Eric Slick and Julie Slick with Sweatheart at Silk City Lounge; Robin Slick in Virginia Beach; and err...Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay, let's play catch up.

First of all, before I forget, and this is way important, Julie and Eric will be playing bass and drums respectively with Sweatheart at the Silk City Lounge Wedmesday, November 23 at 11:00 p.m. Silk City is located at 5th and Spring Garden in Philly and it's going to be a really cool kick off to the Thanksgiving holiday. It will be a sell-out for sure because it's an annual tradition and always mobbed with partiers. On guitar is artist Thom Lessner, and on vocals are the absolutely fabulous Rose and Amanda. Just think B-52 type music but way better...they rehearsed at my house today and I was blown away. It only costs $5.00 to get in, and you can eat some really great food at the adjoining diner...here's the menu if you don't believe me. Of course this is way past my bedtime, but I will take a nap and will be there for sure. I know I'm biased, but Julie and Eric have been playing together for years and there's a tightness and perfection when they jam together that is pretty much unparalleled in any other projects in which they've been involved.

And while I think it's kind of lame for parents, especially parents of Rock School grads, to be serial posters on the School of Rock (SOR) forum board, I still love reading Paul's comments and was teary eyed this morning over this exchange, which appears in the "Ask the Uberlord" section of the forum:

Subject: Real Potential

Posted by Anonymous on 11/21/2005 at 11:40 PM
Paul-
Ok, let's face it. There are tons of students at SORs all over the country. Obviously, very few will really make it professionally in the rock business. Of the students you know, which ones really have "rock-star potential"? Who do you think is really going to make it?
**********

Der Uberlord
Super Administrator

Posted on 11/22/2005 at 12:03 AM

1st of all, please remember that the primary message of SOR is that hard work, dedication, and honesty in your work will greatly benefit you and your abilities, whatever you choose to do with your life.

Secondly, you don't have to "make it" to enjoy playing music. There are many SOR students, and there will be many, many, more to come. If the vast majority of them do nothing more than play in a band in college, or use their skills to make recordings at home, that is great. I never made it, but i would not trade my memories of trying for anything.

Also, making it is tough. There are LOTS of variables, including tons of luck, and a very conservative music industry to contend with.

That all being said, Eric Slick, Julie Slick, CJ, Branden King, Louis Graff, and Max DiMezza are all fantastic musicians who could easily have careers in the field and never work a day in their life.

Jeremy Blessing, Dom Malandro, Joe and Gina Randazzo are all amazing performers, and could easily be some kind of rock stars with the right breaks.

Coming up, Sara Zimm, Courtney Cox, Anna Marrinelli, and Sara Neidorf are well on their way to writing their own tickets.

The whole band Flamingo are great, and will due some things, together or separately, once they figure a few things out. Same with Atlas.

Kenny Lu and Bosco could easily play guitar for a living. Courtney Drew could play bass-once she learns to believe it herself. Madi-Diaz Svalgard I have always said has "it."

If I had to pick just one kid: Eric Slick. He will be a drum legend one day.
*************

Yep, that's a post by Paul Green himself. Eric Slick will be a drum legend one day. Oh god, here come the tears again. But I know it's true. And of course Julie's going to be a star as well -- let's not forget Paul mentioned her, too. I know she's got a gig somewhere next week with Chuck Treece and I'll post details about that in a few days.

And one more note regarding Eric, you can now hear sound clips from some of the show he performed with Doctor Dark right here.

In other news...

So yeah, my book is finally available in a few brick and mortar book stores, most notably in Philadelphia at Voices and Visions Bookstore at the lower level of the Bourse Building, 4th Street between Market and Chestnut Streets. You can type "Three Days in New York City" in the search box provided on the site and order it on line as well. I will be talking with Voices and Visions about giving a joint reading with Leslie Van Newkirk, author of Crush, and look for more info on that in a future post. Les and I are discussing the possibility of doing a tandem reading thing in both New York and Philly and since she is just an awesome person/writer, that would be just too cool.

The reading in Virginia was a blast. I met a bunch of other authors published by Phaze, met a real dominatrix and her slave, attended a BDSM workshop...ha ha...I really wish I could go into detail here but the innocent must be protected. I suppose had I been interested I would have been "fed by a submissive" in a loose sense of the word but I wasn't hungry and turned down his kind offer of refreshments.

