Where's Eric? And somebody, anybody...what the hell is a meme?

Eric Slick in Hollywood

BREAKING NEWS: JUST ADDED 11:42 a.m.

So after the Rock School All-Stars performed at the Digitech party last night, this guy came up to Eric, shook his hand, and said "You'd have done Ringo proud. You did some things on the drums that he only dreams about." (rim shots, apparently)

Or something like that.

I'm like, ohmygodohmygodohmygod "Eric, do you know who HE IS?"

"Oh yeah, I know," said Eric. "Yeah, a bunch of guys gave me their cards..."

Oh god. Nice to be so jaded, Er. Nice to give your mother heart failure as she sits here pouting in Philadelphia.

(I just had to sign him up for some daily passes for T-Mobile Hot Spots and he promises me he's going to be sending me photos and more info later today via his laptop. Apparently the Guitar Center gig tonight is cancelled so he's got down time to....hopefully go to a Starbucks and send mother an email and pics? Hahahahahaha - there I go dreaming again)
***********
(original post of this morning)

Okay, Eric phoned me late yesterday to let me know he was safe and sound in L.A. and was heading off to sound check for the Digitech party, and that's the last I heard from him, though he did give me the news that he's tentatively having breakfast this morning with Mick Fleetwood.

Yawn...

(Ha ha - yawn? Not really! I want details! I want photos! I want to be there, damn it!)

So while I wait to hear from my errant son, something I keep forgetting to put out there is...what the hell is a meme? And do you pronounce it me, me? Or is it pronounced, god forbid, like memo except mem-eh? Or does it rhyme with dream? You know, you become a Neil Gaiman fan and you not only come upon links to sites which show graphic horrors (heh) like a skinned, roasted rat that some dude actually ate for New Years Eve dinner, but you learn all kinds of new words and "meme" pops up with every google search. Like a million times. So I tried looking up what it meant and I'm not satisfied with the answers I'm getting. Is a meme a trend? Is it something intangible, like an idea? Why are memes and Neil Gaiman synonymous? And yes, once again, how the hell do you pronounce it because every time I've typed it here, I've called it something different in my head.

And by the way, there's a new Neil Gaiman store where he is asking his fans for suggestions as to what they would like to see for sale. On Tuesday, not being able to help myself, I wrote in the space provided on said site that I'd like to a black t-shirt with a lime on it. And what does Neil write in his journal yesterday? "Me, I want a t-shirt with a lime on it."

Coincidence? I think not!

Okay, okay. I'm delusional.

Meanwhile, where's my son and why hasn't he called? Gossip central here is reduced to watching The Today Show. Kill me now. Please.

But first tell me what a "meme" is.

Eric Slick in LA - Part One - The Riot House

So here's the hotel where Eric is staying in LA for the next five days:

"Just as The Rainbow was the meeting spot for the rock and roll elite, the “Continental Hyatt House” was where the party always ended up. The Hyatt House (now the Hyatt West Hollywood) was nicknamed “The Riot House”, and for good reason. The parties are legendary. Virtually every rock and roller who was worth his or her salt stayed at the Riot House at one time or another. Three reasons come to mind as to why the Continental Hyatt house became a central point in L.A.’s rock and roll sub-culture. They offered (and still offer) band rates on multiple rooms, it was within minutes of no fewer than 32 record companies and probably more importantly, the Hyatt was merely a short limousine ride (or drunken stumble) east from The Rainbow and the Roxy. Not much has been told of the goings on at the Hyatt House."

Tonight Eric and the Rock School All-Stars are performing at a very special party sponsored by Digitech where there's going to be a very special presentation and some very special guests and Eric said if I blab one word of any of these top-secret details this morning he's going to kill me and since he's got his laptop with him and can check, I'd better stop right now before the temptation is too great. But he's going to be in touch with me either late tonight (ha ha - he knows I wake up at 5:00 a.m. and he'll probably just be getting in at 2:00 a.m. LA time) or early tomorrow and your Hollywood reporter here will file her report as soon as she gets the okay.

