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MY TURNNNN!!!!! YESSSSS!

Hi Folks,

It’s Chuck here. If you’re up for it, I’ve got one more missive from the back-bench of a Ford Econoline van on the Mass Pike. We’ve only got a few gigs left on the Night Surfer Tour.

At the moment I’m a little preoccupied with taking apart an over-priced Whole Foods Medjool date so I’m calling in John Murry to pinch hit for me.

Okay, hold on. I’m passing up the laptop right now. . .

And now a man who really does need a dumptruck to unload his head. . .

Have fun!

-CP

MY TURNNNN!!!!! YESSSSS!

I fully realize this is not my newsletter, and that my name is John Murry. For the record I’d prefer “Jack”. One thing is for sure; for the American leg of The Prophet of Punk Rock Purple Prose and Perfect Attire [also known as the Night Surfer Tour but whatever - Chuck.], I’ve been lucky enough to ride around in a pretty dope Ford Econoline with people I sincerely love. People who are simply family. And act like every damn day is Thanksgiving and the turkey is gone. I’ll miss this.

L@@K!

I know (as I am reminded regularly) that I take over conversations as if they were actually setups for my monologues because I actually believe they are. Feel free to call it a disorder. It won’t hurt my feelings. As if causing disorder simply because it’s fun is really diagnosable, anyway! Enough (almost) about just me and my beauty and brilliance and (what DAY is it??)….

Oh yeah, it’s today. That means we’ve only got a few more shows left. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Obviously Chuck, The CE-OHHHH YEAH, KIDS, will pass on all the necessary information regarding the where and when of what is rolling like a metal-jacketted breadbox from hell (the last three digits on these Cali plates? 666.) in tonight’s installment of “The Partridge Family’s Griswold Vacay”. Opinions may be like assholes, but I love assholes. As Chuck has oft reminded me, they are necessary orifices and ought be treated with some modicum of dignity. And they look like this: *. [I don’t recall every reminding him of anything except maybe the lobby time - Chuck]

Oh and by the way: Boston was awesome. Minus the shadow woman. Long story. I danced with this rad lady (not the shadow figure). And she was a far better dancer. But we got DOWN! All of us. All of y’all, with yer Red Sox tailfeathers! Y’ALL KNOW YER ROCK AND ROLL! Y’ALL SHOOK THAT ACTION! Don’t let us down tonight, kids, cuz we fully intend to set fire to everything we see. It’s really cold. We are from California. Don’t hate. We love you. I LOVE YOU. I’m an A’s fan. But screw it: tonight we are The Giants and we are winning this shit with nothing but heart. See you tonight, bitches. Back to Prophet….

PS: Kevin Tiberius White can get a lil mad (understandably) at my attempts to load the van after shows as if it were a game of Tetris. It is not. This has been like a graduate class with The Harvard Fo(FIVE!). It’s fun. And trippy as shit. And all I took was Dayquil. Which is weird. Mmmmmm

-Jack Murry

NEW WEB SITE ((((IN FULL COLOR SOUND))))

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~IN THIS ISSUE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* GIGSVILLE: “MY NAME IS JOHN MURRY”

* MERCHVILLE: Night Surfer is just $5 through midnight tonight, today at Yep Roc Records. http://bit.ly/5fr5at

——————————————————————————————————

GIGSVILLE: “6 billion people in the world and you want to be among

those who will never seen The Mission Express live?”

———————————————————————————-

Show details: http://chuckprophet.com/gigs/

JUST ADDED: Great American Music Hall San Francisco Jan 31 (plus a mess more I’m still too lazy to type right now!)

*John Murry supports all US dates except Philly w/ Warren Zanes

THURS NOV 20 IRON HORSE - NORTHAMPTON, MA Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

FRI NOV 21 THE BELL HOUSE - BROOKLYN, NY Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

SAT NOV 22 CLUB HELSINKI - HUDSON, NY Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

SUN NOV 23 WORLD CAFE LIVE - PHILADELPHIA, PA Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

JUST ADDED: Great American Music Hall San Francisco Jan 31

—————————————————— CUT ALONG DOTTED LINE————————————————

Hello,

Coming to you live from out here on the motorway en route from Valencia to Barcelona. Thinking about the great meals we’ve had here in Spain from the comfort of our rolling giant bread box of a van. Right now I’m curled up like a pretzel in the back listening to Chuck Berry on the iPod. Certain music just sounds right in certain places. We always blare Ian Dury in the UK. And it just doesn’t have the same effect in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel. That’s one you don’t hear much lately: blockhead. I think I’ve been called that a couple times. Sorry…My mind was drifting and I was fading, thinking about how pleasant it is to not have a phone for the last month. I just remembered a text that came in the day before we split: “I’m gonna knok u out nex time I c u.” I get messages like that from time to time. (But not when my phone is off!) Sometimes it’s a joke. Other times. . . it can be kind of stressful. [Hey, everyone has a past.]