Speaking of food, for those of you food freaks, below is the official Slick family Thanksgiving menu. We made a unanimous decision a few years ago that in order to avoid stress at all costs and concentrate solely on what Thanksgiving means to us -- being thankful for each other and stuffing our faces with food cooked in my kitchen -- that our holiday would always just be the immediate family at our house.

So here's what we are eating for dinner on Thursday:

Seven pound turkey breast stuffed with my standard recipe - a mix of toasted baguettes, onions, celery and carrots, along with a beaten egg and tons of fresh herbs.

Corn pudding, which is self-explanatory and so good it's sick cos' I make it with heavy cream.

Macaroni and cheese for Eric because he wants to relive his childhood.

Cranberry chutney -- a mixture of fresh cranberries, oranges, diced apples, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, ginger, brown sugar, and a touch of vinegar.

Yukon gold mashed potatoes with crispy shallots.

String beans with ricotta cheese and bacon and string beans with just fresh tomato chunks and basil for Julie.

Eric wants a traditional lattice topped apple pie; Julie wants chocolate pecan pie though I just saw a recipe on T.V. yesterday that I want to do instead and have to run it by her though they used cranberries instead of chocolate chips. They made upside down individual bread puddings but they used croissants for the bread and the upside down part was caramel made from brown sugar and butter, pecans, and said cranberries. If I substitute chocolate, I think that'll be outrageous, especially topped with fresh whipped cream.

**********

Anyway, that's all for now -- be back later with a review of the show tomorrow night and any breaking news, of course.

Robin Slick reads from Three Days in NYC in Virginia Beach tomorrow and Saturday; Eric Slick and his music

Eric Slick at Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut

So, here's some cool news. I got an e-mail today from Playgirl, and they want to publish an excerpt from Three Days in New York City! Do you think I'm a little bit excited about that? They are also planning an author profile in the magazine, so they asked that I send my bio and bibliography. Woo hoo!

And as I said, I'll be in Virginia tomorrow doing a reading from Three Days in New York City and then being fed by submissives -- which I still can't get over though an insanely funny writer pal of mine had to make me crazy by joking that's it's going to be grown men crawling around on their hands and knees serving canapes from between clenched buttocks which kind of ruined the moment for me (ha ha, not really, but his remark was hilarious, what can I say?) -- and then I have the actual book signing on Saturday, but in the meantime, here's what else is going on.

Eric will be sitting in on a song or two with Project Object tomorrow night at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia. Read all about it and order tickets here.

Also, Eric is officially listed as drummer for Doctor Dark on his website so that's pretty cool. I see a sound clip of their show at Toad's Place will be up on the site soon which is awesome because these are some top class musicians. Check back from time to time...I also see the "about Eric" feature is under construction so all the more reason to visit the site again.

But look for some possible brand new and potentially mind blowing music news out of the Eric Slick camp next week...

Julie's got some exciting stuff in the works as well but of course I'm too superstitious to say anything further about that, either, until it actually materializes. Right now she's having a blast recording official Paul Green School of Rock Music poster artist extraordinaire Thom Lessner who has a fun music project on the side.

Anyway, in closing, below is a photo of my daughter, son, and their dad two months ago on an amusement ride which looked more like a death wish to me, but I love this picture because it pretty much captures them as they are -- INSANE! And beneath that photo, is one I absolutely adore of the whole Slick clan (minus me, the wussy photographer) about to risk their lives on yet another roller coaster from hell.





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

So I'm currently waiting on some other breaking news, and if anything should happen between now and my flight tomorrow morning, I'll be back! (Oh god, that sounded like the terminator. Kill me now, please)

Later...xoxo

Phaze in the Pink

The Pink Banana Boutique Crystal B. Bright


So this Friday-Sunday, I'll be in Virginia Beach meeting fans and signing books. Here's the press release as well a newspaper article:


Erotica Book Signing for a Great Cause

Virginia Beach, VA – Eight erotica authors want to make readers feel good this holiday season. On Saturday, November 19, 2005 from noon to six p.m., authors from the publisher, Phaze, the erotic imprint of Mundania Press, will have a second erotica book signing called “In The Pink” at The Pink Banana Boutique, an adult toy store located at 352 Newtown Road in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The authors will sign copies of their CDs and print books with prices ranging from $3.50 to $15.00. A portion of the proceeds from all book sales during the signing will be donated to a leading breast cancer research foundation.

