Purr-fect (oy)

Ha ha - nice going, Eric. That's Eric Svalgard, keyboard player with Project Object at Zappanale. Who is that he's with?

Why, it's Dr. Dot.

And speaking of Project Object, yep, the Zappanale pics are trickling in, and I finally found one of Eric Slick on stage behind the drums:



And by the way, Dr. Dot and my son Eric (I feel I must now clarify between Erics in light of the above photo) are actually pretty good friends and hung out together for a bit at Zappanale.

I'm so proud of him.

No really, I am.

And lest you think my son roughed it in Bad Doberan, Germany, well, at times he did, and the stories are hilarious but he will murder me if I spill so you'll just have to settle for a nice pretty tourist pic of the beach/Baltic Sea, which Eric was finally able to visit after four years at Zappanale - this is the first time he performed where he actually had r&r after the show.


If you didn't click on that Dr. Dot link when I posted it above and a couple of days ago, by all means, give yourself a treat. Here. I will make it easy for you and post it yet a third time. I myself am now hopelessly addicted. Even her MySpace buddies are way cool. You won't find any sparkley kitty Have A Purr-fect Day idiocy in her comments section, which, truth to tell, is one of the reasons I have a MySpace site but never use it. But I'm begging you all, if you do stop by, for the love of God, no glitter or smiley rodents wearing sunglasses...arghhh....

Hey, as a follow up to my post of yesterday, Neil Gaiman's Stardust is still page one (though I've slipped to page two...do you think it's because he's a tad more famous than I?) over at Media Predict. And we are both doing very, very well.

So once again, please register, buy shares, and influence the world. Here's the direct link to me and here's the direct link to Neil.

I'm pretty psyched about this. It bodes well for my book. Oh, and for Stardust. Ha ha - as if Stardust needs help. But I'm still completely freaked that it's not being shown anywhere in Philadelphia on Friday. What a travesty! I would have gone, I swear. I know what it means to be in the theater that opening night...I remember how we waited to hear the numbers for Rock School on a Friday at midnight and how I had no idea of the importance of the opening night figures. Oh well. You can catch Julie and Eric in Rock School on DVD and the A&E network...bottom line is, they are doing more than alright and the movie was just the beginning.

In other news, life as I know it has returned.

I arrived home late yesterday, went to check on the air conditioning in Julie's room to make sure it would be cool enough for Her Highness, and failed to notice the open, empty suitcase on the floor right at the threshold of her doorway. Ah, I must have been a lovely sight, flying through mid-air, heart in mouth, like a human cannonball headed for her window. I broke my fall with both wrists somehow crashing into the wall, twisting my back, both ankles, and falling onto her bed. I did have my cell phone in my pocket and for an irrational moment considered dialing 911, but I ended up laughing all sprawled out there for a few minutes just to be sure nothing was shattered and I wasn't having a heart attack (is there anything worse than knowing that you are going to fall? Ha ha - maybe knowing that you are going to fail)...but oh how I hate pain and this morning I could barely step into my jeans without agony.

Naturally I had to go out today. So I'm taking Advil, cursing myself for not joining a gym years ago so I would have nice limber bones, and thinking about how I'm always the one injured -- always the person who found that stray Lego with her bare feet while making a bathroom trip in the middle of the night; always the one whose same foot found that missing thumb tack that fell from a poster on a wall and no one noticed; and yeah, yeah, the person who still has a lump on her forehead decades after running full force into a huge pole while running to catch a train.

What can you do. Some of us just have a knack, you know?

Later,
xo

Ha ha - Slick and Gaiman together again

Real quick because I'm swamped with work, but if you go right here to Media Predict, my new novel, Daddy Left Me Alone with God, is right next to Neil Gaiman's Stardust on the front page of a most interesting website...I can't describe it, you have to see for yourself.

But in any event, please register and do whatever it is you have to do to see that Neil and I score big.

Here's the direct link to me and here's the direct link to Neil.

ETA: There are no movie theaters within ten miles of Philadelphia showing Stardust on August 10. How is this possible? Here's proof. I'm gonna cry. Or go to New York.

Later,
xo

Lovely and cute

Eric and Julie Slick enjoying coffee (or is that tea) in Japan, July, 2007 and yeah, yeah, Eric is merely hamming it up for the camera. Trust me, that face is about to break out into a smile any second.

So how cool is this - both Julie and Eric received this email recently:

"Hi, Eric and Julie:

My name is Hiroyoshi, living in japan, call me Yo-Zo.

I'm "Calorie Mate"guy, do you remember?



Two weeks have passed in Japan since Power trio had already returned home. Your information was a little in Japan until Power trio came to Japan. What music what kind of trio must perform, and the band with what career?

I also moved from Toyama to Tokyo running after Power trio.

Even the Japanese doesn't go there is no chance because Toyama is a minor city.
It had a hard time only because I also went to Toyama. It was received by an unusual, huge typhoon for on the way and July toward Toyama. I'm worried whether because it was impossible that Power trio came to Toyama. I became uneasy while heading for Toyama by thinking. "Why am only I in Toyama for Power trio so as not to come??"

Fortunately, Power trio and I safely arrived at Toyama, and wonderful live was seen.

The people in Toyama were surprised , saying that "Such a great performance was seen in such minor city", too.

It performs almost only in Tokyo though a lot of musicians do the visit and performance to Japan. Doing the visit to Japan performance is a heroic deed in Toyama.

I who saw the stage in Toyama have been crying because of impression.

In my presence, seen Adrian performs even to the dream in Japan (Moreover, in Toyama).

After having tears, I saw two of the amazing skills in the stage.

It was Julie and Eric.

I was all surprised because Adrian introduced two people in the stage.

The reaction was such an appearance!

"21 years old and 20 years old? It is very young!"

"Are two people brother and sister? It is lovely and cute!!"

In Japan, young person who can be active by making it to 20 years old in the world is not or is extremely unusual.

Everyone had received the impact to a wonderful skill, the age had already had unrelated ability.

Dreamlike night was spent in Toyama, It this time encountered a huge earthquake in the morning toward the following Tokyo.