Oh man, this is killing me. I wish I could give at least one hint.

But alas, that's all for now, darn it. Stay tuned..

Eric Slick invades LA again

So Eric leaves for NAMM among other things in California early tomorrow morning. The above is the poster for the LA Knitting Factory show this Friday night - Eric and the Rock School All-Stars are opening for Volto, which is Danny Carey's band. (Danny Carey is the drummer from Tool).

Anyway, I'm so jealous. Take a look at Eric's schedule for the next few days:

WED JAN 18
6AM- Meet at Rock School
8:45AM- In the air to LA
12:10PM- Arrive in LA
2PM- Go to NAMM
4PM- Sound Check for Digitech Show
7PM- Start of show
?- End, and back to hotel

THUR 19
EARLY- NAMM
4PM- Guitar Center Sound Check
7PM- Show at LA Guitar Center
8:30PM- End of show

FRI 20
7:30AM- Set Up for the Mark and Brian KLOS radio show
9AM- Live on AIR
9:30AM- Approximate end for radio show
1AM- At NAMM
4/5PM- Load-In/Sound Check at Knitting Factory
7PM- Doors
8PM- Show

SAT 21
1-1:30PM- Show at the Lennon School Bus

SUN 22
5:30AM- Arrive at LAX airport
4:10PM- Back in Philly

Now with each one of these events, there are pretty exciting details and I could do some serious name dropping here as concerns various rock stars/legends in attendance wih whom my son will be hanging out, but Eric is like, Mom, don't post anything yet, wait until they happen, I'll call you or email you every day. (I won't hold my breath but yep, you guessed it, when I don't hear from him, I'll ring him up and threaten him with sanctions (ha) if I get his voicemail.)

So I'm off to help Eric pack and then oh yeah, out to dinner!!

Random Highbrow

So I read about this little contest which interested me because I love playing with words (translate: love to procrastinate with internet writing games)...anyway, here's the rules:

Random Highbrow competition

Writers - your task is to take ten words and write a very short work of fiction or a poem (250 words maximum). All ten words must be used. The frequency of their usage is up to the writer.

This competition's ten words are from Machiavelli's The Prince.

intentions
circumstances
rapacious
proved
joined
patrimony
powerful
resent
single-mindedness
retaining

I mean, some of the words are easy but try and use rapacious and patrimony in a 250 word story without coming off like a total pretentious asshole and see if you can do it.

So here's the link in question which features my story as well as all of the other entries over at Grimm Magazine and please don't hold this one against me -- it was done tongue in cheek and is totally and completely politically incorrect but what can you do -- better that than a pompous piece of PPA (prose performance art -- my term for stream of consciousness writing where oh-so-hip authors string fancy words together to form artful, nonsensical phrases and we're supposed to "get it", stroke our chins and whisper in reverence "Brilliant! Simply brilliant!" Though in a contest such as this, I guess I'll tolerate a little PPA.

But only if it makes me laugh.

The things I find on my computer...

Huh. I just found this on my iphoto desktop thing. I guess it's my son, Eric, impersonating a lamp? I do know one thing - that's not his bedroom and it's not my house.

Eric's got a tough life. Tomorrow he packs for his five day trip to LA and NAMM, yesterday and today he spent in the studio recording four or five new songs with his band, Flamingo, and yes they are definitely doing a show at the New York Knitting Factory on February 7 -- you can buy tickets right here.

