Living vicariously again...

So the photograph above is the Paris, Las Vegas, where my son will be staying tonight - he hops a plane at 1:00 p.m. today - because he has a gig there tomorrow for this little get-together.

Here's just a partial list of the stars for whom he'll be performing:

2005 ShoWest Award Ceremony Honorees

ShoWest Galactic Achievement Award - George Lucas
Distinguished Decade of Achievement In Film - Drew Barrymore
Supporting Actress of the Year - Rachel McAdams
Male Star of Tomorrow - Hayden Christensen
Animation Director of the Year - Brad Bird
Female Star of Tomorrow - Jessica Biel
Comedy Star of the Year - Bernie Mac
Director of the Year - Rob Cohen
Male Star of the Year - Matt Damon
Female Star of the Year - Jennifer Aniston

Sigh...

Then of course this Saturday night, he has his first gig with his own band, Flamingo, at The Fire in Philadelphia, and naturally I'll be broadcasting more news about that as well as ticket information throughout the week.

And what is daughter Julie up to? Oh well, this week she has finals, next week she takes off for seven days in Costa Rica with her boyfriend.

As for me, I continue to talk with agents about my memoir, The Tour; I've been writing my ass off - both the sequel to Three Days in New York City and a short story about baseball and my mother which I've been dying to write for years and finally got around to doing this weekend, and much to my happy surprise, I'm still number #1 rated in erotica at Fictionwise where I'm also #6 in sales at the moment so I expect Three Days in New York City to be at a bookstore near you sooner rather than later.

I'm still on a high from Rock School's astonishing production of Jesus Christ Superstar Saturday night and as always, I am the first to admit when I'm wrong because I was really dreading going and I was against it from day one. First of all, I thought it was totally improper for a School of Rock performance - to me doing Jesus Christ Superstar was more on the order of a cheesy suburban high school production like CATS (oh god, I don't know that there was a worse evening in my life, when I had to see CATS on a class trip with the kids...maybe followed only by the night I had to see Grease on a double date); I'm used to brilliant classic rock and roll performances from these kids; secondly, I always hated that show...when it first came out I was a die hard hippie who only loved Brit rock and Jesus Christ Superstar was, well, fucking Broadway and as stated above, we all know how I feel about that...Broadway show tunes and country western music will be the soundtrack in hell when I die (if I believed in hell, that is). It's a good thing I don't because it's surely where I'd end up.

If I'm not there already...

Plus there was that whole Jesus factor, which, even as a lazy agnostic, still turned me off because, well, I'm Jewish by birth and I remember back when it first came out, Jesus Christ Superstar for some reason brought out all the Jesus freaks and there was this whole new weird movement of former stoners who suddenly walked around with bibles and would come up to me with glazed over eyes and ask "Have you found HIM?"

And of course I'd be like "Who the fuck do you mean?" even though I knew exactly what they meant but then I'd run away before they could say another word.

So anyway, that's the news for now. I wanted to elaborate further on the show Saturday night because it was really, really fantastic but neither Julie or Eric were around yesterday to give me names of kids I didn't know and titles of songs, etc. but in any event, the Philadelphia Daily News was there and they are doing a big spread this week and there will be a future broadcast on WXPN so I'll provide links as soon as I find them.

Happy Monday.(Yeah, yeah, an oxymoron for sure)

BREAKING NEWS: BIG PHOTO SPREAD IN TODAY'S DAILY NEWS OF THE KIDS' PERFORMANCE OF JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR AT THE THEATER OF LIVING ARTS SATURDAY NIGHT (It's not on line yet but as soon as it is, I will post it here. I just picked up 87 copies - it's fantastic and for once I can clearly see my drummer son!)

Quick note

Okay, I have to run because the Reading Terminal Farmers Market, which is never open on Sunday, is in fact open today because of the Flower Show nearby and Julie and I have plans to stuff our face for breakfast at Down Home Diner and then doing some awesome shopping there.

