The Adrian Belew Interview

Eric Slick and Dave Johnsen two weeks ago on the final night of the Project Object Tour

After all of the excitement of the past couple of months and the incredible things to come this summer, I needed a couple of days just to chill. So I did that and yesterday I went to the beach with Julie and Eric and their significant others, Matt and Carolyn. We stuffed our faces and then decided to do an outrageous cheesy tourist thing mostly because we were so full of food -- we rented a surrey that could hold up to nine people and pedaled that thing up and down the boardwalk laughing like idiots and beeping our horn at everyone to get out of our way. Carolyn had her camera and we got an unsuspecting real tourist to snap us all together so as soon as she sends me the photo, I'll post it here.

Here's sort of what it looked like:



Anyway, after that wild and crazy fun (hey, it was!) I came home to this really great e-mail from Thomas Dippel, President of the Arf Society:

Dear Robin,

I'm Thomas one of the organizers from Zappanale. For years now I'm reading your blog and enjoy it very much how enthousiastic you are writing about your kids and the festival.

Right at the moment I read your article about Julie and Eric beeing the new power-trio with Adrian, I had the idea to tell it to our fans here in europe and packed it in a little interview with Adrian for my last Zappanale-newsletter. This newsletter has a huge number of readers, you can find it at the following homepages from germanies biggest newspapers and TV/Radio-stations:

kulturkurier.de: 520.000
DeutschlandRadio: 12,0 Mio
DIE ZEIT: 10,5 Mio
ARTE-TV: 3,3 Mio
FAZ.NET: 37,0 Mio
FOCUS Online: 132 Mio
Brigitte: 14,0 Mio
Perlentaucher: 1,2 Mio
Handelsblatt: 12,5 Mio
Telepolis: 9,2 Mio

Take care! Music is the best!

So naturally, as soon as I read Thomas' email, I raced over to read the interview...an excerpt of which I'm posting here:

Arf:
As we heard you changed your power-trio to include Eric and Julie Slick as drummer and bassist for your upcoming tours. We all know these two young and high talented musicians from earlier Zappanale-Festivals. Why did you choose especially these two for the future?

Adrian:
Eric and Julie played "city of tiny lights" with me during a school of rock show. They are such eager bright young people but mature and mindful. Secretly I am drawn to the role of teacher but likely they'll end up teaching me more than I'll teach them.

I needed a clean slate, to start fresh with players who aren't "jaded" to the oppressing music business, people who respect my work and are willing to put as much into it as I do. Many of the "virtuoso" players I have known have too many outside entangle-ments (wives, kids, car payments, mortgages, etc.) and can't surrender themselves to the music like we did when we were younger. That's what I hope to find with Eric and Julie: not just the joy of playing great music together but the ability to ignore everything else.

Arf:
What can your fans exspect from your show at Zappanale? Will it be a mix of Adrian Belew and King Crimson? Should there be the chance to listen to some Frank Zappa tunes? For example "City of tiny lights", a song all fans are waiting for, or is it still a secret?

Adrian:
It's a secret whether or not we'll play something of Frank's. But certainly we will play a challenging dose of Crimson/Belew.

Arf:
What are your next plans for 2006?

Adrian:
Following last week's rehearsals with Eric and Julie I am now writing the last two songs for the next Bear's record. It's perhaps the best Bear's record yet and these two songs will complete it. I hope it can be released early this fall. Following that the power trio will play shows throughout the U.S. and parts of europe. Then I have plans to work with Robert Fripp in the guise of project six (fripp n' adrian) a two man group aimed at improvising live material to become the building blocks for the next generation of King Crimson material. Robert and I hope to have something to present Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto by the end of 2007 to get the ball rolling towards a new King Crimson record. Somewhere along the way I want to record my first-ever live record with the trio, to be called "Side Four".

You can read the rest of the interview -- which is very, very cool, on Adrian Belew's website.

And um, you had to see my face when I read that last line: "Somewhere along the way I want to record my first-ever live record with the trio, to be called "Side Four".

While Julie and Eric did mention the possibility when they came home from Nashville last week, to see it confirmed in print made me almost swallow my tongue.

I do have writing news and I think I'll make a separate post for that this afternoon or tomorrow..but in the meantime, I'm totally stoked. As I wrote here a few months ago, I was bored one day and took one of those Quizzilla things to see which Endless I am (Endless being characters from Neil Gaiman's Sandman series), and found that I am Death, the second of The Endless, responsible for ending all lives and taking them to my realm, from which no one ever returns. I am bright, positive, happy, optimistic and enjoy everything about life, but that does not mean I am silly or stupid. I can lay the smack down when I have to! Everyone loves me, and they don't know why.

Well, it sounded good to me and oh god, a few days ago I found the t-shirt for sale, bought it, and sadly am wearing it right now. If I can get one of the family to snap my pic later, I'll post it but I'm not sure if I'm willing to take the verbal abuse (ha) that will follow, so for now how about if I just post a photo of the shirt itself:



Later,
xo

The Adrian Belew Power Trio: Can you say sensational and stunning?

Julie Slick and Eric Slick performing with Ann Wilson of Heart

Good morning and Happy Holiday Weekend!

Okay, so even though I've been broadcasting it everywhere, Adrian Belew has made it offical last night on his website but of course me being me, I'm so excited I'm cutting and pasting it here anyway:

"dear tribe,
in case you haven't heard I have changed my power trio to include eric slick a nineteen-year-old drummer from philly who has been causing a sensation playing spot-on versions of zappa material with the zappa tribute group project object and his twenty-year-old sister julie slick who is a bassist of equally stunning talent. eric and julie have played together most of their lives and have a maturity and knowledge beyond their ages. both are graduates of the paul green school of rock and former members of the school of rock all-stars which puts them in a rare class of players indeed. I want to thank their parents robin and gary slick for nurturing such bright gifted people and paul green for putting me in touch with them.

I can't wait to play for all of you again soon.

cheers,
adrian
may 25, 2006"

Can you imagine waking up to that first thing this morning? And a really lovely letter from Adrian's webmaster Rob Murphree welcoming Julie and Eric to the band, too? I'm having major breathing problems here!

Anyway, it's going to be a really crazy weekend. In between rehearsing, Julie and Eric have all kinds of stuff going on and it's going to be a hotel here over the next four days with boyfriends and girlfriends and big dances and parties, a concert by Ween down by the river, and a day trip to the beach at Ocean City where we will have our first Brown's donuts and Mack and Manco's pizza of the season.

