and this of course contained a link for the flavor page. Good freaking lord - coconut nut ice cream?
That's worth a three hour drive alone. Well, in my sick little world, anyway.
So here it is Friday night and now I feel like I'm part of Amanda Palmer's Friday Night Loser Club because it is 9:00 p.m. and I'm doing a fucking blog post. Julie's significant other, Matt, bassist for the band she produces, Cheers Elephant has a gig tonight at 11:00 p.m. at The North Star Bar in Philadelphia...if you are in the area, you can still make it in plenty of time and I highly recommend it.
Yeah, I know I was shy about writing there for awhile, sorry about that.
Enough about me talking about me, how about you talking about me? OK, well, Gary just finished a wonderful new instrumental record from one of the great guitarists/orchestrationist (!?) of our “time”; Adrian Belew. His Power Trio recorded mostly live in Adrian’s studio at his Ponderosa there near Nashville. I had the privilige of mixing the tracks in the evenings in my own studio prior to Adrian’s visit with me here in San Francisco. His visit with me was pure joy, we just had tons of laughs together, we’ve always had that for some reason. We put the final touches on it, then I mastered it up and now it is on the market (Aug 3rd). the album is entitled “e” and features Julie and Eric Slick, a brother/sister team that would make Karen Carpenter sit up in her grave. Ok, that was crass. But anyway, Julie is a total monster bassist and Eric is waay beyond drumming - he’s superb. These two provide the most amazing “wall of sound” (Wallace Hound??) behind Adrian’s many guitar personalities. When you think Adrian is playing a piano, he’s really playing guitar. Weird shit like that. And the grooves on this record are killah, I mean there are some really hard-drivin’-never-in-4/4-where-the-hell-is-”one” grooves and a half. Anyway, my audio life is complete, at last..."
Well, that's good to know, Gary. My audio life is complete at last, too.
And guess what? I get to hear that wall of sound live, up close and personal, for three weeks! That's right, I'm going on the entire tour with the band, will be at every show...look for me at the merch table at most of these venues: Aug 21, 2009 Bijou Theatre Knoxville, TN
Aug 22, 2009 Smith's Old Bar Atlanta, GA
Aug 24, 2009 Orange Peel Asheville, NC
Aug 25, 2009 Jammin' Java Vienna, VA
Aug 26, 2009 Sellersville Theatre Sellersville, PA
Aug 27, 2009 "e" listening party @ Rembrandt's (powertrio will be mingling with crowd as "e" CD is played). This is not a concert. Philadelphia, PA
Aug 28, 2009 BB Kings New York, NY
Aug 29, 2009 Maxwells Hoboken, NJ
Aug 30, 2009 Ram's Head on Stage Annapolis, MD
Aug 31, 2009 World Cafe Live Philadelphia, PA
Sept 1, 2009 Iron Horse Northhampton, MA
Sept 3, 2009 Center for the Arts Cotuit, MA
Sept 4, 2009 Center for the Arts Natick, MA
Sept 5, 2009 Narrows Center for the Arts Fall River, MA
Sept 8, 2009 Theatre Petit Champlain Quebec City, QC
Sept 9, 2009 Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire Montreal, QC
Sept 10, 2009 The Mod Club Toronto, ON
Sept 11, 2009 Tralf Music Hall Buffalo, NY
Sept 12, 2009 Rex Theater Pittsburgh, PA
I'm excited. Especially about Montreal and Toronto, where I've never been, and Quebec City, where I'd like to spend eternity.
One final reminder to catch Eric Slick on drums tonight at Silk City with Glenn Alexander and Dave LaRue - they go on around 11:00 p.m. but get there early for the opening act, Base3 with Tim Motzer...in fact, when I was just collecting those links, I was reminded that tonight is the CD release party for Base3 and that Tim is written up in this month's issue of Guitar Player Magazine (click on that link for a cool video). So basically this is going to be a pretty amazing show at an intimate, funky club with great food and drinks...one of my favorite spots in Philadelphia...I just hope I can stay up that late.
Unbelievable story that Eric just told me: We first met Adrian at Les Paul's 90th birthday celebration at Roseland Ballroom in New York in 2005...Eric and Julie played with the School of Rock Hall of Famers (Rock School All-Stars who are graduates...I am not sure if this group still exists or not because Eric and Julie are always on tour with other projects). And who was Adrian's guitarist for that event? None other than Glenn Alexander. How freaking spooky?
