MEET ME AT THE TWIN OAKS

Hello Sports Fans,

We’ve got some shows on the books that are ready to stand up and be announced. But first, thanks for signing up for the newsletter. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to mouth off. And speak directly to you instead of throwing myself—rather, hurling myself—at the big wall of the Internet. You know, like that guy in that Warren Zevon song? (That’s what happens to people in Warren Zevon songs. They find themselves in extreme situations. And so they hurl themselves against the walls of places like the Museum of Modern Art just to feel something and maybe get a little attention. You would, too, if you were being held hostage with people more famous than you at the Detox Mansion. Or attacked and bitten by a werewolf while you’re strolling through Soho in the rain looking for a place to get some Chinese food of all things.)

ANYHOO: It’s a tough slope. It’s a slippery road. It’s all those things.

Meanwhile, I’ve been walking the streets in my neighborhood and in all my time I’ve never seen more vacancies. “For Rent” signs everywhere. Vacant storefronts. And empty parking spots too!

Now someone just moved into our building after the apartment sat empty for months. And of course we were completely suspicious. You would be, too. Who the hell moves into a building? Now? At this time?

Until one day we found some cookies placed at our door. Wrapped impressively in origami paper with a cute little ribbon around them. And a nice note.

I was like, “Step away from the cookies, Stephie. I better sample these.” They might be laced with strychnine. Do you want to go out like Robert Johnson? So sample them I did. And they were good. So we know our new neighbor is a little bit nice. And judging from all the boxes that pile up on the porch, she has a pretty steady relationship with Amazon. Taking advantage of that Prime membership, I reckon. Nice and smart.

Can it be? Are things returning to something like normal?

It’s all about new beginnings now.

Speaking of which, we’ve got some shows on the books to prove it. A little residency. Five Sundays in a row. The Mission Express is taking over the Twin Oaks Tavern in Penngrove, CA. Up near Sonoma. And I can’t wait. It’s an outdoor gig. The tavern is over a hundred years old. And as an added bonus: It has a classic neon sign.

For those of you who haven’t been to a show in a while, picture this: It’s going to be just like a flat-screen TV. If your flat-screen TV was something you could use to interact with other people and crank up loud enough to be heard in the next county. It’s hard to explain, but it involves people and guitars and drums and a stage and volume. I mean, you do have to get off your couch and actually go somewhere to do it. And you’ll need a ticket. You might even be forced to use a public restroom. Which can be kind of weird, I know. But you got this. Don’t worry, it will all come back to you. At least that’s what they keep telling me! And I’m more worried about myself to be honest.

What if I jump around and pull a muscle or something?

I’m looking forward. Looking forward to hanging with James and Kevin and Vicente. Doing it all. Doing nothing. Running into people. Hiding from people. I’m looking forward to all of it. The loading-in part, the casing-the-joint part where you’re thinking, “Uh, I guess I’ll set my amp here. Maybe tilt it back a little. Hmmm, yeah, just so.”

Speaking of Warren Zevon. I’ve got special guest Phil Cody today on Trip in the Country. Phil toured around with Zevon. And once delivered an RV to Hunter S Thompson. Phil is a great artist in his own right and made his own tribute record to Warren. Phil’s picked out some Zevon songs out of the Gimme Country library to spin, and we’re going to chat. Should be a good one. I would be remiss if I did not remind you about my Trip In The Country show which airs every Friday at 2 PM PST on GimmeCountry.com. All that plus 2 hours of hand-picked jams curated by yours truly. It’s a cool hang. A shared experience. Like hanging out with your friends listening to records. Log on and roll into the chat site.

Onwards,

Chuck

P.S.: If you like the newsletter, forward it to a pal. If you want to buy something in my store like the new record? Better yet. It helps. We’ve got a lot of great stuff in our online store if you haven’t checked it out lately. Go here: http://www.chuckprophet.com/shop

P.P.S.: I will be doing a Q&A with noted writer and reissue coordinator Pat Thomas and ‘What Makes The Monkey Dance’ author Stevie Simkin May 5th at 1:30pm PST (9:30 BST) for which you can get free tickets here. We’ll be digging into the early post-Green On Red years centered around the dive bars of San Francisco, the new album and the book.

PANDEMIC USA!