I was supposed to go to Balticon this weekend but all of these recent exciting developments are keeping me with the family so no, I do not get to hang out with Neil Gaiman after all (as if) but since my spirits are so high right now, this will hold me until I do get the chance one of these days...



Hey, Neil! My kids are in Adrian Belew's band! You going to be in Italy, Holland, or Germany in July? How about Chicago, Indiana, or Atlanta? I can get you backstage!

(insert smiley face emoticon here)

Happy weekend everyone.

xo
The Sassy Mum

Belew Plus Two: Part II

Julie and Eric Slick stage-side in Seattle where they performed with Ann Wilson of Heart and Eddie Vedder. Was that really a year ago already? I mean it was a year ago to the day! Um, give or take a day or two...it might actually be one year tomorrow. So shoot me.

Anyway, thank you to Andrew Greenaway, a/k/a The Idiot Bastard, for announcing the awesome news on his very awesome website as concerns Julie and Eric joining Adrian Belew on tour and more - here's his blurb on the subject and while I'm at it, another big thanks to Sid Smith over at DGM Live who wrote about it here.

Of course both news articles lead you right back to my blog -- what can I tell you, the Robin Slick publicity machine is on full throttle for a change. Ha! Do you think I'm a little bit excited?

Gary and I are still working on travel details - he may drop in on some of the U.S. shows and of course I'm eyeing the European ones but we're still digesting all that's happened and trying to figure things out. What we're really trying to do is discover how to clone ourselves so we can both attend Zappanale because I have a third offspring -- dog Monty -- and I refuse to put him in a kennel so we take turns watching him when Julie and Eric tour.

I realized yesterday in my post that because I'm crazed beyond belief over the events of the past week, I neglected to mention names of other future stars who are coming out of Rock School, and if I were a betting person...wait, I am a betting person...well, let's just say my money is safe with these names: Katie Jacoby, Julia Ranier, Matt Manser, Louis Graff, (already playing and touring the world with Leiana) Joey Randazzo, a/k/a "Reno", Maureen Hayes, Andrew Haff...oh forget it, I'm bound to leave out more names and I don't want to hurt any feelings, but these are the kids I know for a few years now and yep, my money's on all of them bigtime.

And now for something completely different.

Except for the Simpsons, I hate television and rarely watch it -- I just leave it on in my bedroom so I can go to sleep. Yes, I am one of those and also need a night light. Hey, did I ever even attempt to appear normal? So nothing I say should surprise anyone. Anyway, because I wake up at dawn to write, I usually fall asleep pretty early...only one night I couldn't sleep and unfortunately, that was the night that the television show "24" started its new season.

Damn it, I got hooked and I am humiliated to admit it. It's easy to get addicted to that show because you get the feeling that it's reflecting in some strange way what's happening in our government today, but as a writer, I was deeply offended. There were so many flaws in the story line I found it impossible to suspend my belief, and I got really pissed off because this show could be fucking fantastic if the writers used common sense and gave us, the viewers, more credit for intelligence.

Okay, so most of the country, as evidenced by the election and re-election of that idiot President of ours, is not intelligent. But still! They took what could be one of the most clever, action-packed shows in T.V. history and turned it into a stupid soap opera. And still I watched. Every Monday at 9:00 p.m., no one was allowed to talk to me.

Anyway, the reason I am saying all of this here is because yesterday I stumbled on a blog by an editor of Barrelhouse Magazine who summed it up in such a hilarious manner and whose thoughts reflected mine so eerily I have no choice but to cut and paste it and post it here now. And as I just did that, I realize the writer even echoed my feelings and used my same phrase "belief-suspension"...

Tuesday, May 23, 2006
24 Thoughts on 24

After last night's whiz-bang conclusion of the fifth and perhaps most belief-suspension required season of 24, here are some random thoughts that have been floating around my head this season.

What the fuck is in that messenger bag? Like, an FBI-issue sig sauer, lock picking tools, City Paper, PDA, cell phone, bonus burrito card, flashlight, mirror, torture devices, cyanide pill, Starbucks travel mug...

Best initiation of romantic dialogue ever: "When I heard you had kidnapped the president..."

Dead or Alive? Secretary Heller. Wayne Palmer. Curtis (I missed last week due to President Bush dicking my Tivo over with his lame-ass immigration speech; and you thought television was the one thing that fucker couldn't fuck up...).

What was all that about? Kim and that weirdly overprotective boyfriend, who I think had the name and personality of that guru/psychiatrist who had Brian Wilson "under his care" for a period of time in the 80s. The redhead from The Brothers McMullen and Spin City and her overprotective son who eventually learned to love and respect Jack Bauer.

Bit players who seem too good-looking, interesting, or obviously random to not be coming into play in season 6: That hot Italian arms dealer. The Scottish or German or whatever spy guy, who Jack dicked over (and is also Declan, from Lost). Chloe's ex-husband Morris.

The question everybody is asking: why didn't he just download that stupid voice file to Chloe and save us about twelve episodes?

Mary Lynn Rajskub is the Sam Elliott of Television: One facial expression to fit all moods and situations. Same Elliott = the eye twinkle. Mary Lynn = the scowl.

They Took One for the Team (the old fashioned way): That guy who slept with Chloe. The first lady.

Is that a Shacket or a Jirt? What was that thing Jack was wearing all season? Jacket? Shirt? Jirt? Shacket? It had a hood. It had some kind of lapel-ish collar-y thing. What was that? Why didn't he ever take it off?

RIP: Anybody who tried to help Jack in any way at all.

Best Executive IT Training Program: Goes to the CTU and Homeland Security IT staff, who somehow trained executives as high-ranking as Bill Buchanon and Karen Hughes to hack and override and download and do all kinds of kickass stuff usually reserved for twelve year old Thai hackers.

He Took the Precious: Is it just me, or was that Miles guy doing a kind of Gollum-as-middle-manager impression?

The Lundberg Award for Best Management Style: To, who else, Jack Bauer, who proved that you really can get people to accomplish anything -- for instance, land a plane on a highway without enough room, while being chased by airforce fighter jets -- by yelling "NOW!" and "FASTER!" and "Do it DO IT NOW!"

Ziskey Rates the Russians: They're Pussies! Don't you think 24 should end like Stripes, with the mocked up magazine covers that follow? Chloe on Wired, Curtis on Guns and Ammo, Morris on Audio Engineer Weekly, Kim in Maxim...oh, well, I guess that last one actually came true.