I think that it was indeed surprised at that earthquake also as for Power trio that travels the world. Though Japan had a lot of earthquakes, I also experienced the earthquake like that for the first time. Moreover, It is first time since my life double attack of the typhoon and earthquake!! Anyway, Power trio was no accident, I was safely relieved.

There was an enthusiastic fan that had seen all stages for every six day in Tokyo, too.

Unfortunately, I was able to go by work's there only for three the latter half days.
It was a stage by which fresh discoveries were, got excited no matter how it saw, and it impressed it.

I was heard that done to Meet&Greet friendly in Tokyo.

I noticed that I get the signature of Power trio from Adrian's "Desire Caught by the Tail". Because "Desire Caught by the Tail" was released in 1986.

Julie and Eric, 21 years old, and 20 years old...Is it almost the same age?

I thought that "Desire Caught by the Tail" become miracle bonds --ties to 2/3 Power trio and Adrian.

I am the only person in the world where this fact is noticed.

Fortunately, after 2nd stage of the fourth day had ended, the dream was achieved. Thank you Power trio, I'll go to see every stage on the fifth day and the sixth day!!

After you return home, Power trio is spoken of very highly by a lot of blogs in Japan. Especially, The marvel and the eulogy to the 2/3 Power trio -Slick brother and sister- attract attention.

Of course, everyone is comment to which the ability is evaluated, is enchanted to youth, the skill, looks, and the character of 2/3 Power trio.

Everyone expects Julie and Eric to come to Japan again.

Because it became long, this continuation will next time.

peace....

-----
Yo-Zo"
**************
Is it just me, or was that one of the sweetest fan letters ever?

Moving on, reviews and comments are starting to appear on various forum boards about Eric's recent gig at Zappanale.

I got a great comment on my blog yesterday from "Weasel" who says:

" I just returned from Zappanale. Just like last year Eric's drumming b(e)lew my mind.

Actually, in my opinion Project Object should have been the headliner.. It was the best Zappa-gig I've seen so far!! Seriously, even Dweezil can't top this show. Truly amazing.

I got to talk to Eric for a little while (even this blog got mentioned ;)), he's got a lot of stuff going on! I hope he'll attend Europe again soon (with PO, Belew or Keneally.. Can't really choose haha)

Cheers from the Netherlands
Jeroen"

Thanks, Jeroen!

From the Zappa forum board:

"...I have seen P/O 3 times over the past 6 or so years and each show was great to Fully Inspired. I definitely look forward to catching them on the upcoming tour...especially since Eric Slick is supposed to be in the band. Best drummer I've seen in years."
*****

"I can honestly say though, that Eric Slick is worlds beyond Glenn Leonard as a drummer. There's no comparison. I wouldn't call P/O "tight as catshit" but you have to consider that for ZPZ, they rehearse one set of songs in one configuration and play them the same way through every show, minus solos. Rehearsing the same set of songs for months on end in the same order and having the kind of budget to be able to make it your full time job (as ticket prices for ZPZ would indicate) then of course you're going to sound tighter. P/O's repertoire is far more vast and varies much more from night to night so that people who go to multiple shows on a tour aren't stuck with the same songs night after night."
*****

"I havent read the whole thread, but as bad as i feel saying it, gleneord was not fit for the gig. taking that into consideration i still went and have seen p/o maybe 10-15 times over the years. eric (or any other drummer for that matter) was needed to bring the band to the next level. these guys have a ton of heart, and basically lose money going out to do it, so i have a lot of respect for them..."
******
Regarding the Adrian Belew Power Trio gig in Seattle, Washington on September 15, 2007 with Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto, here's the official Press Release
*******
Finally, no sooner is Eric back in Philadelphia than the phone calls start. He's got a gig tomorrow with Cheers Elephant at the Race Street Cafe; speaking of Cheers Elephant, they have a gig this Friday night at John and Peters in New Hope, and since their bass player is Julie's boyfriend, Matt, we are all going to this show, but not Eric, who has a gig with Project Object's incredible bass player, Dave Johnsen at the Wired Cafe and Gallery...then of course the following week there's more insanity - Eric has a gig Thursday night at the Court Tavern in New Brunswick, New Jersey with Crescent Moon...and both Julie and Eric board a plane early Friday morning August 17 for Nashville to begin the August/September leg of the Adrian Belew Power Trio tour...that day happens to be my birthday but we're going to celebrate it Wednesday night August 15 -- assuming there are no more surprise gigs, if not, I will wait until I join the tour on August 25 in West Palm Beach to party it up.

Oh, I noticed a new show has been added - the trio will now be playing September 10, 2007 in Monterrey, Mexico at Teatro De La Ciudad. I am so there!

The hell with celebrating my birthday on the 17th -- ha ha - at my age, it doesn't matter. Besides, every day in this family is some sort of celebration.

Okay, that's the music news of the day...more on the writing front tomorrow or maybe this afternoon -- good news permitting.

Later,
xo

Odds and Sods for Monday, August 6, 2007

So there we have Eric Svalgard, Eric Slick, "another Robin", and Dave Johnsen of Project Object, hanging out at Zappanale in Bad Doberan, Germany - August 3, 2007

Eric returns home today after a week in Germany and oh boy, I cannot wait. Many more pics, some You Tubes, and reviews to follow...

Here's the news I have so far. Ike Willis, Zappa alumni and an integral part of the band, missed his plane and the show went on without him. I love Ike to death but that might be a horrible phrase for me to use in light of the circumstances...Project Object has a huge tour planned for October and November of this year, nationwide, and Ike needs to take that first step toward recovery if he wants to be a part of said tour. Sigh...that's all I want to say at this point, other than Project Object put on a magnificent show at Zappanale despite his sad, unexpected absence...in fact, you can read some reviews right here on the Zappa forum board.

Here's another photo from Zappanale, and you will notice the sexy woman in black on the far left. That would be Dr. Dot, who is a professional masseuse and has given Eric much pleasure and relief.



You really need to click on that Dr. Dot link. Trust me, you will thank me later...or not, because if you are like me, you will literally spend an hour on her site. The same hands that took care of my son's aches and pains have massaged everyone from Eric Clapton (heh) to Charlie Watts. It's just a matter of time until my son's photo is also up on her "wall of fame". She also maintains a blog, which you can find right here. Here is her official photo - she's had such an interesting life and look how drop dead beautiful she is - and she is a good friend to my son. Normal parents might be freaking out over this, but Gary and I are as proud of Eric as if he won the Nobel Peace Prize.