So there's an eating fest in University City all this week - all of the best restaurants have prix fixe dinners topping out at $30; most $20 or $25 for three courses. Julie and I have our week all planned. Tomorrow we will be dining for $25 at Bubble House at 3404 Sansom Street as follows:

Starters
Lemon Grass Dumplings
Pork & Shrimp Suimei, Chicken Teriyaki or Flavorful Vegetable with Soy Vinaigrette Dipping Sauce
-or-
Mixed Green Salad
With your choice of dressing: Miso Vinaigrette, Toasted Sesame, Sriracha Ranch, & Strawberry Vinaigrette
-or-
Sweet Potato Fries
With tangy Orange Ginger Sauce

Entrees

Thai Red Coconut Curry Chicken or Tofu
Spicy, Rich and Creamy Coconut Milk based Curry with Basil, Lemon Grass, Scallion and Carrots served over Rice

Grilled Salmon with a Fuji Apple Glaze
Grilled Salmon over Snow Peas and Wasabi Mashed Potatoes with a rich Fuji Apple Glaze

Bibim Bap
Our take on a traditional Korean dish. Grilled Marinated Chicken, Beef or Shrimp
On a bed of Greens, Basil, Mint, Daikon and Carrots over rice with a tangy Sesame Lemon Vinaigrette

Desserts
Chocolate Ginger Mousse
-or-
Xando
Cinnamon and Sugar coated, Fried Cheese Cake Roll with Raspberry Sauce
-or-
Crème Brulee Medley for 2
Assortment of three

I'm thinking I'm having the sweet potato fries, the grilled salmon, and there's no way in hell I'm passing up fried cheese cake.

Julie, whose body is obviously her temple unlike mine, which I treat like...God, I don't even want to imagine the simile...wants the Bibim Bap. I like the way those words sound, even if it's not a dish I'd choose. Bibim Bap. Bibim Bap. Cool name for a band. The Bibim Baps. Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm a sick puppy.

Hey, speaking of bands, another really great Rock School alumni band, Atlas, is playing at The Khyber tomorrow night and they're awesome. It's a late show, damn it, or I'd go because it's over 21 and most of the Rock School kids who would normally fill the place up are 18-20. Anyway, at the very least go to Atlas' site and listen to their music...very nice stuff.

Here's the link to Flamingo, Eric's band. When you listen to the muscianship in both Flamingo and Atlas, you can really see where some day you'll be watching Behind the Music and there's going to be all these bands out there who say "Yeah, I was in Paul Green's School of Rock Music".

I was just thinking: Eric and Julie would make really sucky candidates for Behind the Music. The worst story either one of them can come up with about their childhood is "My mother is a hippie who thinks the CIA killed John Lennon. And...and...when we were little, she told us it's okay if we swim naked in the backyard pool..and...and...ooh, ooh, here's one...sometimes she gave us cake for breakfast and pancakes for dinner even though we don't like cake for breakfast and pancakes for dinner because we are health conscious and thin, despite our mother's terrible dietary habits."

So that's pretty much it for today. I did a bit of writing this afternoon once Matt and Julie cleared out of here. They're going to a concert tonight but should be home by around 9:00 p.m., just in time for Eric to arrive here with girlfriend, Carolyn, whom I believe is also spending the night.

Arghhh...I'm so glad for that fountain pen and journal since it appears I'm going to be banished upstairs this evening. But one thing I still haven't mastered is this: How do left handed people use a fountain pen without smearing? I have an artist friend who is also a lefty...hmmm...and he strikes me as a fountain pen user (because he's British and a writer? Ha ha - no, it's not Neil Gaiman) so maybe I'll drop him an email and see if he can't provide me with any tricks of the trade. I've been loving that pen, though -- I just need to get used to that line of black smear that extends from the top of my left pinky top to my left wrist.

Oh well. It looks like I have a couple of hours left before this house starts to fill again so let me go at least have a read at what I wrote today and pray I don't projectile vomit.

Later xo

Three Days in New York City - #6 best small press novel, 2005

Julie Slick on bass outside of the Los Angeles Guitar Center

Fingers crossed for Julie, by the way. She's got an audition Wednesday night with a very cool, established band -- I'd post a link to their website but I don't want to jinx anything. I listened to four of their songs and they're really, really good and right up Julie's alley musically. So here's hoping and stay tuned later this week for more details.

In other news...

Holy cow, I really did come in at #6 in the Predators and Editors poll, best small press novel 2005. If you don't believe me, here's the final standings.