Rudy...Rudy! Dude, nice try. But you'll always be Rudy.

Most Enterprising Criminal: Rudy's skeevy sister's skeevy boyfriend, who somehow managed to get in touch with high-level Russian terrorists about five minutes after he nabbed Rudy's CTU scan card.

Best Casting: Speaking of...who was that scuzzy sister anyway? She seemed way to real, right down to the rugburns on her knees. Ugh.

Did We Ever Learn? Who those dudes in the room were? You know who I mean, the gay guy from Fame who was the doctor on ER. I get it that they're, you know, Shadowy Operatives, or Halliburton Executives or whatever, but did they ever actually tell us who they were?

Pscych! Come on, as soon as you hear the lovely music and Jack Bauer says, "that's right, Audrey, it's all over," you KNOW the shits just about to go down. Anybody who says otherwise is a sucka.

Worst. Boyfriend. Ever. Last season Jack killed Audrey's husband and brother and then faked his own death. This season he almost killed her dad and got himself all kidnapped on a slow boat to China.

I Don't Think He's Dead. Robocop. No bleeding. We never saw his body, right?

Ancient Chinese Plot Twist. Not bad. Those Chinese bastards sure do hold a grudge, don't they?

Acme Company, This is Jack Bauer, I'd Like to Order an Anvil. 24 is the best cartoon since Roadrunner.

Why Am I So Fucking Stupid? I'm already looking forward to next season.
*****
Ha! I especially love his last line because even though I'm growling now, I know damn well that come January, 2007 and the first new episode, I'll be in front of that freaking television again, too.

Unless Adrian Belew Plus Two* are in concert somewhere cool, that is.

Later,
xo

*my name for them - easier for me to say/write than Adrian Belew with Julie Slick on bass and Eric Slick on drums

Belew Plus Two: The Adrian Belew Power Trio featuring Julie Slick on bass and Eric Slick on drums

Adrian Belew performing at the Music Player Live Tribute to Les Paul in October, 2005 which is where he first met up with Julie and Eric when they played alongside other luminaries like Jack Bruce and John Mayer as Hall of Fame Graduates for the Paul Green School of Rock Music



Julie and Eric Slick joining Jon Anderson on stage at the LA Knitting Factory for an amazing rendition of Heart of the Sunrise and which is available on the Rock School Soundtrack. Go have a listen! You know you want to...

So hurrah! I'm finally allowed to announce the news. Yep, it's Belew Plus Two, (my name for the band, not his -- what do you expect, I'm a writer and can't resist...at least I didn't say "Slick Belew")...as I've hinted ad nauseam and all but posted on billboards across the universe, Adrian Belew has hired my two talented offspring as his new power trio. They've been down in Nashville staying at La Casa Belew for the past five days rehearsing and bonding and from what I hear, it's been an amazing experience for all -- they are like one big family. In their down time, Julie and Eric have been tooling around Nashville in Adrian's vintage cars and going out to dinner every night and having a blast. Anyway, once they get home tonight it's basically rehearsals the entire month of June, heading back down to Nashville for another week of rehearsals, and then out on the road, starting with Indiana on July 6, Ohio on July 7, Chicago on July 8...and then it gets really exciting...they are the headlining band at Zappanale 17 in Bad Doberan, East Germany...then it's on to Holland on July 19...and they end up in Herzberg, Germany on July 21 for this little festival.

It's really only fitting that this has happened. Julie and Eric were among Paul Green's first students when he began teaching seventeen kids in his apartment back in 1998; they were his first Rock School All-Stars; his first Hall of Famers...and now, the first graduates of his school to go on to better things and um, live the dream. Look for the Paul Green School of Rock Music to be a major player in the music industry as concerns artist development...Paul is in L.A. as we speak with the amazing Atlas, made up of Rock School grads/Hall of Famers Jeremy Blessing on guitar, Max DiMezza on bass, Branden King on drums, and Dom Malandro on vocals. Waiting in the wings for fame and fortune are slide-guitarist extraordinaire Sarah Zimmerman and shredder C.J. Tywoniak. And Paul is of course the one responsible for Adrian not only meeting Julie and Eric but for arranging the audition in Nashville. What's really cool about Rock School is that we were there at its inception and I knew it was only a matter of time until these amazing talented kids who had gone through Paul's incredible program would be noticed by people in the "business".

It's also really fantastic that Julie and Eric are in a band together again. They have a unique chemistry that comes from being part of a rhythm section where both have similar musical tastes and have been collaborating for many years. There's a certain magic when they are on stage together, and I'm not saying that because I'm their mother. In fact, when it comes to music, I'm a pretty harsh critic. But apparently Adrian saw it, felt it, and most importantly, heard it...so yeah, I'm on freaking cloud nine.

And I don't want to discount Eric's involvement with Project Object. The tour he just came off of with them was one of the highlights of his life -- mine, too. Those guys are incredible musicians and hopefully Eric will be touring with them again in the fall, schedules permitting.

So life is pretty exciting in the Slick household right now. Have a look at Adrian's website. Okay, I know I posted the link above, too, but what can I tell you? I'm excited!

Anyway, for the handful of you who might not be familiar with Adrian's work, here's a bio/timeline.

December 23, 1949
Adrian is born Robert Steven Belew, in Covington, Kentucky

1960's
Adrian joins the Ludlow High School marching band as a drummer. later, he forms bands with fellow classmates; most notably, the Denems. The Denems were a local, well known Beatle cover band.

mid 70's
Adrian changes his name from Robert Steven to 'Adrian' - a name he'd always liked.

Adrian is discovered by Frank Zappa while playing in a cover band named Sweetheart at the infamous Fanny's in Nashville. Frank gets Adrian's name from his chauffeur and later invites Adrian to los angeles to audition for his band.

Adrian tours with Frank Zappa. while on tour, adrian meets David Bowie. Bowie is so impressed with adrian, he asks him to join his band. the zappa tour comes to an end and adrian immediately joins david on the Bowie classics, Stage and Lodger.

1979
while touring with Bowie, Adrian meets Talking Heads and performs on 'Remain in Light' and...the name of this band is..." he later tours with them.

1980
on the first day of the tour with talking heads, adrian meets Robert Fripp. Fripp asks Adrian to join the soon to be reformed King Crimson.

1981
Adrian becomes a member of King Crimson.

Adrian joins Talking Heads Franz and Weymouth to record as the Tom Tom club. Adrian co-writes their hit "Genius of Love".

