Happy July 4th and some more California (Dreamy) Guitar Trio with Julie and Eric Slick

Happy Independence Day -- oh that I really felt free, but let's not even go there now.

There is much to to talk about -- such as last night's brilliant Project Object concert at World Cafe Live where I met my first real world Twitter friend...and by the way Project Object continues their tour with @mrericslick (Twitter, twitter) on drums at a place where it appears you definitely should not drink the Kool-Aid, a/k/a The Church of Universal Love and Music...also, the fact that @julie slick (I won't do the twitter, twitter thing again...uh oh, just did) is coming over later today to cook up a very unconventional gourmet holiday feast and yes there will be photos and lots of descriptions posted later along with pics of last night's Project Object concert.

But in the meantime, when I got home late last night, I noticed a comment on my blog which lead me to a whole page of You Tubes from the California Guitar Trio with Julie and Eric from their show on June 20 at the Sellersville Theater, and really, I've been so engrossed watching them all morning and shaking my head in awe that I want to post them here now for your holiday viewing pleasure. Cool? Cool!

First up, "Echoes" -- complete with amazing light show about half way through...



Next we have the brilliant "In the Middle of Nowhere in the Middle of Texas", which was written at Pat Mastelotto's house, by the way, in the middle of nowhere in the middle of Texas (ha ha, you can thank me later, Pat)...



And how about a little Larks' Tongue in Aspic Part II...



Oh my! I really can't stop watching/listening.

Okay, Earth to Robin. Erm..where was I? Oh yeah. July 4. Whatever. God Bless America on this July 4...more importantly, the fact that Sarah Palin is at least temporarily gone from government but I don't trust the bitch. (Though I do hope it's because nude photos of her having sex with a moose are about to pop up although that thought just made me throw up a little because oh, that poor moose). Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow with the promised concert photos, Project Object show review, and hurrah, lots and lots of food porn!

Oh yeah, did I mention I live right down the street from one of the biggest fireworks display in the entire United States...and that said fireworks will include a free concert by Jeffrey Gaines, The Roots, and Sheryl Crow? Erm, on the one hand, it's very cool that is happening in my neighborhood; on the other hand, it means 2,000,000 obnoxious "tourists" (a/k/a people who do not live in or normally visit downtown Philadelphia) will be invading my space and leaving their collective mental and physical litter. Ha! Oh well. I think I'll watch the concert on T.V. and head outside just for the fireworks. But of course that will all depend on what Julie wants to do and how much of her deadly home made Sangria we drink...

Later,
xo

California Guitar Trio with Julie and Eric Slick

Cathedral Peak and Portland Rain by California Guitar Trio with Julie and Eric Slick at the Sellersville Theatre, June 20, 2009



Breathtaking...

It's All About Me, Me, Me

Happy Monday (an oxymoron, I know)...

So today's post is all about me but you know, it is my blog and every once in a while I have to promote my own sweet self so here goes.



First of all, my debut column appears today at The Nervous Breakdown and here's a direct link.

And if you are in the New York City area on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 8:30 p.m., the kind folks at the Nervous Breakdown have invited me to read this piece at the D Lounge, 101 East 15th Street, NYC.

Hey, check that place out -- veddy cool.



Ha ha - definitely one of the nicer places I've read though actually, come to think of it, I've had the pleasure of reading in some pretty amazing venues - KGB Bar (twice), Happy Ending Lounge, Box Car Lounge, TIXE Art Gallery -- well, I sort of read there -- half-way through I had a case of hysterical blindness due to having to read 10 point font in a dark room standing under a bare lightbulb with all of my New York writer pals in attendance...argh...must write a column about that some day...anyway, I've also even read at the Community College of Philadelphia. Yep, for someone totally anti-social, I do get around.

In other me, me, me news, you know that little documentary about "the hair down there" I'm in? There's all kinds of exciting things happening with "Why We Wax", the DVD actually has my photo on both the front and back covers, and is available for sale right here.



And there's a brand new trailer on Current TV (yep, Al Gore's channel)...oy vey...there I am again...and I just learned this is being shown on Channel TWC 103 in New York City every time they have a six minute slot to fill. Oh. My. God.



And even more press over at Jezebel where they have the same clip along with a cool article but it's worth it to visit the site just to read some of the comments...such as "If someone is elbow deep into your vagina for a waxing, you probably should check their references again..."

Finally, as I've been sort of promoting for months, I have a new book out, and if you haven't already ordered it, well, please do!



I am proud to say I'm now a member of Indie Bound and here's a little of what that's about:

"Why shop Indie?

When you shop at an independently owned business, your entire community benefits:

The Economy.

Spend $100 at a local and $68 of that stays in your community. Spend the same $100 at a national chain, and your community only sees $43.

Local businesses create higher-paying jobs for our neighbors.

More of your taxes are reinvested in your community--where they belong.

The Environment.

Buying local means less packaging, less transportation, and a smaller carbon footprint.

Shopping in a local business district means less infrastructure, less maintenance, and more money to beautify your community.

The Community/

Local retailers are your friends and neighbors—support them and they’ll support you.

Local businesses donate to charities at more than twice the rate of national chains.

More independents means more choice, more diversity, and a truly unique community."

So yes, indie bound is a wonderful, beautiful thing. Here's the link to buy my book and bypass the evil corporate system.

Sigh, but if you must, shop elsewhere, here's the wretched Amazon link;

And here's the one for Barnes and Noble where my sales rank is considerably more respectable for some unknown reason...woo hoo...maybe there is an Amazon backlash? Hope so! But again, buy indie, damn it!

Finally, I again remind you to follow me on Twitter. It's where I hang out more often than not...140 characters is about all I can handle while I juggle various writing projects.

Oh..speaking of projects...I know this is the me, me, me post...but don't forget that Eric Slick is on tour with Project Object starting this Wednesday night at Maxwell's in New Jersey, but of course I'm most excited about this Friday night's concert at World Cafe Live.

See you there!

Later,
xo

On Sale Today: Adrian Belew Power Trio Rare Live Overseas Recording

Okay, let's have a big welcome for the Adrian Belew Power Trio, finally on iTunes and Amazon! But not just any recording...a rare, live performance from overseas!



Where was it recorded and when? That's a secret. One which I cannot reveal.

But trust me, it's amazing. Side Four Live tunes...and yet it's not Side Four Live. And not just because of bonus songs Neurotica and Frame by Frame. Have a listen to the samples over at Amazon or iTunes and you'll see what I mean.

Here's the track list:

1. Writing On the Wall
2. Dinosaur
3. Ampersand
4. Young Lions
5. Beat Box Guitar
6. A Little Madness
7. Drive
8. Neurotica
9. Of Bow and Drum
10. Frame By Frame
11. Three of a Perfect Pair
12. Thela Hun Ginjeet

The link to buy it/listen to some samples on Amazon...

And the link for iTunes...and if for some reason the iTunes link does not work because we all know I'm technology challenged, try this one.

Later,
xo

A Day of Insane Music featuring, among others, The California Guitar Trio

Have I mentioned how in love I am with the California Guitar Trio? I have three favorite bands right now and they are one of them. The show at the Sellersville Theater, which of course featured @mrericslick and @julieslick (their official Twitter names and if you don't already follow them, you should), was just mind blowing amazing. Two standing ovations, I had chills the entire evening from the magnificent level of musicianship...I can't keep my eyes off them when they play. Like Adrian, they are totally unique and otherworldly...just no one like them in the universe. These photos were taken last year when the California Guitar Trio opened for the Adrian Belew Power Trio so while I do have some new ones from last night which I'll post here as well, these are cooler:

Paul Richards


Hideyo Moriya


Bert Lams


From the Planet Crimson forum board:

Paul's latest Twitter post: (Note from our author: That would be @CGTPaul over at Twitter world)

So much fun playing with Eric and Julie Slick in PA last night. They are amazing! Driving to Northampton for the show tonight.

"No surprise there. You all know (or should know) what a CGT performance is like by now, so there's no need to repeat the usual stuff. I'll just add that (as with anything they do), the addition of the Slick siblings takes it into another dimension ENTIRELY. We got to hear several new tunes last night, which was a treat in itself, but there was something special about hearing them this way. "Cathedral Peak" is the kind of tune that coasts on a bouncing rhythmic groove, so it's only natural that a rhythm section would make the perfect addition. "In the Middle of Nowhere in the Middle of Texas" was great at conveying that dusty-desert feeling, even before Eric added some brilliantly placed rattlesnake rattles. "Andromeda" - already my favorite of their new songs, and now in serious contention for my favorite ever - was truly otherworldly. And that goes just as much for "Echoes," which was made even more effective by a trippy animated backdrop of stars that wouldn't have been out of place at a real Pink Floyd laser show. Tyler made better use of the visual elements than I've ever seen before with shifting effects timed to complement the songs, plus well-chosen synaesthetic backgrounds: green & blue for the aquamarine stuff, yellow for the surf moments, deep red for "Larks' Tongues II," etc.

Yes, that's right, "Larks' II." When Robin (tease that she usually is) mentioned something about them playing a Crimson song the other day, I'd thought of something from the dual-guitar era - 3PP, "Discipline" or the like. But of course they couldn't do the obvious thing. I should have realized that such a rhythmic track would have been perfect for this lineup. Paul really raised those neck hairs with the eastern-tinged-violin solo, and Bert anchored it all with the most dirty heavy sludge tone I've ever heard from an acoustic guitar. Meanwhile there was nobody to do the Jamie Muir allsorts coloring, but Eric came damn close with all kinds of little cymbal skitters (all in the middle of a bass-drums rendition that would have done Wetton & Bruford proud). Bert said they'd love to have the Slicks play on the CD when it's recorded this summer, so let's hope it happens. It'll really be something special."