“I was thrilled at the reception that three Phaze authors had for their signing back in July,” says Stacey L. King, Phaze publisher. “I knew I wanted to do another signing at the store but I wanted to do something special. We all agreed that bringing in more authors would be great, and donating a portion of our proceeds to breast cancer research was the right thing to do.”

During the signing, customers can enter a drawing to win one of two (2) gift baskets filled with items from Phaze authors and from The Pink Banana Boutique. Authors will also be doing readings throughout the day.

For more information, please contact Crystal, manager at The Pink Banana Boutique, at (757) 671-8869 or Crystal Bright at (757) 619-1748.

And in today's Hampton Daily Press:


The Pink Banana Boutique, 352 Newtown Road in Virginia Beach, hosts "Phaze: In the Pink" noon to 6 p.m. Saturday. The event features nine authors - Devi Sparks, Leigh Ellwood, Madeleine Oh, Bridget Midway, Laura Bacchi, Jessie Verino, Jayelle Drewry, Petula Caesar and Robin Slick - and their books. Some proceeds from the event will be donated to breast cancer research. Admission is free.
**********
Yeah, so that's where I'll be Friday. Tomorrow I have one of those days from hell - a 9:45 a.m. appointment at the blood pressure doctor (no, I haven't lost those ten pounds nor started an exercise program and no, no, I don't have a death wish, just an unhealthy love of food and unhealthy love of assuming the fetal position and staying that way); an 11:30 hair appointment at a fancy salon where they give you champagne and cookies and sometimes even chocolate covered strawberries...see, I'm not dumb, I booked the hair after the doctor but I still hate going anywhere where I have to sit still for two hours...and then I have to go to the post office and do mundane things like pay bills, figure out why they haven't successfully done the mail forwarding thing for me from my old office, where I haven't been since July 29 but still haven't been getting my mail delivered to my house instead...in addition to sending out an autographed copy of Three Days in New York City to a friend who actually sent me a paypal payment today...I didn't even know I could receive money that way; I only knew I could spend it...and then, if I have any energy left after that, I need to come home and seriously get caught up on NaNo or I will never have my 50,000 word novel completed by November 30 as per the rules of National Novel Writing Month.

Other than that, things are cool. Life is quiet on the music front though Eric is gigging right now at the Pontiac Grille and Julie's been recording a bunch of bands...but there's nothing out of the ordinary to report right now. I'm kind of bummed I'll miss the Project Object show at World Cafe Live this Friday because once again, Eric will be sitting in on drums on a song or two, but as I said, I'll be in Virginia. More on those events later. Just a little hint: Always worried about food, I asked the other Phaze authors if they were up for going out to dinner in Virginia Beach Friday night prior to the big signing Saturday. Apparently, I don't have to worry. We're going to be fed by submissives at a T.I.E.D event. Umm...T.I.E.D.? Somehow I don't think that's got anything to do with laundry detergent.

Err...I do believe I will do more "research" on that...otherwise, look for me to be happily munching solo at the nearby Cheesecake Factory. And no, that's not a joke. There really is a Cheesecake Factory and oh my god, it sounds like a dream come true. And by the way, also not a joke is the Phat Phuc Noodle House in London. Yep, it's true, this restaurant can be found on Sydney Street. And for the first time ever, I'm considering a tattoo.

Just kidding, just kidding.

More odds from the sod and a friend of a friend of a friend knows Neil Gaiman!

The above is a new book by my pal, Leslie Van Newkirk. You can order it right here. Leslie asked me for an author quote for the book, and I was more than happy to oblige. This appears on the back cover:

'"Crush Dot Com" is a delicious, wild ride through New York City's singles scene. The story delivers both a poignant and hilarious commentary on our universal fear of loneliness and under-achievement in today's complex society. What an enjoyable read!" -Robin Slick, author of "Three Days in New York City."

On the front cover, Les was lucky enough to land a quote from our mutual good friend and rising superstar Ellen Meister. Not only does Ellen have a major book, Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA coming out this summer, she just sold her second book and here's how the announcement appeared at Publishers Marketplace:

Ellen Meister's THE SMART ONE, in which three sisters trying to shake their childhood labels of "the smart one," "the pretty one" and "the wild one," discover that there's no place like home (even after finding a dead body in an industrial drum beneath the house next door), again to Carrie Feron at Morrow, for publication in 2007, by Andrea Cirillo and Annelise Robey at the Jane Rotrosen Agency. arobey@janerotrosen.com.

