Chuck Prophet's new album is out, so everyone: go get it.

There's a lot written about him online, so if you don't know who he is, you can go see what the SF Weekly has to say, and read a review of "Age of Miracles" written by someone who gets paid to critique music. So, look him up, then go to http://www.newwestrecords.com/ where his record label, New West, is sponsoring a great, great contest. You can use your newfound Chuck Prophet trivia to answer a few questions, and win a Brownie box camera and the new CD. It's so Teen Beat. I'm so happy. The contest also involves an essay, in which you're asked to describe how the girl on the CD cover ended up the way she's shown (lying on the ground, passed out from sun stroke or booze, or something), with extra points given for creativity and punctuation. (Yes, I entered the contest, but I did not have faith that my entry would win me the CD, so I went out and bought it. This is just one example of the way in which my lack of confidence "holds me back.")

Anyway, the CD sounds great, and features great guest stars like cool cat Ralph Carney, trumpet player Jacob Valenzuela, and drummer Winston Watson.

Chuck Prophet is a superb guitarist, and well worth seeing in person, unless he is opening for Heart, or something, in which case you might want to wait. My only other information regarding Chuck Prophet is in the form of these three items:

1. Select friends and I refer to him as TMCP, for The Mighty Chuck Prophet, which is how he was introduced onstage one night several years ago, playing in Go Go Market at Slim's. I advise you to do the same, because it will make you seem "hip." (Not really.)
2. I went to see him a couple years back at the Mint in LA, and a guy I know who's friends with TMCP asked me to pass along greetings. So, I did, and TMCP broke into a bright, happy smile and said, "Allllllllll riiiiight! Right! back! at 'im!" in a highly enthusiastic way that led me to believe that inside his brooding, lonesome alt. country image lurks the soul of Jeff Spiccoli.
3. The same said friend told me that he'd run into TMCP in San Francisco, and while discussing life in the city, TMCP advised my friend to "let your freak flag fly." (I was slightly skeeved by the fact that he quoted David Crosby, but in the end, it failed to diminish my admiration.)

(I'm being vague about which friend, exactly, was involved in these incidents because of a recent misunderstanding over his reaction to something I'd written in an earlier entry. So, in an attempt to preserve his privacy, I'll just refer to him as "my friend," and keep to myself the fact that it's really Al.)



Star of the day. . .Dom Perignon