ETA: Coolness! Here's last night's Craig Ferguson show - Dr. Dog performs Shadow People.
Morning!
Well, I've managed to upload all the video taken of Julie Slick's one woman show Wednesday night in Teaneck, NJ and last night at the World Cafe Live in Philadelphia but for the love of God, I can't find a You Tube or the like site that can handle a 25 minute clip. Any ideas?
All I can say is, she was astounding. Just astounding. And the response was so great, Julie said, "You know what? I think I'm going to take this show on the road and also do some more local gigs." Hurrah!
But first, she's got the Vancouver Music Fest on July 10-11 with Adrian Belew and Marco Minnemann and then those three will head to Japan for some dates at the Blue Note July 24-27...but there may be some ninja California gigs with special guests in between Vancouver and Japan featuring Julie and Marco. Like I said before, watch this space.
The main reason for this post, though is to remind you to tune in to the Craig Ferguson show tonight, where the fabulous Dr. Dog with the amazing Eric Slick on drums will be performing a song I can definitely tell you will not be the same tune they did on Jimmy Fallon. And that's all I'm saying.
Anyway, if I figure out this video debacle, I will be back!
ETA: You are all coming to Julie's show at World Cafe Live tonight, right? She's opening for Adrian Belew, and who knows, she may even play a song with him....but that is just conjecture at this point and whatever happens, happens. Here's an awesome mention in today's Philadelphia Weekly about Julie, Eric, Dr. Dog, and, dear God, even me. I do believe that's the first time "esteemed" has ever been used in conjunction with my name but what the hell, I accept it gratefully!
In case you missed the live webstream of Dr. Dog's amazing show today at KCRW radio, they were not only kind enough to put it up on their site, they even provided the code so I can embed the whole hour long concert, complete with interviews, here.
Do I believe it's the last day of June? That is just crazy -- how time is flying by, I mean. But this is a pretty exciting time at Casa Slick, and there's a lot to talk about, so let me try and do it in chronological order. As Dan Gross of the Daily News reported this week: Big week for Slick musicians "Local rockers Dr. Dog will be the musical guest on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" Friday night, or Saturday morning if you want to be all technical about it. Meanwhile, new Dr. Dog drummer, Eric Slick's sister Julie Slick, will perform Thursday at World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut). She's the bassist in the Adrian Belew Power Trio and will also perform songs from her solo CD that features King Crimson's Robert Fripp and Pat Mastelotto."
What was really cool about the Daily News article is that a LOT of people saw it, including Julie and Eric's elementary school teacher, who actually tracked me down through Facebook and sent me this note, which, yep, I admit it, brought a tear to my eye: "Mrs. Slick,
How have you been? I was reading the Daily News tonight and saw "Big Week for Slick musicians". I am so happy beyond words to see Eric and Julie following their dreams!! I just wanted to take a minute to congratulate you on such a fine and unique job of parenting. I have taken lessons I learned from teaching your children and talking with you and used them to raise my own children over the years.
Thank you.
Much happiness always and a big hello to your children!!"
Oh man, how fantastic was that? I sent it off to J&E and Eric actually called me from Los Angeles, he was so touched that a teacher would remember him from 15 years ago. Oh, c'mon. Who could ever forget the Slicks?
Moving on, hey hey hey, there's more. Today, at 2:15PM eastern, or 11:15AM Pacific, Dr. Dog will be live-streamed atKCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic.
P.S. Now I am confused because @drdogmusic just tweeted "tune in at 1115 a.m." I am almost positive they mean "pacific" not eastern, but if you want to be on the safe side, tune in at 11:15 eastern just in case. Sigh...naturally I will not be here then, so fingers crossed they really meant 2:15 eastern since the show originates from California which is where the band is right now.
This show may be videocast as well, I'm not positive, but if you click on the above link at the above time, we'll all find out together. But it is definitely a podcast and it should be amazing...I'll tweet and Facebook reminders as soon as they are about to go "live" today.
Then, tonight, Julie starts the first of two one-woman shows, opening for Adrian Belew. She'll be at Mexicali Blues in Teaneck, New Jersey, taking the stage at 7PM, and tomorrow she will be at World Cafe Live, taking the stage at 8PM.
As you probably know by now, Adrian Belew is the Gandalf of guitar, his experimental six-string wizardry a genre unto itself. For nearly 40 years, he’s held his own playing alongside such notable weirdos as Zappa, Bowie and fellow members of King Crimson, and he’s unleashed a batch of solo albums both unorthodox and conventional. In recent years he’s led the acclaimed Adrian Belew Power Trio with Philly’s own Julie Slick (bass) and her brother, Eric Slick (drums). But now that Eric’s drumming in Dr. Dog full-time, the trio is on hold and Belew’s bringing his one-man show—full of improvisation and loops and odd noises and strange gadgets and more—to town tonight." 8pm. $30-$42. With Julie Slick. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. worldcafelive.com -Michael Alan Goldberg
Julie's debut CD as well as the recently released Adrian Belew Power Trio Live in Germany DVD will be available for sale at the show tonight in Teaneck, New Jersey and tomorrow at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.
