ORANGE CONES

Everything crawls to halt. There’s orange cones. Lights flashing in the distance. It’s an accident. Now we’re down to one lane and the traffic starts to creep forward finally. Kevin rolls down the window and I can hear the tires spin a “shhhhh” sound through the rain.

Here it comes. The crash scene. We drive by slow. Crane our necks and look down off into the embankment on the side of the road. What’s going on? There’s people standing around. A couple Highway Patrolmen in uniforms.

Yeah, that guy over there must be the driver.

Seems like every few weeks or months, you’ll see one of those jackknifed trucks on the side of the road. Sometimes it’s the truck and the trailer. All contorted with the cab swung around folded under the trailer. (Another reason I don’t love trailers.) Sometimes it’s just the truck on the side of the road. At the end of skid marks in the road and down into the ditch.

And it’s wet and cold and you feel a little depressed. And you wonder, did someone fall asleep? Did the driver rest his eyes? Or did they just let themselves go—get exhausted trying to chew up some long distance trip? Slam on the brakes to avoid killing a deer. Or what?

Now what? Are they going to lose their gig? I’m sure this wasn’t anyone’s first choice in terms of gigs.

I love getting out there. I must, right? And I love the feeling of the road moving under us. But I get anxious. And now there’s all this.

Be safe out there I tell myself. (Wish me luck on the hillbilly highway, anyone?)

Sure, we’ve got Covid protocols in place. Am I worried? A little, yeah. All kinds of unknowns. Hell, I’m worried about the staff at these clubs who are just trying to do their jobs by enforcing mask mandates or asking for proof of vaccination. I worry about them getting hassled. They didn’t sign up to be Covid cops. They’re everyday people. And there’s more…

I’ve got worries. You’ve got worries. We all have worries. Rodney Dangerfield had all of our worries combined but he did okay, after a rough start to his career when he had to leave the business and sell aluminum siding. He sure came barreling back, though, didn’t he, keeping Bill Murray from stealing every scene in that movie. Where was I?

But you know I’m not here to bum anybody out. Let’s face it, the last 20 months have been unreal. Maybe some good came from it. Maybe we’ve got a better sense of the greater good. Like Uncle Leo said (and I’m paraphrasing here). Keep it tribal, people.

The band has been playing good. Okay, that’s an understatement. I don’t want to set the bar too high by way of expectations, but we’re showing up ready to play, people. And I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good to be kicking the tires of the brand new (used) Econoline. Better than ever, really.

Meanwhile. We’ve got more tour dates. Not to mention the fact that the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass virtual hoedown starts today. So, there’s much to dig into. With both hands. Deets below.

Onwards,

-CP

P.S.: Today is Bandcamp Friday. And I’ve included some of my collage art over at our Bandcamp shop. I like to keep my hands busy when I’m fretting over mixes and sequences in my studio. Sometimes I put these up on Instagram and people have responded. We’ve also got some earlier records available as well. Framed collages will be sent via UPS ground whenever possible. UPS Worldwide for international shipping. Framed collages across the water! We will contact you via email to discuss insurance options.

P.P.S.:Today through the weekend. (October 1-3). Join the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass virtual hoedown. It’s very much happening. You can see the schedule of performers over on their Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/p/CUc4MTxghHb/ All live-streamed on hardlystrictlybluegrass.com, facebook.com/hardlystrictlybluegrass, and youtube.com/user/hsbfest. Xfinity customers can simply say “Hardly Strictly” into the Xfinity Voice Remote or stream on Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Flex.

P.P.P.S.: Meanwhile, meet me in a hurry behind the barn. Stomp your hands and cross your legs for the Trip in the Country show Fridays at 2 PM Pacific Standard Time. LOG ON HERE: https://www.gimmecountry.com/#/radio And be sure to hit “subscribe.”

P.P.P.P.S.: You asked for it. Now you got it. Brand new Trip in the Country T-shirts. Glamorous. Elegant. Essential. And for now only $24.99 in the Gimme Country store. Isn’t it time you slipped into something a little more comfortable? Now you can. Right here: https://shop.gimmeradio.com/products/official-trip-in-the-country-t-shirt

P.P.P.P.P.S.: New Midnight Rider T’s. 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. http://bellesound.com/shop_10.html

——————————————————————————————————

GIGSVILLE: Get up to the minute details on live shows here:

http://chuckprophet.com/gigs/

Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express:

Stephie Finch (singing, piano, guitar)

Kevin T White (bass guitar)

Vicente Rodriguez (drums, singing)

James DePrato (guitar)

(US dates Support from Matt Jaffe)

USA:

10/9/21 - Guerneville, CA Real Neato Festival (Chuck Prophet Trio)

10/24/21 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club

10/26/21 - Chicago, IL - Fitzgerald’s

10/27/21 - Newport, KY - Southgate House Revival

10/28/21 - Three Oaks, MI - Acorn Theatre

10/29/21 - Grand Rapids, MI - Tip Top Tavern

10/30/21 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark

10/31/21 - Columbus, OH - Natalie’s Grandview

11/2/21 - Pawling, NY - Daryl’s House

11/3/21 - Holyoke, MA - Gateway City Arts

11/4/21 - Fall River, MA - Narrows Center for the Arts

11/5/21 - Philadelphia, PA - The Music Hall at World Cafe Live

11/6/21 - New York, NY - City Winery Upstairs (2 shows! 7pm and 9:30pm late show) (No support act)