Speaking of beautiful women, in other rather monumental news, Julie has moved back home at least temporarily. No, no, she isn't having problems with boyfriend Matt - I think it's more like we have air conditioning and he does not and the weather here has been in the nineties with it approaching one hundred degrees this week. She also loves to cook and has been unable to do it at Matt's with the kitchen so hot so I guess our kitchen is now her kitchen again, which does not upset me at all since she is a wonderful cook, a healthy eater, and will be a good influence on me, who ate two cheese danish and a cinnamon roll for dinner last night.

Why did I do that? Well, because when Julie moved back in over the weekend, she wanted to know if we could all spend Sunday at the beach in Ocean City. Gary and I didn't want to tell her no, despite the fact that I have an incredible amount of work in both the writing and editing department, because it was always tradition that our whole family went down for Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends in addition to spending two weeks at our beach house in September...and because of touring and other obligations, neither Julie nor Eric have been down the shore all summer and by the time we vacation at the end of September, a lot of the places they love will already be closed for the season.

So we woke up at 5:00 a.m. yesterday, drove to the beach, ordered a dozen cinnamon donuts from Brown's (the best in the universe, made hot and fresh before your eyes), rode a surrey up and down the boardwalk for four miles to work off said donuts -- and by this time Gary and I were both ready for a nap -- but Julie wanted to play mini golf - kids vs parents -- so we did that, and Gary and Matt both had the best scores but Julie and I brought them both down with our crappy scores so it ended up being a tie...but okay, Matt actually golfed a 40 on a course with a par of 44 so he did good...though Julie of course then insisted on a couple games of air hockey because she beats everyone at that...so after surrey riding, golf, and much walking, we played a few sweaty, maniacal rounds at an arcade.

By that time, Gary and I were ready for oxygen and I was ready for an extended inpatient hospitalization stay, but we went to another bakery, bought more cake, a tomato pie, then went to Mack and Manco's and ate an entire pizza from there.

And then we drove home...all this before 12:30 p.m.

Julie and Matt slept the whole way back to Philadelphia in the car; when we arrived at our house at 2:00 p.m., they were cheery and well rested and wondering what to do next. Gary and I limped upstairs totally brain dead, put on the Phillies game, we were losing 6-0 by the second inning or something so I spooned Gary, the dog spooned me, and the next thing I know it's 6:00 p.m., I woke up bleary eyed and the Phillies had somehow tied the game, scored two runs in the top of the 11th, and I was able to catch them winning after retiring the Milwaukee Brewers in the bottom of the llth. I woke Gary, we went downstairs, and Julie and Matt were still wide awake and wondering what our dinner plans were.

Gary and I both dove into the cake box and raced back upstairs.

I'm telling you, we can't go on vacation fast enough. By the way, here's a photo of our beach house, which is directly across a tiny street from the beach - I will also post a photo of the view from our bedroom as well as the living room:







Now you know why we're so anxious for vacation.

But there's so many exciting things happening before we take off that we're kind of glad the summer is moving so slowly. I think I'll post more on all that tomorrow...if I don't do some "real work" right now I'm going to have an extremely puzzled prospective agent and a very pissed off publisher (I'm editing an anthology; the deadline for submissions has passed, and I got a ton of stories in under the wire which I haven't even read yet.)

Okay, much, much more...

Later,
xo

The Self-Indulgent Writing Post

The Adrian Belew Trio doesn't know this, but I followed them to Japan after all and I'm watching them from above that fish the entire time they did the tourist thing. (Photo taken by Julie Slick, July, 2007 in Tokyo)

Okay, while said trio is on hiatus for two weeks, I decided to take the opportunity for some shameless self-promotion.

But first let me tell you that Eric is about to get on a plane for Germany where he will be until Monday night, touring with Project Object at Zappanale. Yeah, yeah, I miss him already.

But other than that, I'm pretty happy right now. My new novel is a semi-finalist in the contest over at Simon Schuster; a senior editor at another publishing house who requested the manuscript before the contest is reading it, a dream agent wrote to me yesterday asking for an exclusive, but call me crazy, my biggest thrill this week is that I am one of three writers selected for Tuesday Shorts. (ETA - link was incorrect when I posted this morning, I fixed it today at 9:30 a.m.)

As an exercise, I wrote a 99 word micro fiction piece over the weekend and really enjoyed myself so I subbed it to them and I must admit, when I saw said story up on their site, knowing that they were getting dozens of submissions from talented writers at Zoetrope Studios, I felt pretty damn great. Especially as the editors are brilliant writers whose work I have long admired from afar - Shelly Rae Rich and Kristen Tsetsi. If you are so inclined, please leave a comment under each of the three stories - we poor writers need our egos stroked probably more than most.

Or maybe that's just me.

In other writing news, I also have the incredible pleasure of being side by side with Patti Smith -- okay, okay, it's because of the alphabet -- Slick, Smith, on writer Dee Rimbaud's website. Dee has created an amazing space full of incredible resources for authors, and I strongly urge you to click on the link and snoop around a bit.

But first check out my pic next to Patti Smith's. I still can't get over that. Patti, any time you want to hang out in the real world, I'm available. In fact, one of Eric's friends is a friend of your daughter and slept over your house so I even have references.

Since I'm indulging myself, how can I not post Neil Gaiman getting a kiss? And not just any kiss, mind you. Here. Watch for yourself. But first, let me tell you my latest brush with Himself. I read in his journal that Cat Mihos, who "tours with different bands for a living, doing production/dressing room/looking after the crew" left the Tool tour to help Neil out at Comicon and the Stardust premier.

"Hey, Eric," I said to my son. "I just read on Neil Gaiman's journal that Cat Mihos..."

"Cat Mihos! I know her! I had lunch with her and Tool backstage at Bonnaroo. She's the one who introduced me to Danny Carey."

"Oh my god, I was just going to say Oh look, Eric, Tool and Neil Gaiman share the same assistant -- I had no freaking idea you knew her or that you had lunch with her and..."