In other news, through the magic of Google, I just learned my son is in yet another band, tentatively named "Young Ice". *Snort* and Eric made fun of Seaslick. Well I never! Ha ha, just kidding, very cool name; I'm loving that Eric seems to be everywhere these days in an alleged depressed musical environment. Bah on that and I can assure you, it is alleged...there is just amazing new music out there, like the band Julie Slick produces, Cheers Elephant, who are in the studio recording a brand new release with Ms. Julie as we speak. Anyway, Young Ice features guitarist Nick Bockrath, who is also in Zoe Kravitz' band, Elevator Fight, and Zoe is of course the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet. Zoe was at Eric's birthday party and sat next to him while he jammed on the drums. Unattractive, isn't she?
God, life is so unfair.
Oh, I'm kidding.
Anyway, I think that's a wrap for me. I am determined to work on my novel today though rumor has it that Julie is swinging by later on to help me "organize my entertainment center". I didn't even know I had an entertainment center but whatever, Julie is talking techie terms to me and it's not that I tune her out when she does that, it's just that I have no idea what she means so I simply let her do what she wants and I'm usually happy with the results.
Except for last summer when I was at the beach house for two weeks and returned home exhausted to find my entire kitchen re-arranged...but that's a whole 'nother story. Ha ha, but hey, ever since they first put her on my belly fresh out of the womb, she has been the CEO/Social Director of this family and apparently the interior decorator as well so nothing should surprise me at this point.
So I've noticed I've been giving out the same advice to a lot of friends and family in the past few days, namely, if you let negative people get to you, you give them power. So don't let it happen!
Unfortunately, I haven't been following my own advice. Therefore, today's blog post will deal with only the positive. And I'm lucky, because there's a lot of really great stuff going on.
Now I know I look skeptical about this plan in the above photograph, but I'm also posting it for a couple of other reasons even though I am the least photogenic person in the entire universe. One, because it was taken Friday night when I was...gasp...actually enjoying a vegan meal with (twitter promo whore alert) @julieslick and @mrericslick and two, because my curly hair was beaten into submission by the fabulous Shari Sigafoos which is such a rare event -- a good hair day, I mean -- that I had to have Eric snap my pic with his iPhone.
Okay, then. On to Robin Slick's official Don't Worry, Be Happy post for Sunday, August 2, 2009. May this era of good feeling last throughout the year.
Sigh...well, a girl can dream, can't she?
Moving on, let's start with two of my best writer friends, Susan Henderson and Ellen Meister. Susan just got a book deal! Hurrah! You can read all about it by clicking on her name, or by visiting Publisher's Weekly (where they have it wrong: the book takes place in the 1970s, not the 1950s, but we'll forgive them because they have such nice things to say about Sue).
And Ellen, who sold her latest book via auction to Putnam, recently learned that her novel, The Smart One, is one of Ten Summer Beach Reads over at Womens Day Magazine! Having read the Smart One, I think it's a fantastic novel, period, incredibly intelligent and witty, just like the author herself.
How cool are my friends?
While I'm on the subject of writers, I need to talk about Sarah Pinborough. Sarah is someone I met randomly on Twitter and love because she uses expressions like Good Cunting Christ's Cock (I did tell her I would steal that line and this post doesn't count)...anyway, I was intrigued enough to order her new novella, The Language of Dying, which I just read in one sitting. I don't even know what to say about this book, anything I write is not going to give it justice. Sarah is a master storyteller. I was absolutely riveted by the voice of the narrator, a middle adult child surrounded by her four siblings at their father's deathbed, each of whom has a past and present which has led them to madness -- a madness which manifests itself in unique, subtle, and not so subtle ways. I am in awe of the fact that Sarah seems to effortlessly offer up such vivid, memorable description and emotion using so few words. This book is beautiful, it's chilling; it's tragic...and its ending kind of sucks the air out of you but not in a horrifying way. Anyway, you need to read it. Immediately.
And before I leave the topic of, um, authoring, I have yet another new book cover (this now makes three) for Bitten to the Core, which is scheduled for a December, 2009 release. It's been a strange odyssey for this book in general, which was originally intended to be used for an HBO series (sob) but believe it or not, this was the first cover I originally loved so it all worked out in the end...well, except for the HBO series, but hope springs eternal and all that.