So that's way cool and hopefully all of you voters/readers are breathlessly waiting for the sequel which I completed a few months ago. As soon as I have any news on that as far as publication, well, you know I'll be putting up the usual billboards.

Hey, do you guys know about this site... Free Albums? Definitely worth checking out.

Anyway, I know it's been pretty dull here at Robin Slick's blogworld lately but this week should be totally exciting. Eric will be taking his laptop and digital camera to Hollywood and NAMM with him on Wednesday and will be feeding me daily reports and photos while he hobnobs with biggies in the music industry and all of his rock star pals. I will try not to eat my heart out and kick myself for not tagging along on this trip, but hey, I know, I know, I gotta cut the cord one of these days and it may as well be now. Ugh, I should have waited until something less exciting came along to do that, huh, but good timing was never one of my better traits.

Later,
xo

You're kidding me...did I end up on a Star Trek forum board or something?

Okay, look, I'm totally shocked, but right now I'm #6 at the Predators and Editors poll for best small press novel, 2005. Voting ends at midnight tonight. So if you haven't pulled the lever, obviously I won't be torturing you anymore after this, so please vote for Three Days in New York City right here.

I really am in said parallel universe. But to whoever you all are voting for me, THANK YOU.

Also, I can rest easy now...Neil Gaiman was kind enough to post the Temple University reading info on his blog. Anyone want to go with me? It's on Thursday, January 26.

"Neil Gaiman's reading at Temple University has been moved to
Main Campus, Mitten Hall 1913 North Broad Street(at Broad
and Berks), which is located one and a half blocks up Broad
Street from the Cecil B. Moore subway stop. The reading is
scheduled to begin at 8:00 P.M."

So that's about it for now. Eric is rehearsing with Flamingo; Julie is with Matt; and the dog and I are contemplating ordering Thai take-out.

Oh, I know what else. I found a really cool music site for some hard to find CDs, or even better, CDs you never even knew existed. Click here.

Mind you, I like all kinds of music - everything from the blues to punk -- but I really dig sixties/early seventies British rock. I just found some impossible to get Procol Harum CDs. Hey, if you aren't hip to Gary Brooker, you should be, no matter what your age. But I must admit, I almost had heart failure a few weeks ago when I was watching TV, clicking through the channels, and saw the movie, Evita. Now obviously I despise Madonna, but there was a group of men singing a great rock song in the movie so I lingered there. One of the vocalists sounded really familiar, and then I saw his face, and HOLY SHIT it was Gary Brooker. Seeing him in that movie was way weird; even weirder was seeing how my heroes have aged. But nothing was as big a shock to me as seeing Peter Gabriel last year...

Oh what the fuck. He still sounds great. I hate when people diss older artists. What, Keith Richards can't play guitar anymore because he's 60? And Keith Richards jokes are so cliched. I think the guy is handsome/sexy. I hope I look that good at sixty...and certainly hope I'm still cool.

What's that? I'm not still cool? Be quiet, kiddies. Oh. They aren't even here. It's their little evil voices I'm hearing in my head. Best to sign off and go eat some Thai food, huh.

xo

Final days to vote; I'm reading at the Spring (?) Writers festival, and Where the hell do I get Neil Gaiman tickets for the Philly reading?

I'm on my knees here one final time, asking you to vote for Three Days in New York City as your favorite small press novel, 2005. Voting ends midnight Sunday.

You'll just have to conjure up your own mental image of yours truly on her knees for now but rest assured I am not above pulling out my webcam if you guys land me anywhere in the top ten.

So in case you haven't gotten around to doing so, I promise, I'll leave you all alone after this, but here, once again, is the link.