11/7/21 - Vienna, VA - Jammin’ Java

11/8/21 - Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe

11/10/21 - Madison, IN - Red Bicycle Hall

11/11/21 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway

11/12/21 - Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads

11/13/21 - Des Moines, IA - xBK

11/14/21 - Omaha, NE - The Reverb

11/20/21 - San Francisco, CA - The Chapel

OVER THERE:

5/8/22 - Vienna, AT - Chelsea w/The Mission Express

5/9/22 - München, DE - Backstage w/The Mission Express

5/10/22 - Prague, CZ - Jazz Dock w/The Mission Express

5/11/22 - Berlin, DE- Urban Spree w/The Mission Express

5/12/22 - Hamburg, DE - Monkeys Music Club w/The Mission Express

5/13/22 - Odense, DK - Dexter w/The Mission Express

5/14/22 - Malmo, SE - Folk a Rock w/The Mission Express

5/15/22 - Copenhagen, DK -Stairway w/The Mission Express

5/17/22 - Wesel,DE - JUZ Caro w/The Mission Express

5/18/22 - Geislingen, DE - Die Rätsche w/The Mission Express

5/19/22 - Erfurt, DE - Museumskeller w/The Mission Express

5/20/22 - Rüsselsheim, DE - Das Rind w/The Mission Express

5/21/22 - Leffinge, BE - De Zwerver w/The Mission Express

5/22/22 - Utrecht, NL - Ekko w/The Mission Express

5/23/22 - Breda, NL - Mezz w/The Mission Express

5/24/22 - Leuven, BE - Het Depot w/The Mission Express

5/26/22 - Bury, UK - The Met w/The Mission Express

5/27/22 - Nottingham, UK - Metronome w/The Mission Express

5/28/22 - Newcastle, UK - Gosforth Civic w/The Mission Express

5/29/22 - Glasgow, UK - Glee Club w/The Mission Express

5/30/22 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell w/The Mission Express

5/31/22 - Bristol, UK - Fleece w/The Mission Express

6/1/22 - Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds w/The Mission Express

6/3/22 - London, UK - Lafayette w/The Mission Express

6/9/22 - Oslo, NO - Loaded Festival w/The Mission Express

6/17/22 - Vitoria-Gasteiz, ES - Azkena Rock Festival

LO AND BEHOLD

Hello folks,

First off, I’m out doing gigs this weekend. With the Casual Coalition. Playing from the book of Dylan and The Band’s Basement Tapes. Taking those songs out for a joyride. The Basement Tapes can’t be reproduced scientifically. We’ve freely added and taken away from the recipe. That record has been an inspiration to all of us. Maybe it will inspire you too. As for the Casual Coalition? They’re an all-star Bay Area band featuring members of the Mother Hips, Phil Lesh & Friends, and Stu Allen and the Mars Hotel. Lo and behold! (Dates below.)

July 21: Felton Music Hall, Felton, CA

July 22: Hopmonk Sebastopol, CA

July 24: SLO Brew Rock, San Luis Obispo, CA

Meanwhile, in the words of my friend Peter Mulvey, I miss being useful. When I look at the tour dates we have on the calendar, it’s enough to make me believe something is really happening.

And it is.

In fact, just the other night in Austin, I was at a restaurant. And my dinner companions and I did some lingering at the table. Serious lingering. One of those nights where we were enjoying such a good time we hardly noticed the staff were counting out their tips and topping off the saltshakers at another table. I thought it kind of odd how they were stacking the chairs on the tables all around us. Eventually I put it together. It might have something to do with the fact that we’d been there three hours.

After that hang, I was ready to do anything. But what? Well, nothing crazy. Yeah, I went ahead and enjoyed a slow stroll through a bookstore. After that, I was down in the pit at the Make Out for a Flying Color reunion show.

Nuts!

So that’s it for now. New shows, new merchandise, new experiences. Now I really want to be in front of an audience bad. The internet is kinda fun and all, but I really want to be playing the old-fashioned way: with a table full of drunks talking while I play.

Meanwhile, meet me in a hurry behind the barn! I’m still doing my radio show most Fridays. Stomp your hands and cross your legs for the Trip in the Country show Fridays at 2 PM Pacific Standard Time. LOG ON HERE: https://fburls.com/86-gBawM3xX/t/s/txt/cid/1579773/sid/238809977 And be sure to hit “subscribe.”

AND NOW A WORD FROM MANAGEMENT: Four of the five August residency shows at the Twin Oaks presented by KC Turner and HopMonk are SOLD OUT, and the last one (Aug. 29th) is on an extreme low ticket alert status. Snooze and bruise. It’s up to you.

https://fburls.com/42-tMPkjSOm/t/s/txt/cid/1579773/sid/238809977

Onwards,

-Chuck

P.S.: You asked for it. Now you got it. Brand new Trip in the Country T-shirts. Glamorous. Elegant. Essential. And now only $24.99 in the Gimme Country store. Isn’t it time you slipped into something a little more comfortable? Now you can. Brand new Trip in the Country T-shirts at: https://fburls.com/51-NVZWoEMn/t/s/txt/cid/1579773/sid/238809977

P.P.S.: This coming Bandcamp Friday (August 6th) we will be releasing a stellar 20 track live recording of our post Hardly Strictly Bluegrass show at the Make Out Room from Oct. 5, 2019. It was our last show in San Francisco before the big pause button. Bandcamp doesn’t take a penny on Bandcamp Friday, so do us a favor and download with extreme prejudice.