Okay, and now moving on to music because, d'oh, that only consumes the other 50% of my life, the reviews are starting to come in for the brand new Adrian Belew Power Trio's CD, e. But first, as my pal Sid Smith would say, your moment of Penston:
Ha ha - I'm not even going to try and analyze that cartoon. But love it I do.
"I've listened this a few times now, and above all I have to say this is a gutsy release. One 42.5 minute instrumental (broken into 11 tracks). I thought there were 5 parts, for some reason--perhaps not, or perhaps the further breaks are for convenience. (The sleeve notes are very minimal.)
If any Adrian fan keeps away because there are no vocals, well its his or her loss. This is no avant garde or third stream work, but a logical continuation of the Trio.
The playing here is excellent throughout--the Slicks just keep getting better, and they have plenty of room to show their stuff here, while Adrian is like a one-man guitar army.
As for the sound, very composed, with lots of room to stretch, and while very much a new and forward looking piece, it at times, not surprisingly, recalls the instrumental parts of the "Sides" and Adrian era Crimson, particularly "The Construction of Light" intro.
Well worth your time and cash. If anyone had told me 10 years ago that I would soon again be awaiting solo Belew releases with excitement, I wouldn't have believed it.
Oh, great artwork too." *****
"I've only listened once so far, but those are exactly my first impressions too. It'll obviously take some good time & attention to digest further." *****
From Mike Inman of Notes of The Optic Nerve: "Adrian single handedly introduces us to “e” with “a” which is a rather captivating coming attraction, that not only inspires us to listen through to the end, but captures our desire to do so, by the tail.
This is the first studio album that Adrian uses his band mates Julie Slick on bass and Eric Slick on drums. As we get our first glimpse of this trio together in the second track it harkens back to sounds reminiscent of Neurotica. Not enough to be pastiche but just enough to gather King Crimson fans together for a thorough listening of Adrian’s favorite new project.
A personal favorite of mine is the way that Eric makes use of the most simple drum kit yet together with Julie on bass they drive this trio like the force of a thousand elephants storming across the African plain. There is something animalistic about this group they seem to capture my attention at every twist and turn of this journey called “e”.
This studio recording of Adrian’s really captures the spirit of the live shows. The way Eric rattles around on the edges of his kit and Julie fills out the bottom end of this with her fierce definitive style of bass. It really gives one a sense of just how cosmically talented the other two thirds of this trio are.
Eric often enters into the layers of Adrian’s guitar with a bombastic drum riff and out of the blue Julie soars onto the scene from the bottom end of the spectrum. The true talent of this lineup of The Adrian Belew Power trio is heard for the first time in a studio recording and what a recording it is..."
So as I stated in a post a few days ago, this Tuesday night is going to really rock when Eric joins Stretch featuring Dave LaRue and Glenn Alexander on stage at Silk City. That show is going to rule! There's a cool poster for this event floating around and as soon as I can snag it, I'll post it.
Also, for those of you who've asked about the future of the Eric Slick, Julie Slick, Robbie "Seahag" Mangano project following their brilliant gig at John and Peters (and click on that link for some really great photos of the band)...anyway, the answer is Yes, it's a go, as soon as Julie and Eric are finished the August/September run with Adrian, they are going into the studio with Robbie and will start booking some shows during their down time with Ade. I may have mentioned this already but I'm torturing both Eric and Julie with names for the band...they did not appreciate "Seaslick". Ha ha, wonder why. In the meantime, there is a slight possibility that there may be a CD sooner rather than later from the John and Peters show but that will depend on a bunch of stuff...again, I'll let you know as soon as I get word. But for now, both Eric and Robbie leave for Europe this Thursday to tour with Project Object, which run will feature special guests ranging from Denny Walley to Robert Martin to Napoleon Murphy Brock to Dr. Dot and trust me, trust me, trust me...if you are a new reader to this blog and have never done so before, YOU MUST CLICK ON DR. DOT'S LINK. Ha ha, you can all thank me later. My lucky son will be getting a massage from this woman whilst in Europe. Oh, and take a look at the hotel this poor boy has to suffer through when he plays in Spain...here's a small photo I lifted but to see the rest, click on the link I gave you for the hotel.
Such a tough life my son has. Here's the entire European line-up, or where Eric gets to spend the next ten days (He leaves on Thursday, August 6 and will be back home Monday, August 17...hopefully just in time to celebrate my birthday with me as that is, alas, the big day)...then two days later leaves for the three week Adrian Belew Power Trio tour which will take him from Knoxville, TN to Quebec City and more...
