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.

Oddities and Soddities: Robin Slick's Blog - The Weird Posts Edition

Okay, before we launch into all things weird, I have a major announcement to make.

Or not. We'll talk tomorrow and see how it all panned out.

Back in October, 2005, Paul Green invited Julie and Eric to return to Rock School as Hall of Famers (the first All-Stars to graduate the program) to perform at Music Player Live's Tribute to Les Paul for his 90th birthday. Playing on the same bill that night at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City was Adrian Belew, but this was before he even knew who Julie and Eric were.



You can't see Eric exactly, but prior to the Roseland gig, Les gave a talk over at the Crowne Plaza Hotel where the Music Player Live event was held, and the Rock School Hall of Famers did two tribute songs for Les -- Eric is there on the drums performing for him along with Max DiMezza on bass and C.J. Tywoniak on guitar.

Anyway, both gigs - the Les Paul Seminar and the show at the Roseland, were filmed for the above documentary, which will be shown tonight on PBS channels across the country. In Philadelphia, it's on Channel 12 at 9:00 p.m. Here's a blurb from the show's website, which does in fact confirm a Rock School segment:

A 90-minute documentary on the life and work of LES PAUL

by Paulson Productions, Icon Television Music and American Masters.

"The legendary Les Paul, father of the solid-body electric guitar, inventor of overdubbing and multi-track recording, king of the ‘50s pop charts, rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, tells his own rags-to-riches story in a performance-documentary by filmmakers John Paulson and James Arnts - with a wall-to-wall soundtrack of the greatest hits from "Hold That Tiger" to "My Generation."

A joyous 90th-birthday celebration at the Iridium Jazz Club and the accolades that follow (induction into National Inventors Hall of Fame, Grammy-winning “rock duets” album; School of Rock tribute at Roseland, lifetime achievement award from Songwriters Hall of Fame) provide the verité framing device for Mr. Paul’s lively recollections of his remarkable life.

An artful blend of interviews, vintage film and television clips, recordings, radio show excerpts, still photographs, advertising art, personal memorabilia and a rich variety of location B-roll illustrate Mr. Paul’s narrative and examine his accomplishments in the distinctive in-depth style of American Masters.

The intricate technology and sensuous beauty of solid-body electric guitars will be of special interest to the filmmakers, who will employ computer animation and still-life artistry to examine and display the legendary Les Paul guitars and the genius of their inventor.

Les Paul has been “chasing the perfect sound” since his boyhood in Waukesha, Wisconsin, when he punched new chords into his mother’s piano roll and turned his bedsprings into a radio antenna which would pull in the raucous jazz broadcasts from Chicago and the lonesome harmonica from the Grand Old Opry.

Irascible, egotistical, indefatigable, an inveterate tinkerer and practical joker, he’s the last of that self-educated, brilliantly innovative generation of musicians and media pioneers who revolutionized popular music and re-invented the global culture.

AMERICAN MASTERS Les Paul - Chasing Sound! premieres nationally Wednesday, July 11 at 9pm (ET) on PBS (check local listings)"

So. Here's what I can tell you. At the Roseland Ballroom, Julie and Eric performed two songs - City of Tiny Lights and a Zep song. The Rock School Hall of Famers performed two additional songs with Branden King on drums and Max DiMezza on bass -- Sympathy for the Devil and 21st Century Schizoid Man (I know, I know). Whether this film will show snippets of all four songs; whether it will be a second of just one song; whether they will show Eric, C.J., and Max performing for Les at the Crowne Plaza; whether you will see Gary and me looking like we were having an insane religious experience in the front row at both performances...well, I guess we'll all have to wait until tonight.

All I know is, it was a magical evening. And if any of my family is in this film I may faint but even if they aren't, it was a night I'll never forget and Gary for sure won't because Les Paul signed the pickguard of Gary's vintage Les Paul guitar and you can imagine how he feels about that.

Alrighty then...now for the really weird stuff.

Hey, how about this?



That's an interesting photo I found of Julie on line by a wonderful professional photographer named Michael Sheehan (click on link and watch his cool film) who also took pics of people like Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton.

And for $355.00, if you are hankering for the 16x20 version of Julie, framed, on fiber base paper, it can be yours.

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

Actually, you can also buy smaller, unframed versions of this photo starting at $30.00. And yes, this was extremely surreal for me to find.

Especially as he is charging more for Julie than he is for Dylan or Clapton.

Here's another oddity:



That would be Eric the drummer jamming out on Adrian's signature Parker guitar at Studio Belew, June, 2007.

