Chuck Prophet has taken over the XPN blog this week and here tells the story of meeting Nikki Sudden and some words of advice from Keith Richards.

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I played a bizarre solo gig in Athens, Greece a while back. The promoter was one of those record collecting geeky enthusiasts.  He arranged a dinner with Nikki Sudden and a crew of misfits. I was all but brain dead after the transatlantic flight but went along. I was a fan and had met Nikki a few times before. Although he generally ignored me and took more interest in my soon to be wife Stephie, I still remained a fan. Nikki died not long after this. He was the real deal. He walked it, talked it and brought more than a t shirt back from the front lines. Nikki Sudden RIP.

In Athens, over dinner, Nikki knocks back a couple of bottles of red wine and a few fingers of Grand Marnier and shows no signs of slowing down.

The conversation flows.  We exchange war stories interspersed with some harmless name dropping.  Nikki’s been working on an autobiography.  He says he’s got some 120,000 words.  Looks like between the two of us we’ve got easily that many miles on us.  I decide to head out and get a coffee in hopes of staying awake for the gig.  As I excuse myself, Nikki looks up and says, “Coffee?  I never drink coffee.  Keith Richards told me coffee is the absolute worst thing you can put into your body.”

There are some things you simply can’t respond to, and this may have been the king of that universe.

“Keith Richards told me coffee is the absolute worst thing you can put into your body.”

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Chuck’s new album ¡Let Freedom Ring! is out now.