Saturday, August 8 - Czech Republic: Prague Sunday, August 9 - Netherlands: Eindhoven Effenaar Tuesday, August 11 - Spain: Polideportivo Municipal Emilio Thursday, August 13 - Germany: Berlin Dot Club (where they will be joined by Dr. Dot!) Friday, August 14 - Germany: Bad Doberan Zappanale 20, also featuring Dr. Dot, who is going to re-enact her role as the wet t-shirt girl in Joe's Garage...the photo of which I posted two years ago and received a stern warning from Photobucket and Blogger so I'm not going to make that mistake again but I'm sure Dot will post pics on her MySpace page after the fact...hahahaha..she's great...I can spend hours on her site and still find stuff I didn't see before.
Oh yeah, almost forgot. When Eric finishes up his tour with Adrian, he also has a gig with this guy. Holy freaking cow.
Anyway, I think that's it for the moment, but what do I know. Same drill as usual...if more stuff pops up between now and the next post, I'll be back to edit and add.
Okay, this morning I woke up to three new You Tubes of the Adrian Belew Power Trio in Ann Arbor last week -- I know the one I posted a few days ago gave people problems and two of these You Tubes cover the same brilliant, new material from the brilliant, new CD, e, and the third You Tube is a totally smoking version of Futurevision.
Man, check out this video of the Adrian Belew Power Trio performing their brand new material off of their brand new CD in Ann Arbor, Michigan last week. This is a twenty minute clip, and I tried out a new host to upload it, so how long it will take for it to load I do not know but trust me, it's worth it. Oh, and did you notice the e-shirt is also for sale at Ade's store? It's gorgeous...a combination of the fabulous Mark Colman's incredible artwork and Robin Slick's dogged perseverance in finding the highest quality black t-shirt that would accommodate a nine color graphic design. Score one for Mark and Robin!
Okay, that's it for the commercial, now for the show. And P.S., this video does work, it just is a little weird when you first click on it but you guys are bright, you'll figure it out. Just click on the play arrow; it'll skip the advertisement or whatever that thing is. You may have to close a window/pop up tab first but it's worth the two seconds of extra effort.
Just admit it. How freaking cool was that?
In other news, Julie Slick, who must either have ESP or has been reading this thread, where both she and Tal Wilkenfeld are mentioned A LOT over at the Progressive Ears forum board, weighs in on the subject of female musicians: "July 25 - MT JULIET, TN - An unrelated rant about female bassists I apologize to my foodie fans at this point, but I just wanna put this out there, since it's been on my mind lately...
I picked up the bass guitar when I was 11 years old because, yeah, the one my guitar-collecting Dad happened to own had four strings (but it was also fretless... and a long scale Gibson Ribber... but that's besides the point). I wanted badly to play music with my drumming brother, because I felt we were moving apart at that age: he was my best friend, and I didn't want to lose him. I had tried to play guitar, but the closeness of the strings and idea of chords and solos didn't appeal to this shy little girl. Of course adults questioned my decision making, "Julie, isn't that instrument going to be hard for you? Aren't your hands too small?" I shrugged, and never even doubted my thought process for a moment: I had no desire to be in the spotlight. I just wanted to have common ground with Eric again, and I thought that picking up the bass would be the best way to make that happen.
Over time, my competitive streak broke through. My Dad taught me Cream songs like "Politician" and "Sunshine of Your Love." He also tried to influence me by putting on Stanley Clarke vinyls (to which I'd sob and shake my head, thinking his lines were impossible to ever play). Eventually though, my competitive streak broke through, and I thought "Why can't I learn this stuff? Why can't I just practice and become just as good at bass as my brother was at drums?" I never saw boundaries - no differences in approaching the bass as a girl. If anything, I wanted to be the best as I could be - female or male. And that's not to imply that I think I'm the best by any stretch - but I'm always working harder..."
You can read the rest of Julie's rant over at her blog right here.
Also, in case you missed the little edit I threw in yesterday's blogpost, Adrian is now on Twitter, and you can follow him right here where he is known as THEadrianbelew. Well of course he is!
Speaking of Twitter, my usual google stalking uncovered a stream of very nice tweets about the man and his band so you, too, can click on that link and not only read some cool blurbs but also follow like-minded people on Twitter who obviously have great musical taste.
