RETURN TO ANGRY ISLAND

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Folks,

Welcome back.

I know these missives are coming fast and furious. Of moment, we’re headed back to the UK or the “Angry Island,” now that the election is over. I’m ready.

Stephie couldn’t make the first couple weeks of gigs. And now she says she’s not ready to fold up the tent. So she flew in for the Spanish dates. And the UK ones too. I guess she needed to put a few more miles on her roller bag. We’ve got our own loyalty program going here. We like to keep everyone a few points shy of the big reward. We’re all happy she’s back. And we’re stepping up our game, accordingly.

There’s a couple things I’m supposed to mention. Our show in Nottingham has been moved to The Maze. Which is a cool room. In a kind of medieval way, I guess. Hopefully they’ll have the glassed-in VIP room ready by then. If you want a reservation for the VIP lounge, contact Glenn Sayward. I’m sure he’d love to hear from you. Okay, so I made that last thing up. But one thing is for certain: without James and Glenn promoting shows in Nottingham over the years, we wouldn’t even be able to find it on a map. Stand-up men. Both of them. And Nottingham is a great gig. As is the entire Angry Island, in a grab-a-pint-and-stand-on-a-sticky-black-floor-listening-to-loud-music kind of way. Every show hits the pavement running. And if they’re digging it they let you know. And if not? Prepare to take evasive action.

Last night was our last gig in Spain. I have to be honest, there are nights out on the road when we’re sometimes 4, 5, or 6 songs deep into the set and I still haven’t made up my mind how I feel about the audience. But that’s NEVER the case with Spain. It was a blast. The gigs were fun. And there’s nothing like partying until 5:00 AM dipping churros into a Styrofoam cup of chocolate lava to bring it all home.

So, what else is going on? This tour started about three weeks ago. Our mascot Keith was supposed to meet me at the airport. I tweeted at him. Said he’d better be there when I arrive. I’ll be expecting a plate of bacon-wrapped scallops when I get there. Or else the tour is off. Empty threats. Who am I fooling? I just work here. Keith is the boss of me. But Metzler from the home office and I managed to make the ferry to the Dutch island, Vlieland. It was a cool festival. I played acoustic. There was a campground involved. It rained. Then Keith and I tooled around Scandinavia. And met up with the band in Germany, headed east into Austria, Prague, Serbia, Croatia, and then Spain by way of the French Riviera.

Back to Keith. What do I really know about this Keith guy? What does it matter? I do know he gets me to the train on time. And he never leaves a bottle of wine from a gig behind. (I know this because they’re always rolling around clanging into each other on the floor of the van.) Plus he’s savvy enough to pack a piece of fruit and some snacks for train journeys. He takes cool photos. And after all this time, I really do take orders from him. And believe me, he gets bossy. He gets bossy a lot. But what do I know about him? Not much. And how come I’m the guy toting his camera bag around?

How did this happen?

Rock on monsters,

UK

WED MAY 27 THE TUNNELS – BRISTOL, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

THURS MAY 28 THE GARAGE – LONDON, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

FRI MAY 29 THE ART BAR – OXFORD, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SAT MAY 30 THE MET – BURY, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SUN MAY 31 THE MAZE – NOTTINGHAM, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

MON JUNE 1 GREYSTONES – SHEFFIELD, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

TUES JUNE 2 BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB – LEEDS, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

WED JUNE 3 VOODOO ROOMS – EDINBURGH, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

THUR JUNE 4 THE CLUNY – NEWCASTLE,UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

FRI JUNE 5 THE JOINERS – SOUTHAMPTON, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SAT JUNE 6 BITTERZOET - AMSTERDAM,NL - Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

HOLLAND

SAT JUNE 6 BITTERZOET - AMSTERDAM,NL - Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

JUNE 19 - San Francisco (details to come).

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Hello Folks,

New overseas dates. UK, Serbia, Austria, Spain, Croatia, Sweden, Norway. . . but not in that order. Scroll down for the beef.

We just wound down the US leg of our Return of the Night Surfer US Spring tour. And here I am driving the van solo back from the Old Settlers Festival in Austin with all the gear, after dropping the rest of the band at the airport like a combination roadie/tour manager/container driver. I should be home in time to hit the water once or twice, then it’s off for the European leg. (Two legs, right?) Let the band have their iPad in-flight movies. And styrofoam coffee and prepackaged 100 calorie cookies. Enjoy! On the plus, there’s a certain meditation that comes with a long drive, kind of like going to a spa, except nothing like it at all. One thing for sure, there’s lots of time to ramp down the internal hard drive and do some real thinking.

Or maybe just have a good cry.

Sometimes it’s just you. No conversation. No air conditioning. Out of cell range. Talk radio fading in and out. A chance to process. Rehydrate the brain cells. Let scabs heal. Gain perspective. Look for meaning.

Okay, that was one too many.

Still, I have made big decisions behind the wheel, and gotten answers to question that had been puzzling me. Or at least started asking the questions. There was that time (2002? 2003?) where I chain-smoked for 2,000 miles and quit cold Yoko when I walked in the door.

The closer I got to home I kept thinking, How long can I keep this up? Maybe when I get back, I’ll look for that box of nicotine patches. Is it still in the back of my sock drawer? Expiration dates are just a suggestion, right?

It’s possible that I OD’d on that trip. There was no one around to slow me down. I woke up in that Travel Lodge with snow on the screen at 4 AM and thought, I could light one up and no one would know. But, as Blake tole me, “You’ll know, Ceep, you’ll know”.

