Sons of Champlin LIVE Sept 5-7, 2021

BILL CHAMPLIN SEPTEMBER 2021

HEY, EVERYBODY. THIS IS BILL CHAMPLIN IN LA. I'M JUST LETTING YOU GUYS KNOW, IF YOU DON'T ALREADY, THAT THE SONS WILL BE DOING 3 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA GIGS IN SEPTEMBER: SUNDAY, SEPT 5 AT THE CREST THEATER IN SACRAMENTO, RANCHO NICASIO ON MONDAY, SEPT 6—LABOR DAY—AND YOSHI'S IN OAKLAND ON TUESDAY, SEPT 7. BASICALLY THE WHOLE LABOR DAY WEEKEND. DETAILS @ billchamplin.com/events

THE SONS HAVEN'T PLAYED SINCE THE LATE 1800'S, OR SO IT SEEMS, AFTER ALL THE LOCKDOWNS. HOPEFULLY YOU HAVEN'T HAD TO DEAL WITH COVID 19, BUT IF YOU HAVE, THAT IT WASN'T TOO NASTY. SOME GET IT REALLY BAD AND SOME SAIL THROUGH PRETTY EASILY.

ANYWAY, IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD MY NEW SOLO ALBUM, "LIVIN' FOR LOVE”, IT'LL BE AVAILABLE AT THESE UPCOMING SONS' GIGS. I HOPE YOU CAN GET A COPY; IT'S REALLY A COOL ALBUM WITH LOTS OF GUEST PERFORMANCES BY: ALAN HERTZ, CARMEN GRILLO, TAL MORRIS, MARC RUSSO, STEVE PORCARO, GREG MATHIESON, LENNY CASTRO, JASON SCHEFF, VINNIE COLAIUTA, GEORGE HAWKINS, BRUCE GAITSCH, AND TAMARA CHAMPLIN. ALSO, A WHOLE LOTTA' ME BECAUSE, WELL, IT'S A SOLO ALBUM SO I'M SINGIN' AND PLAYIN' A LOT ON THE RECORD. SOME OF THE SONGS ARE REAL “TOE-TAPPERS” AND SOME ARE REALLY DEEP, AT LEAST FOR ME. THE RECORD IS ONE THAT I'M REALLY PROUD OF IN A LOT OF WAYS. IT MAY BE MY BEST EVER, FOR SURE LYRICALLY, THANKS TO TAMARA'S AMAZING CO-WRITING. SHE'S REALLY GOOD AT DIGGIN' OUT WHAT YOU REALLY WANNA' SAY, OR SING AND STILL HAVE IT SWING. OH, THE GROOVES ON THIS RECORD ARE "DEEP POCKETED". billchamplin.com/shop

WE'LL ALSO HAVE THE SONS REMASTERED CD'S; THEY SOUND SO MUCH BETTER THAN THOSE OLD SCRATCHY LP'S BECAUSE A REALLY GREAT ENGINEER FROM UK JUST TOOK IT ON HIMSELF TO REMASTER ALL 7 SONS COMMERCIAL LP’S. WE HEARD THE CD'S AND IMMEDIATELY HAD THE COMPANY IN UK SEND US CASES OF THEM. LOTSA' T-SHIRTS, HATS, ETC., WILL BE THERE TOO.

WE OBVIOUSLY COULDN'T DO RANCHO NICASIO LAST YEAR AND WE ALL MISSED SEEING OUR GOOD FRIENDS FROM "UP NORTH". I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL THERE, OR AT ANY OF THE OTHER 2 GIGS. HAVING BEEN RAISED UP THERE I ALWAYS LOVE TO SEE ALL THE PALS I'VE MADE OVER THE YEARS PLAYING IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. CATCHING UP WITH YOU IS A VERY HEALING THING FOR ME, AND REMINDS ME OF WHERE I CAME FROM. SO, COME SAY "HI" UP THERE. TIME FLIES AND WE ALL NEVER KNOW HOW LONG WE CAN KEEP THIS UP, OR HOW LONG "THEY'LL" LET US PLAY THIS MUSIC. I KEEP GOING BACK TO A LINE FROM "HIGHER" BY SLY STONE: "MUSIC'S STILL FLASHIN' ME" THEN "I WANNA', I WANNA' TAKE YOU HIGHER". SAYS IT ALL, STILL.

ON BEHALF OF THE SONS:—GEOFF, TIM, ALAN, CARMEN, RICHARD, JEFF, DOUG, TAMARA AND OUR EXTENDED FAMILY— MIKE OLIVER, MELANIE CARLSTON, MARK OKRUSCO AND SUGIE—WE’D LOVE TO SEE YOU ALL AT THE SERARE GIGS. CYA THERE. LOVE OUT. B