By the way, Julie has been getting some amazing reviews for her CD and here's links to some new ones since I posted last:
Here, here, and look for upcoming reviews/articles in Guitar Player Magazine and Bass Player Magazine. Pretty damn cool, huh.
And here's a fun interview. and another fantastic one which you may have to be a member of Facebook to read, but here's the link to that - it's actually from the summer edition of a print magazine called Limelight.
On Friday night, July 2, Eric Slick/Dr. Dog will appear on the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson and I don't know what song they will be performing - I guess we'll all be surprised together.
After that, Eric and Dr. Dog jet off to the High Sierra Music Festival! They'll be performing on Friday night from 9:30 to 11:00PM on the Big Meadow Stage but the really cool show is on Saturday night, July 3, when they will take the stage at the "Funk N Jam House" at 1:30 a.m. and perform "until whenever" which is exactly what it says on the website. Man, I wish I could be there.
And wait until I tell you what the Adrian Belew Power Trio has lined up for July, possibly August (well, I can't write about it until it's confirmed) and the fall. As you know, Marco Minnemann is filling in for Eric, but Julie and Marco may just have a few surprises of their own lined up. Watch this space!
Dr. Dog has some very exciting things going on next month as well, but I will blog about them as they happen or are about to happen. One thing is for certain, you don't want to miss them at the Xponential Music Fest on Sunday, July 19, 2010 at Cooper River Park in Camden, New Jersey...tickets are going fast so click that link!
Oh, one more thing that most of you have probably seen but d'oh, I totally forgot to post it here and it's amazing. Scott McMicken from Dr. Dog teamed up with Shaking Through and Scott, Eric Slick, and a brilliant musician, Mike Visser, worked together on a project called "Springs". This is some fascinating and awesome stuff:
A dictaphone? Where did they even find one of those? Even if you aren't a techie, this is some really interesting stuff.
And finally, to wrap this up, as I've been saying for weeks, I'll be launching the first in my Celebrity Book Club Series and we will start with Tish Cohen'sThe Truth About Delilah Blue.
You need to buy this book. I will be posting my review on July 6, 2010 and then the real fun will begin. So if you haven't already, start reading!
We'll be taking some video of Julie's show tonight and tomorrow so I'll probably be back to post, but just in case life gets in the way, everyone have a fabulous July 4th holiday! But I most likely will post again before then, because I just remembered I forgot to tell you some other things of great importance but I have a 10:00AM appointment and I gotta fly!
I bet Julie is going to be happy when she wakes up and reads this!
The Review: Who is the band? What is their history? What motivates them? “Julie Slick began playing bass at eleven years of age.” “In 1998, at age twelve, she joined the Paul Green School of Rock Music, and soon became the school’s first All-Star bassist.” “This led to an appearance in the award winning documentary, Rock School, as well as a role in several tracks on the movie’s soundtrack.” “By age sixteen, she had already performed across America and Europe with legendary musicians like Frank Zappa alumni Ike Willis and Napoleon Murphy Brock, Jon Anderson of Yes, Stewart Copeland of the Police, Ann Wilson of Heart, and Alice Cooper.” “Three years after graduating the School of Rock and while a junior at Drexel University working toward a degree in Music Industry, she toured the UK with Philadelphia icon Chuck Treece, founder of McRad.” “But her big break came six months later, in March of 2006, when she was invited to join Adrian Belew on stage with her brother, drummer Eric Slick, at the Knitting Factory in New York City for an impromptu version of Frank Zappa’s “City of Tiny Lites”.” “Little did she know that Adrian had been searching for “the perfect rhythm section” and that this chance meeting would lead to the formation of the Adrian Belew Power Trio.” “In May of 2006, Adrian invited Julie and Eric to his studio in Nashville to audition, and after two days of rehearsals, the trio were already out on tour by June, 2006.” Since that time, they have toured four continents, recorded two CDs, and continue to wow crowds internationally.” “Along with being an accomplished bassist whose influences include John Entwistle, Jack Bruce, John Wetton, Tony Levin, Chris Squire and Paul McCartney, Julie also graduated magna cum laude from Drexel and has produced several bands, including Cheers Elephant, The Jangling Sparrows, Sweatheart, Love Gravy as well her own projects” (Source: Julie Slick‘s MySpace, 2010).