1982
Adrian signs with island records and releases his debut solo record, 'the lone rhino'.

1983
Adrian releases his second solo lp, twang bar king.

Adrian produces the Raisins' debut album and appears on Laurie Anderson's "Mr. Heartbreak".

1984
Adrian finishes his stint with King Crimson. Adrian records "Zoolook" with Jean-michel Jarre and also produces the Elvis Brothers.

1985
Adrian joins The Raisins to become The Bears. They tour the united states and end their tour with a sold out show at Nyc's The Ritz.

Adrian later appears on Laurie Anderson's video, 'Home of the Brave' and on Paul Simon's Grammy winning, "Graceland".

1986
The Bears tour Israel and later sign to pmrc - a division of i.r.s. records.

Adrian releases his 3rd solo album, 'desire caught by the tail'.

1987
The Bears release their debut CD, "the Bears". The cover is by Mad Magazine's Mort Drucker, and features the singles/videos "fear is never Boring" and "trust". Touring resumes throughout the southeast u.s.

1988
the bears release their 2nd album, "rise and shine" which features the single & video, "aches & pains". the bears take to the highway and tour the U.S.

1989
adrian releases mr music head on atlantic records and follows the release with a week long hosting appearance on post modern mtv and an acoustic performance on vh1's 1-to-1. 'oh daddy' features adrian and his 11 year old daughter, Audie.

adrian appears on mike oldfield's 'earth moving' cd.

adrian also lends his rendition of "we three kings" to a compilation of christmas songs performed on guitar for green linnet records', "christmas guitars".

1990
Adrian tours with David Bowie as david's musical director and band leader, with bassist erdal kizilcay, keyboardist rick fox, and drummer mike hodges.

During the tour, atlantic records releases adrian's 5th solo record, 'young lions'. 'young lions' features the bowie/belew collaboration, 'pretty pink rose'.

1991
"Desire of the Rhino King", a compilation of selected songs from Adrian's first three solo albums is released by Island Records. Since "Lone Rhino" and "Twang Bar King" are not available on CD, this is a much welcomed release.

Adrian performs, "Still Life with a Dobro" on the compilation CD, "Guitar Speak III".

1992
Adrian releases his 6th solo album, "inner revolution".

adrian tours for "inner revolution". the tour band consists of rob fetters (guitar), brian lovely (bass), and mike hodges (drums).

adrian's name appears in an episode of the simpsons.

adrian produces mexico's caifanes' "el silencio". It hits #1 on mexico's charts and goes gold!

1993
Adrian tours the midwest with his acoustic tour.

Adrian records "Blackbird" for the Beatles' guitar tribute, "Come Together".

Adrian performs on Sara Jickman's "necessary angels" album.

Adrian performs on 2 tracks for the Crash Test Dummies', "god shuffled his Feet".

1994
Adrian moves to nashville.

Adrian releases his 7th solo album, "here".

Adrian begins his "here" tour with former bears mates: rob fetters, bob nyswonger and chris arduser as his band. this is the closest the fans get to a bears reunion

Adrian signs a deal with Caroline Records

Adrian wins best musical score for his soundtrack to "in the gutter and other places", in canada's "hot docs" film awards. he later wins guitar player magazine's reader poll for the "best experimental guitarist" for the 5th year in a row.

Adrian records with Trent Reznor on Nine Inch Nail's "downward spiral".

1995
King Crimson returns. the new line up consists of belew, fripp, levin, bruford, gunn, and mastelotto.

king crimson releases vrooom, an ep of all new songs. the full album, "thrak" soon follows.

crimson performs "dinosaur" on nbc's late night with conan obrien.

1996
Adrian's official web site hits the web.

King crimson tours europe and north america.

Adrian releases his 9th solo album, "Op Zop Too Wah" on september 24th on passenger/caroline records.

Adrian's appears on the Tribute to Badfinger with a version of Mccartney's "come and get it".

1997
Adrian appears on the cover of eq magazine.

Adrian attends his class reunion reforming his old band from high school, The Denems.

After 10 years, the bears begin recording in the studio.

Adrian tours argentina with his acoustic show.

The bears are inducted into the hall of fame for cincinnati musicians.

Peter Frampton and Adrian record, "the frightened city" at adrian's studio for "twang" tribute album to hank marvin.

Adrian produces 2 hits for "Jars of Clay". The album hits #1 on billboard's contemporary christian charts. their song, "flood" crosses over to the modern rock charts and the album goes gold.

Adrian releases his 8th solo release, "the experimental guitar series volume 1: guitar as orchestra".

1998
Projekt two tours the u.s., japan, uk, and canada. (fripp, gunn, belew)

Adrian releases belewprints

Adrian produces Boston's "irresponsibles".

Adrian joins artie traum, tony levin and fred wilkinson to record an instrumental track called mean low water for artie's new record, "remarkable friends".

1999
Thirsty ear records releases "Salad Days". a compilation of acoustic tracks.

Adrian tours the united states promoting "coming attractions". the belew produced, "irresponsibles" opens on the tour.

Nine Inch Nails releases "Fragile". This is Adrian's 2nd appearance.

2000
Adrian releases an mp3 of "i have a dream", as a free download on his website.

King crimson tours Europe, Japan, and japan.

2001
Adrian receives the cammy (cincinnati's entertainment awards show) lifetime achievement award. the award is presented by peter frampton.

Adrian performs on Tori Amos', "Strange Little Girls".

Adrian hits the road with king crimson to tour the U.S. A good portion of the tour is spent with tool.

The bears release their first album in 13 years, "car caught fire".

king crimson tours

2002
the bears' 2002 car caught fire tour begins. fans witness the bears live for the first time in 14 years.

Adrian releases an internet only download of a new song, "asleep". The song was inspired by the tragedy of September 11 and was made available the week of the anniversary.

King crimson releases their ep, "happy with what you have to be happy with" prior to their new studio album, "the power to believe".

Adrian releases "Incompetence and Indifference" as a free download to web site visitors.

lone rhino, twang bar king, and desire caught by the tail are all re-released on cd by universal japan.

2003
Adrian records with Les Claypool (Primus) and Danny Carey (Tool) for Adrian's next solo record, at les's studio in san francisco.

King crimson tours the US in support of "The Power To Believe".

King crimson releases their "eyes wide open" dvd.

Adrian and kevin (of dc talk) max release 'raven songs 101'. the release features adrian's music to kevin's poetry.