Somehow or other I pieced together that it was from Carlos Guitarlos. Then everything made sense. Not just the message – everything! Carlos is like that, one of those Zen masters who hits you with a stick to wake you up. I haven’t seen him in years. Of course, I still think about him when I hear certain Chuck Berry riffs. Or play them. I definitely think about Carlos when I’m playing the opening figure of “Little Boy, Little Girl,” which I’m certain I borrowed from him [where he got it I don’t know]. Or when I’m walking down Howard St. on my way to my shoebox of an office space and I pass that gallery on the north side of the street that was the scene of the crime so long ago. I’m pretty sure we played an opening at that gallery. It was some society art opening with Carlos and company.

We’d been busking on the street in Union Square with a generator and Pignose style amps when the curator of the event walked up and hired us on the spot for what at the time was a pretty serious paying gig. We set up in the corner. Carlos had rounded up a street musician who could play drums and bass at the same time without charging double. He was sweating different-sized beads of sweat like crazy. The kind of sweat that you can only get to behave by smoking more crack. ANYWAY: Carlos led us through his songbook. Songs like “Pigfoot Shuffle”. Before long everyone was dancing: long-legged socialites in pearls, men in tailored suits. In the middle of the solo section to “Maybellene,” the night popped open. Someone overturned the buffet table; Carlos was chasing women around the room lifting their skirts with the headstock of his guitar; secretaries tore open their blouses. [okay, maybe I made that last part up]. It was beautiful. It was beautiful chaos. And, in one of those too true to be forgotten kind of things, the drummer on that gig I later heard was on trial for murder. For real. Things can get dark pretty fast.

ANYWAY: there’s more to life that anecdotes. Here and now it is all happening. We’re heading back to the states for the final few weeks of this tour. Gigs R Us. And I want to tell you about them. As for the show and the band. It’s WAY more than you deserve. We are definitely going to have to start charging more. My dry-cleaning bill is going through the roof.

Okay, I probably already mentioned it but the new video for Ford Econoline is here: http://bit.ly/1s7hjOz

Here’s some live reviews on the tour:=

-Louder Than War: Hebden Bridge Trades Club Live review: http://tinyurl.com/p34jap4

-Nottingham Post: www.nottinghampost.com/Review-8203-Chuck-Prophet-Mission-Express-Rescue/story-23446818-detail/story.html

-Bristol Post: www.bristolpost.co.uk/Review/story-23169729-detail/story.html

-Americana UK (The Metric inches) http://tinyurl.com/qc8uurl

-Maximum Volume Music: http://tinyurl.com/lrl7gc

Also, did I mention we’ve got John Murry support in all th US dates? Except Philly where we’re happy to say we’ll have Warren Zanes.

Did I mention k’s new handmade magazine? Two poets, four poems. Hand printed, folded, cut, perforated, bound and stapled on recycled paper. Limited to 200. And, listen up artisianal nerds, would you believe if you lick it, it tastes like lemon meringue pie? Order yours here: www.fourbytwo.org Read about it here: http://thesilentboomer.blogspot.com/2014/10/fourbytwo-is-knockout-punch.html CP-approved.

Onwards,

-CP

Show details: http://chuckprophet.com/gigs/

JUST ADDED: Great American Music Hall San Francisco Jan 31 (plus a mess more I’m still too lazy to type right now!)

*John Murry supports all US dates except Philly w/ Warren Zanes

THURS NOV 6 SHANK HALL - MILWAUKEE, WI Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

FRI NOV 7 FITZGERALD’S - BERWYN, IL Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

SAT NOV 8 BEACHLAND BALLROOM & TAVERN - CLEVELAND, OH Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

SUN NOV 9 HORSESHOE TAVERN - TORONTO, ON Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

MON NOV 10 189 PUBLIC HOUSE - EAST AURORA, NY Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

WED NOV 12 TIP TOP DELUXE BAR & GRILL - GRAND RAPIDS, MI Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

THURS NOV 13 THE GRAND VALLEY DALE BALLROOM - COLUMBUS, OH Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

FRI NOV 14 V CLUB - HUNTINGTON, WV Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

SAT NOV 15 CLUB CAFE - PITTSBURGH, PA Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

SUN NOV 16 THE HAMILTON - WASHINGTON, DC Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

TUES NOV 18 JOHNNY D’S - SOMERVILLE, MA Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

WED NOV 19 NARROWS CENTER FOR THE ARTS - FALL RIVER, MA Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

THURS NOV 20 IRON HORSE - NORTHAMPTON, MA Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

FRI NOV 21 THE BELL HOUSE - BROOKLYN, NY Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

SAT NOV 22 CLUB HELSINKI - HUDSON, NY Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

SUN NOV 23 WORLD CAFE LIVE - PHILADELPHIA, PA Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express

JUST ADDED: Great American Music Hall San Francisco Jan 31

Hello trolls, haters, lovers and players,

Now, where were we?