Yeah, I know, I hang out with some heavy hitters, don't I?

Ha ha - not only that, someone I should know but don't though many of my close friends do actually just hung out with my current heartthrob (not really -- just dig his writing and okay, his looks) Neil Gaiman in London. That would be Suw Charman. The reason I should know Suw is that she's also a member of Zoetrope Virtual studios, the international online writing community which I've discussed here many times -- where I've been a member for the past four years -- and our paths have crossed in some of the private offices there but never long enough to, um, bond. I know from her Zoetrope bio that we share the same interests; in fact, she's a music journalist. She's someone I've always wanted to get to know, but in checking her Zoe stats, apparently she has a life in the real world, cos' she hasn't signed on to Zoetrope since August. But it was just so weird to see her name in Neil's blog over and over and then I read her blog and I like totally ate my little homesick for England American heart out some more.

Ah well. I think I do have a higher power, and I think "she" has a very wicked sense of humor and adores torturing me. You have no idea how much.

Later...xoxo

Odds and Sods - part 969

Andy, drummer with McRad, and Matt Rothstein, Julie's bass playing boyfriend, prior to the show in...Liverpool? Guildford? Hmm...can't remember, probably because I wasn't there. By that time, I'd managed to successfully separate myself from the tour and happily went off on my own.

So I'm still in a funk since my return home to the U.S.; I can't quite put my finger on why but here's a couple of possibilities: (1) A life long dream was realized when I finally made that trip to the UK and now it's over; (2) I want to go back in a big way and stay longer than a week -- like, maybe forever; (3) I know I have to get really serious and finish the final revisions to my creative non fiction novel which means I need to stop fucking off with other projects; (4) I know that if I don't do (3) and do it really well, I will eventually have to go back to some sort of part-time "real" job because apparently I'm a bigger spender than I realized and haven't a clue as to how to budget.

Oh well.

But in other news, I was overjoyed this morning that the Democrats claimed solid victories in New Jersey and Virginia and that the Nazi Republican terminator was soundly defeated in California. So maybe there's hope for this country yet. But I saw a horrifying news report on BBC news last night (what, you thought I watched American news? Ha!) about Uganda. Ever since Bush took office, the AIDS virus is back on the rise. During the Clinton administration, they'd managed to cut the spread down to 4% with an active campaign to use condoms. Now, because most of their anti-AIDS funding comes from the U.S., the Bush administration has seen fit to see that all the money now goes to faith based organizations SOLELY in Uganda. They have decided that the condom campaign isn't good enough, they put ABSTINENCE in place, and all over Uganda, there are huge billboards with ABSTINENCE on them, not condoms. So it's a no brainer as to what's happening - all of the hard work of the medical profession is down the drain because of these insane religious zealots currently running our country. An entire African nation is being wiped out by AIDS.

Err...maybe that's what Bush is hoping?

Okay, must shift gears before I pop a blood vessel.

In music news, just a reminder that Eric and his band, Flamingo, will be at the Pontiac Grill at 6:00 p.m. this Sunday night. Julie's next gig with McRad is December 2.

And someone must be buying my book! My Amazon numbers were abhorent, but today I came downstairs and they are soaring! So thank you, thank you, thank you whoever you are, and I'm going to attach a link to Amazon one more time so that you, too, can join the masses reading Three Days in New York City. It's right here.



Oh, one more thing -- I will not be reading in New York on Monday -- I got an email last night from the guy who organized it saying he's no longer in charge. I'm kind of relieved. I'll be in Virginia Beach Friday-Sunday next week hawking Three Days in New York City and hopefully the sequel or at least talking up the sequel so that's enough travel for one week, eh? More on that later...

Some pics of the Slicks in the UK

So I've got no news at the moment...strange, huh. But yay, Julie finally found it in her heart to direct me to her photosite for a couple of pics of our UK trip. So like, here they are:

The first few are in Manchester. Up first is Julie and Matt in Albert Square.



The back of my head in Chinatown, Manchester (which is exactly like Chinatown, Philadelphia, even down to the arch currently under construction)



Roy (Leiana's drummer), Leiana, the back of my head, and Matt in Albert Square.



A cool street in Manchester.



The following series are from the show in Liverpool. I'm both sad and relieved I missed that show; and extremely happy that Matt didn't think it was too lame to take pictures because these are awesome. First up is Leiana's band - that's Roy, who is a kick ass drummer and also plays guitar, and Eric, her bassist.