And from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

Also, I know I've mentioned this before and you know I'll be mentioning it again but it's the first time I've seen the press release:

Spring 2006 Poets and Writers Festival
On January 31, Philadelphia Stories joins the Community College of Philadelphia for their annual Spring 2006 Poets and Writers Festival. Our reading will be held at 5:15 on the main campus at 1700 Spring Garden Street. Readers will be: Robin Slick, who is widely published on both the web and in print. Her novel, Three Days in New York City, was recently published courtesy of Phaze/Mundania Press and is available in paperback at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Voices and Visions Bookstore. The sequel, Another Bite of the Apple, has just been completed and is currently awaiting publication in 2006. Randall Brown is a fiction editor with SmokeLong Quarterly, an MFA in Writing candidate at Vermont College, a recipient of a 2004 Pushcart nomination, and a three-time winner of Zoetrope Workshops Top Story. His work has appeared in many publications, including his story "Flies: Wet, Dry and In-Between," which appeared in the Summer issue of Philadelphia Stories. David Floyd was born in Philadelphia and currently teaches at Rutgers University-Camden and Temple University. His book-length manuscript The Sudden Architecture of the Dark was recently a finalist for the 2005 TampaReview Prize for Poetry and the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize. He lives in Lansdowne, PA, and can be found reading poems by Jack Gilbert; Plato's Republic, and Lauren Grodstein's collection of short stories, The Best of Animals.


So that's pretty cool.

Now. To find out where the hell to buy tickets to see Neil Gaiman at Temple University Center City Campus. Like I said, five minutes from my house, I went to the campus and the security guard looked at me like I was crazy.

"Who you want?"

"Neil Gaiman."

"Who that?"

"A writer. He's supposed to speak..."

"He not here."

"I know he's not here, he's...never mind. Can I speak to...I dunno, the librarian?"

"She on the main campus."

(Which is like three miles away and in a place where I got lost within minutes only to eventually be told the same thing (he not here) and sent back to the Center City campus five minutes from my house)

Anyway, what I did manage to find out is that Temple University is still on Christmas break and that the staff and students do not return until this coming Tuesday, so I'll let you know how I make out then.

Sigh...it would have been so much easier to go to New York on Monday and see him there.

xo

Odds and Sods for January 12, 2006

So when Julie and Eric played the Rock School Music Player Live Event (MPL) in New York City with Adrian Belew, Jack Bruce, John Mayer et al back in October, one other performer I forgot to mention was Lisa Loeb.

It was strange and I didn't quite get it at the time, not being a real Lisa Loeb fan or anything and so overwhelmed by the fact that Jack Bruce was listening to my daughter tell him what a major influence he had on her bass playing, but there were people with massive video equipment following Ms. Loeb everywhere she went at the event like she was the freaking star of the show (trust me, she was not).

So through the grapevine, I found out that the entire MPL concert was filmed for her new (trying hard not to gag at the phrase) reality show and will be televised starting January 22.

#1 SINGLE (E!) - The cable channel has confirmed the Lisa Loeb-led dating series will premiere Sunday, January 22 at 10:00/9:00c. Here's how the network's press materials describe the half-hour project: "Being single in the city takes on a new twist in this new series following Billboard-topping singer Lisa Loeb on her quest to have it all: love, success; career and family. And E! Entertainment Television’s new unscripted series will be there to capture each step in the process. Newly single, Loeb is moving back to New York, where she will dip her toe into the dating pool for the first time since college. The performer’s one-of-a-kind approach to life will be the subject of this new eight-part half-hour series."
*****

Bleh. Oh, sorry...

Anyway, it's just a guess, but if you tune in, I'm sure you're going to see some familiar faces because there's just no way the Music Player Live Event is on the cutting room floor. I mean, there were superstars on stage that night...

But yeah, okay, I'm probably dreaming -- the show is about her so I'm sure it's just her performance you're going to see but perhaps there will be backstage shots of the kids, etc.

I thought she was married to the bald Zappa kid and they had some kind of weird cooking show on TV together but what do I know -- oh, it does say she's "newly single".

Wait, hang on: Eric just woke up and told me that he had to sign a Release for her show, and so did Rock School sax player/vocalist Dom Malandro and maybe some other kids...hell, now I really do have to watch it!

Actually, the whole Les Paul meet-up at MPL with Rock School and performance with CJ Tywoniak, Eric Slick, and Max DiMezza was filmed as well for a documentary. I recently read that the PBS crew we met that day has been following Les around for a year for this project, and as soon as I get more news in that regard, I'll let you know immediately.

