A quick post to share some Missing Parsons music news. Have a listen to new tune ‘My Little Sister’ below and, if you feel moved so to do, let us know what you think. This one’s a Simon Kilshaw creation, and we think it’s pretty special. (Best enjoyed on proper speakers or headphones. Please listen responsibly.) We’re posting it as an Audioboo, which is the latest addition to our size-13 social media footprint. You may have seen the odd Boo in recent audio blogs. If you Boo yourself, follow us here for occasional fun-for-your-ears.

Also, with the 14th Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull coming up in Waycross, GA on Sept 23rd, it’s time once again to invite all you lovely folks down to say hello. Jay Farrar is headlining a fabulous line-up of acts, including our favorites Honey Blue and Abby Owens. There’s no band performance from us this year, but Chris will be joining Nate Nash and Marc Andress from Honey Blue for some Louvin Brothers action during the tribute set for Charlie Louvin, who passed this year. We’ll post a firm time when we have one.

And if you see anyone wearing a Missing Parsons t-shirt, please stop and say hi – we love to meet you lovely people in person when we can! Or drop us a line by email or on Facebook, Twitter etc. – the links are all over there in the sidebar to the right – and let us know if you’re planning on coming down.

MPx

Goodness, that flame burns brightly still! We had such a phenomenal response to the GP birthday competition. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time and trouble to pen a message in the Room 8 guest book – we have been touched and humbled by all the GP love!

If only we could send books to all of you. Sadly we can’t – our publisher wouldn’t allow it for one thing – so we’ve had to make some tough decisions. We cogitated and deliberated, rated and debated, and in the end decided to choose stories which illustrate how Gram has been a connector in your lives, as he has in ours and in so many other people’s. So Aaron Beavers, Anna H and Graceless Lady – step forward and claim your prize! Congratulations – send your postal address to us using the ‘Contact Us’ link over there in the sidebar and we’ll mail it out to you.

To our unlucky losers, once again thank you for your touching messages, which the delightful Margo at the Joshua Tree Inn has kindly agreed to add to the real Room 8 guest book. We feel like we’ve connected with some wonderful new souls this past week (with special thanks to Shilah Morrow, guardian angel and headline act of Live Fast, Die Young for connecting us). Perhaps one day our paths will cross in the real world. For now though, Facebook is our closest connection to you all, and if you haven’t joined the team there already, we’d love to welcome you along. There are loads more ways to connect with us over there on the right of this page.

A final plug for the book, if we may be so bold. Live Fast, Die Young: Misadventures in Rock & Roll America is our own little birthday present to GP, and we like to think it’s a tribute to friendship too. There’s more information, photos and videos here on the site or on our various social media platforms. American friends may wish to consult this handy guide about how to get hold of your copy.

Happy Birthday Gram – the flame burns brightly tonight. We’ll sweep out the ashes in the morning.

Chris & Joe

Missing Parsons

P.S. We all know that Gram started something pretty special with his vision of Cosmic American Music. But did you know that in pursuing it he very nearly killed off a whole genre of music, barely out of diapers itself? No? Then have a read of Joe’s most recent blog Gram Parsons Killed Heavy Metal, immediately below this one.

You are missed. MPx

A very brief note about wobbleboards, just to clear up any confusion. Having issued an invitation to you all to join Missing Parsons (the band) on wobbleboard at the GP Guitar Pull this Saturday, it turns out this unique antipodean instrument is completely unheard of in America. Made famous in the UK by adopted Aussie national treasure Rolf Harris, the wobbleboard is a board which wobbles. It creates a gloopy, percussive sound rather like a geyser bubbling:

After two days in the studio laying down a version of Townes Van Zandt’s ‘If I Needed You’ (below), Chris and Simon were sitting in the dining room of Simon’s house reviewing their hard work and trying figure out what was missing from the recording. Spying a large piece of poster board behind the radiator (normally used to display Mrs. Simon’s wonderful jewelry), it dawned on us that the missing link was a wobbling board. Can YOU wobble a board? If so – join us!

It seemed rude not to. With our *debut* live performance coming up at the Gram Parsons Guitar Pull (Okefenokenee Fairgrounds, Waycross, Georgia, USA, Saturday 18th September, 2.30pm), we figured it was about time Missing Parsons had some T-shirts out there. They don’t exist in real life yet (update: they do now), but we’re too excited not to share these designs with you now. We may even do bumper stickers if they go down well.

Some huge thank you’s are due. The first and most important goes to the always incomparable Courtney ‘Annie Rich’ Connor (whom readers of Live Fast, Die Young have met) for making the gig happen in the first place. That there Ms. Rich is an amazing lady and we’d be nowhere without her. The second thank you goes to our stylist, web designer and friend Thomas Eagle for the wonderful shirt designs. We absolutely LOVE them. What do you think?

Leave us a message here in the comments box below or, if Facebook is your preferred social medium, pop by and say hello. Join the team if you haven’t already – it’s the easiest way of staying in touch with you all and we’d love to have you along.

Missing Parsons the band have been busy again. Here’s another taster from the longplayer, a song called What’s In A Name? (Genevieve). This one’s an homage to all those artists who gave country a groove - in particular Mike Nesmith and Little Feat – and an excuse to break out the wood blocks, bongos and much underrated vibraslap. It’s cut to footage from the first leg of the Live Fast, Die Young road trip from LA to Joshua Tree.

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The album is available on iTunes, Amazon or your favourite digital music retailer. Listeners in countries that support it can listen on Spotify. Hope you like it – there’s more information about the band here. Be first to see new Missing Parsons videos by subscribing to our You Tube channel.

Missing Parsons are celebrating two things!

The band are thrilled to tell you that their first album, snappily entitled Missing Parsons, is now available on iTunes and at all good digital retailers from November 8th. We politely invite you to purchase here!

The writing duo (Chris & Joe) are just as thrilled to have finished writing Live Fast, Die Young: Misadventures in Rock & Roll America, which is published by Summersdale next May! We hope to keep you occupied until then, meanwhile enjoy a glass of wine with us, why don’t you?

Finito!

Missing Parsons (the band, not the writers – gosh this is confusing isn’t it?) proudly present new song My Pretty Fraulein, their own interpretation of the classic tune by Lawton Williams. Previously recorded by Townes Van Zandt, Willie Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis and Evan Dando among others, Missing Parsons have given it their own unique flavour! Hope you enjoy it – stay tuned for exciting news about the Missing Parsons album very soon …

And there’s more music over at the Missing Parsons Facebook page.

Exciting news – we have our own theme tune! Live Fast, Die Young – Theme from Missing Parsons has been submitted by talented Parson Simon Kilshaw via Facebook. It is truly a thing of wonder, capturing as it does Chris and Joe’s respective fondness for country rock and French electro. And if you think that those two things are uncomfortable bed fellows, have a listen and we think you’ll be surprised!

The sound quality isn’t great, but please bear with us while we work on less clunky ways of bringing you Missing Parsons music!