Odds and Sods for Friday, December 11, 2009

Okay, lots of amazing news and excitement this morning!

Like, there's this new book coming out, published by HarperCollins:



Here's the synopsis over at their website:

"It All Changed in an Instant
More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure
By Larry Smith, Rachel Fershleiser

Price: $12.00
On Sale: 1/5/2010 PRE-ORDER HERE!

“A perfect distraction and inspiration, and a collection that begs to be shared. Be warned, though. If you plan to lend out your copy, start out with two. Once it leaves your hands you’ll never see it again.”
—Denver Post (on Not Quite What I Was Planning)

The editors of the New York Times bestseller Not Quite What I Was Planning are back with its much-anticipated sequel, It All Changed in an Instant. With contributions from acclaimed authors like Malcolm Gladwell, Frank McCourt, Wally Lamb, Isabel Allende, Junot Diaz, Amy Tan, and James Frey, and celebrities like Sarah Silverman, Suze Orman, Marlee Matlin, Neil Patrick Harris, Ann Coulter, and Chelsea Handler, It All Changed in an Instant presents a thousand more glimpses of humanity. . . six words at a time. In the vein of the popular Post Secret books, It All Changed in an Instant, in the words of Vanity Fair, “will thrill minimalists and inspire maximalists.”

Book Description
Funny and bittersweet, witty and wild, or downright tragic, these addictive life stories are both monumental and miniscule. Six-word memoirs have become a global phenomenon, offering anyone and everyone a telling peek at humanity and a chance to find the writer within."

And the reason I am so excited?

"Dear Robin Slick, Six-Word Memoirist extraordinaire,

Congratulations! Your Six-Word Memoir, "xxx" from SMITH Magazine is being published in the new book, It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure, on sale January 5th. (But available for pre-order now!) Thank you and welcome!

This book is as much yours as it is ours, and in the coming weeks, we hope to include you all in the process of hyping, buzzing, promoting, publicizing, proselytizing, and singing the six-word gospel to the high heavens. And, you know, invite you to parties.

Thing 1: We can't wait to send you your very own author copy!

Thing 2: Book tour!
We're bringing the Six-Word Love train to New York, Milwaukee, Austin, San Francisco, and Seattle.
The full schedule is here:
Will you be in town? Let us know if you'd like to appear in a reading. If not, let your friends know we're a-coming.

Thing 3: Spread the word!

Feel free to write back with any questions, concerns, ideas or inspirations. There will be more news soon. For now, we're just so excited to join you in sharing stories and spreading the joy of six.

Rachel Fershleiser ("Morning: national television. Afternoon: bookstore bathrooms.")
&
Larry Smith ("Now I obsessively count the words")

Ahem. What is this you speak of? Parties? Book tours? (Okay, for me that means a reading in New York, but still!)

Someone please pinch me, I'm in a book with Amy freaking Tan and Sarah freaking Silverman? (I am going to overlook the Ann Coulter factor. What the hell were her six words? "Well, Jews are good with money"?) And more importantly, will Sarah and Amy be at the parties? Ha ha, just kidding, who cares, I already know more than anyone that it's better to NEVER meet your heroes, but hey hey I'm on a roll with Smith which is way cool because I love, love, love everything about that magazine. In fact, I thought I already had my fifteen minutes of fame with them on Thanksgiving when I was the Six Word Memoir of the Day and then on Tuesday they shocked me altogether by mentioning me in a new six word competition they are having in conjunction with New Year resolutions for 2010. I mean, how thrilled was I to see this on their website!

"Contest: Six-Word Resolutions (and a chance to be on “Lopate”)

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
By Larry Smith

We have a new Six-Word Challenge and an especially cool prize. The challenge: your Six-Word Resolutions. Tell us your plans, hopes, dreams, motivations and mistakes you hope not to repeat in 2010 in just six words. The Prize: Six people will win an advance copy of our newest book, It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. We’ll also invite some of our favorite resolution writers to talk about their six words live on The Leonard Lopate Show on Tuesday December 29 at 12pm.

To be considered to go on air, you must submit your Six-Word Resolution by December 22 at WNYC.org. Here at SMITH, we’ll keep submissions open to win the book until December 28. Please head over to the Six-Word Resolutions project to submit on SMITH.

Here’s one we love already, from Robin Slick of Philadelphia:

“I promise to tolerate one hipster.”



And for whatever reason, the same blurb also appears on The Hired Guns.

Understandably, I was over the moon when my usual vain, obnoxious Google vanity search revealed that one!

Haha, but guess who also vanity googles himself? Ralph Fiennes! He was on my blog a couple of times this week, reading the excerpt of my new novel, Bitten to the Core! Don't ask me how I know this, but trust me, it's true, and Ralph, if you are reading this today, rest assured that said excerpt is the only place you appear in the book...it was just your alleged sex appeal which launched the opening scene.

So are you all busy reading Bitten to the Core, too?

If you haven't purchased it yet, the links are below, but even better, if you own a Kindle, it is now available over at Amazon.

In music world, Julie has been in Woodstock, New York since Monday and she has sworn me to secrecy on what she's up to. All I'm allowed to tell you is that she's been staying at John Medeski's house this week working with a musician from England and she had a beer with Tony Levin Wednesday night.

Gah! I hate not being able to blab stuff.

But enough whining out of me because I am really psyched about tonight -- Paper Cat and Cheers Elephant are sharing a bill over at the Khyber!



Now that is the nice poster I started to make for Paper Cat but I say "started" because that's as much as I could figure out how to do...when it came to adding text, I totally screwed up because I am embarrased to say I've never learned how to use Photoshop properly...but it's cool, no one asked me to make a poster, anyway, I was just sitting here bored while taking a writing break and was all impressed with what I accomplished without knowing what the hell I was doing...but whatever, here's the offical and much cooler advert:



Paper Cat should go on around 10:00 p.m. and Cheers Elephant some time after that so I will be drinking a pot of coffee around six to stay awake (hopeless, I know) and can't wait to see this band play! I am not sure if the new EP is ready or not; I am guessing "not" because Julie stayed in Woodstock longer than anticipated and I don't know when she had time to work on it but we all know Julie is SUPERWOMAN so who knows...maybe she'll have something new ready; if not, I know there are copies of their debut CD, Paper Cat Live at John and Peters, still available so maybe that will make an appearance at the show. I guess we'll all find out together.

There was some discussion of Paper Cat over at the Adrian Belew Yahoo Group and here's what "Scott" had to say in reply to "Geoff", who must have noticed the band on line somewhere (like here, maybe? Ha!):

"My copy of this is signed by Julie and Eric.

This rivals e in its adventure. Everyone should give it a try. - S."

--- In AdrianBelew@ yahoogroups. com, "Geoff" ..> wrote:

Robbie "Seahag" Mangano - guitar
Julie Slick - bass
Eric Slick - drums

http://robbieseahag .blogspot. com/
http://papercat. bandcamp. com/

So yeah, I like the comparison of Paper Cat's debut CD to "e"...not too shabby, huh!

Eric signed on with artist data so here's the official links from them to the Khyber show as well as something else pretty special:

"New show announced in Philadelphia, PA at Khyber on December 11, 2009 - Paper Cat and Cheers Elephant - buy tickets here!"

"New show announced in Philadelphia, PA at Johnny Brenda's on December 15, 2009 - Ape School (with Eric Slick on drums)".

So obviously Eric is finally getting his physical and mental health back after all of 2009's insane touring, and no one was happier than me to see him tweet this yesterday "@mrericslick is finally starting to feel normal. playing at the khyber, 10PM tomorrow night. i'm gonna make it through!"

