Chuck Prophet was in high school when I first met him in the early ‘80s. Local band, Bad Attitude, the common thread. His bass player happened to be my roommate at 612 Ashbury. The Bay Area music scene was buzzing — tons of raw new bands and badass venues. Fast forward a bazillion years later and here’s Chuck talking about (among other things) what will be his seventh time playing Hardly Strictly Bluegrass right here in our backyard.
HSV: Bad Attitude is kind of where it all started for you, right?
CP: I certainly learned the ropes with them. They were a little bit older and able to get gigs at the Mabuhay. The Stone on Broadway, Berkeley Square. It was a pretty good time to have your kite up, you know, when the wind changed direction. We also did a lot of frat parties in Berkeley and we’d have to stretch things out. Whether it was The Animals or Them or The Yardbirds — they had all those records, and that’s kind of the building blocks of how I play guitar. That’s really kind of what I’m still doing, you know? [laughs]
HSV: And now here you are, that kid I met all those years ago, playing HSBG for the seventh time. It must be heartwarming, a good feeling, to be surrounded by all those legendary troubadours.
CP: It’s great to be included. It’s been a wonderful gift to SF by Warren [Hellman]. He had a certain enthusiasm for bluegrass music, and I think he wanted to share that. I don’t know that the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack had come out yet or if people were aware of groups like Nickel Creek or Alison Krauss. I think the festival really did its part to keep a lot of that art form alive. There are a lot of young people today that know about Emmylou Harris and maybe it brought them to Townes Van Zandt or The Stanley Brothers, and what a great thing that is.
HSV: It’s pretty wild surviving all these years, the ups and downs and all that. Yet here you are, still gigging.
CP: I’ve been lucky enough that I woke up interested in what I’m doing and that’s kind of a gift, you know? There’s been new people to play with and new records and new songs and that’s kept me going. I’m happy when people show up.
HSV: What are you working on now?
CP: I’m working on a cumbia record, Latin music out of Columbia and Cuba. Been jamming with different people. I played with a group from Salinas called “Qiensave” at the Hipnic, a Mother Hips Festival. And of course I still have the Mission Express — best band in town.
HSV: See y’all at Hardly Strictly!
CP: Golden Gate Park is a magical place. I like to tell people that it’s the kind of festival where you don’t have to worry about buying tickets from some shifty character in the parking lot because it’s completely free! Bring a blanket, sit in a meadow, and listen to tunes.