In case you do not believe the person who wrote this review, a man who obviously reads my blog and I saw him at the show (How Come You Didn't Come Over and Say Hi? Ha ha - I know, it was late, the place was mobbed, etc. etc.)...here's the CGT/Slick version of Larks' Tongue in Aspic Part 2 to which he refers:



Oh man, as you can see, I have a new widget and now I know how to post songs...this is just too cool.

As promised, here are some shots from the show last night, including soundcheck:










The next two photos were taken during the grand finale, an unbelievable cover of Pink Floyd's Echoes and of course also the title of CGT's latest CD, which you can purchase right here, and now I can't resist posting the version Julie and Eric did with them last night:






How amazing was that? I think it's a safe bet to say that the CD of this performance will be in daily rotation at Casa Slick for a very long time. Last night was such a high I can't even begin to tell you.

But let me backtrack here and tell you about the entire day.

Eric broke the news to me that even though his show at NEARfest with Oblivion Sun wasn't until 1:30, we had to be at the venue by 9:00 a.m at the very latest for sound check because the first band went on at 11:00 a.m. And yikes, on a sunny day the venue was an hour and a half from our house, but in a monsoon like it was that morning, we were looking at more like two hours. In other words, we had to leave at dawn knowing he had two shows twenty miles and eight hours apart.

So Eric loaded the drums into the car and away we drove into the pouring rain on the Pennsylvania turnpike, where some moron in an SUV zoomed by going 95 miles an hour but not before he tried to cut us off, causing Eric to have no choice but to swerve big time to avoid a collision at which time his drums came tumbling forward along with a sliding box of his drum hardware weighing, oh, about five hundred pounds, and yeah, you guessed it, the entire left side of my body was the lucky recipient. We were so shaken, though, that pain was secondary. We just sat on the shoulder of the road for a few minutes, trembling at our brush with death.

So we get to Nearfest and please, I mean this in the nicest possible way, it is really "Nerdfest" and trust me, don't take offense to this remark because I am the world's biggest music nerd, too, but anyway, even the guitarist/vocalist of Oblivion Sun stood in front of the mic and cracked a joke (while the bassist changed a string which snapped after the first song) which went like this: "Why do seventy year old women love Nearfest?" Answer: "Because it's the only day they can clean out their basements."

Get it? Here's a photo of the crowd...



I seriously believe the reason for the mature audience is because of the stupid label prog rock. Anyone who loves quality music, anyone who KNOWS music, would have been thrilled by this three day festival. But I guess the word "prog" has a stigma...and then I ended up hearing that this fest has been around forever and the same people go every year, so maybe that explains the lack of youth, too. One funny thing, though. There's an indoor parking garage adjacent to the auditorium (it's part of Lehigh University) where the event is held, and that's where fans tailgate. Yep. Parking the car was an experience...tons of people in the indoor lot sitting on lawn chairs, and then, the funniest thing ever, a big bad police officer who came through on foot like the gestapo knocking on car windows.

"What are you doing in there? You smoking weed?"

Erm, no. They were caught eating chocolate or jelly donuts maybe, but smoking weed...nope, didn't smell any. But they did have beer with their donuts.

Mmm...donuts and beer...

See? I really am a nerd, too. No worries.

Anyway, a very cool moment -- Gary Green of Gentle Giant, who is a big Adrian Belew fan and has seen Eric in concert a couple of times, came out and introduced the band.



And the band itself:



Excellent band, very creative, and nope, not going to use the word progressive. The crowd screamed for an encore at 3:10 and I hyperventilated, knowing that Eric had to be 20 miles away by 4:00 p.m. for sound check for the California Guitar Trio, but it all went well and despite the continuing monsoon we got there ASAP, and oddly enough, met up with Julie and her significant other, Matt, who arrived from downtown Philadelphia at exactly the same time.

As I said, the CGT show was beyond incredible; I adore the Sellersville Theater, and all I can say is, if you are anywhere even remotely nearby, please come out and see Eric, Julie, and Adrian on August 26 where they will be performing "e".

By the time we left the Sellersville Theater, it was past midnight, another hour's drive home, and I don't think I was ever more exhausted in my life, but there was one person far more tired than I was: Eric. The poor boy played two shows and Eric being Eric, practiced non-stop in between, so he was toast.

And that was my day of insane music. I am sure some more California Guitar Trio and Oblivion Sun reviews will pop up shortly and when they do, I'll add them in.

Thanks again to CGT for inviting Julie and Eric to join them on stage. It was a brilliant evening.

Later,
xo