(I downplayed it, but I have been sick with worry, utterly destroyed, over Eric's health for the past two months. His symptoms were so fucking scary; he looked horrible, sounded horrible, and I could not stay away from WedMD where I diagnosed him myself and walked around frozen in fear while we waited for his blood work results...only to have them lost, then delayed by the Thanksgiving holiday...then another long wait until we finally got the "I dunno, it must have been a virus" from the doctor. I mean, the kid had night sweats, fevers that came and went, terrible headaches, horrible, deep coughing, and absolutely no energy. Google those symptoms and then you'll know what I was thinking and I don't think anything in my life terrified me as much. The other possibility was that he had mono but now it's out of his system, which is my theory, too, because I had mono myself many years ago and I looked and felt pretty much like he did but of course I didn't think of that whilst on WebMD where they had much, much scarier scenarios. Oh, the joys of motherhood. I thought once they grew up the worrying would stop but ho ho ho, guess what, it gets way worse.)

Getting back to the now healthy Eric, I think he also has a couple of interesting gigs coming up but I do not have links yet - he's playing a warehouse gig in Fishtown on December 13 (I am willing to bet it's this because they are all Eric's pals but if I'm wrong, I'm sure Eric will let me know. Also, I think he has a gig on December 23 where he's special guesting with someone major but I don't want to jinx things until I know for sure it's happening...I mean, I found the link, I found the gig, I see the "players", but I just want to confirm with Eric for sure that he's part of this..

Back to Julie. So yeah, she's still in Woodstock but it's only a four hour ride from there to Philly so I guess she'll be home by this afternoon, just in time to get ready for tonight's Khyber gig. Then...and I'm really excited about this...on Sunday I'm going to her place armed with pounds of butter, sugar, nuts, and imported chocolate and yep, we will be making boatloads of our famous Christmas cookies, known as "JEMS" (Julie, Eric, Mom "Slick"), which are the only cookie Gary does not bake...they are the Russian tea cookies we roll around a chunk of most excellent chocolate and double dip in confectioners sugar...and yep, the cookies will start going out via UPS this coming Monday to our friends all over the universe because whilst Julie and I are baking at her apartment, Gary will be doing the same here - his shortbread, almond cookies, Reese's peanut butter confections (you don't even want to know how many calories are in those!), sour cream chocolate tarts, lemon bars, macaroons, and this year, for me, because I'm not supposed to eat butter, an assortment of meringues. So far we are looking at brown sugar pecan and chocolate chip walnut...but I guess we'll do some without nuts as well for people with allergies. Then, and I haven't told Julie this yet nor Eric so I hope it's cool, but after our baking marathon, I figured we'd come back here and trim the Christmas tree Sunday night but d'oh, I just realized I posted a link for Eric and he's got a gig...but in a perfect world, he will still be able to somehow make it. Hey, I'm flexible - I don't mind tree trimming at midnight.

Okay, I'm lying. I'll be long passed out by midnight, especially if I'm going to Julie's house (snort), but we'll figure something out. Tree trimming here still manages to be a family affair despite the fact that we're empty nesters...we have traditions like, we always play all of the Beatle Christmas music while we decorate the tree and not the canned ones - Gary was a member of the Beatle Fan Club back in the sixties when he was a little baby hippie and has all of the original Christmas albums sent to said fan club members in pristine condition and why oh why do things like that no longer exist?

Stupid internet. I remember how exciting it was to actually receive things in the mail that you could read without a magnifying glass.

And the anticipation of waiting for a new album by a band you loved and having to save your babysitting or newspaper delivery money to buy it as a kid...bah...don't even get me started. This world sucks now.

Okay, yes, stupid internet I know...but what the fuck would I do without it? It's how I've met all of you!

And how would I have found this? Yes, once again, here's another urgent article that every musician should read and get through their thick heads: "Getting Past The 'But Artists Should Just Be Artists' Myth". Here's one key sentence: "if artists just want to be artists then they need to do one of two things: either not expect to make much money or partner with someone who can focus on the business model and social networking side of things."

Yeah, no shit. And that's all I'm going to say on the subject. I'm blue in the face trying to get through to people on this, and yes, it certainly applies to writers today as well. Why do you think I am so active here, on Facebook, Twitter....and you guys don't even know the half of it. Because thousands and thousands of books are published each year, and unless you get out there and promote, promote, promote, no one is ever going to know said book is out there and the only people who will buy it are your handful of close friends and fans who are savvy enough to keep an eye on you. But most fans are not that motivated, trust me.

This goes double...no triple...for musicians.

And it's no fun playing empty clubs, just like it's no fun reading to empty rooms.

Ah well, bitchfest over. This is the GOOD NEWS POST, DAMN IT!

So. Everyone put on their Santa hats, literally or figuratively, and get in great moods for the rest of the holiday season...and if you can make it to the Khyber tonight to see the Philadelphia debut of Paper Cat, well, I'll see you there!

Later,
xo

Available Today: Bitten to the Core

Hurrah! Wondering whatever became of Elizabeth, heroine of my first published novel, Three Days in New York City and its naughtly little sequel, Another Bite of the Apple? Well, this burning question can be answered today, which marks the digital release on the third book in the trilogy, Bitten to the Core.


(Cover by Debi Lewis)

And how cool is my publisher, offering a special discount for the holidays!

Enter the discount code SANTA when you check out your purchases to receive 20% off your entire order. Sale runs through New Years Day, January 1, 2010.

I also wanted to mention that Bitten to the Core is also available at the fabulous All Romance Ebooks, and I see they are giving away a cool promotion as well - a free download from Harlequin Books. I also could not help but notice that they posted the PG version of an excerpt from "Bitten", and that being so, I will post it here...and how cool, it is a portion of the opening chapter!

"There are at least three things I should be doing right now.

If I were a normal person, that is.

For one, I should be painting. I spent two days setting up my studio in Tom Hunter’s screened-in porch and I have yet to do anything there besides stand in the middle of the room and admire my art supplies.

Or, I could be a really good person and go back to New York and run Rob’s restaurant, but I’ve been a really good person my entire life and look at where it got me.

Which brings me to my third and most important alternative. If I had half a brain, I’d be in Paris fighting for Rob, the alleged love of my life, but nope, I’m not doing that, either.

Instead, I ran away.

I packed my bags and rented a house with an open-ended lease in my favorite place in the entire world, a seaside town where I vacationed as a child—Ocean City, New Jersey. Long white beaches, deep blue water, an old fashioned boardwalk, and one hundred fifty miles from New York City. Of course, I had to pick the middle of winter when absolutely nothing is open except a library and a café swarming with candy freak church ladies, but what the hell, it made perfect sense.

Because as we have already established, I am not a normal person.

For me, going back to Ocean City was the equivalent of returning to my parents’ home and sleeping in my childhood bedroom while my mom stroked my forehead and told me everything was going to be all right. Except my mother died twenty years ago and my childhood home is now part of a strip mall housing a Denny’s and a Bed, Bath and Beyond but, oh well, this is the best I could come up with.

So, rather than take any kind of affirmative action, I pace the house like an over-caffeinated zombie until I run out of steam, plop down on the sofa, and turn on the television.

It seems that several weeks of unplanned celibacy have taken their toll. After only a few minutes of watching Ralph Fiennes on a syndicated talk show, I am sent into a total carnal frenzy.

Did I mention that I am a mess?

Not to use a cliché, but oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Two years ago, I was haughtily patting myself on the back, thinking I had somehow managed to successfully turn my life around. With my youngest son in college, I walked away from the roles of dutiful wife in a loveless marriage and cog in an unfulfilling corporate career. I packed my bags for New York City to pursue a career as an artist—something I had put on hold when my two boys were born.

