CUT ALONG DOTTED LINE

Okay, got some gigs to report. A festival in Oregon and a cool Northern California gig this Sunday at Rancho Nicasio. Plus Hardly Strictly Bluegrass where Stephie and I are doing a duo gig followed by our annual two nights with the Mission Ex at the Make Out Room. We’ll have friends in town, so there’s likely to be some special guests.

Meanwhile, last time I checked in I was bragging about being 67 or maybe 68 percent (again, who’s counting?) of the way done with a new record. Well folks, that percentage has gone up. Let’s just say it’s gone up a lot.

We’ve been slaving over a hot 2” tape machine, cutting tracks in the heart of the heart of the Tenderloin at Hyde St. Studios in San Francisco. And with a little luck (and we all know we need a little luck) we’ll have it wrestled to the ground soon. The tape boxes are stacked up high in the corner. And I’m feeling pretty good. But man, have I rubbed my rabbit’s foot raw over this one. So, I want to thank you guys for the encouragement (BOTH of you). Kidding aside, I appreciate your e-mails and Twitter and Facebook messages (I reread them anywhere from 8 to 14 hours a day. And now that I have a Jesus Phone I can reach in my pocket and pull them up anytime. Suh-weet!) But yeah, for realzzzz, next time I’ll bring a whole rabbit. I was commiserating with our team mascot John Murry who’s on the other side of the pond these days. We were comparing notes just yesterday on new records. And he might have said it best: The goal is to make something you can be proud of AND unsure of at the same time. Naked and belligerent, but sweetly so . . .

Today I’m back on Howard St. fussing over the beast. Feeling kind of upbeat and mellow. Maybe it’s because I just ate Tu Lan for lunch and for $8.00 I swear I’ve got all of Vietnam in my belly. A little Cambodia too. I feel like I can conquer anything. Just waiting for the Mission Ex to show up so we can dust off a few songs for our gig on Sunday.

ANYHOO: A new record. And to think we did all this without the aid of Internet panhandling. But not without help. The Mission Ex and I are working with a stellar team—Brad Jones, Paul Q. Kolderie, Bill Wesemann, and my old running buddy Matt Winegar, who’s mean lean clean and serene and back in the Bay Area from Salt Lake. Kids, he’s open for business—check him out here: http://mattwine.wix.com/secret-sidewalk-. We’ve got a great label in our corner as well, Yep Roc. I know these things. I’m in the Completist Club (a $299 value!). And if you need more proof of the excellent taste over at Yep Roc check out The Minus 5’s latest, Of Monkees & Men. I’m told it’s a certified smash. I dig it.

Somehow it all comes together, even without a GoFundMe page. We have our ways. In MY day, when we needed to get some money together, we went door to door and hassled people, made them feel sorry for us, talked them into buying cookies or magazine subscriptions. Sometimes we might throw a car wash or whatever.

All this to say that if you want to pitch in, why not just buy something? We’ve got a lot of great stuff in our online store. And while we’re here, it occurs to me that people who say they love vinyl and don’t buy it are cheap bastards. We can help you. We have tons of vinyl, including a new shipment of ¡Let Freedom Ring! and Soap and Water.

Go here: http://tinyurl.com/26bfyyj

I’m looking out the window of my overpriced shoebox of an office and I can see that the karate joint across the street is still open. The only lights on the whole street. Maybe I’ll head over there and offer to teach a class. Is that something you’d be interested in? A karate class taught by yours truly?

Keep smiling,

—CP

SUN SEP 04 RANCHO NICASIO NICASIO CA Chuck Prophet & Mission Express

FRI SEP 09 SISTERS FOLK FESTIVAL VILLAGE GREEN SISTERS OR Chuck Prophet & Mission Express

SAT SEP 10 SISTERS FOLK FESTIVAL VILLAGE GREEN SISTERS OR Chuck Prophet & Mission Express.

THU SEP 29 ARMANDO’S MARTINEZ CA USA Chuck Prophet and Stephanie Finch

FRI SEP 30 MAKE OUT ROOM SAN FRANCISCO CA USA Chuck Prophet & Mission Express

SAT OCT 01 HARDLY STRICTLY BLUEGRASS CA USA Chuck Prophet and Stephanie Finch

SAT OCT 01 MAKE OUT ROOM SAN FRANCISCO CA USA Chuck Prophet & Mission Express