Review: 1. Mela – Spacey synths and sax, then that cool bass wanders in as the tempo and momentum build into a Frank Zappa classic mix. There is enough of an ELP, Keith Emerson, feel to this one with its cool synths, not to divert into too much Zappa. But the guitar work is extraordinary. Keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what’s next. The grinding guitar chords and that cool sax thrown in every now and again are perfect.
2. Many Laughs – A good solid bass line opens before synths and drums join in support. Interesting sounds and well mixed to produce that surround effect with everything coming at you from different sides of the room.
3. February – Slow, softly plucked guitar, piano and synths. Dreamy. You can almost see the February snow falling as you listen to this. That quiet, height of the season, between winter and spring, comes through so well on this track.
4. Mora – Drums and gripping guitar riffs. “Voices in my head”, childlike voices echo throughout this one. An almost sitar sounding guitar with synth and sound effects all around, More instruments seem to be added with each bar of the song. The strong bass keeping pace with all that is surrounding it.
5. Aphrodite – Grinding bass and drums building a bluesy rhythm and melody. Perfect for the Goddess of Love. The guitars have an other – worldly sound that really drives this one home.
6. Baron Aloha – Cool, almost tropical rhythm builds with screeching guitars and that solid bass supporting well. The echo effects are also nice. Almost a conga beat which really sounds great. Spacey, out of this world guitar driving the pace and power of the song.
7. Nothing to be Done – One of the longer tracks on the album opens with bass, drums and synths. Spacey, good background music for a film or a ‘nothing to be done’, relaxing day. Cool echoed guitar picking at the end of this one.
8. Choke – The shortest track on the album. Synths and echoed deep vocal sounds along with bass, synths, and cool Ultrabeat building a strong rhythm. Over too quickly.
9. Awoke – Reaching guitar and drums along with bass and synth effects. A cool grinding song like waking up on the wrong side of the bead. Cool guitar riffs.
10. Shadow Drip – At 6:26 minutes, the longest and most interesting track on the album. Cool echo effects and strong bass light this one up. Julie in all her glory. The synths effects are so cool.
11. Spice Trade – Nice spacey synths and slow acoustic with orchestration. Another one of my favorite songs on the album. Then the bass action sets in motion a driving rhythm. Very cool bass cuts with drums and violin like support.
12. The Rivalry – Rat a tat guitar bursts before the rocking melody kicks in with synth and drum support. This one rocks…faster than all the rest. The synth effects and bass are fantastic.
13. Cage Match – Patterned drums and wild guitar licks along with very cool synths in the background. You can feel the tempo and pulse envisioned in the song title. Another of the better songs on the album. The blistering guitar work is excellent.
14. Blood Blisters – Slow drums and grinding guitar. Different, unique sounds, setting Julie apart from many of the bassists I have heard in the past. Yes, this kind of bass and guitar work takes time and practice to develop.
Rating: 8/10 – Very good guitar and bass work. A real showcase CD for Julie’s incredible talents with synths bass and guitars. Different and intriguing. I mostly listen to lead guitar on the albums I buy, but this experience of hearing all the subtleties from Julie’s album will make me pay more attention to the bass work in the future.
Reviewed by Prof on June 23rd, 2010 ****** I will have more to talk about later - right now I have to go out and water my "girls". Ha ha, yeah, we're growing tomatoes right outside the front of the house. A virtual farm in the city and we plan on moving them to the backyard once we figure out how to nicely keep the squirrels away, but for now, it looks awesome and it's very cool to see how they are flourishing. We have both yellow and red cherry tomatoes, peppers, and all kinds of spices. The neighbors are probably wondering what "those hippies" are up to again since we are one of the few without color coordinated flower boxes -- though we do have said boxes but filled with all kinds of crazy flowers -- when it's not 100 degrees out there I'll post some pics.
Well, I know one thing. I know what my son has been up to, and he can thank me for this one:
That would be Eric and Jason Webley at WXPN radio.
The fabulous Amanda Palmer tweeted yesterday that she was on her way to Philadelphia to do a radio spot at XPN and needed an acoustic guitar within the hour. Since Eric now lives with fellow Dr. Dog bandmate Scott McMicken in West Philly about ten minutes away from XPN, I got him on the phone and as Amanda tweeted back: "@RobinSlick @mrericslick got it!! calling now. yay guitar."
