Cletis Carr - a brief bio Singer-songwriter Cletis Carr knows a good yarn. Especially when paired with a good melody and some gritty slide guitar. A careful student of the human condition, Carr's story-songs play out like mini-movies. Tales of joy, heartbreak, redemption, ordinary madness and everyday heroes are draped in a rich tapestry of acoustic steel-string guitar, dobro and lap slide. Raised in America to a family of professional country musicians, Carr first tasted success with his early 80's new wave band Sneakers, which launched a solo career that's taken him all over the planet and has seen the release of five solo albums and numerous band projects. Over the years, he's toured and shared stages with the likes of Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, Chuck Berry, Elvis Costello, Joan Jett, Nick Lowe and Huey Lewis, just to name a few. An intended brief vacation in Australia found Carr touring with members of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, the Easybeats, Bondi Cigars and the Saints. His bands Big Whiskey and Hillbilly Moon (with Paul Norton and the late Rose Tattoo legend Peter Wells) both met with considerable critical acclaim. In the mid-90's he moved behind the scenes as a producer of new and emerging artists. His awards and nominations include the 1997 Russell Morris / Crosby Sisters duet, and singles from Tanya Sullivan, Nicole Brophy, Tracy Lee Killeen and Angie Marquis, amongst others. He moved to Nashville in the late 90's, writing and performing at legendary venues as the Bluebird Cafe, Douglas Corner and the Broken Spoke before returning to Australia in 2001 for a promo stint with Liberation Music. After spending most of the last decade running three cafe / acoustic music venues, Carr has now returned to his recording career, with a new album promised by the end of the year. Most of his back catalog is again available, and "Footsteps", a retrospective collection from his earlier recordings is now available on CD or online through iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon and others. Cletis Carr lives in Sydney Australia. He was a contributing writer to Rockrgrl Magazine, is an obsessive cook, and knows some great jokes. He tries to collect Australian wines, but they never seem to stay in the rack very long. Press info and EPK here.

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These are a handful of the most-asked questions from recent interviews: What was your first instrument? probably a mickey mouse guitar (there's a photo on the gallery page). my dad & his brothers all played, so I grew up with keyboards, drums and guitars around the house. And where was your first public performance? the ripe old age of seven, singing "cotton fields back home" at a family reunion in missourri. How did you begin playing professionally? just school friends with bands, then we started to get paid high school and club gigs. I was playing in bars and clubs well before I was legally old enough to. I had a special permit from the city and had to stay in the kitchen between sets. (laughs) I used to hide from the 40-something divorcees, now I am one. Why did you move to Australia in the mid-80's? my elder sister was born & raised here, I hadn't seen her since I was a kid. I'd finished a tour and needed a break, so I went over thinking I'd stay for a year or two - that was twenty-five years ago now. Who/what were your biggest musical influences? my dad & his brothers. they played music all the time, mostly country. so I grew up with a lot of hank williams. in school days, my bandmates were always older than me and were into everything from blues to jazz fusion. then I got an fm radio which was stuck on one frequency, used to be the john birch society or something, but was then the hip underground fm station. so I was getting into the doors, the dead, lou reed, zeppelin, while also being drenched in country. then I discovered gram parsons, and it all made sense. Who are your favourite: Singers? john lennon - he reportedly hated his own voice, but few people can move me like lennon. linda mizzi is my favourite female singer on the planet. gram parsons, joni mitchell, lucinda williams, emmylou harris's voice turns me to jello. I adore the way that graham nash, david crosby and stephen stills harmonize - nobody's ever been able to touch them. Songwriters? rock stuff, neil young, dylan (of course), lennon, chuck berry, joni, tom petty, carole king. then there's townes van zandt, steve earle, john hiatt, guy clark, john prine, lyle lovett, david rodriguez, willis alan ramsey, all those texas guys. I also admire the classic writers - hoagy carmichael, bacharach, hal david, gilbert & sullivan, cole porter. Songs? sheesh - far too many to name. Guitarists? stephen stills, django reinhardt, norman blake, hendrix, michael hedges, johannes linstead, snuffy walden, tommy emmanuel, phil keaggy. Aussie singer/songwriters? kevin bennett, paul kelly, neil finn (yeah, I know he's a kiwi), linda mizzi, richard clapton, jackie bristow, steve hoy, simon bruce, christina amphlett & mark mcentee. Authors? jack keruoac, charles bukowski, eckhart tolle, mitch albom, emily bronte, arthur c. clarke, henry lawson. Films? "it's a wonderful life", "2001 a space odyssey", "almost famous", "spinal tap", "manhattan", "local hero", "the rutles". Do you write about real people? sometimes. most of my song characters are composites of people I've known, observed or heard about. my latest writing seems to be more personal though - definitely a real person or two lies at the heart of a couple of them. What's your favourite song that you've written? the one I've just finished - isn't that the usual answer? "footsteps in the hall" (from both "wooden nails" and "hillbilly moon vol. one") is probably my favourite bit of wordsmithing. What guitars do you use? I always have a dozen or so guitars kicking around the house, my main writng tool is a prototype washburn d11, made out of ash, top back & sides. I was a washburn artist endorsee for several years, I still use them a fair bit onstage. my favourite is an old j28 jumbo body. I use a couple of resonators usually tuned to d, e and g. my latest workhorse is a taylor 114 that's been tricked out some.