Frank Zappa's "baby snakes" (1979) is released on dvd.

October 10 - adrian records with Ben Folds, Henry Rollins, Matt Chamberlain, and John Painter in a session for the upcoming William Shatner record.

2004
Adrian's Inner revolution is reissued by wounded bird records.

April - the bears release 'the bears live at club cafe' dvd. the fans are very pleased. the dvd contains: over 90 minutes of concert footage from the bears' 2002 car caught fire tour. 5.1 dolby surround sound. bonus features: a tour of adrian belew's home studio, how the band became "the bears", stories behind your favorite songs, and extensive up-close and personal interviews with rob, bob, chis, and adrian. this is a must have for your collection. merging media: $24.95. visit the adrian belew store to order your copy now. or click this button:

May - Adrian lends his guitar work to the new porcupine tree record.
for more: www.porcupinetree.com

May - Adrian's "man in the moon" makes the top 10 songs for dads in better homes and gardens' father's day issue. other artists in the top 10 include: Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and John Lennon.

June 13 - adrian performs thela hun ginjeet, tweekers, and lone rhinoceros with primus at the bonnaroo festival. view a short clip here. to purchase a download of the show, go to www.primuslive.com.

July 22 - adrian joins Al Kooper on stage in Nashville on july 22 to perform Bob Dylan's blonde on blonde in its intirety. other artists involved are tracy nelson, gary tallent, bill lloyd and scores of others.

July 23 - Adrian Belew was honored at the Star Guitar Night during the Summer NAMM show in Nashville, Tennessee. Other honorees include Duane Eddy and Peter Frampton. The show took place at the infamous Ryman and adrian performed "purple haze". For more information, please visit: www.allstarguitarnight.com.

August - adrian performs on the new william shatner record alongside henry rollins, and ben folds. william shatner's new record is due october 2004.

August - Talking Heads' "the name of this band is..." is re-released on cd.
after 22 years, talking heads classic, "the name of this band is..." has been released on CD. this release features a lot of adrian and is a must for your collection.

October - william shatner releases 'has been' the new record by william shatner was released on october 5, 2004. This release features Ben Folds, Aimee Mann, Lemon Jelly, and Adrian Belew. read all about it at www.shatnerhasbeen.com.

Adrian paintings - continues working on his art with the intentions of painting all future solo album covers.

Between the strings - the secret lives of guitars - 100 stories about the guitar from guitarists such as adrian belew, chet atkins, bob weir, les paul, and 97 more. for more info on this book, www.johnaugustmusic.com

September the september 2nd issue of rolling stone magazine (issue 956) reviews the re-release of talking heads' "the name of this band is..." and has a nice write up on adrian (page 147).

october - adrian produces the jaguares - formerly known as Caifanes in nashville

adrian makes top 100 greatest progressive artists list - the top 100 greatest progressive artists have been named and adrian makes the list - twice or more, depending on how you read it. #1 king crimson, #17 talking heads, #66 adrian belew (solo), and countless other connections. view the list here.

December - adrian endorses Parker Guitars.

2005
January

25 - Adrian releases SIDE ONE. His first new electric solo studio album since 1996's Op Zop Too Wah. Side One consists of: 1. Ampersand, 2. Writing On The Wall, 3. Matchless Man, 4. Madness, 5. Beat Box Guitar, 6. Under The Radar, 7. Walk Around The World, 8. Elephants, 9. Pause. Tracks include Adrian, Les (Primus) Claypool, and Danny (Tool) Carey.

May - Adrian interview appears in Guitar Player magazine read it here.

Adrian produces jaguares lennon tribute - during the first week of may, adrian produced jaguares' version of john lennon's 'gimme some truth' which is slated for an upcoming Amnesty Internation record of lennon songs. the amnesty project is headed up by Peter Gabriel. adrian also did a tribute with jaguares to a famous mexican comedian from the 40's named, Tin Tan.

June - adrian tours the U.S. in promotion of side one, side two, and - believe it or not - op zop too wah. the tour consists of adrian, mike gallaher (bass) and mike hodges (drums). the tour takes adrian along the east and west coasts, texas, southwest, and points in between. it wraps up in october and is one of adrian's most powerful tours ever.

July 12 - adrian releases SIDE TWO. Side Two consists of: 1. Dead Dog On Asphalt, 2. I Wish I Knew, 3. Face To Face, 4. Asleep, 5. Sex Nerve, 6. Then What, 7. Quicksand, 8. I Know Now, 9. Happiness, and 10. Sunlight.

September - Adrian receives a letter of thanks from a Louisiana fan after Hurricane Katrina.

Adrian performs at fuji rock festival '05 in Japan - adrian's touring power trio (Mike Gallaher, Mike Hodges, and Adrian) performed at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan on July 30th. Other participating acts were: Cake, Beach Boys, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Fat Boy Slim, New Order, Beck, Moby, the Pogues, California Guitar Trio, Los Lobos, and many many more. For more info, visit the Fuji Rock Festival site.

October - The Power Trio tour comes to a close. adrian's collaboration with Les Claypool and Danny Carey brought out a new audience and the studio and live power trios made many new fans. it also allows "Side Four" - a proper live Adrian Belew solo release - due in 2006.

December - Adrian is nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category for the song, "Beat Box Guitar" from Side One. This category includes solo, duo, group, or collaborative performances, without vocals. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal. Singles or Tracks only. For more on the Grammys, please visit their site. Congratulations, Adrian!!!

Nominees in the Best Rock Instrumental category:
Beat Box Guitar - Adrian Belew - Track from: Side One [Sanctuary]
Birds Of Prey - Stewart Copeland - Track from: Orchestralli [Ponderosa]
69 Freedom Special - Les Paul & Friends - Track from: American Made World Played [Capitol Records]
Mercy - Joe Perry - Track from: Joe Perry [Columbia Records]
Lotus Feet - Steve Vai - Track from: Real Illusions: Reflections [Epic/Red)

2006
February
Adrian performs with Paul Green's School of Rock

Spring
Adrian tours!

April
Adrian's SIDE THREE is released.
******
Wow. Even I didn't know that Adrian was involved with all of the above projects. I had to giggle at the Tori Amos involvement, because, well, you know, she's like best friends to my favorite author/fangirl crush Neil Gaiman.



Anyway, that's it for my "press release" -- the official press release will be issued sometime during the next few weeks so stay tuned.

