Write your question on a cocktail napkin

“Hi, I’m Chuck and this is my Substack story!” 

Have I been slow on the Substack uptake? Guilty as self-charged. But I’ve got an excuse. I’ve been out there. Doing it. Running to and fro. Changing strings. Writing up setlists. And getting busy with the Sharpie after the show. You know. Touring. (Not to mention another health scare… which turned out to be exaggerated. But spooky nonetheless.)

In fact, James, Stephie, Vicente, and I just completed a three week swing from Tucson to the Twin Cities with our stealth little four piece. And then with barely enough time to take the Econoline into Jiffy Lube, headed north to our first (annual) “Summertime Thing” festival at the Rio Nido Roadhouse in Guerneville, CA. 

The debut performance of our new bass player, Mike Anderson. Who more than rose to the occasion. Talk about big shoes! Mike will be taking over for Kevin T White, who we wish all the best on his new adventures.

Our manager Daniel Strickland is really the one to thank for cooking the festival up. “Think about it,” he said. “It’s perfect! Summertime Thing. How can we go wrong?“ I just ignored him the first couple times. Pretended I couldn't hear. "You know, that’s my bad ear. The one pointed towards Kevin’s amp all these years." But Daniel, he wouldn’t let it go. (All that talk about hearing damage, takes me back to playing guitar on a Warren Zevon session. Whenever I asked Zevon anything, he seemed to just stare straight ahead and ignore me. Finally, producer Paul Kolderie said, "Chuck, try the other side. Or maybe write your question on a cocktail napkin.“ I guess everybody was having more luck talking into his left ear. And since I quit drinking, cocktail napkins are hard to find.)

But yeah, the festival. First off… I thought the name was a little on the nose. But when I asked Daniel if The Rubinoos could play, he said “Sure." And when I asked if ¿Qiensave? could play, he said, “Well, yeah! “And so on. Which got me thinking, hmm… this is beginning to sound like the kind of festival I would happily pay to attend. And then I learned there was a swimming pool, too. And did I mention tall ass redwoods? Majestic! Stephanie and me posh in an Airbnb up the road. Do you want to talk about the thread count? 

Charlie, Will, Molly, Stephie and Amy, aka sketchy characters hanging in the parking lot

I also had a birthday to celebrate. (Yeah, it seems like I was blowing out candles like 10 minutes ago. Again? Already?!) I don’t know if I’ve ever been more aware of the passage of time. But talking about aging is dull (almost as mind numbing as real estate). So, next! We settled on a joint called Road Trip for dinner with friends to celebrate. The coconut green curry was delightful. 

And even though Guerneville is only an hour plus from the city, every time I get to the Russian River it's hard to remember what I was so worried about. Everything just melts away. There's juice in the air up in Guerneville and it's all you can drink. Cute little town, too. Kind of a Mayberry vibe to it. Main Street is like one block long.    

So, yeah. It was a blast. And the music did not disappoint. Everybody brought it. Always a treat to have the Sexton Brothers on campus. Along with all the cool bands like Plovver, The Rubinoos, ¿Qiensave? Ismay, Casual Country/Coalition, Kris Gruen, Amy Levere and San Geronimo, too. 

Amy and Will dancing to Plovver

Maybe see you next year. All you need is a floppy hat. Otherwise, we've got you covered. I sincerely hope we can do it again. Because it was a ball. Even Avis showed up – she lets me call her Mom! – and seemed to enjoy herself from her picnic table in the shade.

Meanwhile: baggage claim is my life. Please step away from the carousel.

Onwards,  

         -CP

P.S. Again, it occurs to me that if you made it this far, you could be taking some kind of mild interest in the goings and comings of this great newsletter experiment. In which case: Why not become a paid subscriber today, if you’re not already?