But all did not turn out exactly as I planned.

For one thing, I fell in love. Apparently with the wrong person. And now I am minus one husband and one supposedly great boyfriend.

Alone again…naturally.

I sigh and turn my attention back to the television.

“So, Ralph, you were voted Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine. What are your feelings on the subject?” the pretty young interviewer asks.

The enthusiastic audience cheers. I merely salivate.

“Sexiest Man Alive? You don’t say. I was not aware of that.” Ralph grins and leans back in the chair, crossing his legs in what he has to at least know is the Sexiest Man Alive position.

“You don’t read People?” she asks him in surprise.

“Afraid not, love.”

“Then I guess you don’t know that they also said you are a member of the Mile High Club.”

“Oh yes, that I did hear something about.”

“Care to spill the beans?”

He looks at her with a wicked glint in his eyes.

“I really can’t comment. The lady in question is in litigation with her employer.”

“She was a stewardess on the plane, according to People.”

“Well if it is printed in a magazine, then I suppose it must be true,” he says, clearing his throat for emphasis.

There’s a few seconds of dead air after that, but good old Ralph, smirk firmly in place, breaks the silence.

“Let’s move on, shall we? I have a new film to promote and I do believe you have a clip to show your viewers here and at home.”

No, no, your viewers at home want to hear about the Mile High Club! Come on, be a sport, Ralph. So you did it in the bathroom on the plane? You bad, bad boy.

That has to be hot as hell. I wonder if the lavatory in first class is different than the tiny metal closets used by us plebs in coach. Though really, the thought of being crammed up in such an enclosed and forbidden place with Ralph Fiennes makes my knees go weak.

There’s something just so nasty about that fantasy, between the motion of the plane, the idea that hundreds of people are just a few feet from the door—maybe someone is even standing directly on the other side, waiting for his or her turn and they can overhear everything…

Oh my.

I shiver while I rock back and forth on the sofa, both to keep warm and for devilish reasons I’d prefer to keep to myself.

“One more question before you give us a synopsis of the movie clip we are about to see, Ralph. Now I don’t want to go breaking any hearts here, but I also read you are no longer single. Care to comment?”

“I’m seeing one woman exclusively, yes.”

The audience and I groan simultaneously.

“Do you want to share her name with us?”

“Not particularly. She is an artist and isn’t in the business so you would most likely not know her, anyway.”

Oh, God. She’s an artist? I’m an artist, too! Come to me, Ralph. I’m here all by myself and available. You know you aren’t monogamous. No one in the “business” is.

“I understand that she turned down your sexual advances for two months before finally agreeing to sleep with you.”

Ralph stares at her like she is something he would normally scrape off his shoes, and I’m embarrassed to be even watching this program, but at the same time I am practically jumping up and down waiting for his answer.

“Was that in the magazine as well?” He arches an eyebrow and cocks his head. Between the British accent, his sweptback hair, and magnificent face, I am losing it.

“Yes it was, along with juicy side dish that you finally enticed her by doing impossible yoga positions while naked.”

“Good lord, did someone have a webcam in my room?” To his credit he laughs, but his host isn’t letting him off the hook just yet.

“So you are telling us this is something you do?”

What? What does he do? Use a webcam? Naked yoga? Naked yoga with a web cam and his artist girlfriend? Can I find it on the Internet? Is it on YouTube?

“Well, if one is to look at the actual definition of yoga, which is the conscious state of harmony of body, mind, emotions, and inner self, then it would make perfect sense that I practice it while nude.”

And then he slides off his chair and assumes the tree position while never taking his smoky, sensual eyes off the camera.

I run upstairs like a wild woman. "

Now of course if you want to keep reading this excerpt, which includes *cough* an x-rated scene, you can find that over at my publisher's website -- but you're going to see a "Warning" notice first which says "The blog that you are about to view may contain content only suitable for adults" and you'll have to click on "Yeah, yeah, I know, but this is just the kind of thing I live for so bring it on!" (a/k/a/ "I wish to continue")

XXXcerpt

And of course my books are also all available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon as well as All Romance eBooks (link above) and Fictionwise though Bitten to the Core is not available yet at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Fictionwise though I expect it will pop up over there either later today or within a few days. But hey, I'm all about supporting independent businesses, so please make your purchase via my publisher and take advantage of that cool discount or give the nice folks at All Romance e-Books your love -- hey, they threw probably the best party I've ever attended at any Romantic Times Convention I've ever attended. I see RT this year is scheduled in Columbus, Ohio, from April 28 to May 2. I do not know if I will be able to attend or not but if there's any way I can, I will.

Funny thing, not to talk about music (ha ha, when don't I), I am in the middle of reading Eric Clapton's autobiography which I will discuss in a future post. First, I wish to register a complaint. I'm not mentioned anywhere in it. Ha! You would think as his biggest *fan* back in the day...well, I'm going to save all of that for later but I'm laughing because who the hell would have ever known that Eric is now living at least part of the year in Columbus, Ohio? It's where his wife's family is from so he bought a house there and that's where his kids go to school. Hey, Eric, you can come visit me at my table at RT assuming I can make it because unlike your autobiography, I included you in "mine" (ha!) so I have a book for you to read and good freaking lord, I just realized it's in the top 200,000 at Barnes and Noble (which is amazing considering they sell millions and millions of books)....here, I'll post the direct link! Wow...if just a few of you pick up Daddy today at Barnes and Noble, you can send me into best seller territory!

But um, make sure you purchase Bitten to the Core first. I promise you'll like it.

(In visiting Eric's site just now, erm, he has an actual gift shop where he sells expresso sets with his name on it? Jewelry? Designer clothing? Clearly I need to brush up on my promo skills. Hell, I want an expresso set with my name on it, too!)

Anyway...

As I remarked in a prior post, I am going to have an official release party for Bitten to the Core, and it's is going to be a live stream broadcast from my house. The date is officially Saturday, December 19, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. eastern. I have never, ever ventured into this territory before so I'm still busy coming up with all kinds of ideas and goodies for this event, and if it is even remotely a success, I will repeat it on a weeknight and maybe even a day during the week so that I can go global with it and include all time zones.

Should be a blast.

Now. Enough out of me. You guys have some reading to do!

Later,
xo

Holy cow! Go Julie! Go Eric!

Erm...not that this is a freaking awesome review or anything *cough*...but...

"...Julie and Eric Slick don't have promising vocations in music because they play in Belew's band, but because they play like they belong in it. e represents the continuation of a long, notable career of one musician and the beginning of what will likely be long and notable careers of two more." (click on link to read entire article - it's amazing!)



(By the way, that's the cool flyer for next week's Paper Cat gig at the Khyber -- ticket purchase link and info in post below -- and Julie, Eric, and Robbie are busy recording their first studio CD as we speak...)

Oh yeah, here's another review of "e" which also popped up:

..."The most recent release from Belew, titled "e", is more than a solo piece. It is a work by three musicians; the other two of which are equally as skilled as Adrian himself (you have to be in order to keep up with the man). The other two musicians are Eric Slick on drums and his sister Julie Slick on the bass. What the three of them have put together musically for this release is nothing short of impressive...."

In other news, well, it's been an interesting week at House of Slick but after a rocky start, things are looking up...at least today, anyway. Eric is feeling better physically - in fact, he's got not one but two gigs tonight before going back into the studio with Julie and Robbie for the rest of the weekend - but mentally, he's still whipped from all the touring and is taking a hiatus from the road for an undisclosed period while he sorts a few different things/offers out...but in the meantime, I know I mentioned a very cool jazz recording earlier this year -- one of the tunes, "Kosher Klash", a track from the Ayler Records release "Brotherly Love In Philadelphia" featuring Elliott Levin on saxes and voice, Eric Slick on drums and percussion and Jair-Rohm Parker Wells on basses and electronics" is a free download today over at All About Jazz so go on, help yourself, and enjoy!

