There's a Man Goin' 'Round Takin' Names - Charlie Parr

Your friendly editor of the The HoDo Dispatch recently attended a show by the Flaming Lips at the 10,000 Lakes Festival. It resembled a birthday party thrown by aliens, or maybe for aliens. And, while their neon grandeur was truly exciting and fun, the question was begged: is all that necessary?

In terms of a band like the Lips, the answer is yes (spectacle evokes a special brand of joy). But through a broader lens, the answer is no (rock musicians are frequently guilty of overstatement). Exhibit A? Charlie Parr, who works harder than a one-legged guy in a you-know-what-kicking contest, puts two total ingredients into his stew, guitar and voice. The result is as startling and provocative as a 40-foot video screen and a confetti cannon. Probably more so. His style of blues peels back the veneer of our image-driven popular culture and exposes the conflicted relationships that modern humanity shoulders vis a vis its technology, the planet and its membership. It is our blues, timeless and fantastically immediate at the same time.

Charlie was gracious enough to answer a few questions in anticipation of his show at the HoDo:

HoDo Dispatch: You criss-cross Minnesota more than any other person I can think of. How does the state of Minnesota, its geography and people, influence your music?

Charlie Parr: I think everything influences the music, and especially my home. My entire personal history is here, which is where everything starts. I love MN, and crossing it for shows never gets dull.

HD: Traditional styles of blues/country music often get an "olde-timey" label. Do you think of your music as "olde-timey?" How would you characterize the relationship between your music and the world today?

CP: Those labels aren't really helpful for the most part. They were made up by radio stations and record labels to help them market music, so I try not to pay them a lot of attention. I don't think of myself as playing 'old-time' or 'bluegrass' or 'blues'. It's kind of a mash-up of all them sometimes, and then sometimes none.

HD: I was not at all surprised to find that you come from a labor background. What affect has this upbringing had on your approach to your career?

CP: I don't know, really. I've always been from that rank-and-file kind of place, and haven't really known much else.

HD: In your bio, it is mentioned that dignity, and the struggle to keep it, is a central theme in your songs. Could you expand on that?

CP: There's a horrible idea that rides along just underneath the surface of things that says that there's a relationship between your economic status and how much respect you're afforded. It's wrong, and I doubt it'll change, but it's wrong and it's one of the things that we all have control over - one person at a time.

HD: I'm willing to bet that you expose a lot of people to acoustic blues. How do they normally react when hearing you for the first time?

CP: I try and direct them to the folks that really made this type of music what it is - I struggle to keep it up, and there are some real good players out there to hear, both alive and dead.

HD: You play a lot of shows. What motivates you get up on stage as often as you do?

CP: I love to play guitar. I'll play no matter what - when no one wants me at the shows anymore, I'll play in the kitchen - when I get kicked out of the kitchen, you'll find me in the basement playing guitar.

Charlie will be back in the HoDo Lounge Thursday night at 9 p.m. There's a $3 cover for the show and it's 21+. You can listen to him here, via MySpace.