But I do want to say this: Jesus Christ Superstar was FUCKING AMAZING. I want to go into more detaiil later and name every kid and how unbelievable they were and I need my kids around me for that because there's some newbies I don't know, but let me say this. Max DiMezza, you fucking rule. Joey Randazzo, Dom Milandro, Maureen Hayes, Allie Hauptmann, Larry Allen - you guys made me cry. Jeremy Blessing - not only are you one of the best guitar players on this continent, your singing and stage presence last night blew me away. You have a Muddy Waters thing going on you should work on - who ever guessed that voice would come out of you! Cameron, I was teary eyed to see you back; you are one of my favorite unsung heroes of Rock School, a really great, soulful guitar player who doesn't always get the attention you deserve due to all the talent surrounding you.

Teddi Tarnoff, former Rock School diva, as musical director, you blew me away. How the hell did you do that???

Okay, more later.

And Madison, one of my favorite Rock School vocalists though not in the show last night, took some awesome photos and I am begging her now to send them to me so I can post them later today. Okay, Madison?

In today's Philadelphia Inquirer:

FROM SCHOOL OF ROCK, A VINTAGE ROCK MUSICAL

Amy Phillips
Philadelphia Inquirer
Published: Friday, March 11, 2005

A would-be rock star finds fulfillment and success teaching kids how to jam like the pros. Sounds like the plot of the 2003 film comedy School of Rock, right? It's also the story of the Paul Green School of Rock, the Center City institution that has been molding teenagers into seasoned players since 1998.

"When that movie came out, we considered legal action, but I prefer to take all the good press," Green says. "It's allowed us to say, 'Remember that Jack Black movie? Well, we're the real thing.' " (Rock School, a documentary about Green that was in the works long before School of Rock, recently received rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival.)

Instead of the traditional scales-and-recitals method of instruction, Green pushes his students to form bands and perform live. The school stages regular showcases devoted to individual artists or genres (Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, and "Big Bad Corporate Rock" have all been hits). The kids have toured the country, and have even performed in Germany, but Philly will always be home base.

Saturday (Mar. 12), the School of Rock will stage its version of the rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

"It's pretty theatrical," Green says. "We have a cross, we have a crown of thorns, Jesus is in a loincloth, and everyone's wearing a brown tunic. It ended up somewhere in between a musical reading and a Broadway play."

Just don't expect an amateurish, high-school-level performance.

"You have my personal guarantee that this is pretty much the best show we've ever done," Green vows.

************

And yes, my son Eric will be on drums and yeah, yeah, I'll be there assuming this family is rid of the strep throat from hell. (Hence the lapse in posting and oh my god, what a winter. We're never sick and it's been like every other week here -- I think it's a direct result of Bush getting re-elected in November. We're so mentally disturbed by it all that our resistance has been lowered significantly so we keep getting physically ill. That's my theory and I'm sticking with it!)

On the Road Again with Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars, Part II, New York

That's keyboard wizard Ms. Allie Hauptman singing a duet with Dom

So I was pretty much out cold when Eric came home last night but here's what I got:

(1) Allie did in fact not only get to sing Whipping Post for her Rock School All-Star finale at BB Kings in New York last night, she brought down the house and Paul gave her a wonderful, moving introduction.

So basically ignore everything I said about that in the post below....

(2) The kids fucking rocked and there were a lot of famous people in the audience who went absolutely crazy over them but I'm not allowed to name names for various reasons which I will disclose at a future date.

(3) Here's a copy of an email Eric got from a fan following the show:

"You were phenomenal last night. That was by far the best Packard Goose I have every heard live. Absolutely inspired. Excellent. I am still shaking. Words cannot express..."

More to follow....

Today's headlines

That would be Der Uberlord, Paul Green, and Ike Willis, when the kids performed at Cafe Dunord in San Francisco. As I've been saying all week, this weekend the Rock School All Stars will be playing three shows with Ike in Philly tonight, Bergen County, NJ tomorrow, and NYC Sunday.

I just stumbled on all of these photographs taken at Cafe Dunord and there are so many that I think I'll just post the link so that all Rock School kids/parents/friends who didn't see them or know of their existence, either, can have a good look because these photos are really large and a lot of fun. In San Francisco the kids played to a packed house and Cafe Dunord had to be one of the coolest venues ever. So without further ado, here is the link to some really great pics.

In other news, Julie says to me yesterday "I won't be home tonight, I have to go to the recording studio."

My reply: "Oh yeah? I thought you guys were finished the soundtrack."

