How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Oui Oui Music Newsletter

September 13, 2022

Hello There Slim Boys and Girls!

I was at the beach and limped into an ice cream store leaning on my cane.

I ordered an ice cream cone and the guy asked me, “Crushed nuts?”

I replied, “No, broken leg.”

Slimmest of All People!

How are we? You boys and girls OK? I’m just checking in on you. I hope everyone is hunky-dory.

We have some very cool shows coming up!

We will be playing at Vicky’s every Tuesday starting September 20th. Vicky’s is in Indian Wells, Californee, right outside Palm Springs. It’s the coolest club around and it’s even air-conditioned!

Which is especially cool when it’s 120 degrees outside!

And on September 24th, we’ll be playing the Peace Love and Music Festival in Neillsville, Wisconsin! More than 10 bands are performing and we’re one of ‘em.

It’s gonna be like Woodstock! Except indoors. And I don't think they'll be doling out LSD. And I’m pretty sure Jimi Hendrix won’t be playing.

But the Slim Man Band will be on stage at 6 PM! Come say hey!

All details for all gigs are on the slimman.com website and also down below.

Thanks to all the Fine Slim Folks who came out to the Zoll Vineyards gig in Virginny. What a wonderful turnout!

And the Rams Head concert in Annapolis was one of our best. We had fun!

Those were two great gigs. Thanks for showing up, Slim People!

If you want to learn how to cook, may I suggest a cookbook? The new Slim Man Cooks Volume 2 cookbook is full of simple, savory recipes.

Each one has a cooking video of me, Mr. Man, showing you how to cook that dish!

She’s a-so nice!

It’s a cookbook. It’s a memoir. And it’s funny! 30 ravishing recipes, 30 humorous stories, and 30 cooking videos. Get yours now!

AND NOW THE REAL NEW REAL NEWS FROM SLIM'S SHADY TRAILER PARK

Here’s a true story about how I spent my summer vacation. Complete with a slideshow!

My mission was to eat as many crab dishes as possible, see my family and friends, and make some music for the Slim People!

I tried to condense this newsletter down to 1000 words which was tough because I was gone for 3 weeks...

Which comes down to about 47.6 words per day!

Here goes…

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

by Slim Man

First thing I did when I arrived in Baltimore?

Went out for a soft-shell crab sandwich, which looks like a deep-fried tarantula in between two slices of bread. But I love ‘em!

Hit Man Howie Z picked me up at the Baltimore airport and we drove to a restaurant with amazing soft-shell crab sandwiches.

A few days later we drove to Virginia for a gig at Zoll Vineyards, a winery in Mathews County.

My mom’s family settled there in the early 1700s. Sounds like I’m leading up to a joke, but I ain’t. Some Slim Family members still live there, including my cousin Michael, who plays violin.

The gig was in a large banquet hall with a big stage along one wall. When we arrived the guys were setting up:

Kevin Levi on sax, Rick O’Rick on piano, John E Coale on drums, Hit Man on bongos...

And Michael on violin!

It was packed! The band sounded great and Michael played a beautiful solo on “End of the Rainbow.”

After the gig, Hit Man, Rick and I drove to Michael’s, which is nearby.

We stayed in the guest house, which is where my aunt Audrey (the Slim Mom’s sister) used to live. It was assembled in the 1800s...

So was I!

The next morning, Michael showed me an old brown jug he found while cleaning the place up. It had a note taped to the bottom.

Apparently, my great-grandfather drank the jug of whiskey on the day his daughter (my mom’s mom) was born.

Drinking a full jug of whiskey when your kid is born doesn’t seem like a great idea...

Save it until they become teenagers!

Later that day Howie and I drove back to B-Mo and I made pesto. The basil plant in Howie’s garden was ready for plucking. So I plucked!

The pesto was delizioso! And the recipe is in the new Slim Man Cooks Volume 2 cookbook!

The next day, we drove to the beach. Ocean City, Maryland. Downy Ocean, Hon!

First stop was a bayside restaurant for crab cakes. My niece and kids met us there. It’s hard for me not to go on about how much I love those girls.

