DON’T WORRY ABOUT A THING

Hello folks,

Sorry if I haven’t checked in. I’m keeping a real tight schedule. I’ve been super busy checking my e-mail and scrolling through social media. But all things have to come to an end. I’m starting to run out of emails to read. I’ve been digging through my junk mail folder and corresponding with Nigerian princes. Nice guys, actually, and they have 10.5 millllion dolers wating n the bnk fore me.

Leaving my good fortune on email aside, I happen to be the bearer of some big news, people:

We.

Have.

Tour.

Dates.

It’s been so long since we’ve been out there. It’s been pointed out to me that we’ve never stayed away from the UK this long. Is that true? It must be, because why would someone point out something that isn’t true? All seriousness aside, I’m getting downright nostalgic. I used to complain about the “band menu”, but damn, I’d be more than happy to shlep up to Glasgow just to scarf down one of those King Tut’s “jacket” potatoes right about now. I can almost taste it.

It really has been a while.

I’ll share something else with you, seeing as how you’re such a good listener. Sometimes on tour my least favorite thing is going into the small hot closet of an office to get paid at the end of the night. I’ve learned in life that sometimes you just gotta nod and smile. Even while you listen to a club owner or promoter explain the cost of doing business and how hard it is. And how attendance is down. But I miss those guys! I want to hug them all. And tell them I’m praying for them. I’m praying for all of us. I hope I get to see them again. Is it too much to ask to hope they’re praying for me too? You tell me.

Meanwhile, the news is grim. Hundreds of billions squandered in Afghanistan. For what? The Delta Variant. Then we lose Charlie Watts. Which just doesn’t seem fair. I thought Charlie Watts would live forever. And when I saw him play? Up there with his cool posture - the dignity! Making it happen. Watching Charlie, made ME feel like I would live forever.

Anyway, I’m back with a new Trip in the Country. TODAY!

Got a couple Zen masters in the mix: Willie Nelson for one. And Mose Allison doing “I Don’t Worry about a Thing.“ Mose Allison, the Alex Chilton of the piano has always been there for me. And even though he has complete contempt for guitar players, he must know a thing or two about a thing or two. Mose is a teacher. You gotta be some kind of Zen master to sing “I Don’t Worry about a Thing“ these days. Even from the grave.

And now a message from the band: Folks, for these upcoming dates, we intend to protect our fans and the staff at the clubs, as well as each other as best we can. Hence the shows will require proof of vaccine or a recent Covid test. Of course the particulars may change and those may differ from town to town. We’re continuing to pull that together.

Six weeks ago we implemented a Proof of Vax policy for our five week residency at the Twin Oaks Roadhouse in Penngrove. And we subjected the staff there to Rapid tests, as well as the band. At the time it seemed like it might not fly. But, we did it. And like all those other things like seatbelts for seniors and smoking in the maternity ward. Or hiring robots to make guacamole. Not to mention taxes and double parking in front of fire hydrants. Before too long? T’ain’t no big thing.

Thanks to the folks who made it up to Penngrove. Five SOLD OUT Sundays in a row. And man, I needed that. Like a dump truck to unload my head. Five weeks of the Twin Oaks Roadhouse almost did the trick. So thanks everybody for making that residency one for the books.

We had a blast. Plus the barbecue out there was just beyond.

And in the immortal words of Anthony Bourdain: “Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start.”

Onwards,

-CP

Meanwhile, meet me in a hurry behind the barn. Brand new show today! Stomp your hands and cross your legs for the Trip in the Country show Fridays at 2 PM Pacific Standard Time. LOG ON HERE: https://www.gimmecountry.com/#/radio And be sure to hit “subscribe.”

AND NOW A WORD FROM MANAGEMENT: Our show at City Winery’s the Loft in NYC on Saturday, November 6th is SOLD OUT so we’re adding a late show, that will start at 9:30pm (the early show starts at 7pm). Tickets on sale today at 3pm EDT.

https://www.seetickets.us/event/Chuck-Prophet-and-the-Mission-Express/421054

P.S.: Today is Bandcamp Friday. And I’ve included some of my collage art up there. We’re still offering a stellar 20 track live recording of our post Hardly Strictly Bluegrass show at the Make Out Room from Oct. 5, 2019. It was our last show in San Francisco before the big pause button. Bandcamp doesn’t take a penny on Bandcamp Friday, so do us a favor and download with extreme prejudice. We’ve also got some earlier records available as well.