Okay. I need a hot cup of coffee and a cold compress after this post. I do believe I'm hyperventilating and I can't wait to report back here later/tomorrow with all of the details from Nashville.

Oh, one final thing. When I finally did talk to Eric on the phone yesterday, I asked him how he was doing and he replied "Oh, fine. I'm sitting in Adrian's kitchen -- he just made Julie and me eggs for breakfast and they were awesome..."

Good lord.

Later,
xo

Three of a Perfect Pair

So what a great shot -- a band photo of Project Object taken sometime during the tour, which I can't believe ended a week ago already. Eric is doing some serious chin stroking there, huh...it looks like he's got something major on his mind. Well, yeah, he does. Look what's happened since then...Julie and Eric down in Nashville for five days (they're coming home tomorrow night...at least I think so) and the start of something so cool I can't bear it.

But bear it I must, and while keeping quiet has never been one of my virtues, I've got to at least make a half-hearted attempt now. Suffice it to say that the two of them will be touring the U.S. and Europe this summer and possibly beyond as part of an incredible power trio featuring a rock and roll legend. Oh, right. I hinted at that in my prior post. Sorry.

So. What to talk about, what to talk about.

Ack, I have no idea. I'm feeling kind of out of it today, half-heartedly working on my novel in between trying to stay out of the kitchen/refrigerator.

All I know is: I pick Julie and Eric up at the airport tomorrow night and Eric has to hightail it to New York City for this -- which I received via e-mail newsletter from Project Object's own Andre C.

it's project/object keyboard player JORDAN SHAPIRO's 29th birthday bash - with LOTS of p/o content....!!
29 times around the sun.. cool

Wed. May 24

at the Parkside Lounge.. 314 E. Houston St., @ Attorney, btw Ave. A
and Ave. B

8:00 PROJECT/REJECT.... (ex-Project/Object members)
9:00 Two Man Gentelman Band ... (busking duo)
10:00 Cold River ... (my alt.country/folk/prog-grass group)
11:00 Mangano, Passatino and Balls (seahag's side project)

some words from JORDAN SHAPIRO about the perfomances:

PROJECT/REJECT
This is the 1st gig EVER by this group, consisting of members and crew of Project/Object from the pre-2003 years. Rick Bartow, Mumbo, Boxy, Wes, Spackle and myself. For 3+ years we have met at Wes' studio infrequently, jammed and created songs spontaneously. There are over 200 Reject songs. For our debut peformance, we have checked out the archives and picked 10 songs to 're-learn' and perform.

Two Man Gentleman Band
http://www.two-man-gentlemen-band.com/
These guys played before me at a solo gig I did at the Postcrypt Coffehouse up at Columbia. They were the only people in the audience who were willing to sing along with me on my newest kids song, "Let Me Stay Up All Night". I didn't even get to hear them play, but I believe they're very musical and will give us all a good laugh.

Cold River
This will the 3rd gig ever by this group, and it's been a different lineup every time. As I type this, I know it will definately include myself on mandolin and guitars, J.Y.Jelly on drums, Adam Armstrong on bass, Paul Cox on keys, Jen Milich providing background vox and possibly Alan Grubner on fiddle. We will be performing original material originally intended for a rock-opera that never got off the ground...and also some very old traditional songs.

Mangano, Passatino and Balls.
Robbie "Seahag" Mangano along with his sidekick Elliot Passatino recorded some pretty twisted music 5-6 years ago and called the tape"mangano, passatino and balls". ('Balls' was the name for the drum machine they used) They've since recorded more songs and even played a couple of gigs. On Wednesday, their spectacular rhythm section will include Project/Object bass player Dave Johnsen and 19 year old Project/Object drummer Eric Slick (who has recently been drafted by Adrian Belew to play drums for his upcoming European tour!!! Congrats Slick!!)

Later,
xo

Yeah!

Eric and Julie Slick at the LA Premiere of Rock School which, believe it or not, was almost one year ago to the day

So I heard from Nashville. Oh yeah! Things are awesome and it's a go!

That is all. I must now sit back and pinch myself several times to make sure I'm not dreaming.

Later,
xo

Nothing much...

Eric Slick at NAMM 2006



Eric and Vinnie Colaiuta at NAMM



Julie Slick in Seattle (show with Ann Wilson and Eddie Vedder May, 2005)



Julie on stage at The Troc in Philadelphia

Okay, I admit it - this is a frivolous post. I miss J&E so I'm merely here to post my favorite pics of the two of them (for a change ha ha) and send positive vibes to both down in Nashville. I guess I can safely assume that they and the basses/bass drum pedal made it okay despite a plane change and all is well in their world.

I haven't heard a word from them but then again, why should I...they are adults now and they're in heavy rehearsal mode.

But um, since they are away for the next four days and there is thankfully no construction going on next door during Saturday and Sunday, I should really go work on my novel and stop worrying/thinking so much about everything else, huh.

Alright then.

But if I get any news I'll be back.

Later,
xo

The Power Duo Leaves for Nashville

Julie Slick, Eric Slick, and their dad...riding something probably more dangerous/scary than an airplane last summer

So. It's 7:30 a.m. and I've already been home from the airport for an hour, having dropped Julie and Eric off at 5:00 a.m. for their trip to Nashville.

Before I go on with this story, answer me one question. When does it ever thunderstorm early in the morning? Arghh...I thought it only thundered and lightning'ed at night. Right now it's a monsoon out there with the aforesaid crashing thunder and all I can think of is that the two people most important to me in the world are bouncing around in a plane at the moment.

Okay. Deep breath. Relax, Rob. It's going to be fine.

But yeah, this is the first time the two of them have flown alone together without me and I had to fight off a major panic attack when I left them off at "ticketed passengers only". I don't even remember the ride back home...it seemed like the minute I left the airport, the thunder started and I went into full lunatic mode.

So bear with me here. I'm blog posting to stay sane.

Right now I should have been in Daytona Beach, Florida at the RT Convention hawking my new book but other stuff prevented me from attending. What a crazy, surreal week this has been.

And assuming everything goes as planned, in six hours Julie and Eric will be at the Nashville home of a legendary guitarist who has played with everyone from Tori Amos (ha ha -- another Neil Gaiman coincidence) to the Talking Heads in preparation for a U.S./Europe Power Trio Tour. (See, I'm not going to give you the name of the bands with which said legendary rock guitarist is most famous for being associated...I'm throwing a curve because I'm superstitious and until I hear the rehearsals are going wonderfully and everyone is thrilled I have to keep my usually loose lips zipped)

Oh my god, it's thundering even worse now. I know. I should go have some cake. Ha. I was so nerved out when I left Julie and Eric at the airport I actually bought four pastries at this really sick bakery, even though I'm the only one home. Apparently this means I intend to eat all four croissants/scones myself. Right. Into the kitchen I go.