Eric is also a disc jockey, did you know that? Here's the link to the article over at jambands.com, but I'll paste the pertinent here for your convenience:

"RANA/American Babies’ Scott Metzger has put together a onetime only Velvet Underground tribute band for a gig at New York’s Sullivan Hall on December 19. Scott Metzger’s HEROIN finds the guitarist playing alongside A Big Yes and a Small No/Fat Mama’s Kevin Kendrick (vibes/guitar/vocals), Fat Mama/American Babies’ Jonathan Goldberger (bass/guitar) and RANA/Sam Champion/Sean Bones’ Ryan Thornton (drums). The night will also include art installations and a DJ set by Eric Slick..."

Eric as a DJ should be incredible -- there aren't too many people around with his musical taste and knowledge. I'm trying to drag Julie to come with me and make a night of it..i.e., Christmas shopping and general food debauchery in New York City and a nice hotel...should not be too hard to convince her, eh?

In other news, while "e" was on the Grammy ballot for rock instrumental performance of the year, it didn't make the final cut. Here's the five official nominees:

A Day In The Life
Jeff Beck
Track from: Performing This Week...Live At Ronnie Scott's

Warped Sister
Booker T. Jones
Track from: Potato Hole

Playing With Fire
Brad Paisley
Track from: Play

Mr. Surfer Goes Jazzin'
Brian Setzer Orchestra

Now We Run
Steve Vai

I predict Jeff Beck will win it but hey, it's a great fucking song, he should. "e" should be among the nominees, but realistically, not that many people knew about it; its not available on iTunes or brick or mortar stores, and other than a few blog reviews like the two posted above, it was virtually unnoticed by the press. Oh well. Not to do a sour grape routine or anything, but this is the Grammys we are talking about and the "Nominee Announcement Show" on Wednesday night was an abomination. Any concert which continually pans to Nick Jonas in the audience...ugh..what more do I need to say...other than on a night where Lady GaGa and Taylor Swift ruled the land...do we really care if the Adrian Belew Power Trio did not get nominated?

No, we do not.

But it would have been nice.

Later,
xo

Odds and Sods for Monday, November 30, 2009

Well, Andre forwarded this to me with "copyright infringement?" in the subject line, and I laughed out loud.



eSlick!

I like how they advertise this: "Be eSlick. Take your documents on the go."

Yes, you, too, can be like eSlick and always have your documents because God knows, you need to have those documents on you at all times, damn it!

And hear that, Eric? You will now have legions of followers.

Well, in any event, eSlick could not have come at a handier time, because my publisher sent me the following eMail:

"Mundania is running a Holiday Sale for all imprints. Entering the Discount code SANTA when checking out gives a 20% discount on the entire order.

This runs from now through New Year’s Day, January 1, 2010 on Mundania, Awe-Struck, and Phaze Books."

This is especially great news to me because I have a new book coming out next month called "Bitten to the Core" which is the third novel in the Three Days in New York City series so now is a great chance to pick up Three Days and its sequel, Another Bite of the Apple, so you'll be all caught up for Bitten -- here's the link for my author page at Phaze and if you are so inclined to order the eReader or have a Kindle, etc. of your own already, Daddy Left Me Alone is also available digitally right here.

So you can pretty much guess whenever I'm silent on the blog, it's for a reason. In a perfect world, it's because I'm writing, so yeah, that part of life is awesome -- I wrote my first short story in a while and put it up in an online workshop where its gotten some amazing reviews so now I have something to submit to a literary magazine or contest which is way cool; plus I continue to work on the new novel.

I was going to tell you all about Thanksgiving, but Julie Slick trumped me and her Thanksgiving blog post pretty much says it all with detailed pictures - by the way, I suggest you keep checking back because she's going to be putting up all the recipes. All I can say is, vegetarian or not, it was the absolute best Thanksgiving meal I've ever had. I mean, I didn't have turkey but Gary did so we did roast one, but the side dishes were to die for. Julie and Gary really outdid themselves as you can see by Julie's photos.

I do feel an explanation for this photo is in order, though:



That's me holding some kind of freaking brussel sprout tree that Julie and I bought from a "sustainable local farm stand" because we are good little yuppies (Oh, I'm kidding...we really do take our sustainable shopping seriously!)...and me drinking a lovely sparkling something that Julie picked out at the liquor store...but in case you are wondering, they had to be the absolute best brussel sprouts I ever ate...you really do need to stalk Julie's blog for the recipe. I don't know what she did to them, but she took something I spit out and hid as a kid and turned it into something better than a French fry. (This is the highest praise I can give as I am Potato Woman!)

Also, if you haven't been following Julie's blog, she has some funny pics and stories about her recent tour of Russia and Turkey. Here's the straight link to everything. You'll also see photos of last weekend's prep for the first Paper Cat studio CD, featuring Julie, Eric, and Robbie "Seahag" Mangano. Paper Cat returns to the studio again this weekend, and then of course they will share a bill with Cheers Elephant at the Khyber Pass in Philadelphia on Friday, December 11. Buy tickets right here!

Right after next weekend's Paper Cat recording session, Julie heads to Woodstock, New York to the studios of Medeski, Martin and Wood for a top secret project...and as I was just grabbing this link, I laughed out loud reading the band bio because of this passage: "Communal, on-the-road living has broken up many bands, but true-to-form, MMW thrived in this potentially treacherous situation. Their secret was a unique combination of individual personalities, with each band member taking on additional roles that suited their own aptitudes and interests. As always, nothing was planned out; it just happened.

John, with his love for cooking, was the band's chef, preparing incredible meals that made life on the road more bearable. Billy, who worked well with his hands, could fix anything up to and including the band's RV. And Chris, with his head for business, took care of the group's accounting. As it was with the music, Medeski Martin & Wood balanced each other out perfectly."

Ha ha, sounds like John and Julie have something in common, huh.

But do not be misled - Julie is not recording with MMW, she'll merely be at John Medeski's studio in Woodstock, playing her bass and recording with someone else, a male guitarist from England, and that's all I'm saying.

Eric right now is just utterly exhausted from six straight months on the road. We were talking the other day and he counted that he's been home in his own bed exactly three weeks since July. So while he's in for the Paper Cat gig, he's taking some time to chill, write music, and of course both Julie and Eric will be traveling to California in mid-January for The NAMM Show - Eric will be there as an endorser of Paiste Cymbals and Julie will be there as an endorser of Gallien-Krueger Amplifiers, and I see that Julie is not on their site yet as this is a pretty new endorsement for her -- all I know is, those amps sounded AMAZING on the west coast tour last month.

What does Julie do after NAMM? Hmm...could be another secret project. Gah! I hate being so mysterious, but I'm also superstitious and besides, this will be Julie's news to share if and when...

While Eric gets some much needed rest and relaxation, do not expect silence from his corner. I do not know if I mentioned it, but I assume it's okay to tell you that he won a very prestigious scholarship to study composition, which is his true love, and he'll be spending the month of July in France taking master classes. More details on that to follow...like, when I ask Eric and he gives them to me. I keep forgetting because I've been so damn worried about how wiped out he's been feeling. But he did see a doctor and had some blood drawn so we're on it and hope he starts rebounding soon.