Julie: "No, we added a song. We're doing 'Don't Stand So Close' by the Police and I have to go lay down bass tracks with Stewart Copeland on drums".

GULP.

I talked to her when she got home late last night; she said it was incredibly difficult and challenging as a musician because if you know music, Stewart Copeland, formerly of said Police, is a fantastic drummer and the master of polyrhythms. But she seems pretty happy with the result.

By the way, Ike Willis also went to the recording studio and added the vocals to "Inca Roads" and "Zomby Woof". He did it in one take; Phil Nicolo, owner/producer of Studio 4 where they recorded, was blown away. Ike was in top form last night. Wow! (Btw, Julie and Eric are both on Inca Roads and Eric is on Zomby Woof).

Anyway, this soundtrack is going to be fucking amazing!

As for me, well, I'm still on a high over having the #1 rated book at Fictionwise and I hope that will encourage more people to pick up a copy. I'm working really hard on the sequel and I'm having a blast with it because the female character has relocated to New York City and is doing all kinds of crazy things...and of course I'm using though fictionalizing some of the places/experiences I've had there in the past year with the kids even though this book is obviously not about me or Rock School...it's pure 100% fiction. But at least I know what the inside of the NYC Knitting Factory looks like courtesy of attending the kids' shows there, etc. and I've been to a million music stores and restaurants so that's what I mean when I say using what I've experienced via my travels with the kiddies.

So anyway, that's all for now though something tells me there's more coming later. I'm still on my first cup of coffee and I know there's other stuff I want to talk about, so I guess check back again later today if you are so inclined.

And err...Happy Friday!

Holy Cow!

Somehow, Three Days in New York City has just been given the recent highest rating ebook position, coming in at #1, at Fictionwise! If you don't believe me (even I don't believe me), here's the link

You can, in fact, buy the book at Fictionwise, or, in the alternative, make my publisher really happy and buy it at a reduced price off of their website here

Wednesday, March 2

That tiny picture is the only one I could find of The Fire, which is where Eric and his band, Flamingo, have a gig March 19. And yes, they are on the schedule...I'll post that below along with some more info on the club because it's a really, really cool place and this is Eric's first legitimate gig not affiliated with Rock School...his own band, his own rules, etc. Sigh...must be nice to be young, good looking, and so fucking talented.

Meanwhile, things have been completely nuts in my life. A lot is going on, and I really hate doing this, but I can't say anything about anything yet which is why I haven't been posting daily. There's all kinds of crazy exciting stuff happening with me, the kids...life in general. It's tempting as hell to blab it all here or at least to tease some more, but I can't. Just stay tuned. There's a lot coming. But at least this way if some of it doesn't pan out, I won't look like an idiot. Or at least a complete idiot, just a small one.

Anyway, here's info on The Fire:

No matter how far the gentrification of north Philadelphia creeps, hipsters who feel driven out of their down-and-out haunts will always have The Fire. Located on the outskirts of Northern Liberties, this cozy bar doubles as one of the city's most under-appreciated music venues. No matter which hat it's wearing, The Fire -- named because of its proximity to the local fire station -- draws without drawing a crowd, maintaining an air of obscurity, if not exclusivity. The drink selection is cheap and no-frills, and the food effective in its own way, although people don't generally show up here for high class fare. Instead, they come for the feeling that, in a city small enough that nothing stays a secret for long, The Fire remains a safe haven from the college kids and trend-chasers who long ago overtook Old City, and have steadily worked their way north.

And here's the schedule for March which now reflects Flamingo on March 19: Concerts

Of course I'm also really looking forward to the shows Eric is doing this weekend with former Zappa guitarist Ike Willis. Ike and I are great pals and I can listen to him talk about his days hanging out with John Lennon all night long. Last evening Eric says, "Hey Mom, I have to go now." I'm like, where are you going, it's cold, snowy...what's up on a Tuesday night? "Oh, I'm going to the airport with Brandon (another Rock School drummer graduate) and we're picking up Ike (he lives in California) and going out to dinner.