Stay tuned. As soon as I hear anything from Camp Nashville, I will be back with a report.

Later,
xo

Catching up...

Eric Slick, lost in the music

First, let's start with writing news.

You must immediately go read a short story by my extremely talented pal, Kathy Fish over at Juked Magazine. Kathy rocks -- I'm a big fan. Google her and read some of her other stuff...she's amazing.

In other not so good writing news, I was supposed to be packing to leave for the RT Convention in Daytona Beach today to promote my new book, Another Bite of the Apple but some personal stuff has derailed my plans and I'm really bummed out to be missing five days hanging out with fellow authors in sunny Florida but, you know, shit happens. The book is not available for sale yet but I do have the advance review copy and it will most likely be released by the end of this month when my publisher returns from the convention. Sigh...by tomorrow I would have been holding it in my hand, damn it. (Hey! Stop having those dirty thoughts!)

I am, however, still hoping to make Balticon over Memorial Day weekend and no, no, not because Neil Gaiman is there -- I had those plans way before I even knew he was the speaker and god knows I'm not going to be able to get anywhere near him though it makes for a good fantasy, huh. Hey, speaking of Neil, how about some eye candy?



This is really for you, Susan -- I know how you get when you see Neil in glasses. But as far as the outfit goes, you know me -- I am a black t-shirt person. If this was Neil's typical attire, I wouldn't be nearly as in lust with him. (Note to Neil: If you don't want me stalking you, just wear a suit. It will be your talisman against all things Slick)

Oh, one more thing - I am allowed to blab this much: Barring any unforseen circumstances, both Eric and Julie are headed for Nashville on Friday for a stay at the home of a rock and roll legend for four days to prepare for something pretty damn spectacular and I'll have more on that next week as soon as I get the official okay to broadcast the news, but um, I think there's going to be a press release so I may just be cutting and pasting that here instead. Ah, how I wish I could spill it all now but I'm far too superstitious. All I can say now is: Stay tuned...

So Sunday night was the final evening of almost five weeks of the Project Object tour. It was bittersweet -- I couldn't wait to see Eric again and have him back home, but on the other hand, after all that time on the road this band is so fucking amazing I wish (and I know the band feels the same) that it could have gone on forever. It was both cool and sad it ended at Rock School Bergen County. Cool because Andy Lucibello who runs the school is an incredible guy with a long music history and a group of the Rock School kids were there and sat in on a couple of songs (and did an amazing job!) but kinda sad because the place was more than half empty. But you know, it was a Sunday night, Mothers Day, and it wasn't the typical P/O venue with the alcohol flowing so it's understandable. But the upside is...and it's a huge upside...P/O played for three hours, they were loose, there were a couple of blips and they laughed it off...it was just a fun time and after it was all over, everyone hugged and had birthday cake in honor of Eric's 19th birthday.

Funny story about Eric's birthday cake. He almost didn't have one because I am officially a total ditz. I have tons of stuff on my mind right now and am so distracted I'm liable to get hit by a truck if I walk outside. But anyway, I had my killer chocolate cake recipe out, all of the ingredients, and I figured I'd double the recipe so there'd be enough for everyone. So in goes a pound of butter, two cups of sugar, chocolate, six eggs...blah blah blah...and I'm beating it with the mixer for two minutes and I'm like, wow, this is strange, this batter seems really loose -- I'm not even going to have to scrape the bowl; this stuff is going to pour right out. I checked the recipe again...checked my math to make sure I'd doubled everything correctly, and shook my head and said to myself "Well, you've been used to making brownies (ahem...more on that later in the post) and brownies are a very thick batter -- it's been a while since you've baked an actual cake -- you're just being your usual paranoid self. The cake is going to be fine, stick it in the oven and go upstairs and get over yourself."

So that's what I did...an hour later the timer went off in the kitchen and I went downstairs and checked. It looked fine, the top of the cake was nicely browned, and I go to pull it out of the oven and oh my god, the entire thing was hot molten liquid that poured all over me, the oven, the floor -- it was completely uncooked despite being in a hot oven for sixty minutes. I knew something was wrong with that recipe! I was completely freaked out because not only did I have a huge mess, I had no cake and only three hours before I had to leave for the show.

And then I looked up at the countertop and there it was. Sitting behind my mixer -- two and a half cups of flour - carefully measured out -- which I never added to the bowl when I was adding the ingredients. (In other words, I put in the original two and a half cups which is for the usual recipe but forgot to add the next two and a half cups for double the recipe). Which is why I had chocolate soup instead of cake.

I get seriously worried about myself. Do I have early Alzheimers? Ha! Hardly. Just so much crap on my mind right now I can't think straight. Eric's dad to the rescue - he ran to the store for me and got me more chocolate, eggs, etc.

"Rob, would you mind if I make the cake?"

"PLEASE MAKE THE CAKE! I WILL OWE YOU FOR LIFE!"

Heh.

Think that's the end of the story?

I wish.

I had one and a half pounds of butter sitting out softening. One pound went into the cake, the other two sticks of butter were for the frosting. Gary shoos me out of the kitchen. I was only too happy to get out of there, especially as I'd just spent the last half hour cleaning up spilled chocolate so I went upstairs in my bedroom and put the pillow over my head, worrying about all sorts of things and trying not to freak out.

"Hey Rob?" I hear the holler from downstairs.

"Yeah?" I fly down the steps. What now?

"All done. The cake is in the oven. Man that thing takes a lot of butter."

"Well, it's a pound cake." Whew.

"Yeah, but six sticks of butter is a pound and a half."

He thought all six sticks of butter went into the batter so into the batter they went. I know I told him otherwise but maybe I didn't...I don't know what the hell happened or if I told him and since he's in the same insane state I am over some stuff, he didn't absorb the information or what.

"Oh my god...."

Anyway, within fifteen minutes the cake started spilling out of the pan -- my oven is never going to be the same again...we were like the Three Stooges in the kitchen...and we now had like an hour and a half before we had to leave and I still had to frost that thing.