"Mom, I told you that. I even told you what I said to Danny Carey. I introduced myself to him as Adrian's drummer and told him I had to learn all of his parts!"

(As most of you already know, Danny Carey played drums on two of Adrian's solo albums, Side 1 and Side 3, songs from which the Adrian Belew Power Trio perform in concert and naturally will be on Side Four Live with Eric behind the skins and Julie taking over for Les Claypool on bass.)

So yeah, my son had lunch with Neil's assistant. Wait, excuse me, his west coast assistant. Sigh...

What's that again about six degrees of separation?

Oh, and Susan, if you are back from Paris and reading this, I am begging you. Please send me the Neil on the sofa with sushi pillows picture. I lost it in the hard drive crash. I don't know if I can go on without it.

In the meantime I will settle for this:



Later,
xo

The Twang Bar Zing (and some news from Simon and Schuster!)

Okay, it's not that I'm fixated on Biff Blumfumgagnge (just his name), but there he is, Adrian's engineer, under a sign in Tokyo which defies all comment.

And here are some other pics from Tokyo, all weirdly self-explanatory:






So I would launch into Belew Power Trio stories about their tour in Japan last week, but Adrian is doing such an incredibly wonderful job on his own blog that I must defer to him. I did want to mention, however, that the Twang Bar Zing, the cocktail that Ade mentioned was created for him at the Blue Note in Tokyo, was actually named by his very brilliant drummer, Mr. Eric Slick.

And in case you didn't see them, some of the comments Adrian is getting from his readers are blowing my mind and I want to share a few here:

For example, Dennis Gunn said:

"I guess those Canadians would fall over and die if they saw the royal treatment us lucky fans here in Tokyo got.

It was fabulous to see the greatest rock and roll 3 piece right up close in the tiny Tokyo blue note.

So fabulous in fact that I just had to raid the piggy bank and go back for two more nights in a row. But that was nothing compared to at least one guy in the Audience who was there for all 12 Blue Note shows.

All the shows were great but of the ones I saw the second Saturday Night show was the Barn Burner.

Adrian belew my mind when I first heard him on "The Lodger" 28 years and he has been continueing to do so ever since. It is not just the other worldly melodies and modality, but the way he is the master of not just his guitar but every item in his signal chain. Everything in his vicinity including the air itself is his instrument and he gets everything out of it there is to be had.

I felt this in a HUGE way the first time I saw him with KC at the Show Box in Seattle 25 years ago, and now after all this time his signal chain has gotten vastly more complex and the melodies of his improvisations have gotten even deeper, and on Saturday night at the Blue Note in Tokyo there were these moments when there was that click when all the atoms in the room seemed to align and bounce along to that higher level of awareness that all great music seems to be trying to touch.

But enough pompous music critic bullshit, bottom line it was one of if not *the* best Rock and Roll show I have ever seen.

Tokyo Blue Note tickets are a small fortune but it was a tiny price to pay to see the greatest living electic guitarist in such an intimate venue...

...So while it was extremely fun to see the ABPT playing such to such an intimate gathering it pained me to see the hottest rock band in the world playing to such a small audience and I could see a lot of people in the audience wanting to get up an boogy to Young Lion, Frame by Frame, Elephant Talk etc. but refraining for fear of upturning tables and spreading those expensive sausage plates and beers all over the floor.

Anyway thanks again for the great Rock and Roll."

And David Ly writes:

"I must echo the sentiments. Having been fortunate enough to've been in Indy near the kick-off of this 'fab free', I'm not surprised by these extrapolations.

I try not to fall into 'best of' traps, so in attempted fairness to past live renditions of 'Solo-Ade', I have to say the difference is, rather, intangible:

It would be too easy to give credit to the youth and enthusiasm of the youngsters Slick, and indeed Adrian, you've said that's why you searched out relative inexperience: to avoid jadedness.

I think perhaps this band is so on fire because of the fact that they're at once bright-eyed and bushy tailed with outstanding chops to catch one off guard, if you will. This simply blows us away.

We can't discount Eric's frenetic fervor and Julie's cool competence. That's rock and roll, man!! And these carry over and make Adrian even more animated, yet focused somehow, qualities he's never lacked. Cheesy as it sounds, I'm really happy for you, Ade.

If y'all're anywhere near these "guys" in the coming months, you gotta check 'em out. Whatever it is, they got it."

Yep, I agree, David. I can't wait to see them again myself. Now I'm thinking I'll do West Palm Beach and Mexico. I need my Power Trio Fix! And just think - in approximately three weeks, they are back on the road again, though I should mention that Eric is leaving for Germany this coming Wednesday August 1 through Monday, August 6, 2007 to play Zappanale with Project Object...and heart be still, four Zappa alumni will be on stage at this event: Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ike Willis, Don Preston, and Chad Wackerman. And Eric gets to play with all of these legends -- well, Napi and Ike and Don are in Project Object with Eric but everyone jumps up on stage for the grand finale the last night of the festival.

Oh, and Eric also has a couple of Dave Dreiwitz/Crescent Moon gigs coming up - one on August 16 at the Court Tavern in New Brunswick, New Jersey and the other on August 31 at the Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, New Jersey...I guess he'll do the August 16 gig with Dave and then immediately hop on a plane for the August 19 gig with Adrian in Asheville, North Carolina. Yeah, yeah, I've said it before - what an incredible life my son and daughter have. Julie is using this hiatus to record several bands so she's staying busy and productive as well.

Hey, here's a quick clip of the Adrian Belew Power Trio in Quebec on July 11, 2007 where they played in a driving rainstorm. The quality of the film isn't great, but it's still very cool to see the trio in action under those circumstances:



There are lot of cool reviews coming out of Japan, but I'm really struggling with the American translations...I'm going to enlist the help of friends and will be posting them shortly, though. One person who emailed me is an American reporter living in Tokyo who also writes for Relix and Jambands -- his name is Steve Shayman -- and here's what he wrote to me:

"I enjoyed the excellent show at Tokyo Blue Note on opening night, Tuesday (yesterday). I went to the late show, and I must complement you Mrs. Slick, for raising a couple of rockin' kids! Adrian sure knows how to pick a band!