"ABPT In Chicago Posted by SSImuse on July 23, 2009
I had the privilege of witnessing the Adrian Belew Power Trio last night in the intimate confines of Martyr’s in Chicago.it’s the morning after and my jaw is still agape and my senses flattened.
Yes, there was an abundance of Crim-like tidings ("Elephant Talk", Dinosaur" and a few other surprises I won’t give away); but there was also a wonderful smattering of Ade’s solo work as well ("Big Electric Cat", Twang Bar King") along with a killer improv with a rhythm section (Julie Slick on bass and her brother Eric on drums) that is guaranteed to make you wonder where these two young kids learned to blow out power riffs like that.
With the other sonic wonders and delights are a preview of his new (highly recommended) album, "E" that is a sure-fire hit for fellow Adeheads; complete, organized bombast just the way you like it.
if you have the chance to catch the ABPT tour this time around, I strongly recommend it. I personally won’t be able to pick up a guitar for the next three months. Yes, it was that good."
Ha ha, well, I can't argue with that!
So remember the other day when I said "I'm willing to bet money or even my house that Eric will not be taking two weeks' vacation before leaving for tour in Europe with Project Object? Ha ha, I wish someone would have taken me up on my offer. He's gigged every single night since he's been back. Okay, granted, I did know in advance he was playing with Tom Hamilton's American Babies yesterday at the XPONential Festival yesterday -- ooh, and here's a blurb about that: "2009 - XPoNential Music Festival - Tom Hamilton's American Babies
Day Two is officially here!
Tom Hamilton's American Babies kicked off the festivities Saturday with a rocking performance at the Marina Stage. They mixed the best of the rock n' roll of yesterday with a unique modern twist that got the crowd moving.
Their big vintage rock sound was a hit. Fans piled in front of the stage as the band played, hooping and hollering before and after every song. The set ended with an extended jam featuring blistering guitar solos and big keyboard riffs. The crowd loved it!
A rocking group like The American Babies is just what the doctor ordered to get this day of music started." ***********
So yeah, I knew about that one but this next gig is news to me -- and it's pretty major because as you can see, it even got its own press release:
Fern Brodkin Post Office Box 302 Phoenixville, PA 19460-0302 610-933-4050 fbrodkin@yahoo.com www.facebook.com/purplefurnace
July 24, 2009 For Immediate Release
Progressive/Fusion Band Stretch Announces 6-date August Tour Album Released on CD to Mark 25-Year Anniversary
Guitarist Glenn Alexander and bassist Dave LaRue, the core of the trio Stretch, will reunite for six shows beginning August 4. The tour will include dates in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
The instrumental progressive/fusion band Stretch was formed in 1982 when drummer Bill Elder introduced Alexander to LaRue. This was only two days after Alexander moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey. This incarnation of the band lasted about 2 years. About a year later they reformed the band with drummer Van Romaine.
Both Alexander and LaRue have gone on to much more high-profile and lucrative gigs, but the two have remained friends and had discussed reforming the band. Alexander says it was initially LaRue’s idea to get the band back together.
“We had talked about it for years,” says Alexander, ”and then finally Dave took the bull by the horns in getting the CD released because so many people were still requesting (their 1984 eponymous album). After that was done we decided to book some gigs...”
Both Alexander and LaRue have “racked up a boatload of credentials,” says Alexander, in the last 25 years. A major reason that Stretch had such a long hiatus is due to them both being busy with so many other projects.
In addition to having released numerous albums under his own name, Alexander has performed and recorded with Chico Hamilton, Levon Helm, Randy Brecker, the Max Weinberg 7 and many more. Currently he is performing with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, the Mahavishnu Project and his own trio.
LaRue has also been busy. He began playing with the Dixie Dregs in 1988 and is a member of the Steve Morse Band. He has also toured and recorded with Joe Satriani, John Petrucci of Dream Theater and others. He is looking forward to the release of the new Steve Morse Band album Out Standing in Their Field and touring in support of the album later this year.
Stretch did a short tour in May of this year with Elder in the drum chair.
“It has been 25 years since Bill, Dave and I have played together and it feels really good,” says Alexander of that experience.
Since 2000 Elder has been touring and recording with Latin-jazz percussionist Ray Mantilla. He has also toured with the Jazz Tribe, Arturo Sandoval, Stanley Turrentine and others. Elder recorded the 1984 eponymous LP album with Stretch and he will perform with Stretch again on August 12.
