INTERVIEW(s) with CHUCK PROPHET:"No Other Love" (12.10.21) and 8.21.20
no exaggeration - Chuck is a very cool fellow. But you are about to find that out with this double dose. Great taste in music too.
To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of his New West debut, "No Other Love" is being issued on limited edition RED SPLATTER LP this week. Chuck took the time to talk to us about this fantastic record.
T-BONE'S RECORDS: So, "No Other Love" is your first album for New West. What are your memories of signing with your label home and how did you envision this record at the outset?
CHUCK PROPHET: I remember hitting it off of Peter Jesperson at New West. I think we met through Mark Eitzel. I signed with the label shortly after a showcase at the Troubadour in LA. I felt energized. We were on a label that had some juice - that could do something in the States. And they gave me a respectable budget to make the record. And the songs were coming. So I don’t know how I envisioned the record initially… But, I was thinking that it would be good to get something that might sound good coming out of the radio. Whatever that is! I think we got halfway there at least with the song "Summertime Thing." But I thought the recording fell short somehow. But damn, I tried. That’s probably why it’s so deep in the sequencing. In the end, even though I had doubts, it did assert itself and made for a good radio song.
T-BONE'S RECORDS: When you were recording the album, were you aiming to make a record that showed a different side of you - may be a slice of just who you were becoming as a songwriter and person?
CHUCK PROPHET: Well, recording the record? I wanted to show my good side. Even on the cover.
Honestly, I had been making records for a little while already. But mostly for British labels. And we pretty much stuck to touring in England and Europe. North America was so vast and I hadn’t really been on an American label to speak of…. so at one point, we thought maybe if we just ignored North America. If we did that long enough maybe it would go away. But that strategy didn’t work out so well.
T-BONE'S RECORDS: Can we get specific memories of three songs on this record?
"I Bow Down And Pray To Every Woman I See" - genuflect for sure, but such a swampy, slinky groove
CHUCK PROPHET: I was trying for that bossa nova country groove al a Bobbie Gentry. Got pretty close. Name another song that mentions both Sissy Spacek and dropping acid at Disneyland?
"Run Primo Run" - a folktale filtered through crime drama?
CHUCK PROPHET: "Run Primo Run" had another name. My friend Kurt who I often write with worked in a law office at the time and he picked up the phone as he was typing out a deposition and couldn't believe what he was reading. Out there stuff. Much of those details found their way into the song. We changed the name to Primo because… well, not really to protect any innocent. I can’t really remember why, to be honest. Now it’s not just between Sonny and his Higher Power.
"That's How Much I Need Your Love" - Memphis-based beatbox update of Percy Mayfield?
CHUCK PROPHET: It’s just a blues really, over a Casiotone beat box. But, I still really like that track. It’s real direct. Immediate.
T-BONE'S RECORDS: When you were recording "No Other Love," what did you think was the standout song?
CHUCK PROPHET: When we were making the record I thought “After the Rain“ sounded really good. It just held together. I liked the words. And I liked the way the guitar figure framed it. Plus I love a song in 3/4 time. And it had those Stephie harmonies.’
T-BONE'S RECORDS: And now all these years later? Does another one take that place?
CHUCK PROPHET: It’s hard to have a favorite. But, Summertime Thing has really endured. And I still play it nearly every show I play.
T-BONE'S RECORDS: Finally, how did it feel to finally break through into the US?
CHUCK PROPHET: I never set out to be obscure. A cult artist or whatever. I certainly wasn’t willfully obscure. But, for whatever reason, we had so much more success in Europe. England, Italy, Germany... that it was great to find an audience in the states. Up in the northwest down in Austin and out east… So many of the people that I see year after year came in at that record. I had been around. Didn’t have that new car smell per se. But we also caught a break when Lucinda Williams took us out on a summer tour and everything just kind of clicked with the song "Summertime Thing" on the radio. We got a break there and we got our skinny foot in the door. And we’ve been doing it ever since, really. It was a pivotal record, for sure.
T-BONE'S RECORDS: What are you working on now? Can we obtain hints and allegations of what is coming?
CHUCK PROPHET: Right now I’m working on a musical based on "Temple Beautiful". Kurt Lipschutz and I wrote the TB LP together and we’ve been kicking this musical around for some time. We’ve gone through a couple of producers. And one theatre company. But we are still hot on this thing. Hot in pursuit of another producer. So, in between records and tours, we pulled it off the shelf and overhauled the script - wrote new songs. I remain excited about the possibilities.
Chuck Prophet's sixth album "No Other Love" is available now at T-BONES as a limited reissue from the recent observance of Record Store Day Black Friday in a cool RED SPLATTER vinyl edition from New West Records/ Redeye Distribution. This edition marks the first US pressing of his album and a celebration of 20 years with the label. Thanks to Chuck, Tommy Robinson, Peter Jesperson, Alex Ashkenes, and Jack Patton-Smith.
TBONES: "The Land That Time Forgot" is not just a worthy successor to "Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins," it is you sharpening your songwriting even more. What do you think is different from this record and "Fuller" - or your catalog?
CHUCK PROPHET: I think this record is more acoustic. And less of what my wife calls a “Rockpile“ record. Two guitars, bass, and drums are where I generally live.
TB: "The Land That Time Forgot" is a lot dreamier to me. It's not a reflection of you growing comfortable, but more of you growing comfortable with the economy of songwriting. What is your method?
CP: I don’t know why exactly… I suppose that’s what the songs were asking for. They have needs. So you need to listen to them. And they’ll tell you what they need. It’s pretty easy. That’s my experience. But then again, when I play folk music there’s always something going on in the engine room - something is always shuffling under the feet of the songs. As much as I like acoustic music… I gravitate towards "Beggars Banquet" and things like that. I like folk music.
TB: Do you have a favorite song on here, one that you are proud of or that really surprised you?
CP: "Nixonland" surprised me. Because it’s based on true stories. And then when I think back to the fact that my fourth-grade class actually took a field trip to visit Richard Nixon‘s first law office. I thought maybe I dreamed that up. But I looked it up and there’s a plaque there in my hometown at the very spot. That surprised me. Really? That's our tax dollars hard at work.
TB: This record is very well-arranged. You skillfully use background vocals (your wife, correct?) and just hints and allegations of warm organ and lilting slide/lap steel, but always focus the songs on the heartbeat of that acoustic guitar. Were you drawing on any influences while making this record?
CP: I know there’s the right arrangement for every song out there somewhere. And I’m pretty tireless in my pursuit. I’ll try it upside down and sideways and backward until I get that ensemble humming like a Swiss Clock, you know? And Stephanie Finch. Boy, her singing! She brings it home.
I spent a lot of time with a group called The Rubinoos [check out their record "From Home"] while producing them during the last couple of years. I learned a lot about ensemble singing from those guys. They sent me on a Beach Boys and beyond jag - I’ve been listening to a lot of vocal music. Honestly, the more time you spend in Pro Tools studios and the more time you’re stuck listening to music that is digitally manipulated, the more you get hungry for people singing into one microphone. Group singing there’s nothing like it. So Stephanie and I rediscovered our love for singing harmony.
TB: "Willie and Nilli" is a clever and wild tale. Is that based on a true story or did you just want to listen to Metallica for a little while?
CP: All the stories are true. Yes, they’re all based on real people and Willy and Nilli are particularly close to my heart. I love those kids even though I’m not a Metallica fan. I could learn to be.
TB: How much of you as a person would you say are in your songs?
CP: I had a friend who played drums with John Hiatt - he was complaining about the gig. He didn’t get along with him very well. And he told me, "Chuck, I know you’re a great fan. But he’s not the nice guy that he comes off in the songs.“. And I thought to myself: Of course not! That’s why I like him and his songs so much. We get to be any person we want to be in songs. That’s the beauty of it.
T-BONES Records and Cafe is a full-service fast-casual restaurant and record store in Hattiesburg, MS. We are a member of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores and are the longest-running record store in the state of Mississippi. If you have questions - we have answers … and probably a lot more information just waiting for you at:
tbone@tbonescafe.com
Visit our website for more information and shop in our ONLINE store if you wish.
T-BONES ships the best music all over the United States daily. We also specialize in Special Orders. Let us know what you are looking for - we are thrilled to help.