...I'm a journalist here in Japan (currently at The Daily Yomiuri), and you can see the music-related stuff I've done by searching under my last name, shayman, at: www.japantimes.com, www.jambands.com and www.relix.com.

Best regards,
Steven Shayman
Tokyo"

Steve and I have been emailing back and forth and he may in fact write a review of the show for one or two of the above magazines...I will keep you posted.

Here's something interesting I learned today: Joining Paul McCartney, Sonic Youth, Eddie Vedder and other luminaries on the new Starbucks record label is none other than Joni Mitchell. So here's what I'm saying. Starbucks Music, or Hear Music as it's called, is suddenly very, very cool. So I did some on line investigating and found out that it's because they've teamed with Concord Music Group. Take a look at some of the other artists who share this label...wait...let me give you a link to the list.

If they were really smart, they'd snap up Side Four Live. Oh my god, I cannot wait for the rest of the world to hear this CD. It is quite possibly the best thing I have ever heard in my life.

So in other news, yeah, it's true. My hard drive crashed and I lost lots of stuff. Thankfully I'd uploaded most of my photos to my Photobucket site as well as this blog and I had the foresight to email my novel to myself at gmail...but I seem to have lost all of my AOL mail - both incoming and outgoing. And my address book.

I was heartsick at first but then I realized oh for pity's sake, it's a piece of plastic...get over it and get over yourself. So you lost some data. Big deal. Is your family healthy and loving? Are you? Are you having the best freaking year of your entire life?

Yes.

And really, what did I lose that I can't replace? Err...my private collection of Neil Gaiman photos which he sent to me personally? Arghhh...

Oh, I'm just joking. Trust me, I'll survive.

Somehow.

All kidding aside, since the computer crashed while Julie and Eric were in Japan and they both had their laptops, I was totally computerless for days. At first I was weirded out and didn't know what to do with myself...then I actually started enjoying the freedom. Gary and I did "normal" stuff together - we did things around the house; we went shopping and bought pretty, frivolous objects like embroidered silk throw pillows and a new blanket and sheets...we had a blast. I also did some writing in longhand, listened to music...I ended up feeling like I was on vacation and felt relaxed at the very thought of not having to check my email every five seconds.

But that could also be because one day prior to the crash, I got some incredibly good news. My newest novel is a semi-finalist in a contest sponsored by Simon Schuster. I'm going to be posting a link in a day or two...it may even be today if my novel is up on their website (they've sent me the link to the "dummy site" for my approval and I've given the okay -- in fact, their artists have even designed an awesome book cover for me already which really freaked me out because it looks like Bono and oh my god, I won't even go there)...and I may be calling on all of you to read the two chapters posted and enter your comments. I still haven't quite figured out how this works because apparently my proposal and synopsis are in the hands of several agents and reps from Simon and Schuster as we speak and whether they will publish my book or not depends on them, not you or me (well, it does depend on me...or my writing, that is) but I think a bunch of positive comments from my readers here, if you are so inclined, would do much to help.

At least in theory.

Okay, I must now go through about a million emails I received while my computer was in the shop (the ones I didn't lose in the crash - Yahoo mail and Gmail, which oddly enough are the free mail services I use...and AOL, which I pay for, is the horrible culprit which ate everything...oh, they are so, so going to hear from me via threats of a canceled account and really, I should end my affiliation with them just on the basis of their fascist Bush supporter owner, anyway) and I will try and get back to everyone who wrote by the end of the weekend.

Cool?

Cool.

Later,
xo

A Beautiful Surprise

Adrian Belew and Eric Slick, Quebec, July 11, 2007

"Adrian Belew will have constituted a beautiful surprise, even under the rain, with the Park of the Francophonie."

Well, that's the Babblefish translation of a fabulous wrap up of the Quebec Summer Music Festival in leSoleil Newspaper, which naturally is written entirely in French but if you are so inclined, you can find the whole article, along with the above rather wonderful photograph, right here.

Okay, I am in big trouble. Sob. My computer crashed. I'm typing this now from a friend's office. If my hard drive is fried, I will jump out a window.

Just kidding. Actually, the techie who has my Mac right now says it appears to be a systems operations problem and I should have my computer back all fixed and happy within a week. But I'm heartbroken because I've been unable to instant message Julie and Eric and find out how things are going; I can't read any reviews of the shows, and I'm just picking up two days worth of email now -- I have so much I can't possible get to it all.

I am so desperate I may go the Free Library tomorrow and get on line there so if anyone wants me or has any news, email me anyway.

Ugh, I never realized how much I needed my computer. It's not a good feeling. I may be learning a valuable lesson here.

Anyway, since I'm in a rush, I don't have time to translate any reviews coming from Japan or do much other web surfing, but I did see this on Adrian's blog so I'm copying it here - it was in his comments section:

"Hello Adrian

I am Stig who attended your 2nd set at opening night of the Blue Note Tokyo concert (the guy who makes cartridges for playing vinyl records).....

I had a totally fun night listening to you and your compatriot musicians. GREAT SHOW & GREAT MUSIC!

It was also great talking to you after the set.

I hope to make it to another session before you wrap up on Sunday night. First time in a very long time I felt a performance good enough to want to visit twice (in a week).....

Maybe I will follow your advice of bringing along someone I DON'T KNOW!

Keep up the good work. We are all getting older, but I am sure you will go out with a BIG BANG! (when you're 84)

STIG"

So that is cool. And also, Ellen and Dennis - I know you tagged me with that MEME...and I didn't want to do it because I can't think of eight random things about myself I haven't already blabbed here over the past three years...is this my higher power's way of punishing me for groaning and trying to get out of it?

Oh well. Gotta fly. Sob.

Later,
xo

Part II: Of Typhoons and Earthquakes and Tsunamis...The Adrian Belew Power Trio in Japan

Julie Slick and Belew Trio engineer/musician extraordinaire Biff Blumfumgagnge (can I possibly be spelling that right?) at the Tokyo airport and is it just me or are they eerily color coordinated?

Julie sent me an email all about the earthquake and while trust me, I don't make light of this tragedy, her version was just so hilariously Julie that I asked her permission to post some of it here and she graciously agreed.

So without further ado...an email from my daughter dated July 16, 2007.

