Charlie Parr holds an air of mystery about him. The story goes that one spring day in 1979, a young Charlie Parr made his way down to East Side Lake in Austin, Minnesota carrying a Johnson 9.9 outboard motor and half of a gallon of gas. His pockets were stuffed with stolen cans of Blatz. The motor did him no good at the lake since he didn’t have a boat, but he was lucky and traded it to a truck driver at a nearby filling station for a beat up Gibson 12-string guitar. He kept the gas.
On his site he is described as both a confused and shy individua. He plays with a great deal of energy and easily grabs the attention of anyone in the room at the time. He plays original and traditional folk and Piedmont-style blues, accompanying himself on National resonator guitars, 12-string guitar and sometimes a banjo.
According to his biography: Charlie Parr has failed at most things in his life. Music seems to have rendered him unemployable and is the only thing he’s ever done with any confidence. A lot of folks have been saying nice things about Charlie, despite the lingering odors and indecipherable comments he makes. It says a lot about folks; they’re hanging in there with him, in spite of himself – I don’t doubt any of it for a minute.
He has managed to sneak out another album called When the Devil Goes Blind which is due for release in October.
MP3: I Dreamed I saw Jesse Lames Last Night
Track listing:
I Dreamed I Saw Jesse James Last Night
South Of Austin, North Of Lyle
Where You Gonna Be
For The Drunkard’s Mother
Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down
1890
Up Country Blues
Mastodon
I Was Lost Last Night
Turpentine Farm
Last Day