Here's a pic of my man Ike Willis with Eric on drums and daughter Julie on bass and the other beautiful girl is Teddi, the singer/guitarist in the additional separate-from-Rock School-band Eric, Dan and Julie have going on:

So anyway, Eric, Brandon and Ike went out to eat at Silk City, which is the ultimate punk/goth/old hippie diner in our neighborhood - the food really rocks but the floor show is even better, so no one probably even gave two teenage boys hanging out with a middle aged black guy in dreadlocks even a second glance. They talked music all night and had a blast. As I said, Eric and the Rock School All-Stars are doing three shows with Ike this weekend - one at Indre Friday night (his dad is going to that one); one in Bergen County, New Jersey Saturday night (I'll be there!), and one in NYC on Sunday at BB Kings (neither of us will be at that one - we've had enough of BB Kings to last a lifetime. Been there, done it, it's a chain restaurant/venue on 42nd Street in the heart of New York City touristville, with bad obscenely expensive junk food and I'm sorry, I just do not enjoy listening to music with plates and glasses clanking all evening long and a policy that tells me I have to eat or I will be paying a minimum anyway, in addition to paying for tickets to see my own son...feh. The last trek to BB Kings to see Eric play maybe five songs as part of a big Rock School All-Star production (with 4-5 other drummers sharing the bill) in December cost me $300.00 counting tickets, bus fare for the family (should have driven...grrr), and the aforesaid horrible food)so unless Eric and Julie are doing their own gig at BB Kings or John Lennon or George Harrison come crawling out of the grave to perform, I'm taking a permanent pass on that place.

But I admit, the first few times they played there, it was a lot of fun. I walked around for weeks boasting "Julie and Eric are playing BB Kings in New York City aren't we all just so cool!" to anyone who would listen. Anyway, don't mind me, I'm getting old and cranky. Or honest. Either/or. Whatever. I'm really looking forward to seeing Ike again and hanging out at the show in Bergen County Saturday night.

Odds and Sods Part II

The above pic was taken the last time Julie played at BB King's and that's my other "son" Louie on guitar. Eric is of course on drums but he's hidden as usual.

Right now we are in white out conditions - it looks like a blizzard, in fact, it probably is a blizzard, and my boss said I could go home but I'm not particularly anxious to go out in that so I'm vacillating back and forth here...cab, no cab, walk, sleep at the office (ha), etc.

So while I try and make up my mind, I will drive you all nuts and tell you what my daughter made me for dinner last night. Her Sunday dinners are now legendary. I would have taken digital photographs but I was starving and she'd spent the entire afternoon tantalizing me with the various aromas coming out of the kitchen.

We started out with with hand made dumplings stuffed with chicken, dried shitake mushrooms, garlic, and scallion. She made a dipping sauce that was to die for -- soy sauce, scallion, garlic, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, honey, and chile peppers.

I really think I could live on that sauce and all it needs is some booze in it and I would never require another form of food or drink.

Next course: A healthy salad. Rock lobster tail meat tossed with red onion, celery, tiny chunks of steamed red bliss potato, vanilla oil (made from real vanilla beans) and a mixture of sunflower and hazel nut oils, creme fraiche, dijon mustard, fresh tarragon, lemon juice, and white wine vinegar served over red lettuce and maiche.

She surrounded our individual plates thusly...the lettuce on the bottom, the lobster salad mixture in the middle, and all around the rim of the plate, seared scallops.

I didn't want dinner to end, ever.

And what's maiche, you ask? Because I had no idea myself, it sounds like something you'd spray at someone trying to steal your handbag. It's actually a wonderful lettuce, nutty and buttery tasting.

Only Julie would know from maiche.

Dessert: A heart healthy key lime pie made from yoghurt. Now you might think that sounds gross, but it was one of the best key lime pies I ever ate in my life. I can't wait to go home now and eat another piece - that's going to be my dinner tonight.

Anyway, that's the news for now. I should really leave the office; I'm terrified of getting stranded here really. I was only joking about sleeping here - it's bad enough I feel like I do that anyway. And besides, that pie is calling my name...

Flamingo

So as I've mentioned, besides his brilliant band with Julie, Teddi and Dan of Rock School, Eric has a side project with some other Rock School kids - Haffie, Matt Manser, Julia Ranier, and Dan Nitz. The name of their band is Flamingo, and they've just finished recording/mixing a six song demo called "Among the Ash Heaps and Millionaires".