Leiana and Eric



Eric



A couple more...





Andy, drummer for McRad



Chuck Treece of McRad and a fan, James Gregson



Chuck Treece and Andy



Julie Slick, bass player for McRad

Quick note...

Just spoke to Julie on the fly and the McRad gig is not at 5:00 p.m. tonight, it's later in the evening and it's also not in Manayunk. As soon as I get the correct info I will post it here but if anyone reading this knows it, email me.

Robin Slick in Playgirl Magazine; Julie Slick gigging with McRad at the Bungalow, Eric Slick and Flamingo at the Pontiac Grille

Ha ha - yeah, it's true, I'm on page 29 of the December issue of Playgirl Magazine, already available to subscribers and in a bookstore/newsstand near you this Monday, November 7. And in real life, it's huge, it takes up an entire page! I know this surprises you all, you probably thought Robin Slick in Playgirl meant me dressed as a dominatrix with a nasty whip, forcing some poor guy I have shackled by the ankles to read my book.

Nah...

So that's very cool, though I should mention that Phaze is not strictly ebook as Three Days in New York City is in fact a paperback, and if you are a Philly resident and should you wish to avoid ordering it online, it will be available next week at Voices and Visions Bookstore, 4th Street between Market and Chestnut, which is very, very cool. One, because they are like one of the last independent book sellers, and two, because they have a wonderful room solely devoted to local writers. I just happened on it by chance when I went to the Philadelphia Stories reading Tuesday night to hear a brilliant series of vignettes read by just an incredible local writer, Randall Brown. Also in the crowd was another extraordinary writer/artist pal of mine, Joseph Young.

Anyway, I know the above Playgirl article is kind of hard to read so use a magnifying glass. Ha! Just kidding, though I should also mention that it's not entirely accurate because obviously, Playgirl Magazine was furnished with that info a few months ago prior to publication. So to bring you up to speed, the sequel to Three Days in New York City is already finished, and it's called Another Bite of the Apple and Phaze already has it in their possession. Additionally, The Tour is no more, it's been retitled Babyboomer and it does not focus on Rock School, it focuses on a hipster babyboomer who struggles to come to terms with middle age and the fact that she's no longer considered cool while she tries to live vicariously through her rock star kids. So yeah, okay, it's creative non-fiction and the Rock School tour is merely a vehicle for my character to go through certain changes...Paul Green and other kids are not even mentioned. Sorry if this disappoints anyone.

So I know I promised to write about the bands with whom Julie toured in England, the beautiful and talented Leiana and the fucking genius that is Chuck Treece, but as I did some preliminary research, I realized there is just way too much material to put here now without further picking their brains, as well as gathering more info about the other musicians who accompanied them. So watch this space for updates as concerns print articles and interviews I intend to put together on this very cool, unique group of local musicians.

In the meantime, should you wish to catch Julie playing bass with McRad, she's gigging with them tomorrow as follows:

The Boils, McRad, Cranked Up!, Low Budgets, Kids United @ The Bungalow, 111 Cotton Street, Philadelphia, PA 5:00 PM. All Ages.

I believe 111 Cotton Street is in Manayunk. (calling the Atlas House, calling the Atlas House...hahahahaha....Atlas is a band of Rock School grads and those lucky bastards all share a house together in Manayunk, which is one of the coolest sections of Philly. Ah to be young and free...)

Oh actually, in just talking with Julie and Eric, I learned that Branden King, drummer for Atlas, will be sitting in as drummer for McRad for the Bungalow gig...so I'm gonna assume said Atlas will be out in force to support him. Branden is my second most favorite drummer in the world, next to Eric of course, and as I said, another Paul Green School of Rock Hall of Famer.

And you know Eric is gigging as well - he'll be at the Pontiac Grille on November 13, 2005 with his band, Flamingo, opening for another fantastic band, 722. I will of course be reminding everyone of that again next week.

Soo...I think that's the news for now but one can never be sure and if anything else comes to mind, I'll pop on for another post.

I'm currently doing that insane 50,000 word novel thing in 30 days during the month of November so it's kind of hard for me to keep up with the blog on a daily basis, but I'm trying, I'm trying.

Later xoxo

Robin Slick finally gets to visit England...

An official UK rainbow

(Sorry about this -- I still don't have the benefit of the cool band and touristy photos Matt and Julie took which of course are on their laptops, but I did manage to get this one.)