"Hi, Mom:

First things first, of course, the quake: I was sitting in bed when all of a sudden, I felt myself rocking back and forth, side to side. It felt like I was on a boat in the middle of the ocean. I knew immediately that it must be an earthquake. I actually wasn't scared - my body kicked into survival mode. All I could think was: Get Eric (he was in another room) and run downstairs (because we were on the 10th floor). A minute later and I was running out of the door. The shaking got lighter and lighter. I saw Eric and he was just looking around

"What's going on?!?!" I said

"Must be an earthquake - let's get the hell downstairs."

We went down the hall, and it felt like the shaking had really almost dissipated. We saw Adrian at the elevator and he assured us that the shaking wouldn't return (although he's been to Japan 13 times and has never experienced an earthquake). We left the hotel 45 minutes later and hightailed it to Tokyo, where I sit in my room in the hotel writing you (I'll have internet here all week). I still feel like I'm shaking though, and the more I reflect on it, the scarier the whole thing seems. I'm just glad it wasn't worse, and luckily Toyama was the perfect place to be during an earthquake, since it's situated between mountains. It registered a 3 there, and a 6.6 just northwest of Tokyo. Hopefully another one doesn't come now that we're here.

After the show, Iori, Midori, Ito, Sasha, and our other crew took us to a traditional Japanese dinner. The menu was entirely in Japanese, so we let Midori and Iori order for us. As you can see from the photos (Eric sent?), it was enjoyable...like playing Survivor or Fear Factor. I tried mostly everything (not the fried creepy fish thing though) and it was actually pretty delicious. In the middle of the meal I really had to pee so I excused myself to use the restroom. We had to take our shoes off when we came in, so I was a little nervous about touching a bathroom floor with my bare feet. Luckily, when I opened the door, I saw two pair of shoes there waiting to be used. Unfortunately, my humungously big western feet would not properly fit in them (see photo for comical evidence). I hobbled over to the stall, only to discover with great shock and horror the toilet situation (see photo). I shut the door and stood in the middle of the bathroom pondering what the hell I was going to do. I really had to pee. I saw another stall, but it was locked - but locked from the outside. In desperation, I tinkered with the latch and got it to open - only to find a washing machine and piles of dirty clothes. Why me? I had no choice...



I returned to the table traumatized and exhausted - I just wanted to go back to the room. But the exotic food kept coming! More fried whole fish, mushroom with live fish crawling over the top, eggplant, cold tofu, hot tofu, peppers, some sort of egg rice thing, little prawns, big prawns, pork in bbq sauce, fish balls, chicken balls, balls balls - finally Martha spoke up and they called us a cab. Eric, Biff and I then hung out for a bit in my room and watched tv.

On tv there seems to be a lot of transvestites. One show featured a shemale who had a group of 12 or so young people behind her, some of them also transvestites, some of them not. She talked to them, but rarely turned around to talk to them. Why? i have no idea. Then they would cut to clips of her doing stuff in crazy outfits - playing baseball, going to the bank, etc. Some of the clips were shots of her talking to a different group of people, but in the same way, in the same studio setting. Very confusing. This was all topped off by the ending: She strapped on a Les Paul, walked over to a stage with a full band awaiting her, then she sang a song with an out of tune horn section but did a pretty sweet solo. Then the show ended. We were all confused, parted ways, and went to bed.

Then I woke up, the earthquake thing happened, and we flew outta there. The planes are awesome - HUGE and there are cameras all over the outside so that when we take off and land you can see it live. When we're in air, they first show the clouds below, then they show some more crazy broadcasting. Today we watched a show about food - I hope it was all about eggs, because everything they made - scallops, beef, rice, noodles, shrimp, was always cooked, and mixed in with eggs, topped with barbecue sauce and mayonnaise, and sometimes with more of that live fish stuff. The music and sound effects were great.

Last night we ate shobu shobu at a nice Tokyo spot. Shobu shobu is the art of boiling beef (thinly sliced kobe), seafood and veggies in water and eating them in flavored sauces (terriyaki, some sort of peanut, and a special garlicky one for seafood). After we ate the meats and veggies, a waitress came over with rice patties and noodles. She placed these in the same pots as flavored water in which we cooked the dinner. From this she made a very tasty and refreshing after dinner soup, which we flavored with salt, gray pepper and a very hot red pepper flake. Then they passed around hot towels and strong tea. Delightful - only one problem... you weren't there!!! You would have loved this meal!!!

And the bathrooms were normal.

love,
Julie"

Oh god. That really deserves to be in the email Hall of Fame. I have absolutely nothing more to add.

Oh wait. I lied. I do want to say something else. On Monday, Biff put out a desperate plea for help on the Krimson-News website, in particular, Adrian was having major amp issues and they were desperate. I was sitting here idly surfing the web when I saw it, and alarmed over the thirteen hour time difference and their impending twelve shows, I saw that they were Johnson amps so wtf, I took matters into my own hands and immediately went to Johnson amp's website and fired off an email to their customer service department with contact info for Biff, Adrian, Eric, etc. Within minutes, I got a return email from Dean Athens of their company, which basically said:

"Robin,

We are acquainted with your offspring through the School of Rock connection. We have been trying to send emails to Biff.

Regards,

Digitech Support"

So I sprung into action, forwarded his email to Adrian and Eric, did cartwheels - you name it...anyway, Dean and Biff began an email exchange which ended in a happy ending for all and although Julie and Eric are pretty humble, they reported that the first shows Tuesday night at the Blue Note were "unbelievable" and also, they are being treated like rock royalty. They're playing two separate sets a night and behind the scenes have three people attending to each of them. After the first set, a crew member took Eric's shirt and washed and ironed it for him (!); when J&E left the stage for a few songs while Ade does his solo numbers they were immediately handed icy bottles of water and a literal feast waited for them backstage...all I can say is, they are having an amazing, amazing time and they both agree that the Blue Note in Tokyo is one of their all-time favorite venues.

So thank you, Dean, and I thank you for the other kind words in our email exchange throughout yesterday, where Dean admitted:

"We sent a couple of procedures via email. Whether or not those helped, or perhaps the unaided ingenuity of Biff and his efforts did it, we are glad to hear things are up and running.

And by the way, three cheers to all parents who support their children's musical endeavors. If not for mom and dad's support, I'd be musically poorer.

Regards,

Dean Athens"

And right now, it's 6:30 p.m. in Tokyo, where the Belew Trio is currently backstage, doing their usual fun and games warm-ups in anticipation for their first show of the evening, which will be in approximately 30 minutes.

Oh how I wish I were there.

Later,
xo

Of Typhoons and Earthquakes and Tsunamis...The Adrian Belew Power Trio in Japan

Eric Slick performing with the Adrian Belew Power Trio in Toyama, Japan, on July 15, 2007 and oh man does he love that Yamaha drum kit and Paiste cymbals.

So how would you like to come down to an email like this at 5:00 a.m. in the morning?

"hey mom,
at around 10:13 this morning in toyama we experienced an earthquake. it was a 6.6 magnitude! very scary!! the good news is that we are okay and we flew out of toyama just fine. hopefully nothing else happens...jeez.

love,
eric"

Do you know the painting "The Scream"? That was my face when I read that email. Luckily, I got this information before turning on the news because actually, it was a 6.8 quake, Eric, over 500 people were injured, five people are dead, and the "death toll is mounting". I would have been out of my mind with worry had you not emailed me and I thank you so much you have no idea.

I really do wish Eric hadn't written "hopefully nothing else happens" because what he is referring to is the lovely typhoon in which they were involved the first night they arrived in Tokyo. That time, I read about it on Yahoo News before hearing from Eric and choked on fear for hours until finally being able to bring myself to discuss it with Gary, who immediately calmed me down by saying "Oh god, Robin, they have like 25 typhoons a year in Japan. They're like hurricanes only not as bad."

Yeah, well, I didn't want to refer him to the article I found right here:

"Typhoon Roars Up Japan's Coast Toward Tokyo
Forecasters Say It Will Move Close To Tokyo Sunday

POSTED: 8:31 am EDT July 14, 2007
TOKYO -- A powerful typhoon is racing up the Japanese coast, heading toward Tokyo.

Typhoon Man-Yi is packing heavy rains and 100-mph winds as it moves up Japan's eastern coast. Parts of Japan could get up to 40 inches of rain..."

But anyway, what ended up happening is after taking a fourteen hour flight to Tokyo, because they were scheduled to perform in Toyama the following day and the typhoon was on its way to Tokyo at the very same time, instead of spending the night at a Tokyo Hotel they got on another plane for Toyama, where they were told that their plane might very well have to turn around due to the bad weather and to be prepared for that and lots of turbulence. So they were all awake and traveling for a period in excess of twenty-four hours. Oh god I am so glad I did not find out about all of this until afterwards...I would have needed heavy sedation.

So they made it to Toyama okay, missed the typhoon, and instead experienced an earthquake.

My husband just joked with me, "Hey, look at it this way, Rob, the Adrian Belew Power Trio is so powerful they shook up an entire country."

"I'm putting that line in my blog today and taking credit," I replied with a weak laugh.

"No! You wouldn't!" Ha ha - Gary is so cute when he's indignant.

Nah, I wouldn't. He did make me laugh, though, which is a very good thing under the circumstances.

And as you can see as per Eric's email, they are fine, and arrived safely in Tokyo where they are this minute, since it's around 10:00 p.m. there right now, seeing Adrian's pals, The Parrots. Ade says they don't speak a word of English yet are the absolute best Beatle cover band he's ever seen, so Julie and Eric are pretty psyched about that.

The shows at the Tokyo Blue Note start Tuesday, so they had today off to enjoy such things as earthquakes and The Parrots. Hopefully they really are seeing the Parrots now. Did I mention I can't stay away from the Japanese news and now I'm reading/hearing about aftershocks in Tokyo, a resultant nuclear reactor fire, and tsunami warnings?

Arghh...

So here's Julie in the airport, upon learning of the typhoon, the impending turbulent flight, and noticing that the mural behind her is one of twin towers and an airplane. Though when they incredulously inspected it further, they noted it was painted in 1996.



Here's sound engineer and all around assistant to Adrian, Biff Blumfumgagne hanging out in Toyama with Adrian and Eric:



Then they all went out and had a traditional Japanese meal.



"Oh my god, who ate that?" I asked Eric via instant message when he sent me the photo.

"Don't know," he said, but I think he didn't want to admit that it was this person, who is obviously fascinated with all Japanese food products:



Yep, that looks like something Ms. Julie would eat.

Or maybe it belonged to one of their stage crew:



On second thought, the culprit appears to be Eric!



I'm just messing with you. They entire Belew entourage looks like they are having a blast.



Eric told me the show in Toyama was very well received in spite of the usual and customary tour disasters: Julie's bass amp blew a speaker and Adrian had no presets because the amp wasn't working so he had to create new ones. One of the comments an appreciative audience member made to Eric after the show was "You play like a psycho!"

I know one thing. Eric is madly in love with the Yamaha drum kit provided by the promoters in Japan. He already owns the Anton Fig Signature Yamaha snare and it's added an incredible dimension to his playing. Adrian loves it as well, and as you all know, Adrian started out as a drummer and he agrees, Eric rules on that kit. Now. The plan is to get Yamaha to sponsor him! Ha ha, just kidding, though it's something Eric dreams about. The promoter was also kind enough to supply Eric with Paiste cymbals, and if you click on the link, you'll see Paiste was already wise to enough to sponsor Eric...in fact, reps from the company came to the Power Trio show in New York City last month and were completely blown away.

Also, the trio listened to the "Master" of Side Four Live -- it's a go...they unanimously love it...and, well, that's all I am allowed to say at this point other than there may be some additional interesting developments.

However, I do have good news for all of you Adrian Belew Power Trio fans living in North Carolina and Mexico. New shows have been added to their tour as follows:

August 19, 2007 Asheville, North Carolina at Stella Blue

August 21, 2007 Carrboro, North Carolina at Cat's Cradle

September 8, 2007 at Teatro Diana, Guadalajara, MEXICO

September 9, 2007 at Teatro Metropolitan, Mexico City, MEXICO

Funny. I tried to find a link for Teatro Metropolitan and all I could find were two things - a history of the theater, which is very cool (and that it seats over 3,000 people), and two, that King Crimson has played there on a couple of occasions which made me smile.