We actually had dinner with Julie and Eric last night to celebrate Gary's birthday and I really need to take photos of the cards they gave him - as usual, both were hand made and they both manage to top themselves every year. Honestly, one of their cards is better than any gift you could buy for any amount of money. But Eric gave Gary a totally cool present, too - a magical device which turns albums into CDs. This has been Gary's dream invention for the past twenty years (I knew it was out there but when I checked years ago, it was a freaking fortune) so to say he's happy is putting it mildly. I bet I know the first album he turns into a CD -- it's by this band for sure! (Gary, if you are reading this, you should click on the link - there's an unreleased demo track streaming). Julie is giving Gary her specialty - a meal of his choice cooked at her place (so she gets to clean up) - I believe that is one night this week before the Paper Cat sessions and her trip to Woodstock.

By the way, we just heard through the grapevine that Eric is in the January, 2010 issue of Guitar Player Magazine. Since Guitar Player was at the October 18, 2009 show at Slim's in San Francisco and put up these great interviews and film clips of the trio on their website, I am guessing that the print issue also includes Julie and Adrian as well but who knows? Ha ha, all I can tell you is, I'll be at the store today buying my copy so I'll report back.

Anyway, I guess that's it for now and I'd better start writing. Unfortunately, cookie baking season has started in Casa Slick, and this means BIG trouble for me because I'm home alone today with two huge plates of freshly baked confections, all involving chocolate. ARGHHH. In case you are a new reader to this blog, you should know that Gary's Christmas cookies are internationally famous, and we do mail out tins to selected friends, so if you think you are cookie worthy, shoot me your home address via email and I'll see what I can do (please be sure to mention any allergies like nuts, etc.). He makes at least ten different kinds if not more, and I honestly cannot say which ones are my favorite -- maybe the butter almond sugar, or the toffee shortbread...did I say ARGHHH? Oh, God, I should just get a hotel room and stay away for the next month. I have no willpower at all. None. Though if I give up all other food this month and just eat cookies, maybe I can mitigate the damages?

Oh how I wish it worked that way...

Later,
xo

ETA: I just received this email from my pal Robert, and it's important. I'm actually sitting here shaking as you can be SURE I'm in 100% agreement with Mr. Moore. We need to take action TODAY!

Today at 9:16am
An Open Letter to President Obama from Michael Moore

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Dear President Obama,

Do you really want to be the new "war president"? If you go to West Point tomorrow night (Tuesday, 8pm) and announce that you are increasing, rather than withdrawing, the troops in Afghanistan, you are the new war president. Pure and simple. And with that you will do the worst possible thing you could do -- destroy the hopes and dreams so many millions have placed in you. With just one speech tomorrow night you will turn a multitude of young people who were the backbone of your campaign into disillusioned cynics. You will teach them what they've always heard is true -- that all politicians are alike. I simply can't believe you're about to do what they say you are going to do. Please say it isn't so.

It is not your job to do what the generals tell you to do. We are a civilian-run government. WE tell the Joint Chiefs what to do, not the other way around. That's the way General Washington insisted it must be. That's what President Truman told General MacArthur when MacArthur wanted to invade China. "You're fired!," said Truman, and that was that. And you should have fired Gen. McChrystal when he went to the press to preempt you, telling the press what YOU had to do. Let me be blunt: We love our kids in the armed services, but we f*#&in' hate these generals, from Westmoreland in Vietnam to, yes, even Colin Powell for lying to the UN with his made-up drawings of WMD (he has since sought redemption).

So now you feel backed into a corner. 30 years ago this past Thursday (Thanksgiving) the Soviet generals had a cool idea -- "Let's invade Afghanistan!" Well, that turned out to be the final nail in the USSR coffin.

There's a reason they don't call Afghanistan the "Garden State" (though they probably should, seeing how the corrupt President Karzai, whom we back, has his brother in the heroin trade raising poppies). Afghanistan's nickname is the "Graveyard of Empires." If you don't believe it, give the British a call. I'd have you call Genghis Khan but I lost his number. I do have Gorbachev's number though. It's + 41 22 789 1662. I'm sure he could give you an earful about the historic blunder you're about to commit.

With our economic collapse still in full swing and our precious young men and women being sacrificed on the altar of arrogance and greed, the breakdown of this great civilization we call America will head, full throttle, into oblivion if you become the "war president." Empires never think the end is near, until the end is here. Empires think that more evil will force the heathens to toe the line -- and yet it never works. The heathens usually tear them to shreds.

Choose carefully, President Obama. You of all people know that it doesn't have to be this way. You still have a few hours to listen to your heart, and your own clear thinking. You know that nothing good can come from sending more troops halfway around the world to a place neither you nor they understand, to achieve an objective that neither you nor they understand, in a country that does not want us there. You can feel it in your bones.

I know you know that there are LESS than a hundred al-Qaeda left in Afghanistan! A hundred thousand troops trying to crush a hundred guys living in caves? Are you serious? Have you drunk Bush's Kool-Aid? I refuse to believe it.

Your potential decision to expand the war (while saying that you're doing it so you can "end the war") will do more to set your legacy in stone than any of the great things you've said and done in your first year. One more throwing a bone from you to the Republicans and the coalition of the hopeful and the hopeless may be gone -- and this nation will be back in the hands of the haters quicker than you can shout "tea bag!"

Choose carefully, Mr. President. Your corporate backers are going to abandon you as soon as it is clear you are a one-term president and that the nation will be safely back in the hands of the usual idiots who do their bidding. That could be Wednesday morning.

We the people still love you. We the people still have a sliver of hope. But we the people can't take it anymore. We can't take your caving in, over and over, when we elected you by a big, wide margin of millions to get in there and get the job done. What part of "landslide victory" don't you understand?

Don't be deceived into thinking that sending a few more troops into Afghanistan will make a difference, or earn you the respect of the haters. They will not stop until this country is torn asunder and every last dollar is extracted from the poor and soon-to-be poor. You could send a million troops over there and the crazy Right still wouldn't be happy. You would still be the victim of their incessant venom on hate radio and television because no matter what you do, you can't change the one thing about yourself that sends them over the edge.

The haters were not the ones who elected you, and they can't be won over by abandoning the rest of us.

President Obama, it's time to come home. Ask your neighbors in Chicago and the parents of the young men and women doing the fighting and dying if they want more billions and more troops sent to Afghanistan. Do you think they will say, "No, we don't need health care, we don't need jobs, we don't need homes. You go on ahead, Mr. President, and send our wealth and our sons and daughters overseas, 'cause we don't need them, either."

What would Martin Luther King, Jr. do? What would your grandmother do? Not send more poor people to kill other poor people who pose no threat to them, that's what they'd do. Not spend billions and trillions to wage war while American children are sleeping on the streets and standing in bread lines.

All of us that voted and prayed for you and cried the night of your victory have endured an Orwellian hell of eight years of crimes committed in our name: torture, rendition, suspension of the bill of rights, invading nations who had not attacked us, blowing up neighborhoods that Saddam "might" be in (but never was), slaughtering wedding parties in Afghanistan. We watched as hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians were slaughtered and tens of thousands of our brave young men and women were killed, maimed, or endured mental anguish -- the full terror of which we scarcely know.

When we elected you we didn't expect miracles. We didn't even expect much change. But we expected some. We thought you would stop the madness. Stop the killing. Stop the insane idea that men with guns can reorganize a nation that doesn't even function as a nation and never, ever has.

Stop, stop, stop! For the sake of the lives of young Americans and Afghan civilians, stop. For the sake of your presidency, hope, and the future of our nation, stop. For God's sake, stop.

Tonight we still have hope.

Tomorrow, we shall see. The ball is in your court. You DON'T have to do this. You can be a profile in courage. You can be your mother's son.

