Peace Man

Oui Oui Music Newsletter

September 23, 2022

Greetings People of Slimness!

Italian airline Alitalia went bankrupt and General Motors stepped in and bought the company.

The new airline will be called...

Genitalia.

Slim People!

Before I tell you about the concert this Saturday, I need to tell you about the new website!

Slimman.com went through a complete redesign.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks, Slim People!

And thanks to all who came out to the opening night at Vicky's. SOLD-OUT! JAM-PACKED! SRO!

That stands for Slim Rocked Out!

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

I played the Big Bear Jazz Fest a few years ago.

Big Bear is a beautiful lakeside mountain town about 75 miles from Palm Springs with skiing in the winter and boating in the summer.

And the occasional concert…

The show was packed, Greg Vail played sax. When we took a break a guy came up and told me he liked the band. He was big. Tall. I noticed he had on a pair of blue suede shoes.

Blue suede shoes. People have written songs about blue suede shoes.

I told the guy I liked his shoes. He looked down at my Sasquatch clodhoppers and said “I think we might be the same size. Fourteen?”

Yes indeed.

A few months later I did a gig at a club in Seal Beach (CA) called Spaghettini. The same guy comes up to me on break. He had a box in his hands. He gave it to me.

Blue suede shoes. Size 14. They fit perfectly.

Who is this guy?

Peace Man.

That’s what he calls himself. He wears a lot of tie-dye shirts. The license plate on his Jeep says PEACEMN.

And he gives out pewter coins the size of a quarter with a peace sign on one side and a smiley face on the other. Gives them to almost everyone he comes in contact with.

Those coins are his calling card.

Peace Man and I became friends. Good friends. And not just because he gave me the coolest shoes ever.

He loves football (Packers). I love football (Ravens). He loves baseball (Brewers). I love baseball (Orioles).

He loves music and so do I. We’ve had lunch a million times in Palm Springs. I called his mom on her 90th birthday.

Peace Man takes such great care of his mom. And I know what that’s all about. Gotta love the Moms!

A couple years later, I was in Italy. Rome. One of my favorite cities. My grandfather Romollo was born there.

I was on my way to Positano, a seaside town south of Rome. My Italian friend Don Pietro had asked me to sing at his birthday party.

I flew into Rome a couple days early to visit my cousin Alessandro at his amazing restaurant.

Ristorante Camponeschi. Best restaurant in Rome!

My phone rang and it was Peace Man. He asked me where I was.

I told him.

He screamed “No way! I’m in Florence for my birthday!”

I had no idea.

I took a train to Florence the next day and met him at his hotel. He walked across the lobby handing out peace coins to anyone and everyone.

He kept saying “Peace Man,” and the Italians just looked at him and shrugged. They had no idea what he was saying.

So I translated, “L’uomo di pace. L’uomo di pace.”

The Man of Peace. And I’d point to Peace Man.

I can speak Italian. I guess you could call me lower intermediate. For years I kept a daily journal in Italian. I stopped after COVID hit.

Because I kept writing the same thing every day!

But I know Italian fairly well and I know that Peace Man is l’uomo di pace.

Luh-whoa-moe-dee-pah-chay. The Man of Peace!

Peace Man and I went out to dinner in Florence and he gave out coins to every waiter (waitperson!) and busboy (busperson!) that strolled by.

A few weeks later, I get a call from Peace Man asking how to spell l’uomo di pace.

I told him.

A day or so later the same question. I told him again. He asked me if I was sure.

I was.

The next time I saw him he rolled up his sleeve.

There was a red tattoo on his arm. L’UOMO DI PACE.

No wonder he wanted to check the spelling. Glad I got it right!

Two years later, I got a call from Peace Man. Asked if I wanted to go to Desert Trip right here in Coachella to see the Stones.

The Rolling Stones. Not the Flintstones.

Peace Man is a Stones fanatic. Follows them around the country like a Grateful Dead Head. But he couldn’t go to Desert Trip so he gave me his tickets.

The concert was at the Empire Polo Club—not far from the Slim Shack—so I walked over and strolled through a long, covered tunnel that let me out right in front of the stage.

I was so close I could have shined Mick Jagger’s shoes if I wanted.

It was an amazing concert.

Last November I did a show in Antigo, Wisconsin, Peace Man’s home state. He came out to the show. To increase the peace!

A month later he came down to Baltimore and took me and the boys to a Ravens/Packers game. My beloved Ravens lost in the final seconds. GO PACK GO!

E Man, Peace Man, Hit Man

And in April, Peace Man called me. Told me he wanted to put together the first ever Peace, Love and Music Festival. Asked if the Slim Man Band would like to play.

He had booked the SilverDome Ballroom in Neillsville, an historic venue that used to host everyone from Duke Ellington to Johnny Cash.

I told Peace Man that Slim Man was all in!

I thought I might try a little something different for this show. I decided to bring in George (Hazelrigg, piano) and John E (Coale, drums) from the East Coast.

And bring me and Chase (Huna, sax) in from the West Coast.

Have a little East Coast-West Coast musical mish- mash.

So that’s what we’re going to do at the first ever Peace, Love and Music Festival. Sponsored by Peace Man!

Tomorrow, Saturday, September 24th at 6 PM (CT). I'm going to try and LIVE stream it from my Facebook page. Not sure if they have internet out there, but we shall see!

https://www.facebook.com/slimmanicotti

There are ten bands performing that day. Each one gets 50 minutes on stage. For us that's about ten songs, max.

Chase and I travel 2,000 miles each way. Four thousand miles total.

That’s about…four hundred miles a song!

I’ll let you know how it goes in the next newsletter.

Keep smiling.

And keep in touch.

Peace, Man!

Who loves ya?

Uncle Slimmy

PS: Here's a video of a recipe from the first Slim Man Cooks cookbook. A fish dish inspired by Ella Fitzgerald.

I call it…Salmon Ella.