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Hello,
Coming to you live from out here on the motorway en route from Valencia to Barcelona. Thinking about the great meals we’ve had here in Spain from the comfort of our rolling giant bread box of a van. Right now I’m curled up like a pretzel in the back listening to Chuck Berry on the iPod. Certain music just sounds right in certain places. We always blare Ian Dury in the UK. And it just doesn’t have the same effect in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel. That’s one you don’t hear much lately: blockhead. I think I’ve been called that a couple times. Sorry…My mind was drifting and I was fading, thinking about how pleasant it is to not have a phone for the last month. I just remembered a text that came in the day before we split: “I’m gonna knok u out nex time I c u.” I get messages like that from time to time. (But not when my phone is off!) Sometimes it’s a joke. Other times. . . it can be kind of stressful. [Hey, everyone has a past.]
Somehow or other I pieced together that it was from Carlos Guitarlos. Then everything made sense. Not just the message – everything! Carlos is like that, one of those Zen masters who hits you with a stick to wake you up. I haven’t seen him in years. Of course, I still think about him when I hear certain Chuck Berry riffs. Or play them. I definitely think about Carlos when I’m playing the opening figure of “Little Boy, Little Girl,” which I’m certain I borrowed from him [where he got it I don’t know]. Or when I’m walking down Howard St. on my way to my shoebox of an office space and I pass that gallery on the north side of the street that was the scene of the crime so long ago. I’m pretty sure we played an opening at that gallery. It was some society art opening with Carlos and company.
We’d been busking on the street in Union Square with a generator and Pignose style amps when the curator of the event walked up and hired us on the spot for what at the time was a pretty serious paying gig. We set up in the corner. Carlos had rounded up a street musician who could play drums and bass at the same time without charging double. He was sweating different-sized beads of sweat like crazy. The kind of sweat that you can only get to behave by smoking more crack. ANYWAY: Carlos led us through his songbook. Songs like “Pigfoot Shuffle”. Before long everyone was dancing: long-legged socialites in pearls, men in tailored suits. In the middle of the solo section to “Maybellene,” the night popped open. Someone overturned the buffet table; Carlos was chasing women around the room lifting their skirts with the headstock of his guitar; secretaries tore open their blouses. [okay, maybe I made that last part up]. It was beautiful. It was beautiful chaos. And, in one of those too true to be forgotten kind of things, the drummer on that gig I later heard was on trial for murder. For real. Things can get dark pretty fast.
ANYWAY: there’s more to life that anecdotes. Here and now it is all happening. We’re heading back to the states for the final few weeks of this tour. Gigs R Us. And I want to tell you about them. As for the show and the band. It’s WAY more than you deserve. We are definitely going to have to start charging more. My dry-cleaning bill is going through the roof.
Okay, I probably already mentioned it but the new video for Ford Econoline is here: http://bit.ly/1s7hjOz
Here’s some live reviews on the tour:=
-Louder Than War: Hebden Bridge Trades Club Live review: http://tinyurl.com/p34jap4
-Nottingham Post: www.nottinghampost.com/Review-8203-Chuck-Prophet-Mission-Express-Rescue/story-23446818-detail/story.html
-Bristol Post: www.bristolpost.co.uk/Review/story-23169729-detail/story.html
-Americana UK (The Metric inches) http://tinyurl.com/qc8uurl
-Maximum Volume Music: http://tinyurl.com/lrl7gc
Also, did I mention we’ve got John Murry support in all th US dates? Except Philly where we’re happy to say we’ll have Warren Zanes.
Did I mention k’s new handmade magazine? Two poets, four poems. Hand printed, folded, cut, perforated, bound and stapled on recycled paper. Limited to 200. And, listen up artisianal nerds, would you believe if you lick it, it tastes like lemon meringue pie? Order yours here: www.fourbytwo.org Read about it here: http://thesilentboomer.blogspot.com/2014/10/fourbytwo-is-knockout-punch.html CP-approved.
Onwards,
-CP
Show details: http://chuckprophet.com/gigs/
JUST ADDED: Great American Music Hall San Francisco Jan 31 (plus a mess more I’m still too lazy to type right now!)
*John Murry supports all US dates except Philly w/ Warren Zanes
THURS NOV 6 SHANK HALL - MILWAUKEE, WI Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
FRI NOV 7 FITZGERALD’S - BERWYN, IL Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
SAT NOV 8 BEACHLAND BALLROOM & TAVERN - CLEVELAND, OH Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
SUN NOV 9 HORSESHOE TAVERN - TORONTO, ON Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
MON NOV 10 189 PUBLIC HOUSE - EAST AURORA, NY Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
WED NOV 12 TIP TOP DELUXE BAR & GRILL - GRAND RAPIDS, MI Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
THURS NOV 13 THE GRAND VALLEY DALE BALLROOM - COLUMBUS, OH Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
FRI NOV 14 V CLUB - HUNTINGTON, WV Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
SAT NOV 15 CLUB CAFE - PITTSBURGH, PA Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
SUN NOV 16 THE HAMILTON - WASHINGTON, DC Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
TUES NOV 18 JOHNNY D’S - SOMERVILLE, MA Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
WED NOV 19 NARROWS CENTER FOR THE ARTS - FALL RIVER, MA Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
THURS NOV 20 IRON HORSE - NORTHAMPTON, MA Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
FRI NOV 21 THE BELL HOUSE - BROOKLYN, NY Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
SAT NOV 22 CLUB HELSINKI - HUDSON, NY Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
SUN NOV 23 WORLD CAFE LIVE - PHILADELPHIA, PA Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
JUST ADDED: Great American Music Hall San Francisco Jan 31