You get ten points if you know where that phrase orginates.

Okay, time's up, I'll tell you. It was the alternate title F. Scott Fitzgerald had chosen for The Great Gatsby.

Anyway, I got my first listen to the newly mixed CD yesterday and almost fainted. First of all, let me say this. I'm the world's harshest music critic. I may rave about my kids here, but there are plenty of times I'm dissatisfied and I don't hold back. I'm probably even too quick to criticize because these kids are such incredible musicians that I expect greatness from them all the time. I've been to Rock School shows where I leave on an almost magical high with a silly smile pasted on my face for days; but I've also been to shows where I've been pissed beyond belief at sloppy playing and/or bad, inappropriate set lists and I've even made nasty comments likening the shows to crappy suburban high school recitals. In other words, I'm no angel, even where Julie and Eric are concerned.

From the minute I heard the opening notes of Flamingo's CD yesterday, I had the chills. First of all, Julia's vocals...I can't even describe it. She's the way Norah Jones or Aimee Mann or even Natalie Merchant wish they sounded...with the sixties psychedelic soul of a Janis Joplin and Sandy Denny thrown in. You don't get that from her when you hear her doing covers for Rock School like Springsteen's Born to Run or Boston's Long Time. (Okay, I despise Springsteen and Boston so maybe that has something to do with it). But anyway, on this CD, Julia's voice is other worldy - she's fucking unbelievable.

And then you have the guitar players: Haffie, Matt, and Julia herself. These are three of the best guitarists in Rock School, apologies to the other Rock School greats because yep, there are many, but these three have a spectacular chemistry together. And I feel like a traitor saying this because my own daughter is a bassist, but Dan Nitz, who normally plays guitar, kicks ass on bass.

But most importantly - the song writing. It's fucking amazing! I tried to put my finger on their sound and to be honest, I couldn't, because it's so original they may be one of the few bands to be actually doing something NEW! It's fresh, it's modern, but there are influences of Zappa, Cream, and even the Allman Brothers... with a modern bluesy, jazzy twist. And the lyrics are also very, very impressive. But I think their time with Paul/Rock School and being part of his All-Stars and studying Zappa is what I hear the most - that unbelievable, intelligent musicianship and their tightness as a band. It's pure perfection. What's even more fun is that they are all such talented, well rounded musicians that on one song, they switch off instruments and some play glockenspiel, dulcimer, even trumpet.

Anyway, one of the Rock School teachers, Nero, heard the demo for the first time and immediately got Flamingo their first gig opening for his own band on March 19 at a really cool club in Philadelphia, The Fire. They aren't on the schedule yet because it stops at March 12, but of course I'll be posting updates here.

So that was my excitement for yesterday.

Time Fries...

That would be my daughter's boyfriend, Matt, on bass and his first cousin, future megastar, C.J. Tywoniak, on guitar

Wow, has it really been three days since I posted? Time fries, as I was told by my favorite waiter at a Chinese restaurant when I ate there with my kids. He hadn't seen them in a while and was shocked to see they were now young adults. Time fries is probably the most perfect expression ever, huh. Anyway, there's been a lot of turmoil in the House of Slick over the past 72 hours but it all seems to be straightened out now (I hope!) so I'm back.

First of all, thanks to the lovely and talented M.A. Burns who forwarded me the above photograph, several more of which I'll be posting, taken at the recent Tony Levin/California Guitar Trio concert. She is a huge prog rock fan and travels with the band snapping photos, and she was really freaked out by the talented Rock School kids who opened for them. Anyway, we met for the first time at the show, chatted a bit, exchanged email addresses, and then she sent me a disk full of her photos. How cool is that!

Also, thanks to everyone who has bought my book and coffee cups, etc. Sheesh, I didn't realize being a writer also meant being a saleswoman, but there you have it.

So without further ado, and because I need Eric to go on line and update my website which I've neglected terribly since starting this blog, here's a few more of M.A.'s photos and M.A., if you are reading this, YOU ROCK!

Louis Graff

Max DiMezza and CJ

Kenny Liu and Julie

Max

Paul conducting the band

My wild child, Eric

C.J.

Matt and C.J.

UPDATE -Eric's just wrapped up my website renovations for me. Please check it out at www.robinslick.com