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