Charlie Parr Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 1st 2010 11:50AM by Renee Holmes
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With a National 6-string guitar -- its body made of steel, complete with a spun aluminum cone -- by his side, Charlie Parr is set to take the stage at this year's SXSW festival. Recently, Spinner had the opportunity to talk with Parr about his music, his plans for the upcoming performance and his soon-to-be-released album, 'When the Devil Goes Blind.'

Describe your sound in your own words.

I've been asked that before, and I never know quite what to do with that question. I always call it folk music. In my life, I've listened to a lot of real old folk and blues and early country music. Acoustic music, mostly, is my biggest influence. I guess it sounds mostly like that. I'm a finger picker, more or less, but I'm self-taught so it's kind my own design, my finger style.

How did you begin your career as a solo artist?

I've been playing the guitar most of my life. I started when I was a kid, but back some 10 years ago or so, the planned shows were going pretty good so I started playing out more and more. About six years, ago I quit my job, and now I just play guitar all the time. I've been pleasantly surprised it's gone as well as it has.

What are your musical influences?

A lot of acoustic players from the '20s and 30s, like Charlie Patton and Blind Lemmon Jefferson and those guys; a lot of the revival folks from the '60s, like Dave Van Ronk and "Spider" John Koerner; and some contemporaries, like Jack Rose and Glen Jones and guys like that. It's mostly guitar players -- acoustic guitar players. I feel a kinship with them, I guess, as far as music goes. I'm kind of influenced by everything. I like listening to everything. Musically, I like at least getting to hear stuff, and if I don't like it, that's fine, but I at least like to give it a shot. My environment up here influences me a lot. The weather up here in Duluth plays a big role in how I'm feeling.

Do you write your own music?

Yeah, I write my own music. Sometimes, I'll go back into the old music and pick some traditional stuff to rework. But even if I do that I definitely will write my own arrangement of songs. I'm not a real skilled songwriter, but I really enjoy doing it.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

I know I've got a bunch of them. I have a record by the Minutemen that most people wouldn't expect me to have. That gets pulled out every once in a while, and I pretend that I'm a teenager again. The time I did listen to rock 'n' roll music was the time that the Minutemen and Husker Du and some of those SST bands were going. I just adored that stuff so much, and I still like it. I still pull out 'Double Nickles on the Dime' once in a while and listen to that.

If you could meet one musician, who would it be and why?

If I could meet any musician in history, I would want to meet Mance Lipscomb because he is the first guy that I ever heard that played the style of guitar that I always wanted to play. When I was a kid, my dad played me a Mance Lipscomb record. He's a blues player from Novasota, Texas, and I listened to that record until it wasn't even playable anymore.

Do you have a favorite venue that you play at?

Yeah, I guess I do. Up here in Duluth, I play every week at a little tavern called the Brewhouse. It's definitely my favorite. It's my hometown gig, and I get to do it every week and I can count on it. They're always kind to me, and I can try out new stuff or play all the old stuff and everyone's OK with what I decide to do.

What's in your festival survival kit?

A good pair of shoes. I did a small festival in Wisconsin. I was very happy to have a pair of rubber boots in my truck. It was wet and muddy.

Beatles or Stones?

Is there a neither [laughs]? I'm not really into either one of them. My sister liked the Beatles when I was a kid, but I don't know. My dad had that Mance Lipscomb record that I liked a lot, and a buddy of mine had a record by the Who that I liked a lot, but I'm not sure if there's a third option there.

Tell us about your upcoming album, 'When the Devil Goes Blind.'

Well, it's the first album that I'm going to do completely solo. I'm not having anybody come in to help me with harmonica playing or percussion. It's the first record that I'm going to have a producer help me with. Bo [Ramsey] is going be there to help me, be there to make decisions about songs and microphones and whatnot. I've always done everything on my own up until now. My last record was very lo-fi and mono, so it's going to sound a little bit better. It's going to be a stereo recording, so that's going to be unique. I'm looking forward to it, and I'm real happy to be working with Bo Ramsey on it.

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