We're counting on you.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. There's still time to have your voice heard. Call the White House at 202-456-1111 or email the President.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, obviously there's much to be thankful for this year, and I'll get into that in a future post tomorrow along with photos of our Thanksgiving feast tonight, but one thing that really made me smile today was to learn that I'm Smith Magazine's Six Word Memoir of the Day.

So yeah, you can click on the above link to read it but being the egomaniac that I am, naturally I had to take a screen shot, too:



Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

xo

The Power of Youth: Julie Slick and Eric Slick in Goldmine Magazine!

If you've been reading my blog, you know that this summer, I went on tour with Julie and Eric and when they played what was my personal favorite show on the "east coast" tour, Toronto, we met Martin Popoff, a rock journalist with some serious creds: Have a look at his published books on the subject!

Anyway, he interviewed Adrian for an article in Goldmine Magazine, and it just came out today. Holy freaking cow, look what he has to say about Julie and Eric:

Adrian Belew experiences the power of youth
November 17, 2009
by Martin Popoff

Acrobatic guitar legend recruits two 20-something siblings for new trio

"Consummate axe-skronker Adrian Belew has seen it all.

Touring with the likes of David Bowie, Frank Zappa, King Crimson, solo at various times, and with his very best band (of Cleveland buds) The Bears, this 60-ish guitar innovator has given us so much music of swooping, sterling variety, from the Beatle-esque to the Dali-esque.

But perhaps nothing has felt so literally vital as what the man is doing now, fronting the Adrian Belew Power Trio, alongside brother-and-sister team Julie Slick (bass) and Eric Slick (drums), both in their low 20s, and both possibly the best musicians this writer’s ever seen live.

The trio is an interesting animal, figures Adrian, chuffed that this group has harnessed their energy in a new record simply titled e.

“Yes, well, the format itself, of having a trio … if you are the frontman, the guitarist in such a thing, it allows you a lot more freedom,” says Belew. “In the case of the power trio, I try to make it so we have places in the set, and during certain pieces of music, where we kind of improvise and change from night to night.”

Having two eager new recruits to push him helps keep things interesting.

“I think the power trio format, for a guitar player, is just wonderful, especially if you have two great young musicians like I do (laughs),” says Belew. “I think Eric and Julie’s role is to bring the youthfulness, the energetic qualities to the band that are so attractive. Of course, their playing is amazing, for their ages, and really, for any age. But for me, those two things combined make a pretty powerful thing."

Belew also has taken on another job with this group that’s proving to be tough.

“Maybe the last thing is, as kind of a producer/arranger, I’m enjoying the role of taking on material that should be difficult for three people to play — maybe songs that were played by four or five people, or even six, in the case of the double trio King Crimson material,” says Belew. “So that’s challenging, too. You put all that together, it’s a hot little package (laughs).”

Did Adrian ever wonder, looking back, that if players like Eric and Julie had been around when he was sprouting his wings, if he’d have been left in the dust, that he “never would have gotten the gig” so to speak?

“I never really thought about it that way, although that’s possibly true (laughs),” says Belew. “I always thought you got the gigs you got because you were ready for that, and you stepped up to the plate and did well. But it does impress me, and interest me quite a lot, to watch their progression as musicians and as people. And as young people seeing things that I saw for the first time — I really enjoy that part. Like when we go to Russia or Australia or Japan, somewhere that I’ve been many times, and it’s their first time, or even their second, I can kind of remember how I felt.”

Being siblings, Julie and Eric have a different way of approaching music.

“It’s different the way they view it and process that information, first of all, because they’re brother and sister,” says Belew. “So they always have a companion (laughs). They even like to share the same room; they don’t even like to have separate rooms. They’re always on the computer together, and that’s just the way they are — they grew up best friends. That makes one big difference. Because when I went out and toured the world the first few times, I was pretty much on my own and had to accept things and discover things in a different way.”

And together they’ve made … e?

“Way back when I was a kid,” says Adrian, by way of explanation, “I used to do drawings of a cartoon character I made up called e, and it was a lowercase e, and I would draw things in high school, and there would be these cartoon pages of this guy. So I don’t know why. Now the letter e, especially lowercase e, appears in a lot of places — e-mail, eharmony or whatever. But I always thought of just a nice simple title — e; it’s a letter, it represents a lot of different things, it’s the beginning of a lot of different words, it’s a very strong graphic — just the shape of an e.”

The album features many of the usual Belew tricks, as well as his latest hobby, looping.

“Maybe seven years ago I began this form of looping,” he says, citing it as a key impetus in this album’s creative process. “You play something into your looper and it’s repeated over and over, so it therefore adds another guitarist for you to play with.”

Fortunately for us, all of this can be witnessed live, as the Adrian Belew Power Trio tour fairly extensively worldwide. And be sure to keep an eye on drummer Eric, whose speed and deft touch can be mesmerizing, which leads one to ask, how much more could he possibly improve?!

“Well, actually, I would say, you’re right,” laughs Adrian. “I would say I’ve watched him progress, is more correct, because, you know, I don’t know much further he can take it. What is so impressive to me about it is, yes, now he’s got the mechanics, got the chops, he can do all kinds of amazing things, but it’s his tastefulness. It’s way beyond his years. And the same with Julie. I mean … it’s kind of mysterious how these two young people get to this point where it usually takes someone 40 years to arrive at (laughs).” 

*********

Okay, that just totally made 2009 for me.

Stay tuned for a TON of exciting news about Julie and Eric Slick, by the way. Now that they are finished touring with Adrian in 2009, they have many, many exciting projects lined up with other musicians and the news just may be of a very surprising nature indeed.

Later!
xo

Is Adrian Belew Power Trio's "e" 2009 CD of the year? Cast your vote!

Well, according to what I've been reading on line, more and more people are saying it. Adrian Belew Power Trio's "e" just may be the best CD of 2009.



From The Progressive Ears forum board...can't get a direct link to the actual post but it's called " FEATURED CD- Adrian Belew Trio - e":

Member: Stigglesworth 11/13/2009 8:20 AM
"One of my albums of the year, fantastic."
******
Member: 100423 11/13/2009 10:50 AM
"One of my favorites too. This group is a monster live as well."
*****

Member: PindralProgger 11/13/2009 11:17 AM
"Enjoying this since I got a few weeks ago....

Fripp commented, "Driving to & from the dentist listening to the Adrian Belew Power Trio's e. Now this is what I call a power trio. Lotsa fun. Current favourite is B. Along the listening-way a few chuckles when I caught the musical puns."
*****
Member: Sputnik 11/13/2009 11:53 AM
"I'm also really enjoying this, probably a release of the year for me as well. Saw them in Fall River and they were pretty good. It might have helped if I knew this album a bit better before the show, though I really enjoyed hearing the stuff live anyway.

To me, this album plays to Belew's strengths and minimizes the things he does that I don't enjoy. Hoping for more in this vein in the future.

Bill"
******
Member: Kcrimso 11/13/2009 12:03 PM
"Very very good. Indeed one of the best new releases of the year 2009."
******
Member: Just Eric 11/13/2009 3:45 PM

"Saw them in St. Louis last year and was blown away by the Slick's..."
*****
Member: PepeLePew 11/13/2009 5:03 PM
"LOVE this release. LOVE the Slicks. LOVE the Trio!

