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Prophet Speaks UV: Your fan base in Europe is bigger than in the U.S. and your fourth album, Homemade Blood, topped the Rolling Stone critic's poll in Germany for months. How do you account for the different levels of acceptance in Europe and the U.S.? CP: Oh yeah ... yeah, I started that rumor, but this one is true. It topped the critic's poll. I try to pretend that I don't care, but I thought it was cool. I don't know, some people think that Europeans are culturally and artistically ahead of us. That's one way of looking at it; the other way of looking at it is the French embraced Jerry Lewis movies well after they were funny. UV: A lot of people say that Green on Red helped usher in alt.country and groups like Wilco. Do you feel like you guys opened the door for that movement? CP: Oh, I love Wilco. We played a gig with them and I really didn't know [Jeff Tweedy] from Adam. One of their records had just come out and they were playing this song about a guy who had a left arm tan and a van and a band and couldn't under-stand why nobody would come see them. And I just thought, this motherfucker has got it goin' on, I like him as a writer, and they're really inven-tive as a band. I just dig 'em ... and if people listen to Wilco and get turned on to, not necessarily Green on Red, but they get turned on to really good shit like the Stanley Brothers, or people reevaluate that maybe ELO didn't suck that bad, whatever, that's all good stuff. UV: Is there anyone you're sort of holding out to collaborate with? CP: Yeah. I'm just waiting for Dylan to give me the call. Dylan, Tom Waits, any of these guys, tell 'em I'm listed in the book, and I'll wait for the call. I'll carry their luggage or whatever, play guitar, you know. I've got a lot of talents. UV: How do you feel about [former Prophet bassist] Roly Salley's Hollywood career on the Chris Isaak show? CP: Oh wow, I just think it's been great. I talked to Roly and he said if you told him 20 years ago when he was playing with Joan Baez that he would ever be taking acting lessons or that he would be involved in a -- kind of a fucked-up sitcom, he'd a thought you were nuts. It's pretty cool. I think it's totally cool. Even if it doesn't work, the fact that they're doing this, I think it's ambitious and audacious and I'm all for it. UV: Giants, A's, Dodgers? CP: Oh, I'm a Giants guy. I needed to get a hobby, so last year I started to go to Giants games. I couldn't dazzle you with any of my extensive know-ledge of the game or statistics or anything like that, but you know everybody's good at something and I'm pretty good at sitting out in the sun. [ East Bay | Metroactive | Archives ]