Look, I know I’ve been talking a lot about life in StartUp City, USA. But guess what? Turns out it’s a big world out here. Maybe there’s more to life than the invasion of the tech monsters. Whatever you might think, I ain’t no technophobe. Certainly not. I mean, I’m typing this into an Apple product and I’m listening to Kelly Willis demos she made on her iPhone at the same time.. . so. . . like. . what is my point? My point is, I’m happy to say that the UK is not throwing kids off their soccer fields with lands rights deeds they printed out on the internet (as far as I know) or having a drought and neither is Spain come to think of it.

And tonight I’m very much looking forward to taking that long-ass shower in Newcastle I’ve been going on about.

As for the San Francisco horror show rents. Again, not happening everywhere. Kind of makes me wonder. Maybe there’s a bigger sickness going on here. The sickness of Big Money: And maybe San Francisco is being dragged into the same trap as trying to live in NYC/London/Paris where only the rich need apply. Maybe Stephie and I - we’ll find a love shack out here on the hillbilly highway. Put some money down. Adopt a puppy and never come back.

It could happen. It ain’t bloody likely, but still. . .

Last week I learned that our beloved weekly the San Francisco Bay Guardian is folding up it’s tent. Sign of the times. blah blah. . . shadow of it’s former self. . . blah blah blah… blame the bloggers, blah blah. Journalism keeps taking one punch after another. Maybe it’s just me; I think blogs are cool and all but I can’t help but think that people do a better job when they’re getting paid. I’m pretty sure getting a royalty check changed the way I write. Pretty sure it made me better. I feel for all those who were trying to do some good and make a difference and provide a voice to an alternative San Francisco. For 48 years they cranked out issue after issue, week after week. And they got a lot right in those 40 some odd years. Hats off to all of them. Here’s a chat I enjoyed with Emma Silvers a couple weeks ago: http://www.sfbg.com/noise/2014/10/02/chuck-prophet-glam-rock-his-new-record-and-how-castro-turning-strip-mall

In the end Tech City is a small town, really. I mean small in terms of limited physical space. There’s only so much of it. And when you throw that Monopoly Money from VCs and the stock market – which is where all this new money comes from – on top of it, Well then, God help us all. How soon before the Castro is turned into a strip mall? It’s already happening. Once you condo-ize a building or an apt. you can buy and sell it like pieces on the Monopoly board. There is no renters rights when it comes to condos. Of course, if you’re riding the gravy train, San Francisco’s problems are the ones to have. As opposed to Detroit. Or the Gaza strip. Not to mention Spain and Greece with their huge unemployment problem… And on and on.

But hey, I don’t want to bum you out. Not my intention here. Just ruminating a bit as is my wont. What I really want to do here is remind you more gigs are coming. So if that’s your thing, until they figure out a way to digitize us, we got ‘em.

Please check the gigsville listings below. Come on out. We need the money. We’re running a family business here, people! Then again, don’t do it for us. Do it for yourself. Come out and support your own inner rock and roll animal. You know he’s in there somewhere. Let him out why-dn’t-ya?

AND: we’ve got a new video for Ford Econoline: I think you’ll dig it. Produced by Darrell FLowers and directed by Eli Adler. It’s pretty damned epic. Kinda like “ itanic” but without the three-hour lead-in to getting to see Kate Winslet’s boobs. Then again, I say that about everything. Here is is, kids. Produced by Darrell Flowers and directed by Eli Also: http://www.allmusic.com/blog/post/video-premiere-chuck-prophet-ford-econoline

Show details: http://chuckprophet.com/gigs/

JUST ADDED: Great American Music Hall- San Francisco - Jan 31 (plus a mess more I’m too lazy to type right now!)

*Jonah Tolchin will be supporting all our overseas dates

*John Murry supports all US dates except Philli with Warren Zanes

TUES OCT 28 COMET CLUB – BERLIN, DE Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

WED OCT 29 JUBEZ – KARLSURHE, DE Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SPAIN:

FRI OCT 31 AUDITORIO DE DASTERO – ANDOAIN, ES Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SAT NOV 1 EL SOL – MADRID, ES Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SUN NOV 2 16 TONELADAS – VALENCIA, ES Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

MON NOV 3 SIDECAR – BARCELONA, ES Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

USA: