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.