So yeah, in case you haven't noticed the billboards I've posted all over the universe, I spent last week in England with my daughter, Julie, who plays bass with McRad. Her boyfriend Matt also came along, and well, what can I say, I'm finally able to write about it without crying. Meaning: I WANT TO GO BACK!

You have to understand -- being the music nut I am I've wanted to travel to the UK ever since I heard my first Beatle song. (Yeah, yeah - I probably said that somewhere here in another post, but it's just so true)(and wait...isn't that a lame Bad Company song...Johnny was a schoolboy, when he heard his first Beatle song? Yeah, it is. I knew it sounded familiar when I typed it). But you know, life got in the way...everything from when my Mom died and I became legal guardian of my little brother...then had kids of my own, blah blah blah. So how crazy that it was ultimately my daughter who made the dream come true; though okay, okay, I was planning on getting there within the next year or two anyway now that both kids are more grown up than I am.

Anyway, I really want to talk about the music but I want the accompanying photos and I should really make that a separate post. So let's make this one the tourist piece.

In a week's time, I got to see Manchester, Newcastle, Lancaster, Leeds, and London. I skipped over Liverpool, which was the final leg of the tour, because it was Halloween and well, I'm a wus frightened of punk rockers let alone punk rockers in masks. Okay, I'm more afraid of being moshed or thrashed, having had it happen to me once before as previously mentioned and not ever wanting to go through it again. Nah, the real reason is, I adored London and wanted to stay longer which is why I made the decision not to go on to Liverpool, but eventually I ended up going back to Manchester early because that's where the hotel was and we had to wake up early for an 11:00 a.m. flight home. Manchester is so much like Philadelphia I could not believe it, and what do I see there but a big sign announcing "Coming Soon: Urban Outfitters".

Hahahaha - that's the store that started in Philadelphia as an arty, hippie place selling everything from Indian shirts to bongs, but rapidly changed with the times so that now it's a staple for every rich suburban kid to buy their own $40 CBGB t-shirts in an effort to look as cool as their downtown counterparts, who ironically buy their clothing at thrift stores.

Newcastle was insane. One thing that troubled me about England in general, though, was the similar problem we have in Philadelphia and New York. Here, we have all this gorgeous architecture downtown - buildings erected 200 years ago -- and now because of outrageous rents in the city, the only ones who can afford their rentals are the big corporate chains. So imagine my dismay to see 500 year old buildings in the UK with the same atrocity - a Subway Sandwich Shop, a Starbucks, etc. in these structures which should be fucking museums. So Newcastle was especially disconcerting, because they have these gorgeous, cobblestone roads which are straight up and down (walking down them is fun; but while trying to make my way back up the hill and realizing that it was next to impossible for an out of shape, former smoker like me, I had this terrible vision of Julie having to fly me home in a body bag...the true end of my lifelong dream to be in the UK) and these crazy, ornate old buildings...and they are fucking chain stores. It's just so depressing.

Anyway, I love the accent; I love the culture. The following evening in Lancaster, when presented with our meal, we were told "You's is whose these is for". I laughed with delight -- just hope I didn't offend. When I went for a walk down Penny Lane -- and damn it, I thought it was the Penny Lane but that's not in Lancaster, it's in London -- I think -- and suddenly stumbled on a river practically adjacent to the street, I asked which river it was and was told "it's not a river, it's me radiator. It's sprung a leak."

Oh man. Such great, great stuff.

I broke away from the band altogether to explore some more in Leeds the following day. That was a very cool city, but again, I was struck by the similarities to both Philadelphia and New York, as well as a little bit of Boston. I wandered around; got an unexpected tour of their public library which is all stained glass and marble and just totally breathtaking. (and of course I didn't have the camera...I'm getting really nervous that the reason Julie and Matt haven't sent me photos yet is that I'm about to get 1,000 more photos of Matt. Ha! Oh well...Julie already just sent me one of Matt in Manchester in front of a beautiful church in Albert Square (?)(can't remember the name) which I would post now had she not sent it to me sideways and I have not a clue as how to photoshop it).

So now I'm getting hungry and there's cool little kiosks set up within an enclosed, outdoor mall type place. Okay, that's confusing. I mean, it's outdoors, but it's in a three or four block courtyard type setting where no cars are allowed and yeah, these little kiosks sell all kinds of interesting food, but what caught my eye was a UK staple, stuffed baked potatoes. Oh man, England is surely the land of the potato, and next to my family, writing, music, and sex...it's the potato that does it for me. So over the course of the week, I had them stuffed, fried, chips saturated in curry; and even some flavored with Thai Chicken seasoning. (I don't even want to know how they manage that one...just hope I'm not the first person to die of Avian flu via a chicken flavored chip but that of course would be poetic justice as well, I suppose).