And Eric is going to kill me for this, but it's just too crazy for me not to mention. Both John Wetton and Asia have Eric in their top 25 friends over at MySpace, alongside Carl Palmer and Robert Fripp, et al. That is seriously intense.

But you know, Eric and John have a history. In case you are new to my blog, you can read all about it beginning here and ending here.

More insanity - in the past few days, I've received some strange email requests and also noticed my regular website was getting hits with the search words "Robin Slick brownies" and they were coming from the DGM Live forum.

Why were people emailing me for my brownie recipe now? Why were they coming to my website googling "Robin Slick's brownies"? Aha. If you click on that DGM link, the answer is right there:

"Gnomic R & D
Posted by teetotum on July 09, 2007

During all this talk of hobgoblins, the gnomes had already enacted research and development in the following:

1. minimal playing

2. slow playing

3. creating imperceptible dynamic range

4. abolishing analysis

5. the art of stopping (ref. Wire)

6. Peter Buck’s butter knife plectrums

7. Robin Slick’s brownie recipes.
****

I have no idea what that means. I tried skimming through the other comments and frankly, the contributors there are just too out there smart for me...I had no idea what I was reading. Just that they must want my recipe. So...here it is again, for all of you brave souls who don't mind a messy kitchen and 1,000,000 calories:

P6 - The Slick Version
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Tue., Oct 10, 2006
Writer Robin Slick was at the P6 / Porcupine Tree show at the Keswick Theatre. Robin is the mother of drummer Eric Slick and his sister, bassist Julie, both of whom play in the Adrian Belew Power Trio. You can read Robin's account of the gig here. You'll notice that Julie had baked a cake for the P6 gang to sample. Well, here's the recipe from Julie for DGMLive visitors to try at home for themselves.
Slick Brownies

One pound unsalted butter (yeah, that's right. One pound. As in four whole sticks)
28 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra large eggs
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. Butter and flour a 12x18x1 inch baking sheet.
3. Melt together the butter, 1 lb. of the chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water.
4. Allow to cool slightly.
5. In a large bowl, stir but do not beat together the eggs, vanilla, and sugar.
6. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
7. In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour and the baking powder.
8. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture.
9. Toss the pecans and 12 oz of chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup flour, then add them to the chocolate batter.
10. Pour into the baking sheet.
11. Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and dough.
12. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
13. Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into squares.
****
Finally, Julie and Eric are currently in Canada for the Quebec Summer Music Festival, which runs July 5-15, 2007 with a different headliner each evening. Last night it was Nickelback; tonight it's the Adrian Belew Power Trio, and tomorrow it's Kanye West. So yeah, my kids are headlining with the "big boys" this week and it's only going to get better when they leave for Japan on Friday and headline an entire week. Getting back to Canada, though, I spoke to Eric briefly yesterday; he said all of the performers are staying at an incredible hotel; he said both he and Julie have spectacular views of Quebec with amazing rooms, restaurants, and how cool is this, an Olympic sized heated rooftop pool which remains open even in the snowy winter (I tried to post a pic from the hotel's website but it wouldn't let me.)

What a life Julie and Eric have, eh?

Later,
xo

Odds and Sods for Saturday, 07/07/07 including more Belew Trio news and reviews, and reviews of a great book, Vertigo, and a great restaurant, Osteria

Adrian Belew,Julie Slick, and Eric on stage, Asbury Park, NJ, July 24, 2007...photos by Gary Slick

Okay, first things first.

Some dates have been added to the Belew Power Trio tour, which, believe it or not, kicks off this coming week in Quebec. Julie and Eric get on a plane at dawn this Tuesday, July 10, 2007 for the Quebec Summer Music Festival where they will play on the Scene Molson Dry stage in front of thousands of people on Wednesday, July 11, 2007, hop on a plane back to Philadelphia on July 12, 2007...and after being home for several hours, jump on another plane for Japan on...gasp...Friday, July 13 where they will remain on tour until July 23, 2007. Oh...before the gigs at the Blue Note in Tokyo that entire week, they will be performing on Sunday, July 15 in Toyama, Japan, at Kyoiku Bunka Kaikan.

Here's a photo of the crowd attending the Quebec Summer Music Festival, which has already kicked off on July 5, 2007:




Awesome, huh?

I am going to refrain from any terror over the Friday the 13th flight; besides, how's this for cool -- I woke up at exactly 7:00 a.m. this morning, which makes it 7:00 a.m. on 07/07/07. So I had quadruple sevens today....hmmm...should I go out now and buy a powerball ticket?

Nah.

