ANGRY ISLAND & CONTINENT: LOCK UP YOUR STEP-PARENTS
Hey folks,
It’s your old friend Chuck Prophet here with another no-HTML-having newsletter.
I hope this reaches you. I hope we’re all here. Present and accounted for. I asked my manager Daniel Strickland to queue this newsletter up a couple days ago. I hope he’s still alive. I hope we’re all still alive. [Insert lame AI joke here. Or don’t. Actually, please don’t.] (Editor’s note: Daniel is alive and well in London.)
Myself and the Mission Express are looking forward to heading over the pond to play for our friends in Norway, Spain, Paris and the rest… with festivals here and there in points in between. But mostly we’ve got a boatload of UK dates. I’m looking forward to getting back to the UK with the unsafe-at-any-speed Mission Express. Plus we’ve got Kris Gruen in tow for pretty much all of it, I think. Kris is a good dude.
Some of these rooms listed below in the UK, I recognize. Some I’m not so sure about. All I know is that it’s been a while. And in the immortal words of that Nobel Prize-winning song and dance man himself:
“The best sound you can get is an intimate club room, where you’ve got four walls and the sound just bounces. That’s the way this music is meant to be heard.“ ––Bob Dylan
Well, I see a few of those in the mix.
People will have you believe that we live in a time of cultural exhaustion. I’m not exhausted. I’m still out here trying to get from place to place. Checking the surf report and enjoying a few great thrift stores along the way. (But not as many as I used to). Hope to see you out there. And yes, I know. These tour dates have been duct taped back together so many times it’s not funny, if you find it confusing, that’s OK. I do, too.
Meanwhile, while I’ve got your attention, here’s an interview with our own klipschutz. klip gets grilled here by Poetic Justice on a number of topics including The Land That Time Forgot, Latin envy (Catullus in the original) and the second coming of Fast Kid. klip also recommends three co-writes from the 1990s you need on your playlist now. It’s a great read. Even I learned some stuff. Read the interview HERE.
You know me. At this point I’m usually running around looking for 9V batteries and some of that vitamin C powder. Or at the very least trying to find some decent gaffer tape. I like the kind that doesn’t leave a big ol’ sticky mess behind. Oh, and this time around, the doctors gave me some paxlovid. Yeah. Membership has its privilege. And yeah, COVID is still a thing.
Also, before we head out on another deep trek into the old world. I want to mention that I had a ball playing in the New World: Big Sur over the weekend with my friends Qiensave from Salinas at the Mother Hips annual Festival known as Hipnic. Everybody brought their Cumbia shoes. And the weather was breathtaking, too. The soft sea breezes, the waves splashing down on the Big Sur sands. The redwoods. My cabin in the woods, courtesy of Britt and his (((folkYEAH!))) peeps.
All of it!
Okay, I look forward to getting out there and bringing it. Some shows are SOLD OUT or nearly so, so get your tickets now. Also, beware of scalpers in the parking lot.
Don’t let it go pear-shaped, good people.
Onwards!
– Chuck
Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express:
Stephie Finch: (singing, piano, guitar)
Kevin T White: (bass guitar)
Vicente Rodriguez: (drums, singing)
James DePrato: (guitar, singing)
P.S. Come see us at the merchandise table. We’ve got some rarities that can only be found there. And when they’re gone, they’re gone, gone, gone.
P.P.S. If you want to get deeper into the real nitty-gritty with some more of my personal writing, you can follow me over at Substack. Also, in Merchville USA: The 3D Night Surfer 7″ Singles BOX SET Collection. A total of seven 7” vinyl singles. 12 tracks from Night Surfer plus 2 bonus tracks. And it comes with 3D glasses(!) This limited edition box features artwork by the legendary John Foster and is guaranteed to be the envy of your friends.
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GIGSVILLE: http://chuckprophet.com/gigs
The Tour That Time Didn’t Forget
29/5 Raalte – Ribs & Blues Festival
30/5 Paris – Petit Bain
31/5 London – Garage
1/6 Sheffield – Greystones
2/6 Nottingham – Metronome
3/6 Euston Hall – Red Rooster Festival
4/6 Oxford – Bullingdon
6/6 Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
7/6 Glasgow – St Lukes
8/6 Oslo – Loaded Festival
10/6 Newcastle – The Cluny
11/6 Bury – The Met
12/6 Birmingham – Hare & Hounds
13/6 Bristol – Fleece
14/6 Southampton – The 1865
15/6 Hassocks – Mid Sussex Music Hall
17/6 Vitoria-Gasteiz – Azkena Festival
Back in the U.S. of A.
7/29 Petaluma Music Festival – Petaluma, CA
9/23 Redding Roots Festival – Redding, CA