Had a ball watching Ade work his magic from 5 feet away. We were so absolutely blown away by his technique that we were all giggling like schoolgirls. I think the Slicks really fuel something magical here. He is just sooooo...*happy*. Just a joy to watch this trio. I will definitely support this act whenever they roll into MA."
******
Member: MissKittysMom 11/13/2009 8:17 PM
"Release of the year for me as well. Simply marvelous."
******
Member: Sean 11/13/2009 8:20 PM
"This is a great CD. All instrumental and flowing logically from piece to piece. It's like the one Adrian CD where he goes after that Crim kinda vibe entirely. Yet it's distinctly the trio's angle on it and really fresh. One of the best of 2009 for sure! The Slicks really did some amazing work on this one and pushed Adrian to new heights."
******
From the DGMLive forum board:

"me for e
Posted by DeVito on November 14, 2009

Every fan of instrumental Crim and the Projekcts should head over to Adrian Belew’s website and order a copy of e. I’ve never really understood why AB calls this band a "power trio" until I heard this recording -- they’re powerful alright, and both the bass and drums sound huge (and the drummer has that Bruford snare-bop sound down clean). Gets my vote for the best album Crimson never made"
******
So I have a favor to ask. WXPN radio in Philadelphia, our NPR station, is running their yearly poll for CD and songs of the year. They've kindly been playing the actual title track, "e", which is over seven minutes long, in regular rotation. That is really saying something. If you will kindly place your vote for "e" as CD of the year, we here at Casa Slick will be forever in your debt. And to make life easy, here is the OFFICIAL LINK!

And to further encourage you to vote, here's some "e" for you!



Later,
xo

Not quite a blog post but still very cool...

Okay, I'm too lazy and still head cold ridden so I'm not in the mood to do a long blog post today but if that changes and I find reviews, etc. I'll come in and edit. In the meantime, have you ever wanted to own one of my books but were to lazy yourself or too short on cash? Well, with the exception of Daddy Left Me Alone with God, which is published by Tease and which can be purchased by clicking on the banner at the top of my blog, all of my books with Phaze Publishing are on sale today, in honor of Friday the 13th. Just go right here and when you go to check out, use code FRIDAY13 for 13% off your purchase!

And now that I have taken care of business, I want to put up a couple of fun very short film clips of Julie Slick, Eric Slick, Adrian Belew, and Andre Cholmondeley (and Andre of course is my usual lifeline who sent these to me) currently in Istanbul, Turkey. Well, in the first clip, they are admiring their tour poster:



And here's a still photo from that same "scene":



Here's everyone at breakfast this morning -- man, check out that view. No wonder I'm reading tweets from Julie and Eric that they are madly in love with Turkey:



Next up, a clip from the show last night - wow -- security guards and bouquets of flowers!




And finally, here's a great shot of Andre, who sent this to me with the caption "How about a little head in Krakow?"



Andre has sent me a ton of photos which I will hopefully get around to posting, but for now, I do believe I'm going to assume the fetal position for an hour or two.

P.S. Julie, Eric...if I don't get my hands on that "Ghetto" tour poster, I will surely die. Do what you must!

Later,
xo

Eric Slick and Marco F*cking Minnemann

ETA: Here's a review of the show in Perm, but I had a really hard time translating it, though I did manage to pull out this sentence:

"Eric Slick - drums with a classical musical education, operates drums minimal configuration, while the audience is simply amazing amazing musicianship and intelligence, draughty in every stroke." (If anyone can translate this review for me, please email me said translation or put it in the comment section here.)

Holy cow.

Eric Slick and Marco Fucking Minnemann performing Indisicpline in Perm, Russia -- Monday night, November 9, 2009

Oh yeah, Eddie Jobson and Adrian Belew are there, too.



I have a feeling more of these are going to pop up - if so, I'll add them.

Oh! Andre just sent me these very cool photos from soundcheck:













Ha ha - and then there is this: Eddie Jobson and Adrian Belew in their international pop debut (with videotographer Julie Slick laughing hilariously in the background)



Later,
xo

Julie Slick: She is My New Hat

ETA: Hurrah! My latest book, "Daddy Left Me Alone with God" is now available on Kindle! Here's the link! And um, just a heads up that my current NaNo project (National Novel Writing Month - a 50,000 word novel written during the month of November, as in RIGHT NOW) is the sequel, which will bring you all up to date on these *cough* "fictional" characters as well as introducing you to a couple of new ones (and to use the word characters is putting it mildly)...

So yeah, the ABPT is in Russia right now, doing two shows with Eddie Jobson, and some interesting stuff has popped up. But first, here are some photographs of the show in Perm last night, courtesy of my "lifeline", Andre Cholmondeley.

Here they are at soundcheck:













In concert:













With Eddie Jobson for Lark's Tongue:



Final bow:



Also, there's this mention in The Moscow News, and I'll just pull out some quotes; click on the link for the whole article, which, erm, isn't quite accurate as you will see:

"To the dismay of some fans, the legendary British progressive rock band itself isn't actually taking part in the fest, but one of King Crimson's current members - singer and guitarist Adrian Belew - is to perform with his side project, the Adrian Belew Power Trio. Their set is expected to be the fest's main highlight. Belew, who has been a King Crimson member since the band was formed by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles in 1969, is known for participation in many other projects. And while King Crimson is currently in a phase of semi-activity, Belew has been quite focused on touring and recording with his trio.

The trio, which also includes bassist Julie Slick and drummer Eric Slick, has been around since 2006, touring the United States, Europe and Australia. It put out its debut studio album with the title "e" earlier this year, "an extended suite in five distinct but interrelated sections", according to Belew.

Material from the album is likely to be performed in Moscow, as it was at the band's previous shows this year. A reviewer for The Buffalo News described their show last September as featuring a "lyrical, classical introduction", "bits of industrial near-metal, African polyrhythmic motifs" and "a purely ‘free' section of improvisation", observing that it triggered a "visceral and chaotic" response from the audience."

When I took a look at Eddie Jobson's forum board to see if there were any reviews from the Perm show last night, I struck out, but I did find this (and speaking of Andre, there's some really nice and well-deserved comments made on his behalf):

Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: gogo
Date: 10-13-09 22:16

-------- OK----------
"May I suggest that EVERYONE
who has a chance to go see this band
----------------------------GO FOR IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I knew nothing of the man,
his band, or his music,
other than DISCIPLINE
when I was in grade 10
and what I read of the Eddie Russia festival..........
(which is all VERY cool)

And for whatever reason,
too wrapped-up in stuff
to discover this music..........

And also that our friend
and fellow EJ Forum member
Andre Cholmondeley is their Tour manager........

So, my house-building buddy
Tony Thompson bought a pile of tickets
and handed them out to his friends
and I wasn't going to go over to Vancouver
on my first non-gigging weekend in a while.......

And I emailed Andre, and I say YEAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tracy-Lyn was wrapped-up in making
a HUGE Thanksgiving Dinner for the gang here
and I said "I will blast over to this show and be back early tomorrow"
....and use the opportunity to pick-up
the violin that I just inherited from Uncle Tony
(another post, another story)......and
our dear friend ROSE decided to go over
for the trip as a sit in.........also YEAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So we hit the 3pm ferry
and my old guitarist Randal Frew
picked us up..and we went to his place
......and hearing him play was worth the trip alone

....but his cat scratched Rosie...

Then, we hit the downtown
and yap with the cats in the line-up
and move into the front row
..really neat room, black, tall ceiling.....cool club......

we got to chit chat with Andre a bit
(super cool guy...and THANK YOU)
and it was a trip to see how busy he is
and how well he treats and represents his band.

Tour managers are more rare than keyboard players
and worth more than GOLD in the modern rock world.
The guy I work with is basicly irreplaceable.
I have seen very smart and cool men literally
loose their minds as tour managers.

The work-load does not let-up,
and the responsibilities are everywhere.
And it can be very thankless......cos
nobody sees a fraction of what actually goes on.