He took it out of the oven and again, it's a wobbly mess but at least it stayed fairly in one piece when we got it out of the pan. We put it by the open window to cool and I made icing. I started frosting it -- so far, so good, but then I began to decorate it with little Reese's peanut butter cups -- Eric's favorite -- and it started to sink down.

"Shall I get a bicycle pump?" Gary quipped.

"Oh be quiet, you. I think we should just forget this whole thing and go to Whole Foods and buy a cake like we should have done in the first place when my original cake failed," I sighed.

But Gary refused to give up -- he gave me a taste of the cake from the pan and it was sick -- I mean, six sticks of butter, how could it not taste sick -- so we packed it up, I threw chocolate chips all over it to at least make it look a little better but of course that caused it to cave in even more -- and we just decided to laugh about it and take a huge spoon and scoop it out for people instead of slicing it. It was more like a giant chocolate peanut butter mousse.

Okay, so that's the cake story.

Now let's talk some more about Project Object. I think keyboardist Eric Svalgard sums it all up the best in his journal entry of last night:

Some Final Thoughts

Okay, last time I said I would post in a couple of days after I got back and I never did. SO HERE GOES!

Final thoughts. First and foremost this is the best band I have ever played with. I was so happy that the Hag played almost the whole tour with us. André has really stepped up to the plate as well. His playing on this tour was inspired and inspiring. His retirement from retail may have left a void in the Red Bank Vegan community, but it is WELL worth what the focus on playing hath wrought. Some of his Inca solos were tear inducing. No shit. Dave, I am almost speechless. Always keeps me on my toes, always blows the crowd and all of us away, always working to make it better. Following in the footsteps of Jaco in creating a new voice for the instrument. More like Hendrix or Coltrane than Clark. He is an innovator, and I know he will hate me for this. Ike was on. Except for some vocal fatigue in the last week of the tour, he hasn’t sounded or played better in P/O since I have been a member. Denise, his wife is a trooper, a hard working, humorous helpful addition to the tour. She also has some hot moves on stage, but don’t tell Ike I said so. Laura, you know I love you, and it was great that you got up on stage for a couple of songs this tour. Great work again on the merch, the driving and just being around. I would really have liked to have another 20 minutes in Harrisburg.

That leaves the Slickmiester, with whom I have been working for 4 years now, but never before as a bandmate. Jesus, is this kid good or what. He survived the grueling schedule, the bad food, the Motel 6 beds and the brownies and played his ass off every night (well maybe not in Rochester). He was my roommate and we had a blast. Some nights he made me laugh so hard I couldn’t sing, others I couldn’t even play. The kid has a fantastic future in this business and I hope to have the honor of sharing a stage with him again in the near future.

Dré has been making serious waves with the fans by talking about this being the last tour. I hope not, but you have to look at the ZPZ and how their tour will affect our market to see what the future holds. He is not being negative but is, as he always is, thoughtful and cognizant of the effects that the ZPZ may have.
Thanks to all the people who sat in on this tour. I am sure that André has a complete list. Thanks to all the fans who come out early and leave late to help us with the gear, you guy RULE!!!!! Thanks to the Zappa car for making it to Pittsburgh (was it worth the drive, Tami?)

This has been the best yet. I have been playing better, the band sounds better and tighter, the crowd were great (with 3 or 4 exceptions) and we really had a great time. Thanks to all of you fans out there. Your support and the tireless work of André have made this last two years the best of my musical life. If/When we go out again, it will only be better. Hope to see you all at ZPZ, as I will be at the Beacon in NY and Tower in Philly.
THANKS AGAIN!!!!!!
Eric Svalgård a.k.a. Sluggo
Oh, and Slick, YOU DON’T PLAY TOO HARD!!!!

Anyway, thank you so much to Andre, Dave, Seahag, Ike, and Eric Svalgard for making my son's first professional tour such an amazing experience. He came home a man...a man with muscles! I'm so proud of him I'm bursting.

Now. Let's talk about brownies and Eric Svalgard's remark about Eric Slick maybe "not so good in Rochester".

Before every show, the guys, who are all vegans/vegetarians, usually have a meal prepared for them by their fans or if the venue serves food, the chef there. The ride to Rochester was long and they arrived late and didn't have a chance to eat before the show. Eric had gone all day without food. So he was quite stoked to see a tray of brownies backstage donated by a fan. He was so hungry he gobbled up two huge ones and headed back out for soundcheck.

Heh. Eric has now learned that you never eat anything you do not unwrap or cook yourself. He started to levitate off the stage, and I understand he ran backstage an hour later and barfed altogether. I know it's not funny and I should be outraged, but come on, it's not such a big deal. So my son got stoned on some pot brownies. The good news is he hated the feeling. (Now if he had just eaten one, we might have had problems with him liking it ha ha). The bad news is someone recorded that show, which he does not remember playing, and it's on You Tube. Not just him playing, but being accosted by a sock puppet named Pisspot who has its own cable access TV show in Rochester and who totally freaked out my poor stoned son...



You may want to fast forward a lot of that...and don't forget you can make You Tube movies whole screen by clicking on that little square. I still can't believe I didn't know that and have been watching tiny films this whole time.

Okay, I think I've reported all that I'm able to report at this point. As I said, I still have major news regarding Julie and Eric, my own writing career, and a slew of other stuff, but this post is long enough and I'll be back with more news than you could possibly want tomorrow.

Later,
xo

Happy Mothers Day...?

Ha! Let's say Happy Mothers Day to the world's biggest Mother(f**ker)!

No. Let's not. All of us real Moms...as a special present to ourselves, let's just pretend he doesn't exist today and starting tomorrow, let's take to the streets and get him the fuck out of office.

Sorry, sorry, sorry - things have been really crazy here and I don't want to get into it. Some really bad stuff mixed in with what has to be the most incredible news I've ever gotten.

Know this. I have to sign off now because if I even start to hint at everything that's happened and is about to happen I will surely explode and never be able to control myself so I won't be making any official announcements until next week.

If I get a chance later, I will come in and edit this post to include yet more "ERIC IS THE WORLD'S GREATEST DRUMMER" remarks (ha), but in the meantime...sigh...Julie just left for work and asked me to please do her wash because she's down to no underwear and I have a special birthday present planned for Eric which I still haven't finished...so um, Happy Mothers Day to me, I guess...but tonight Eric is coming home and the tour is over so that's great because I really, really miss him...but then by Tuesday he's off again to New York and so on and so on and so on...

Okay, I've got to go.

Later,
xo