But just as I'm about to order my potato, I look up and see a Virgin Records Megastore.

"Oh, let's go in there," I say excitedly, even though there's one in New York for fuck's sake and I have a no corporate chain policy when it comes to CDs. But...this was England, and I wanted to see if they carried my kids' CD (Rock School soundtrack) and really, just to browse and see if they had certain CDs I've been trying to find in the States for years...for example, the American Dream, whose album I've had since the seventies, briefly released their CD 20 years ago via Rhino Records. (Yeah, so like, if any of you reading this have this CD...name your price). I was so excited that as I passed through the open double glass doors leading into the store and was yapping a mile a minute as usual, I failed to see that there was a second set of glass doors and they were closed.

Ever walk head first into a thick, glass door? Ever do it while you're talking and walking fast?

Once again, that body bag flashed before my eyes.

I thought I had a concussion and I did a nice job on my kneecap, too.

I don't even remember what CDs I looked at...I kept touching my forehead to see if I was bleeding and I no longer wanted that potato, damn it.

But even though concussive and dazed, I had such an incredible time -- so amazing I'm still not sure if it really happened or it was a dream...and the day ended up with me getting seriously drunk on Stella Artois.

Yeah, it's true what they say about the pubs in England. They are everywhere and they are fucking fantastic. I'd be a full blown alcoholic if I lived there. The beer is so much better. In fact, I think next year I'm going to go on a beer tour of Europe. Yeah! But in the meantime, I promised my son a trip back there for his birthday in May, and I'm seriously thinking of renting a place in the lake district for an extended time so that I can write. Because just being there made my creative juices flow, and I know that I could probably knock out the first draft of an 80,000 word novel in a month.

So next it was on to London, and really, London is New York. Soho in London is Soho in New York. Well, okay, London's Soho is cooler. But that could just be me. I also hung out in the posh (and tourist) district by Victoria Station and also ended up in a section adjacent to Soho which could very well have been Times Square.

Ahhh...it was just all so incredible.

I'm probably leaving tons of stuff out so I may be back from time to time today to edit and add things.

Okay, so now that I've probably bored you all to tears, I solemnly swear that tomorrow I will talk about the music. Man, I met some really talented musicians on this tour and I'd really like to introduce you all to some of them via links, photos, and sound clips. Hey, I wonder if I can do sound clips on this blog. Gotta ask my son when he gets home.

Later...

More Les Paul w/ Eric Slick, Max DiMezza, and C.J. Tywoniak

The trouble with having a son for a drummer is that it's hard to get a good shot because he's always blocked by either cymbals or another musician. But good old Carolyn Pagnotta -- my son's girlfriend -- managed to get these pics of Les Paul watching Rock School Hall of Famers Eric Slick, Max DiMezza, and C.J. Tywoniak pay tribute to him despite a packed room and a tiny stage. You can see by the look of joy on Les Paul's face that he was wowed by Eric, Max, and C.J. To be honest, C.J.'s brilliant rendition of Brazil had my jaw dropping, too -- I'm used to C.J. being a shredder and to hear him execute that song so Les-like brought tears of joy to my eyes. And Max's bass playing is always wonderful...he's in a band called Atlas and I'm sure they must have a My Space site if anyone is inclined to go check them out. I think C.J. has a site as well - I'm so tired it's all I can do to write this post today let alone provide links but if you strike out, just write to me and I'll find them when I come back to life.

I'm still not ready to talk about England. There's just so much I want to tell, so much I can't tell...and as usual, I have a million photos but they are all on Julie and Matt's laptops so I may as well wait until I'm in a better head and I have the benefit of the photos to go with each little vignette.

Tonight, however, I will be at Voices and Visions bookstore on 4th Street for a reading on behalf of Philadelphia Stories where I am former fiction editor -- a brilliant writer friend of mine, Randall Brown, will be among the readers and I wouldn't miss that for the world. And today is the start of National Novel Writing Month - 50,000 words in 30 days -- so I've got to really get on with that right now because it means 3,000 words a day until November 30.

Piece o'cake.

Right.

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh..........