The first show on this tour, at Silk City in Philadelphia, will feature special guest Eric Slick on drums. It will be his first performance with the band. At only 22, the native Philadelphian has quite an extensive resume. He, along with his sister Julie, is a member of the Adrian Belew Power Trio and also the Frank Zappa tribute band Project Object. He is an alumnus of the famed Paul Green School of Rock and is featured in the 2005 documentary Rock School. He is currently an instructor at the Philadelphia branch of the school.
The Philadelphia show is a cobill with Base3, featuring guitarist Tim Motzer. Motzer is gaining notoriety in Philadelphia and beyond as an accomplished and versatile guitarist, producer and composer. He moves seamlessly though the genres of rock, jazz, hip hop, electronica and experimental music. He is featured in the September, 2009 issue of Guitar Player magazine, on newsstands now. The other members of Base3 are bassist Barry Meehan and drummer Doug Hirlinger.
The bulk of the shows on this tour will feature Romaine in the drum chair. Romaine played with Stretch for several years after the original band split up, and he is featured on a bonus track on the newly released CD. He, along with LaRue, is also a member of the Steve Morse Band. In addition he has performed with such diverse artists as Enrique Iglesias, Blood Sweat and Tears, Kansas, Bernie Worrell and Joan Osborne.
Despite both Alexander and LaRue being busy with so many other projects, Alexander says he hopes that Stretch will become a priority in their lives.
“I think this will become a higher priority as it starts to grow legs, support itself and contribute to the balance of earning a living and doing art,” says Alexander. “...one of our primary goals,” continues Alexander, ”is to make a living playing this incredibly high level music.”
Stretch is planning to record a new studio album, though at this point the timeframe is unclear.
“I would say that we have 75% to 80% of the material for a new recording, and several other pieces started, so we are almost there,” says Alexander. “The only thing that will differ (from the first album) is our ability to draw on some of the influences we have absorbed over the years and our knowledge of recording and producing as well. It will still sound like Stretch but even better.”
The following is the band’s August tour itinerary:
Tuesday, August 4 With Eric Slick on drums – this show only! Cobill with Base 3 (Tim Motzer – guitar, Barry Meehan – bass, Doug Hirlinger – drums) Silk City 435 Spring Garden St. Philadelphia, PA www.silkcityphilly.com doors 9 pm, show 10 pm $10; 21+
Wednesday, August 5 With Van Romaine on drums. Rock’n Joe’s 3570 Route 27 Kendall Park, NJ 732-821-9500 www.rocknjoe.net 2 sets – 7 pm and 9 pm $10; all ages
Thursday, August 6 With Van Romaine on drums. The Garage at Paul Green School of Rock 484 Century Boulevard Wilmington, DE www.schoolofrockde.com 8:30 pm $12; all ages
Friday, August 7 With Van Romaine on drums. The Crossroads 78 North Ave. Garwood, NJ 908-232-5666 www.xxroads.com 9 pm; $8
Sunday, August 9 With Van Romaine on drums. John & Peter's 96 S. Main St. New Hope, PA 215-862-5981 www.johnandpeters.com 2 sets – 9 pm and 11 pm $10; 21+ note: This is a smoking establishment.
Wednesday, August 12 With Bill Elder on drums. Bergen Performing Arts Center Opening for Joe Bonamassa 30 North Van Brunt St. Englewood, NJ 201-227-1030 www.bergenpac.org 8 pm $29 - $69; all ages ********** And that's just the tip of the iceberg - I think Eric has a gig today somewhere and a bunch of others scheduled throughout the next two weeks...I'll post them here as I learn about them but yeah, you can pretty much bet he'll be out and about behind the drums every night. Ha ha, he did not fool me for a minute.
So I would be remiss if I didn't remind you once again that the Adrian Belew Power Trio now also has their own slice of the internet over at Reverb Nation and Julie is down in Nashville with Adrian doing all kinds of cool stuff - they've added a live stream of "e", a single from the CD by the same name, and the way cool video from the Rockpalast DVD -- a smoking version Of Bow and Drum. Who knows what else will appear on that page during the next several days? Stay tuned...
And yes, I do have shout outs about writing and some of my friends who also have some pretty spectacular news and I don't want that to get buried in this post so I guess I'm due for one of those me, me, me blogs over the next day or so...bear with me...I also have some funny stories as usual, too.
But for now, holy cow, I think that does it for today.