So yeah, I quit. Even though I was still patting down my chest pocket for months to feel the hard pack that wasn’t here. Eventually the urge lifted. A cigarette was the best friend I ever had, but in the end you can only walk around an airport in a constant state of withdrawal so long. Or as James so astutely pointed out, “Smokers are bitches.” Which is really more wisdom than I could ever hope to achieve on the subject.

When I think of all the money I’ve saved, I start to think about buying a watch. And eating more arugula. Or just saying “arugula” more often. Maybe one of those big hunky chrome deals. The kind men sport just standing around posing in Maxim.

Long drives. There’s a Zen-like trance you sink into. People sure say “Zen” alot. I wonder if like me, they’re not 100% sure they’re using the word correctly? I mean, is the trance that I fall into wandering the aisles at truck stops looking at electronic gizmos in shrink-wrapped plastic Zen-like? Or picking out the least spotted and browned banana in the basket at the counter trying to put off getting back in the van? Damn. Now I’m sure I’m using the word wrong!

Then again, there IS a kind of spell you fall under. The first 45 minutes seems like forever. Then you look up and the sun is going down.

Plus it’s always helpful to get out of the Money Belt. Ride around some of the other belts. You know the ones. You see towns that are dying, with new outlet malls with Adidas logos on the side you’ve never seen before. And when you get as far as New Mexico you can find a proper Chile Relleno. Not quite the “fried eggs and country ham” Neil sang about in “Albuquerque”(spell-check THAT!) but waaaayyyy better. I put the Neil quote in here for Scott McCaughey. Scott, are you listening? Which reminds me. We had a great time in Florida with The Baseball Project. Did a couple honest to goodness pop-up gigs on the way back up. Saw friends in Nashville. Chile Relleno, here I come.

Onwards,

-CP

* MERCHVILLE: “FLASH SALE” http://www.theconnextion.com/chuckprophet/chuckprophet_index.cfm

The merch shop is having a sale! Starting now and for one week only, select catalog CD’s are only $10 and vintage tshirts are just $8. We have limited stock on some shirt designs, and these shirts will be discontinued once the sale is over, so get them now!

http://theconnextion.com/chuckprophet/chuckprophet_index.cfm

/ The Mission Express:

Stephie Finch: (singing, organ, guitar)

Kevin White: (bass guitar)

Vicente Rodruquez: (drums, singing),

James DePrato: (guitars)

Chuck Prophet Europe May to June 2015

HOLLAND

SAT MAY 2 RHYTHM AND BLUES FESTIVAL – GRONINGEN, NL Chuck Prophet solo

SUN MAY 3 HERE COMES THE SUMMER FESTIVAL – VLIELAND, NL, Chuck Prophet solo

SWEDEN

TUES MAY 5 KOM CAFE – GOTEBORG, SE Chuck Prophet solo

WED MAY 6 MONO - OSLO, NO Chuck Prophet solo

THUR MAY 7 NALEN/STACKEN - STOCKHOLM, SE Chuck Prophet solo

FRI MAY 8 GRAND - FALKENBERG,SE Chuck Prophet solo

DENMARK

SAT MAY 9 MUSIC HALL - WORSPWEDE, DE Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SUN MAY 10 FRANNZ CLUB - BERLIN, DE Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

TUES MAY 12 BETT – FRANKFURT, DE Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

CZECH

WED MAY 13 PALAC AKROPOLIS - PRAGUE,CZ Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

THURS MAY 14 CHELSEA – VIENNA, AT Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SERBIA

FRI MAY 15 DOM OMLADINE BEOGRADA - BELGRADE Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

CROATIA

SAT MAY 16 KSET – ZAGREB Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

GERMANY

MON MAY 18 KUNSTKULTURQUARTIER -NURENBERG, DE Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

TUES MAY 19 MILLA - MUNICHEN, DE Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SPAIN

THURS MAY 21 MARULA - BARCELONA, ES Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

FRI MAY 22 LAS ARMAS - ZARAGOZA, ES Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SAT MAY 23 SUPER 8 – FERROL,ES Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SUN MAY 24 LAS IGUNA - VIGO, ES Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

MON MAY 25 EL SOL - MADRID, ES Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

UK

WED MAY 27 THE TUNNELS – BRISTOL, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

THURS MAY 28 THE GARAGE – LONDON, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

FRI MAY 29 THE ART BAR – OXFORD, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SAT MAY 30 THE MET – BURY, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SUN MAY 31 THE GLEE CLUB – NOTTINGHAM, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

MON JUNE 1 GREYSTONES – SHEFFIELD, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

TUES JUNE 2 BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB – LEEDS, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

WED JUNE 3 VOODOO ROOMS – EDINBURGH, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

THUR JUNE 4 THE CLUNY – NEWCASTLE,UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

FRI JUNE 5 THE JOINERS – SOUTHAMPTON, UK Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

HOLLAND

SAT JUNE 6 BITTERZOET - AMSTERDAM,NL - Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

USA

THURS JUL 30 SUMMER NIGHTS CONCERT SERIES - WINDSOR, CA - Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express

SOLO US DATES:

FRI OCT 9 DARYL’S HOUSE - PAWLING, NY -Chuck Prophet solo

SAT OCT 10 THE PARLOR ROOM - NORTHAMPTON, MA - Chuck Prophet solo

SUN OCT 11 CLUB PASSIM - CAMBRIDGE, MA - Chuck Prophet solo

THURS OCT 15 TIN ANGEL - PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106-2802 - Chuck Prophet solo

FRI OCT 16 NORTH SHORE POINT HOUSE CONCERTS - NORFOLK, VA 23505

Chuck Prophet solo

SAT OCT 17 PRIVATE - WASHINGTON, DC - Chuck Prophet solo