Hey Folks,

PANDEMIC USA! “We don’t know where we’re going or what we’re going to do when we get there but you’re welcome to come along.” That’s one long-ass mantra, but the whole band chants it in unison on every one of our Zoom band meetings, or my name isn’t… Hell, you guys are too smart for me, and you saw that coming from a mile away, didn’t you?

Me, punchy?

Alright, then. I’m doing my breathing exercises and I think I’m okay now. Okay enough to tell you that we’re looking at some Mission Express California gigs that might be ready to up and announce themselves soon. It’s a stay tuned situation to the max.

In the meantime, we’re happy to announce our Mid-Season Replacement Show on StageIt. With Chuck Prophet, Stephanie Finch and the Mission Express. It’s our first inner web TV special. Filmed and taped by us in our Pandemic Bunker. If you like live music and choreography and skits. This will be the place. New songs, old songs, the Mission Express, songs off our new Long Player The Land That Time Forgot and the odd cover versions. See the performance LIVE right from the comfort of your own home! The StageIt show is “pay what you can.” Does it get any better than that? I’ll take my answer off the air.

UK Show – March 28 – 8pm GMT/ 12pm PST (((tickets)))

US Show – March 28 – 8pm PST – (((tickets)))

As for today, which is much sooner than March 28, we are thrilled to be returning to NPR’s Mountain Stage. The episode is scheduled for broadcast and begins feeding to 270+ NPR stations as of Friday March 5th, which rumor has it is today. Airtimes and stations can be found at mountainstage.org.

So much crazy stuff we took for granted in the Great Before. Driving to the airport, getting on a plane, picking up the rent-a-car, checking into the hotel room, waking up early, then waking up late, eating breakfast out of a to-go cup and lunch in a parking lot and wondering what’s for dinner, and getting lost on the way to the gig. Not lately, though. Seriously, I can’t wait to get lost on the way to a gig!

Where was I? Oh yea, Stephie and I have big love for Larry Groce and everyone in the Mountain Stage family. We jumped at the chance to fly out to West Virginia and be part of their first new show in months. This all happened the day before the election. (Remember the election?). Two masks each and a shield or two, not to mention one cancelled flight and a 12 hour drive later and there we were. Thanks to Daniel Strickland for looking after us and reminding everyone to take their behavioral cues from Anthony Fauci. The weather was beautiful. And as you might expect, sharing the stage with Kim Richey, S.G. Goodman and Sierra Ferrell was a total treat.

We couldn’t be happier to be a part of Mountain Stage’s 2021 season. Today Charleston feels like a million miles away from Start Up City USA. [“For appointments press one, for black lung two.”] West Virginia is a state of 1.7 million contradictions. And is all the better for it.

So how are all YOU doing? Going to get a vaccine? Ready to hit the gym again? Just curious. Around the Prophet / Finch household, to be honest – just this once! - we’re a little banged up. But we’re riding this pandemic out. The way I used to figure it is if you can afford to have your clothes drycleaned then you’re doing alright. Right now, I would love any excuse to go to the drycleaner. Just to make something up to complain about.

IN OTHER NEWS: Today is Bandcamp Friday. So, check out our store. A quick word about Bandcamp to those unfamiliar: it’s a cool organization that pays more than some of the other music sites I could mention but won’t. The first Friday of every month is “Bandcamp Friday”, wherein the site waives all its service fees, so that the artists get the full monty. We have a couple rare items in there now. Not available anywhere else. Including our Strings In The Temple show, the Balinese Dancer CD on China Records original UK pressing and an Austin City Limits set from 2002. I’ll sign ‘em if you like.

Act soon. Once this stuff is gone, it’s gone. The past is never past—except in the case of THESE RARE ITEMS.

Here’s the Bandcamp link: chuckprophet.bandcamp.com/music

P.S.: I would be remiss if I did not remind you about my Trip In The Country show, which airs every Friday at 2 PM PST on GimmeCountry.com. Two hours of hand-picked jams curated by yours truly. And it’s a cool hang. A shared experience. Like hanging out with your friends listening to records. There’s no dress code. But if you want to slouch and wear yoga pants that’s OK too.

Just stomp your hands and clap your feet! And join me at 2 PM PST today and every Friday. gimmecountry.com. Sign up and follow CP. They’ll shoot you a reminder. Hell, I follow myself. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even know about it.

Onwards,

Chuck