"just sourced an acoustic guitar for our 1 pm radio show in Philly in under 7 minutes. fucking love twitter so fucking much."
and then:
"jason wields the guitar that came to us by the miracle of Twitter with it's proud owner, @mrericslick. pony!" (Hence the above photo of Eric and Jason with the guitar)
She's got this crazy pony thing going on and must have died when she saw that. Fate is so weird - how the world is so big and yet the same people keep appearing in your life in strange ways with bizarre, connecting circumstances and with certain symbols which keep re-appearing. My friend, Jessica, whom I talk about later in this post, has a magical thing going on with birds. Anyway, before I go off track any further, one of Amanda Palmer's big tour habits, and Eric actually did the exact same thing when he toured with Lithuania, is that rather than waste money in sterile hotels, she finds fans and friends to crash with all over the world. So the night before she came to Philly, she crashed at a friend's down near Washington, D.C. and slept in a bed with a bunch of stuffed ponies. She tweeted: "as requested by many, pictures of the ponies I slept with last night. this might have been the best bed on tour"
So how crazy is that. Actually, I think the best pony Amanda photo was taken by Kyle Cassidy...and I can't believe it, but I just searched everywhere I could think of and could not find it but I came up with my second favorite:
The one I tried to post was from this same series, where Amanda is on the pony and with one hand going lovingly through Neil Gaiman's hair. I'm so anal retentive I just spent a half hour going through Amanda and Neil's respective blog archives and can't find it anywhere. I even went to Kyle's site. Oh well. You'll just have to believe me. But this photo is gorgeous as well.
Yeah, Neil Gaiman, my former fangirl crush. Ha! Do you see what I mean about how crazy this world is? I discovered Neil Gaiman five years ago when Eric accidentally left "Smoke and Mirrors" on my book shelf and I grabbed it prior to going on vacation...I read it and thought I discovered an unknown author. Yeah, yeah, late to that party in a big way. But I made up for it! I now own everything he's ever written.
I would later drag Eric to a Neil Gaiman signing in Philadelphia in January of 2006 where I would mortify my poor son with such embarrassing behavior I still cringe but Eric Slick is, among other wonderful things, a great sport and despite the fact that I am always, always, always getting him involved in my Lucy and Ethel schemes, he remains my "partner in crime", or the Moe to my Curly.
Hence his response to my frantic phone call to him yesterday to please provide Amanda with a guitar. I haven't talked to him yet today, but Amanda and Jason guest listed him for last night's show at the TLA in Philadelphia...I hope he went and had a blast. Since this has been the week from hell for me (don't ask), I could not go and was bummed.
And the world gets crazier, because a few months ago, Kyle Cassidy wrote to me, and asked if he could photograph my daughter Julie and Adrian Belew when they perform at the World Cafe Live in two weeks. This time, Julie is opening for Adrian in a one woman show, and you can buy your tickets right here.
So yeah, it occurs to me that even though it's totally random, it is just weird, weird, weird how certain people appear and re-appear in your life, no matter how slight the reappearance is.
Oh yeah, another crazy example. Last May, I went to New York City to the Highline Ballroom to see my good friends read their six word memoirs pubilshed by Smith Magazine. Who was the musical guest...and I had no idea? Amanda Palmer! And who was with her in the audience standing there listening to the readers pre-performance? Neil Gaiman! It was just before they went public with their romance, and I saw them standing there and blurted, "I'm telling the internet!" Amanda heard me and turned around and smiled; I said Hi to Neil who gave me a peck on the cheek (yes, I did wash my face afterward though I did consider...never mind) before rushing off backstage.
And naturally I had dragged Eric with me to this event, too.
The poor guy. But like I said, if there is a more good natured, better sport in this world than my son, I do not know who it is.
So that's my story about the randomness of life.
Back to Where have I been?
I blame Facebook, Twitter, and best of all, my new novel, which has unexpectedly turned into a thriller involving everything from panic attacks to cults. But let's be honest here...Julie and Eric are adults now and I feel like when I blog about them every single day, it's an invasion of their privacy and really, if there's anything they want to tell you, they have blogs and Facebook and Twitter accounts of their own. Well, Eric doesn't have Facebook because...uh-oh, here I go invading his privacy...Eric has weaned himself of a lot of online activity and now prefers to devote his downtime (meaning, when he's not on tour) to writing music, meditation, making art as in collage and paintings, and reading. Good on Eric! I am trying to follow his example and miserably failing.
Same goes for Julie, the internet weaning, that is, but just add cooking to that list, and how proud am I of her! Do you know she's almost sold out of the first 1,000 of her debut CD? Do you have any idea how awesome that is? I subscribe to Bob Lefsetz' letter about the music industry and Dave Matthews only sold 3,000 CDs last week.
Have you picked up Julie's CD yet? It's getting AMAZING reviews, links for which I'll put up in my next post because some major ones are about to come out. But in the meantime, pick up your copy here.
Anyway, I started this blog in 2004 when Julie was 18, Eric 17 and at a time when blogs were just really starting to go mainstream. I am in awe when I hear of people who have had online journals since the mid-nineties. I was so late to that party, too. I did not even go on line for the first time until 2000. I know. What a luddite. Anyway, it's my ten year anniversary. On the plus side, being online has introduced me to some of the most incredible people in the universe, friends I now have all over the world I'd never have met otherwise. I was published for the first time in an online magazine soon after, which lead to my story being nominated for a Best American Short Story Award, which lead to my first novel.
On the minus side, my house looks like hell. Ha! I'm sorry, I no longer have time for housework - I have to see what my Facebook friends are doing and then I have to tweet and then I have to...
Oy.
Actually, if I am really honest, I am still sort of wary of Facebook, which I have finally learned how to use properly though I still find it overwhelming. I apologize to all of the people I inadvertently ignored - I did not know proper FB etiquette and even now, with my modest amount of "friends", I would literally be commenting there all day if I stayed current with everyone I know. So, like, blogging, Facebook must be severely cut back.
As far as Twitter, I don't know much more of that I can take. I have made a couple of great friends there, one of whom has become one of my favorite people and who has helped Julie more than I could ever begin to tell you - Anil Prasad of Innerviews and Guitar Player Magazine. Anil has a book coming out later this year and he is definitely going to be in my Celebrity Book Club. What's my Celebrity Book Club? Aha! Glad you asked. More on that in a minute.
On May 26, 2010, I had an amazing time attending Book Expo America in New York. I even got a mention, which made me laugh out loud: "Oh, the People You Meet at BEA Parties By Jason Boog on May 27, 2010
Yesterday we prowled BEA parties with Garrison Keillor's dour "Publishing is about to slide into the sea" pronouncement ringing in our ears.
Our night began at The New York Times' literary party where Ryan Chapman discussed upcoming projects and P.E. Logan chatted about book reviews. Carolyn Kellogg pondered the long night ahead of us, Thomas Rogers critiqued Sex and the City 2, and Leslie Koppenhaver cheered Graywolf Press' good year. Laura Miller shared her feelings about the Lost finale and Jonathan Lethem suggested we read a certain biography of the late, great Nathanael West.
At the Harper Perennial blogger apprecition party in the historic Algonquin Hotel, we talked with Ron Hogan about his reading series and debated publishing profits with Levi Asher. Jurgen Fauth chatted about Fictionaut while Marcy Dermansky explained her upcoming novel. Kevin Smokler talked about book tours. Susan Henderson showed off her new galley and Robin Slick said her son had joined the rock band Dr. Dog..."
Yep, the rest of the world lives vicariously through my kids, too.
But you'll see the mention of Susan Henderson. I went to New York because she was indeed signing galleys of her debut novel, Up from the Blue and I snagged one and devoured it immediately.
Listen. This book will take your breath away. I gave you the link to buy it. Do yourself a favor and pre-order it now. Susan just may win a Pulitzer for this. I don't say things like that lightly.
Joining me in New York for this wonderful occasion, which also included an amazing cocktail party at the Algonquin Hotel thrown by Sue's publisher, HarperCollins, for whom I will now be reviewing books, was my brilliant writer pal Jessica Keener, she of the bird story I mentioned above. The three of us booked a suite at the Algonguin for the night so we could party away and not have to take long train rides home. Sadly we were missing the fourth member of our Great Canadian retreat, writer Tish Cohen, because it was release week for Tish's latest book, The Truth About Delilah Blue.
I am reading that right now. The Globe and Mail called it "the summer's first terrific beach read". Read their review right here.
As soon as I am finished reading, Tish is going to get the Celebrity Book Club treatment, too. I don't know if Canadian writers are eligible for Pulitzers but...man...I cannot believe I read two books in a row of this quality.
So what exactly am I talking about? Well, here's the plan. Whenever I read a book which brings me to my knees like Up from the Blue or The Truth About Delilah Blue, I'm going to post a review. My hope is that you will buy the book or go to your local library, read it, and a few weeks later, we'll discuss it in the comment section here. I'm going to invite a lot of pretty famous author pals of mine to participate as well as some rock stars since I, erm, happen to know a few. Everyone can come here and talk about the book and they will get replies from celebrities they might normally get a chance to "meet". I'll give plenty of advance notice, and each post devoted to a special book will remain up until we've all had a chance to discuss it and then I'll move on to the next.
Let me give you a recap of some of the books I intend to talk about:
The Truth About Delilah Blue by Tish Cohen - already linked Up From the Blue by Susan Henderson - already linked It Could Be Worse, You Could Be Me by Ariel Leve - buy it here. Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky - buy it here. Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt - not available for pre-order yet, but read about it here. Innerviews: Music without Borders by Anil Prasad The Other Life by Ellen Meister
Notice for most of my links to buy, I use Indie Bound as opposed to Amazon. Please support indie book stores. Anyone who reads this blog knows how I loathe corporations.
Getting back to my Celebrity Book Club...
Actually, let's start with The Truth About Delilah Blue. Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to continue to plug this before putting up a comprehensive review for us to begin our chat. Here's the official HarperCollins blurb and trailer to entice you further: "The Truth About Delilah Blue What if you woke up one day to learn that you were once a child on a milk carton? This is the provocative premise of The Truth About Delilah Blue.
Lila Mack, formerly known as Delilah Blue Lovett, has felt like an outsider ever since she moved from the gingerbread community of Cabbagetown, Toronto, to Los Angeles with her father when she was eight-years-old. Now twenty and still struggling to find her way in life, she yearns to become an artist like her long-lost mother, but, unable to pay for classes, she does something quite daring. She takes a job as an art model, posing nude for a classroom full of students so she can learn from the professor—a decision that lifts the veil of her once insular world.
Anxiety over exposing her body is the least of Lila’s worries when her father starts to become disoriented and forgetful, signs of early-onset Alzheimer’s. At the same time, her mother re-enters the scene, bringing secrets about the past that will change their lives. Suddenly, nearly everything Lila knows about herself is a lie, and she has no idea who to trust—her free-spirited mother whom she always believed abandoned the family, or her adoring father, who has begun his descent into senility and is either unable or unwilling to give her answers. Lila realizes neither parent is what he/she seems and the only one she can really rely on is the most broken person of all—herself.
The Truth About Delilah Blue showcases Cohen’s talent for finding the humor and heart in the most dysfunctional of families as she tackles the subject of parental abduction and the themes of abandonment, trust, healing and forgiveness."
Trust me, I'm not quite finished reading it yet, but I would have to agree. Though I disagree with the term "beach read"...it's way, way, way more than that.
Anyway, there is a ton of stuff going on - like, Eric is going to be on the Craig Ferguson show in a couple weeks, more exciting Julie news...wait...didn't I start this post off by telling you I wasn't going to do that anymore...okay, I lied...but I've blabbed enough for one day and I promise to be back...
So as I mentioned in the post below, Ms. Julie Slick had the opportunity to jam with Charlie Gracie at Bob Dylan's 69th birthday celebration last Monday. Freaking historic.
I really can't let this much time pass between posts again! The problem with not blogging every day is that then so much stuff happens I don't know where to start so I avoid the blog the same way I do when the house somehow gets really messy, which is still a great mystery to me since Julie and Eric no longer live here. Where does all the clutter come from? Anyway, when this happens, I am so overwhelmed i only stay in the one clean room, usually the place where my desk and computer are. It isn't until the mess spreads there, too, that I finally do housework and I'm so disgusted by all the accumulated junk that I start throwing stuff out I'd normally keep just to achieve some order.
In other words, if I don't write about stuff right after it occurs, I may skip over it altogether - either my brain has forgotten it or it doesn't seem as special as when it first happened. But trust me, some really special stuff has indeed been going on.
However, as I sit here, I am wondering where to begin. There's Eric Slick, who has been traipsing through Europe on tour with Dr. Dog, there's Julie Slick, who has so much good news I am feeling like a terrible blogger AND mother for failing to report in a more timely fashion, and then there's me, who had the time of her life last week at Book Expo America in New York City complete with sleepover party at a suite at the Algonquin Hotel with Sue Henderson and Jessica Keener. I think this last bit deserves a post of its own, so to make my life simpler, let's talk progeny today and start the ketchup process with Julie, whose debut CD is literally flying off the shelves and already receiving rave reviews.
Of course you could also pick it up at iTunes or via Julie's store. If you buy it there, make her draw you a picture along with her autograph - she's an amazing artist.
Anyway, even though Eric is playing drums with Dr. Dog right now and they're on tour for most of 2010 and Adrian is touring solo with a very cool project called "Painting with Guitar", the Adrian Belew Power Trio still lives and will not only be playing the Vancouver Music Fest but an extensive tour of Europe. Sadly, Eric is not available but I don't think anyone is going to be disappointed by his very special guest replacement.
You can see the entire tour schedule for Painting With Guitar right here, but the main thing you need to know is that on June 30, 2010 at Mexical Blues in Teaneck, New Jersey and on July 1, 2010 at World Cafe Live, Adrian will have a special opener...none other than Julie Slick, solo, and she'll be performing selections from her debut CD. Click on the venues' respective links to buy tickets...see how easy I make it for you?
By the way, if you were at the Khyber last Friday night, Julie enlisted the other members of Paper Cat, Robbie "Seahag" Mangano and Eric Slick, to perform "Rivalry" from her new CD, and here's the video:
And while I'm at it, here's a Paper Cat clip from the same night - I keep telling them, this is your hit, but I get the usual rolled eyes and "Mom, stop!"