Finally, Eric was really touched by this link I sent him from the Ween website, because it contains this photo of him, taken by Gene Ween, which contains the following caption:

"Hangin' out after our set at Bonnaroo 2007. That's the lovely Monica Hampton and "the kid", Eric Slick--drummer for Adrian Belew." (It's also a photo of Mickey "Dean Ween" and bassist Dave Dreiwitz)



Alrighty, on that note, I am going to turn off the news and the internet and try not to drive myself nuts over typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Check that. I'm staying on line in case Eric signs back on.

Err...not because I'm worried or anything...

I, um, want to hear how the Parrots concert was...that's all.

Later,
xo

The Adrian Belew Power Trio in Quebec

The Adrian Belew Power Trio in Quebec - July 10, 2007

God. I felt like I was looking at Beatle cards when I saw those pics. Oh. In case you don't know what Beatle cards are (sob), you could buy them like baseball cards back in the sixties...and my husband still has his complete collection of several hundred.



Anyway, regarding the above Belew Power Trio photos, Julie and Eric came home with 71 of them, each one better than the next so I'll probably be posting a lot more as the week goes on. Pretty obvious this is a tight band, huh. But I can just imagine the whole scenario. Poor Adrian. Julie is always insistent on being the social director - she has to be doing something every minute of the day; she has to pick the activity, the restaurant, etc. etc., and Eric, her henchman for the past twenty years, is resigned and used to it but having her now boss around a famous rock star is pretty damn funny.

Actually, Adrian looks like he's having a blast.

This is because he doesn't have to do it on a daily basis.

Oh, I'm just kidding.

Though now that I think about it, Ade's already been through this before. Remember the infamous Peach Cobbler story? Oh god. I just re-read it and laughed my ass off because really, there is only one Julie.

Hey, but aren't those photos great? They make my heart burst with love. What happened was the trio arrived in Canada a day early and it was just the three of them hanging out so Julie had Ade and Eric go exploring with her, and they stumbled on this incredible piece of architecture - the above facade, which is way cool but on the other side of it, there's like a 20,000 foot drop. So it's completely bizarre and totally dangerous. Hence the look of Eric and Ade's faces, and then of course Julie had to ham it up as well.

Then they went out and had the world's best french fries and two bottles of wine. I keep looking at that sunset and am so jealous I can't stand it.

Sigh...

The only thing I am nervous about is how much Julie and Eric love Quebec. Eric seriously wants to live there. They both said it was the most gorgeous, incredible city they'd ever been in and the two of them have now been all around the world. (I'm not really nervous. Gary and I will just sell our house and move there, too though we were thinking we'd all end up in Nashville, which is really not out of the question but then again, we're at a point in our lives where we'd go anywhere) So yeah, Julie and Eric were mad for Quebec - they loved the food, the people, and they said as a band, they felt they gave one of their best performances ever that night despite a driving rain storm. Not one person left early because of the bad weather, and they not only got thunderous applause, the audience made them come out for two encores. And I got a text message the night of the Quebec show from School of Rock uberlord Paul Green at 10:35 p.m. "The band is killing them tonight!"

There were a lot of articles and reviews of the show; the bad news is they are all in French. I was surprised when I hit Google and found nothing, but then I thought, Aha! I should do Google France. Of course naturally when I found a review here in leSoleil, alas it was also in French and I couldn't read it so I used lame Alta Vista Babblefish, which I swear, screws up the translation and spells words all wrong on purpose just to frustrate you into paying for a legitimate translation on line. But I'm going to post their translation anyway, (1) Because it's funny and (2) because it says Eric drums like he has three arms.

"For the rain which fell without reserve, it was necessary to be entêté, unconscious, masochist or finished fan of Adrian Belew to point itself with the park of the Francophonie, yesterday. There was a little all that, to consider of them the brave men come to listen to the American artist. This one rewarded them with an explosive spectacle, confirming that it was necessary to move.

There is only one Adrian Belew. That a musician knowing to draw similar sounds from its six cords. That a type-setter who structure his songs of way also baroque. That a showman making technical prowesses without they not being pretentious. That a guitarist making such a removed from rim use of its bar of vibrato.

One feared that trio formulates some, it is not sometimes a little empty. Devil not! Belew was given the responsability never not to leave a hole, accumulating the solos époustouflants, playing of sound loops or proposing singular riffs. It was feared that its two young recruits of the Paul Green School of Rock, Julie (low) and Eric Slick (battery), have a little evil to give him the counterpart. Re-devil not! The manager of 20 year old rods seems to have a third arm so much it is everywhere on his drums, while its 21 years sœurette makes pirouettes on its four cords…

Belew will have been deprived of nothing. Neither to begin again of King Crimson at one time delivered to six musicians, nor to re-examine of the old material like Lone Rhino. In the medium, its recent compositions, like muscular Writing one the Wall or unslung Beat Box Guitar shone. No solo will be unperceived past: crowd invariably gratifiait them of cries and applause. Then when the traditional ones of King Crimson of the Eighties such Tree of has Perfect Pair or Talk Elephant pointed itself, it was the euphoria!"

Love it.

So here's Julie and Eric back at their hotel (which, as Adrian told them, is the very same one he stayed at while a member of David Bowie's band), doing their usual Keith Moon routine. Eric told me this one is his spoof shot for a Playgirl centerfold:



And Julie is goofing around, wearing Eric's sunglasses, and you can see Eric's relection in them as he takes the photo:



Right now the two of them are on a plane for Japan, where they're playing 13 shows in 7 days. It's insane.

Did I mention how jealous I am?

And I miss them already.

Later,
xo
P.S. Oh yeah, the Les Paul special. Well, we watched all ninety minutes of it, and we absolutely loved it, but there was not even one shot or mention of the Rock School tribute at the Roseland Ballroom. Since it is specifically advertised on their website (see link in post below), I can only conclude that the Roseland concert is the extra footage included when you buy the DVD. So. That is what I will do, and I'll report back if there is any Rock School footage at all, whether it be Julie and Eric or other students.