P.P.S.: You asked for it. Now you got it. Brand new Trip in the Country T-shirts. Glamorous. Elegant. Essential. And now only $24.99 in the Gimme Country store. Isn’t it time you slipped into something a little more comfortable? Now you can. Brand new Trip in the Country T-shirts at: https://shop.gimmeradio.com/products/official-trip-in-the-country-t-shirt

P.P.P.S.: New Midnight Rider T’s. A Chuck Prophet Midnight Rider T-Shirt, people! Midnight Rider’s Mitra Khayyam is the coolest. I bought a Waylon tee from her all those years ago in Austin at one of her pop-up shops. And I treasure it. Her shirts are American made. Distressed. Vintage. Impossible to replicate. If you’re not looking for a CP shirt, and don’t mind a little unwanted attention, check out her David Allan Coe “Just Divorced” tee. Coolsville USA! http://bellesound.com/shop_10.html

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GIGSVILLE: Get up to the minute details on live shows here:

http://chuckprophet.com/gigs/

ECONOLINE DREAMS

Friends,

My neighbor, Wooly, had some workers in front of his place. He’s putting in a flowerbed. And I braved a maskless stop-and-chat with him. He lost his partner a couple years ago. And he’s been really isolated. He has a hard time getting up and down stairs. Mobility issues. But he was like, “This old timer still has some things he wants to do.”

I feel you, brother. You and me both. I dreamed a Ford Econoline fell from a tree and crushed me, and then I woke up, inside a crushed Ford Econoline. Luckily, when I woke up, I was still dreaming, but it was kind of scary. Fifteen months worth of waking up from dream to dream. These days, I see people in restaurants. Maybe I saw you there. You might see me there, too.

And people are going to gigs!! Couple weeks back I gigged myself, for the first time since way back when. Two shows at The Chapel in their parking lot and an outdoor show down in Big Sur at the Henry Miller Library. Both part of a (((folkYEAH))) Bob Dylan Basement Tapes 80th birthday celebration. Playing out was fun. There, I said it. It was also nerve-racking. I said that, too. But hey, like I told people, I could only lie on the couch listening to records and eating Pad Thai for so long.

Did I mention people in restaurants? I see them when I’m walking around. In my pants. Not my pajamas. Today I feel a little less weirded out by spontaneous encounters. I feel like things may actually return to normal (or something like it). I could do anything. And I just might! Who wants to start a ska band?

Restaurants, people! Why not? We’re all vaxed up, right?

Wait… you’re not?

Friends, I heart vaccines. Some people are tweaking out. Don’t want the shot. Some are ambivalent. A part of them wants the shot but they’re not sure. They don’t want something that’s going to “kick their ass.” I don’t know if you’ve ever had your ass kicked. But this isn’t that. I can assure you it’s not like that. At all.

I get not wanting to go with the crowd, too. But I’ve been thinking about something Uncle Leo (Leonard Cohen to you) said. And yes, I’ve had time to dig up interviews from 2016 in The New Yorker. He said, “I have a deep tribal sense. I grew up in a synagogue that my ancestors built. I sat in the third row. My family was decent. They were good people, they were handshake people. So I never had a sense of rebellion.”

So sometimes maybe rebellion isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Think about it, okay?

Think about getting that shot if you haven’t. Talk to someone, maybe? Not Van Morrison. Or Eric Clapton. Listen to their music instead.

As for us, we’ve got some shows. Touring is nice. People are generally happy to see us. And, I do miss it. The loading in, the loading out. The merch table weirdos. And kicking the songs around with the incomparable Mission Express. I’ll be playing a couple more Basement Tapes shows with Casual Coalition. And we’ve got that residency coming up in Penngrove and there’s still some tickets. We rehearsed. Tore through the songbook. And we were equally astonished at how tight we were and also how much we’ve forgotten. But, we’ll get there.

Which reminds me: We’ve got new Merch. This is the link to our new Midnight Rider shirt.

A word about Midnight Rider T’s: I’m pretty thrilled about this. I cannot lie. A Chuck Prophet Midnight Rider T-Shirt, people! Midnight Rider’s Mitra Khayyam is the coolest. I bought a Waylon tee from her all those years ago in Austin at one of her pop-up shops. And I treasure it. Her shirts are American Made. Distressed. Vintage. Impossible to replicate. If you’re not looking for a CP shirt, and don’t mind a little unwanted attention, check out her David Allan Coe “Just Divorced” tee. Coolsville USA!

Onwards,

Chuck