Even though the young ones made fun of me hobbling with a cane!

I spent the following day with the kids. The whole day. Every minute.

It almost killed me! They’re a lively bunch. I tried not to spoil them but ended up giving in to almost every demand.

“Uncle Slimmy can we rent a bike?”

The last thing I wanted to do was get on a bike. My last bike ride ended up with me breaking my leg!

But I gave in and rented a surrey bike and we drove up and down the boardwalk. Without busting any limbs!

“Uncle Slimmy can we go on some rides?”

Last time I rode a rollercoaster, I staggered like a drunken sailor for three weeks. It messed up my equilibrium!

But it was hard to say no to the girls, so off we went to the end of the boardwalk where they have rollercoasters, Tilt-a-Whirls and lots of other rides that induce vertigo and vomiting.

It was so much fun…for them! I watched from the sidelines as the girls had the time of their lives. And none of them threw up!

Then my niece packed the girls in the minivan and gave me a ride to see my friend Clubby.

They dropped me off at his liquor store/deli and I surprised him. I’ve known Clubby since the 1980s when my band, BootCamp, played a club called the Electric Circus.

Clubby used to work there and we became best of friends. And Clubby can cook! His unique crab cake recipe is in the new Slim Man Cooks Volume 2 cookbook!

The next day Howie and I drove back for the Rams Head show in Annapolis.

The concert was one of our best. I spit on the floor!

The Hazelrigg Brothers opened. They do jazz versions of classic rock songs. Hendrix. Zeppelin. Santana. They were stunningly good. Geoff Hazelrigg on standup bass, brother George on piano, and John O’Reilly on drums.

And then the Slim Man Band took the stage. We started off with a singalong of “Let the Good Times Roll.” And then the good times started rolling!

George on piano, Kevin on sax, Hit Man on bongos, John E on drums, and Rick (AKA Cowboy Pickles) on synth.

We played a few Slim Songs, and then Shea Welsh came up and played guitar on “Midnight Train” and nailed it!

We did a few more songs with Shea and then Geoff came up and played standup bass for the rest of the evening. It was one of my favorite Rams Head shows.

A couple nights later Howie and I did a Rat Pack Show at La Scala Ristorante in Baltimore. Best Italian restaurant in Maryland!

Howie on bongos, me on the mic. How lucky can one guy be? Nino the owner is a good friend of ours, and he sent us home with some pasta frutti di mare that was molto delizioso!

That weekend I bought a bushel of steamed crabs and took them to a gathering of the Slim Family. Almost everyone was there, including the girls.

We drank beer and ate steamed crabs. Well, the girls didn’t drink beer.

They drank vodka.

JFK.

Just Effing Kidding!

I love steamed crabs. They use this amazing spice called Old Bay. I wrote a story about the history of Old Bay…in the new Slim Man Cooks Volume 2 cookbook!

Did I mention I have a new cookbook?

On the last night of my vacation, Howie and I went to drummer John E Coale’s house to record drums and bongos for some new Slim Man and Bona Fide songs.

The band was smokin’ hot!

That might have been because it was 100 degrees outside, and John E doesn’t have air-conditioning. True story!

John E is nature boy. So no A/C! But we did have fans…

They were blowing so hard it was like being in a wind tunnel where they test the aerodynamics of race cars.

They cooled the house down a little, but we had to turn them off while we recorded. Otherwise the background noise would have been like having a lawn mower running in the living room.

So it was hot. Sticky hot. But the music sounded good!

The next day I caught an early flight back to Palm Springs.

California, here I come!

And that was my summer vacation. In 1000 words.

Well, it was more like 1100. But who’s counting?!?

Hope I didn’t bore you!

If you’re still awake, thanks for reading.

Keep smiling. And keep in touch.

It’s all about love.

Who loves ya?

Uncle Slimmy

PS: Did I mention I have a new cookbook? Here's a video from the cookbook. Slim's Pesto! It's the Besto! I like to put it over pasta with shrimp. The video is on the front page of the website.