Anyway, when the Adrian Belew Power Trio comes back to the U.S., here are the additional dates:

August 22, 2007: Atlanta, Georgia: Smith's Olde Bar;

August 23, 2007: Jacksonville, Florida: Jack Rabbit's;

August 24, 2007: St. Petersburg, Florida: State Theatre;

August 25, 2007: West Palm Beach, Florida: The Theatre.

September 7-15, 2007 West Coast Tour

Confirmed so far:

September 15, 2007: Seattle, Washington: NWSoberstock: The Adrian Belew Power Trio, with opening guests TU, featuring Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto, so yeah, three out of four members of one incarnation of King Crimson will be in the same venue at the same time. See the The ConstruKction of Light CD or here for further info though I have a feeling that most people reading my blog these days can tell me a thing or two about Crimson, not the other way around.

But I can tell you about a great book I read and also an awesome restaurant I love, and I'll get to that in a minute.

In the meantime, there are still more reviews still coming in from the trio's tour last month. Here's one, for example (and I will continue to post others throughout the week)...

From the Parker Guitar Forum Board:

"When I wrote my first post here about playing again and buying my PM-20 because Adrian Belew melted my brain I guess I wasn't lying...

I managed to find a way to fly to NY and drive down to NJ for the inaugural School of Rock festival to see his power trio. What a crazy weekend...Adrian Belew Power Trio, Mike Keneally Band, Ween and some of the most talented kids on the earth. It was surreal. All these kids walking around in the crowd with guitars and drum sticks, watching a show with Dave Dreiwitz from Ween or Mike Keneally standing five feet away (watching the same show), and just pure rocking music all weekend. I'm pretty sure it was the best weekend of my life actually.

Then, on Monday, Adrian and his wife sat down to eat at the same restaurant I was at and I said 'hi' (I think Adrian is actually too nice to be a rock star). That led to me driving in NYC for the first time in my life (with my parents SUV, not my Civic...) to see the power trio at BB King's. I've seen Adrian with Crimson quite a few times, and seen him solo/old power trio three times. Of course, I was always amazed with his playing and music before, but now...the power trio with the Slicks has elevated his playing and material to another dimension. I think I would honestly rather watch the trio right now than Crimson (yes, the brain has melted completely)...don't miss the trio!

Anyone else have any SOR fest/ABPT stories?

Parker PM-20 Gold Top
Digitech RP-350"

And look! The trio has a Wiki! (I am not responsible for this though I do blush and thank the person who did do it and included my name)

So it's been a crazy week -- hence the lack of daily blog posting -- but here's what's going on.

Tuesday morning, July 3, Gary says to me: "We have a problem."

Not the best way to wake up.

"Huh? Wuh?"

"A pipe broke in our downstairs bathroom. I went in last night and there was a hissing sound and water all over the floor."

"Oh god."

Now in this particular case, we are fortunate, because Gary knows his plumbing. But still...after all the hours he logged in the week before on tour with the trio...and naturally, we told both Julie and Eric they could have a repeat of the Memorial Day barbecue over our house the following day, July 4, and Julie offhandedly told me "Oh, I invited like 20 people, but that doesn't include whoever Eric invited..." not to mention that Gary had to be at work on Tuesday...

"Don't worry," he said. "I will fix it when I get home from work. Tell Julie and Eric the party is still on for the 4th."

"Are you sure?" I asked, because, well, I am just not happy unless I am worrying and the thought of 25 guests traipsing upstairs to use our bathroom instead of the downstairs powder room did not exactly thrill me, but hey, I go with the program, even if I am quaking with fear.

"I'm sure. The worst that will happen is that I have to bang a hole in the wall to get to the pipes. How attached are you to the wallpaper in there?"

Sob. Very attached. But what can you do, it's only wallpaper, and I'm always up for something new. (Do they make Neil Gaiman wallpaper, I wonder? Just kidding, just kidding)

Needless to say, because of upside down, backwards plumbing performed by someone else many years ago, Gary finished fixing the bathroom on July 4...oh, about 30 minutes before the guests arrived.

No further comment, other than we had a blast, Gary made about 100 burgers, Julie made insane veggie burgers, red, white and blue potato salad, I kid you not -- she found potatoes in all three colors...I baked brownies with and without (with and without nuts...what did you think I meant?) and yeah, there were probably fifty people crammed in our tiny house but it was incredible and I hope that even when J&E are rich and famous rock stars they still continue on with this tradition...plus all of their friends are musicians so naturally someone picked up a guitar, there was some singing, and I thought to myself "Oh my god, Gary and I managed to raise two normal, well-adjusted, happy kids after all!"

Just kidding. You know we already knew that...it's our proudest accomplishment.

So in other news, as I said above, I want to tell you about an awesome book I read recently, and it might not be one you'd find on your own since it's already been out since September, 2006, but it's one of those great, well-written novels that has so much going on between the lines -- something I just adore as a reader, don't you? That book is Vertigo by Lauren Baratz-Logsted...here's the official blurb:

"A literary novel with suspense and erotic undertones that opens on New Year's Eve 1898. Emma Smith has just informed the reader that "For seventeen years I was a good - some might say exemplary - wife. It is important that you know this about me from the start." That night, she resolves to, during the course of the next year, become "a better person." Her husband John, a writer, suggests that she do so by striking up a correspondence with a convicted murderer who he thinks does not deserve to be in prison for his crime. The prisoner, Chance Wood, initially wants nothing to do with Emma, but then his letters become more heated and Emma learns that the real definition of vertigo is not the fear of falling, but the fear of wanting to fall. As the following New Year's approaches, and the world gets ready for 1900, Queen Victoria announces - at the suggestion of an advisor who states that this will make her look more progressive - that she will free certain prisoners that do not pose a real threat to society and who can get an upstanding citizen to petition for them. But by the time Chance is freed, Emma finds that she is in a prison of her own making. Unable or unwilling to merely turn away from the only world she has ever known in order to achieve what she wants, she becomes convinced that if she is to ever have her Chance, then her husband must die."

If you click on the link for Lauren's book, you will see several reviews, and I just had to add one myself because I was so blown away:

A fascinating read, July 1, 2007
By: Robin Slick
"Vertigo is not a typical historical romance by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, it cannot be labeled at all because the basic plot transcends many genres. It is a psychological thriller, erotic, and quite frankly, very good literary fiction. Ms. Baratz-Logsted has created rich, fascinating characters in Emma, John, and Chance, as well as a cast of off-beat supporting foils such as Timmins the not so typical butler and Constance, the not so typical shrinking violet of that era. This book is rich in detail...the words are so visual you are right in the middle of the scene; all of your senses are involved...it is almost like staring at a painting at times. And I defy anyone to guess the ending, which is the best part. The suspense that builds slowly throughout is masterful, beginning at page one...the prologue itself is chilling and will set the reader on the edge of his/her chair as we wonder what fate has befallen the narrator. I could sense impending disaster...and yet...I wasn't sure. I entertained many scenarios as I read on, which was wonderful because while the author gives us some hints, the many twists and turns...done brilliantly...had me repeatedly shaking my head saying "No, that's not it...that can't be what happens"...all I know is I could not put this book down until I found out what was in store for these characters.

The book is written in first person, which I personally adore having read Catcher in the Rye as a child -- it's the book which made me want to be a writer myself -- and said first person narrator was the perfect choice for this book. Trust me, from the opening chapter you are in the mind of Emma...you are with her in every room; you are reading her lover's letters with her...you experience her every emotion.

The erotic nature of the book was handled in an extremely sexy, graphic way and yet the most graphic details are not thrown in the reader's face, as with most of the book, we are left to our imaginations which is way sexier.

What is especially interesting to me is how this book illustrates the intimate nature of the written word. While it takes place in Victorian times, it very well could have been written as a modern novel with characters who meet and correspond on the internet and fall in love via email exchange without ever having met in the "real world"...something which seems to be a usual occurrence these days and will have many readers both smiling and shuddering as perhaps they see themselves in Emma and Chance.

All of the above is what makes this book such a winner. The reader must think and analyze throughout, in between admiring this author for her writing style and skills...yet taken at face value without analyzing, it still makes for a quick, fascinating read which will grab both lovers of light fiction and those who want a more challenging, literary read. I know first hand how difficult it is to create a work that manages to do both, and I applaud Lauren Baratz-Logsted for her ability to do so. And again, the build-up of suspense from chapter to chapter is just amazing.

I cannot recommend this book enough."

I had the pleasure of meeting Lauren at the recent Backspace Writers Conference where she won the Backspace Member of the Year Award for being incredibly helpful to other writers on the site, and I can tell you first hand how true that is. She is incredibly generous in offering all kinds of help/advice to fellow writers and this award is so well deserved it's ridiculous.

And while I am on the subject of reviews, last night Gary, Julie and boyfriend Matt, and I ate at Philadelphia's best new restaurant, Osteria. It was sick, sick, sick. We started out with appetizers of hands down the best brick oven pizza in the tri-state area - one a basic margherita with tomato, basil, and mozzarella; the other melanzana, which is a fantastic combination of tomato, wood-oven baked eggplant, oregano and stracciatella cheese. Trust me, you have never had pizza like that in your life. I was stuffed at that point but still managed to scarf down fusili pasta salad with jumbo lump crabmeat, tarragon, celery and baby tomatoes; Julie had fettuccine with yellowfin tuna, oregano and zucchini flowers, and Gary and Matt both had lancaster chicken "alla griglia" with salsa verde, roasted fingerling, grilled red onion, and green bean salad. We somehow managed to end the meal with fire grilled peaches atop polenta pound cake and some wonderous, molten chocolate souffle topped with house made pistachio gelato.

I may never eat again.

But oh my god, what a restaurant, and definitely the place to "be seen" in Philadelphia these days. I recognized several local celebrities and yeah, yeah, we had to make this reservation like a month in advance. But oh my god...it is so, so worth it.

I saw the chef/owner, the infamous Mark Vetri, on the premises last night and I was dying for him to visit our table so I could embarrass Julie...word has it that Mark is an accomplished guitarist and had he stopped by, I would have said "This dinner is a bon voyage celebration for Julie who is about to go on tour with Adrian Belew" but alas he was very busy and stayed behind the scenes. Julie finally let out a long sigh of relief as we left the restaurant because she knows me and what I'm capable of doing...i.e., mortifying her.

Eric could not join us last night because as usual, he had another gig...ha..that boy is the hardest working drummer in the world right now, I think.

So I think that's all the news for today but you never know...I probably left stuff out or more craziness will occur today...so I leave you with the usual "I will be back..."

Later
xo

A disclaimer of sorts, but still way cool!

Real quick because I'm multi-tasking like crazy tonight (bleh) - but you know I had to write to the author of the below blogpost and ask for a clarification and he was very cool and was actually surprised that his blurb was already out there in cyberworld and found by Dick Tracy here(ha)...and he wrote me a very nice, apologetic email that confirmed what I sort of figured out on my own.

So he rewrote his post and now it makes more sense (to me, at least)...but as I said, still very, very cool nonetheless. Awesome, in fact.

NW Soberstock blog.

Can This Be True? Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn, David Byrne...and Julie and Eric Slick?

No, Julie Slick does not play the drums, but this crazy photo somehow fits this post because it reflects the way I feel right now...alternating jumping up and down between staring with glazed eyes into space (Taken at Studio Belew, June, 2007)

Look, I admit to knowing nothing about this until just reading the news below...other than I know the Adrian Belew Power Trio is going on a west coast tour September 7-15 and that they are playing Seattle, WA on September 15. So you can imagine what I am going through having just discovered this:...

"Beginnings

A lot has happened since we opened our business - it all started with me getting sober - I was almost dead - weighing 170 lbs. at 6′3″ and was indifferent towards life. I had a friend call and the power of the universe spoke through him. For some reason, I answered the phone that day and heard a friend who did not want to go to my funeral - it took a couple of days to decide to go to treatment - I was afraid of losing my job, etc - but at the risk of all and death knocking at my door - I went. When I got out - I wanted to get a music festival together in a clean and sober setting and wrote many of my favorite artists. Adrian Belew wrote back and we signed him as our headliner last Friday. Trey Gunn was than enlisted and so I will have 3 of the four members of the last King Crimson group on stage Sept 15th. I also received notice from Robert Fripp, David Byrne, PUSA and a few others - so this thing just continues to grow. We enlisted Talking Rain as a sponsor today and yesterday - two most beautiful women joined the company - I must not say my company anymore - LOL. I welcome any comments to this blog and hope that you see the importance of offering great music in a clean and sober environment for the next generation of kids and for those of us who are older yet childlike. I thank Amy Kneelan and Rachet Galberth for their support and warmly welcome them to this amazing journey. I am still hoping no one wakes me up.

Mike"


Um...I'm hoping no one wakes me up, either.

Holy freaking cow.

ETA: Wait...I just found the actual website. It looks like it was updated last week before the most recent additions, and I see they are listing Pat Mastelotto as well. Oh god.

But now I'm wondering whether "receiving notice" means they accepted or not because that's not exactly a definite "yes", is it? and maybe when he says 3 members of the last Crimson he's talking about Adrian, Trey, and Pat? Hey, who cares! Whatever the configuration, it's totally awesome!

When I know for sure, I will let you know though I'm guessing both Adrian and Robert will be writing about it in their journals as well if in fact it's really a go.

Later,
xo