Other than that, there's nothing new...I have a couple of short stories which should be popping up in some magazines shortly and I'll post the links when they do; there's a Rock School tribute to Jethro Tull at Indre Studios this weekend and barring any water on the roof or any other lovely homeowner/parental incidents, I will be there to see the last of the original Rock School kids perform one final time although scratch that, I'll be at the King Crimson show in the spring and Eric tells me that when he goes on tour with Project Object, the Rock School All-Stars will probably open for them when they play Philadelphia (yes!)...so I'm sure I'll still be around.

And that may or may not be it for now...I haven't gotten the news of the day from Julie and Eric yet and I'm still waiting on some other new and exciting publishing news of my own, so...

Later xo

Eric Slick with Project Object!

That's a photo of Eric playing with Project Object at World Cafe in November, 2005.

And guess what? Eric is now drummer for Project Object and will be going out on tour with them from April 14-May 14, 2005, returning home one day before his 19th birthday which I can guarantee you now, will be the blow-out of the century. Here's the details:

Project/Object Spring Tour
April/May 2006
The Music Of Frank Zappa

Andre' Cholmondeley - guitar, vocals
Dave Johnsen - bass, vocals
Robbie Mangano - guitar, vocals (selected shows)
Eric Slick - drums, vocals, electronics
Eric Svalgard - keys, vocals
Ike Willis - guitar, vocals

-the tour is "Eastern 1/2 of the USA"
-BRAND NEW Project/object sets
-Special "Joe's Garage" set due to Ike's solo presence


So how freaking cool is that!

It's already being discussed on the Zappa forum board right here along with some congratulations and that same photo I posted above. There's also another blurb somewhere on the forum but I can't find it. All I can say is, if you are forum board savvy, you'll probably locate it easily. I am not. Those things scare me.

Oh man, if they have an end of tour concert at the World Cafe Live in Philly as is there usual custom I will personally see that it is sold out both shows...you know me, I'll start posting the billboards now, both physically and via the worldwide web. Seems to me I once got drunk and even joined that aforesaid Zappa forum board -- I'll have to try out my usual screen name and password to see if it works but I'm getting a vague memory of hanging out buzzed and discussing Zappanale with people there...and then I lost where the thread was and never went back....yeah, that's what happened. Okay, then, I'll start a new thread where I can find it. Whatever!
******
But this isn't until April, and in the meantime, Eric's got all the stuff going on next week which I mentioned a few days ago, like going out to Hollywood, etc. and doing a Shannon Penn Band gig in February...I'm pretty sure Shannon has a bunch of shows lined up with Eric as well. So does Flamingo...there's that New York Knitting Factory show in early February. The boy is going to be busy doing what he loves. Lucky, lucky him.

Anyway, sorry for the tone of yesterday's post. I was in a funk but I feel better today. I started weirding myself out that I was becoming reclusive or worse, agorophobic. And then I read all of these blog posts written by people who went to the Neil Gaiman reading in NYC and had a blast and I beat myself up for not going...arghh...why can't I just admit I was tired and stressed from a weekend spent draining one thousand gallons of icy water off of my roof and didn't feel like taking the long train/cab ride to New York? No, I had to start diagnosing myself with psychiatric disorders and use a lot of four letter words.

Oh well. Can I blame it on artistic temperament?

Ack, the truth is, I'm insecure about some new material I've been working on...there are days the writing goes really well and other days I'm convinced it's complete garbage and I should just sell apples on the corner.

No matter. Julie and I are going out to breakfast this morning at the lovely Cafe Lutecia at 23rd and Lombard where they serve hot, fresh baked croissants and yeah, yeah, then I will do my dreaded banking and pharmacy run while Julie heads off to her first class of the day at Drexel U. In a perfect world, I'll even walk the mile or so home for exercise...bleh.

Or do it the usual Robin way and hail a cab.

Later...

xo