It takes an extremely reasonable, unflappable
and diversely talented person to tour manage a rock band.
Andre treats people well, and represents his act
very respectfully.

So this says volumes for our friend Andre.
Totally cool...proud to know you, man.



OK, so I did have some preconceived notions
of what this show would be all about......
and it was all good..of course......

But forget all that........
I was totally knocked out..amazed and had an total
full-out riot.

YOU HAVE TO SEE THESE CATS.

Julie Slick
.....She is my new hat

She is great.
I can not get her off of my mind
LOVE YOU Julie Slick.

I was right in front of
the beautiful bass player
and MAN ! she GOES FOR IT
the whole time....excellent !!!!!!!!!!!

Great fuzz bass..a million riffs...
I guess this is called Prog Rock
cos there were a lot of guys,
dressed in black
some with arms folded
and all smiling........

But I call it art rock
so we jjust spazzed out a lot

This is the floor
where a guy fell
unconscious
at Rosie's feet

Poor Rosie.
One minute he is staring at her
and next thing, he hits the floor.

I get to see tons of bands
but never as much fun as this.

This is total wild fun full-out music
and wild to dance to
cos it goes everywhere !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the most fun I have had since UKZ.

Can you imagine these guys opening for the Eddies in Russia ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

The band did huge at merch,
stuck around, signed stuff,
my friends were thrilled
to meet the band
....very freindly, a total 100% class act.

I have never heard music like this before.
I understand it, but I would never think to write
and arrange like that.

There were great dynamic open spots for crowd howls.......just a riot.

RAA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA

----WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!

RAA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA

----WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!

RAA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA

----WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!

If they play anywhere near your town
....you GOTTA go see this act..........

The best fun to be had.

I would go again..and again........

I LOVE IT.
and THANK YOU
love
GOGO"
*******

Re: Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: Dusty
Date: 10-13-09 23:39

"These guys played nowhere near me but I saw them in NYC recently - first time I saw Adrian with the Slick Siblings, killing band.

Ade sits betwixt the Slicks
Ade sits betwixt the Slicks
Ade sits betwixt the Slicks

...eh, on a big, springy stool... amongst an array of technology and sound reinforcement, and black boxes with flashing lights. The rest of the power trio have comparitively spare, minimal set-ups. Bass sound is aggressive, plenty of attack and very clear. I like it a lot. And drummer played a brief but inspired, and very musical solo.

Luckily, the guy sitting opposite me at the Belew gig was an Eddie fan and saw both the UKZ show and the U-Z gig at the same venue the week or so before...."

******

Reply To This Message

Re: Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: gogo
Date: 10-14-09 11:19

"Dusty !
great review !!!!!!!
you loved it too !
just as I doooooo !

Yes, i never mentioned how HEAVY this band is.
Excellent rock, so totally fun.

I love being so surprised
and having such a gas
..a rare rare thing.....

love
Gogo"

******

Reply To This Message

Re: Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: gogo
Date: 10-19-09 10:06

"So, the corporate gig this weekend
turned out to be a pub at a Technical Institute,
unadvertised.....and great to have anything
as winter looms on the horizon.....I suppose.

The driver went into a rave review
of the Adrian Power Trio gig
that he attended in Calgary Alberta.

He chatted away,
with no connection,
until this topic came up.........

Everyone LOVES that band !

love
Gogo"
*****

Reply To This Message

Re: Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: Mike Piazza
Date: 10-22-09 07:39

"WOW !
Love the Adrian Belew Power Trio !!!
Seen them multiple times and always a great show !!!
They are geting better and better every day !

Thanks so much for the great posts GOGO....

If you all get the chance to see them....Do so !
You will definitely enjoy........

They are some of the most down to earth musicians you've ever met !
And they truly enjoy performing for us...every single time !

Peace...

Mikey P"
******

Reply To This Message

Re: Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: Lenny
Date: 10-22-09 09:51

An interview with Julie Slick
******

Reply To This Message

Re: Adrian Belew Power trio
Author: gogo
Date: 10-29-09 11:00

"A great interview !!!

She is wonderful !

The conversation gets better as it goes along
cos she tells some good food stories.....my kinda girl !

Love
Gogo"
******

Ha, gotta love that Gogo!

There's a a nice review of the trio's recent show in Seattle and here's a few snippets I pulled out:

"It was unusual to see the drummer perpendicular to the audience, but it gave us the opportunity to get an appreciation of Eric Slick’s incredible footwork. Adrian has a very unique sense of syncopation, but this lad never missed a beat."



..."Sister Julie Slick was masterful on the bass. And definitely the most photogenic of the group. (That must be the reason I have so many more pictures of her…)"


***********

Ha, that was fun. There's a bunch of articles about their show tonight in Moscow and the next two shows in Turkey - I will have to see if I can get them translated for my next blog post. And as I sit here typing this, Andre keeps sending me more photos so if I don't end this entry now, I may never stop!

In other news, I have had the head cold from hell, which prevented me from going to New York and reading this past Saturday, but under the category of "much better", I finished my edits for Bitten to the Core and they were accepted (whew, that's a relief!) and now it's being line edited so I guess we're right on track for publication for next month. Hurrah! You can't believe what I've decided to do in connection with its release. I can't believe it, either. I've discovered how to live stream a broadcast from my new mac right in the comfort of my living room, so I'm going to have a virtual party here. I'll read from part of the book, maybe drink some wine, introduce you to the dog, show you some cool artwork and maybe even a guitar or two...hell, I'll even play you some music. This could be a lot of fun. Assuming publication of the digital version is in fact December 7, I'm planning on doing it on Saturday night, December 12. I would normally do it that Friday, December 11, but it has come to my attention that there is something very special scheduled for that night, namely, this!

Okay, that's not a direct link. What "this" is: What is mistakenly listed as "Julie and Eric Slick Power Duo" is an error, it's actually their new band with Robbie "Seahag" Mangano, Paper Cat, and they are opening for the amazing band Julie produces, Cheers Elephant...and I can't believe they are all playing the Khyber Pass, because yeah, yeah, Gary and I used to hang at that very bar when we were Julie and Eric's age and we took them to see Richie Havens there when they were kids and I could swear someone else, too, but my brains are fried with this cold. I called Gary and asked him, and he doesn't remember, either, but he, too, has a vague recollection of another band though he did say that Eric did an AC/DC show there when he was still at the School of Rock so maybe that's what we're thinking of. (Eric, if you read this and remember, shoot me an email or a text and I'll add it in and do I believe my son is in Russia and can actually read this on his iPhone?)

Anyway, getting back to me, yeah, the virtual book release/reading party for Bitten to the Core should be lots of fun and I just realized, in a perfect world I will have the house decorated for Christmas by December 12 and it will look all festive and pretty in here (well, if I wasn't going to do it before now, I just decided I will, so hurrah, I have the much needed impetus now to start cleaning blah blah blah). But as I type this, I'm wondering if people will be home on a Saturday night right before the holidays and if I shouldn't make it on Thursday night, December 10, instead. Hmm. Well, I'll let you know...this is all contingent on the release date of my book not being pushed up, too, so I don't want to set anything in stone yet, anyway.

But how much fun will that be? Ha ha, maybe I can bribe Julie and Eric over here, too, for a little comedic/musical participation at my party... as they grit their teeth and shudder in Moscow right now reading this and not from the cold :(

Oh well, speaking of colds, it's time I rest mine and go take a nap. But yeah, tentatively circle December 12 on your calendars! And if you are anywhere near Philadelphia, see you at the Khyber Pass on December 11!

Later,
xo
P.S. I know, I know, the photography/food reviews and posts from the tour. I need Julie's help, memory, and some of her photos. So that's on hold until she gets home.