I also have some, dare I say, historic video from Bob Dylan's 69th birthday party last Monday night but it was recorded on my flip camera and no one ever taught me how to upload from that thing so rather than risk losing footage I'll never have again, I'm waiting for Eric to get home tomorrow. Anyway, Julie jammed with the great Charlie Gracie and I absolutely cannot wait to post that!
Right now Eric is in Gorge, Washington, getting ready to perform at the Sasquatch Festival. Dr. Dog is playing in between Passion Pit and the Japandroids. Looks like Eric's old buddies, Ween are the headliners. Oh yeah, and MGMT. In the past week Eric has played in Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Paris, and I forget where else. I do know that two days ago he was in Barcelona, Spain, performing at the Primavera Festival. I like his tweets: "Hung with wilco n yeasayer a bit. " "Just had a drunken wall climbing competition with grizzly bear". Eric/Dr. Dog just had something like thirty hours of travel with connecting flights, etc., yesterday to Seattle and then tomorrow they'll have another six hour flight home, taking into consideration the three hour time difference and I don't know if they are flying non-stop or not...I suspect they'll be home at midnight and the band will all spend Wednesday sound asleep. They better, because on Thursday, they are playing Non Comm at 11:25PM and I believe tickets are still available - the show's at World Cafe Live - but it looks like you have to pay one fee to attend all events. Here's the info.
After Eric/Dr. Dog plays Non-Comm, the next day they head to Hunter, New York for Mountain Jam, which, to be honest, I cannot believe I'm missing. Take a look at who is performing:
Oh man, I really should be figuring out a way to be there. But, you know, I'd have to sleep in a tent and...
No.
I'll watch the DVD.
The following weekend, Eric/Dr. Dog plays Bonnaroo. It's crazy. What a life my kids have.
But what a life I have, too. More on that in my next post.
The end of the Dr. Dog tour/travel montage...which is hilarious, because they are only home for a few more days before taking off for Europe on Saturday and then back on tour straight through June again-- assuming that big, bad, volcanic ash cloud from Iceland and the British Airways strike doesn't interfere...and by the way, this version of "What a Strange Day" features Eric Slick on drums.
So yeah, today is Eric Slick's 23rd birthday, and what a freaking gift he got today - the Philadelphia Inquirer has a stellar review of the Thursday night Dr. Dog sold out show at the Electric Factory on the front page of their Daily Magazine Section today.
"Dr. Dog: Stuck in time, and it's all good
By Dan Weiss For The Inquirer 'Do you feel like you're stuck in time?" sang Dr. Dog's fedoraed Toby Leaman, a little more than halfway into the band's homecoming night at the Electric Factory on Thursday.
Yeah, a little. First, the Providence, R.I.-based openers, Deer Tick, covered Chuck Berry's "Maybelline" and ZZ Top's "Cheap Sunglasses" - with vocalist John McCauley donning guess-what for the latter. And Dr. Dog, the temporally obsessed main act, is itself prone to songs with titles such as "The Old Days" and "My Old Ways," full of sonic callbacks to the Beatles and the Band, to name but two of their many prominent 1960s influences.
The chief drawback of plundering such obvious source material is the inevitable comparisons to the old stuff, and the old stuff will win. But don't tell that to a sold-out crowd that chose to share the night with two of the least-hip under-30 bands currently working.
Dr. Dog has nothing to be ashamed of, actually. This gig constituted a victory lap for the decade-old band, grassroots champions in Philadelphia and then nationally: Shame, Shame, the band's seventh and best album, cracked the Billboard Top 50 last month. Or as Leaman tried to make sense of it from the stage: "We've been doing this forever. . . . Now we're here . . . and you guys are all there."
At which point they launched into "Where'd All the Time Go," which on record is a shadowy soul number with a positively liberating chorus. Live, however, new drummer and Paul Green School of Rock vet Eric Slick kicked it (and several others) into another dimension - from paisley pastiche to thunderous arena-rock.
Likewise, older numbers like "The Rabbit, the Bat and the Reindeer" pounded where they once creaked; The "oh yeahs" in "Army of Ancients" towered over the room. The newer stuff, such as the opening "Stranger" and the Spoon-like "Unbearable Why," stood out even without the extra juice, with the secret weapon of Zach Miller's keyboard sneaking in hooks to nail down the ambitious harmonies and widescreen arrangements underneath the three vocalists' jumpy interplay. Guitarists Frank McElroy and Scott McMicken traded raps on the swung "Mirror, Mirror" and thrashed their downstrokes in unison to send off "Someday."
If you were casting about for a similar retro-pop live show to match this band's fervor, you wouldn't find one in Elliott Smith's or the Format's heyday. Not even Spoon's. And they keep it up way past your money's worth, at almost two hours - tiring for dabblers, great for acolytes.
And without much help from the website Pitchfork or radio, acolytes are more plentiful than ever. As the greatest song of the night inquired, in a winsome Flaming Lips-style quaver, "Where do all the shadow people go?" We assume they got stuck in time, and that more will be joining them."
The Philadelphia Inquirer also posted twenty amazing photos of the show right here.
May 14th, 2010 LAST NIGHT: Dr. Dog At Electric Factory
Photos by Michael Alan Goldberg (click on the above link to actually see them because they are awesome] "For a now nationally-prominent band once forged out of Philadelphia’s DIY, indie scene, Thursday night was a homecoming. A painted speech bubble coming from the mouth of Ben Franklin adorning the top of the Electric Factory made the announcement: Dr. Dog.
Providence, RI’s Deer Tick warmed up the sold out crowd with delicately wound melodies, two-guitar interplay and multi-part harmonies. Songs ranged from the thumping electric rock of opener “Easy” to country folk ballads “Baltimore Blues No. 1″ and “Smith Hill.” The five-piece also debuted new material from their forthcoming June LP, The Black Dirt Sessions.
The band’s set reached a fever pitch with a rousing cover of the Chuck Berry classic “Maybelline” and culminated with a riotous rendition of ZZ Top’s “Cheap Sunglasses.”
Amid an array of strobe lighting, veteran vintage rockers Dr. Dog took to the stage to the roar of the jam-packed warehouse. In an instant, the quintet simultaneously blasted into “Stranger,” the riveting opener from last month’s long-anticipated Anti Records LP, Shame, Shame, and it was off to the races. The hometown heroes tore through a near two hour set packed with old favorites and every fresh song from the stellar new record, including the warm, slowly building first single, “Shadow People.”
Bassist Toby Leaman took up center stage and traded lead vocals with co-founding guitarist Scott McMicken, to his left, who donned Star Trek-like, wraparound shades and a colorful snowcap. To his right, guitarist Frank McElroy chimed in for a third vocal harmony and added guitar oomph.
The three got plenty of vocal support from the sea of headbobbers packed in from wall to wall on every inch of floor space the venue had to offer, who delighted in every opening chord and chorus singalong. The band’s newly-added drummer, Eric Slick pounded out unstoppable rhythms, seemingly effortlessly, on ferocious numbers like “The Old Days,” “Later” and “The Girl.” His hysterical but unequivocally precise percussion quickly became the center of attention, cuing mesmerizing lighting effects that complimented each song in the set. That set came full circle, with Shame’s meandering title track, the album’s finale.
Dr. Dog returned to the stage for a captivating, six-song encore, which began with McMicken picking up an acoustic guitar for “Jackie Wants a Black Eye,” prompting a unified clap and singalong. “We’re all in it together now,” the crowd sang assuredly in front of McMicken. The encore also included the group’s already revered cover of Architecture In Helsinki’s “Heart in Races” and fan favorites “Die, Die, Die” and “My Friend.”
It was pure euphoria for some 25 straight songs, and the thousands on hand to witness it were glad to have the five guys producing it back in town. (Kevin Brosky)"
So not only does my son wake up to this today, tonight's show at Terminal Five in New York City is the final concert on this month long tour, and guess what, it's sold out...I suspect there is going to be some serious partying in NYC this evening. Terminal Five holds about 3,000 people so the fact that it's sold out and in New York...WOW.
Usually I post the story of Eric's birth every year on this date -- yes, he was close to being born in a bank and even closer to being born in a taxi driven by the world's most nervous driver -- but rather than repeat myself, I will simply put up the link from my entry of three years ago for those interested: The Happy Birthday Eric Post
I hope you all click on that because it's a pretty hilarious story and of course could only happen to me.
Since we won't be able to make the New York trip tonight and most of Eric's friends are in Philadelphia and were at the Electric Factory show Thursday night, I knocked myself out for hours in the kitchen (har har) so that I could provide him with his two favorite cakes - triple chocolate mousse and chocolate peanut butter for a celebration post-show. I actually went out and found paper plates, napkins, etc. with dog paws and pics of dogs on them and I even bought party hats and noisemakers because well, I'm just that kind of Mom (meaning, I'm insane but if I am, too bad, because I am insanely in love with my family and that will never change, even when both kids are forty). Julie was kind enough to film the festivities on her iPhone.
So there's a lot more news on the Slick family front but since today is Eric's day, I will end this post now...but will be back if a review of last night's show in Washington, D.C. pops up or any other relevant Eric information.
