Cletis Carr - vocals, 6 & 12 string acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, dobro, lap steel, bass guitar, hammond organ, piano.
Plus a host of extremely talented musicians whom were bribed by the promise of money, fame, free drinks and pizza.
Kevin Bennett (The Flood) / Guitars, Bvox.
Michael Vidale (Jimmy & the Boys, the Whitlams) / Bass Guitar
Doug Bligh (The Flood) / Drums
Peter Wells (Rose Tattoo) / Slide Guitar
Garrett Costigan (Paul Kelly, Tex Don & Charlie) / Pedal Steel
Paul Norton / Guitar
Chris Stockley (Dingoes) / Guitar
Mick Cocks (Rose Tattoo) / Guitar
Nicole Brophy (Dirty Lucy) / Bvox
Andrew Sefton (Big Whiskey, Slow Club) / Bvox
Paul Keane (The Giants, Big Whiskey) / Drums n' things
Roy Zedras (Big Whiskey) / bass
Alex Black / Violin
Influences
John Lennon, Gram Parsons, Tom Petty, Chuck Berry, Steven Stills, Lou Reed, Joni Mitchell, Townes Van Zandt, Neil Young, Paul Kelly, Guy Clark, Roger McGuinn, Bob Dylan, Alex Chilton, Hank Williams, Keith Richards, Mark Knopfler, Kate Bush, Muddy Waters, Bruce Springsteen, JJ Cale, Tim Finn, Neil Finn, Eric Clapton, John Fogerty, Bonnie Raitt, Nick Lowe, Lowell George, Pete Townshend, Willis Alan Ramsey, Ledbelly, Richard Clapton, Jerry Garcia, Robert Johnson.
Sounds Like
(been told these:) Peter Case, Steve Earle, Robert Earl Keen, Chris Whitley, Kevin Welch, Ryan Adams, John Gorka, Greg Brown, Chris Smither.
Singer-songwriter Cletis Carr has one mantra: Play the song, rather than just the instrument. The American born roots rocker has been a careful student of the human condition and has developed a keen eye for a good story.
The success of his 70’s band Sneakers gave him the experience and confidence to launch 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.
An intended brief vacation in Australia has now lasted over two decades as Carr found himself touring with members of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, the Easybeats and the Saints, including a stint with perennial blues faves the Bondi Cigars. His bands Big Whiskey and Hillbilly Moon (with Paul Norton and the late Rose Tattoo legend, Peter Wells) were critical and (nearly) commercial successes worldwide.
In the mid-90’s he started working behind the scenes first with an independent label, as a staff writer for Warner/Chappell, then as a producer of new artists for ABC/EMI. He moved to Nashville in the late 90’s and worked with Virgin and Capitol Records on various marketing campaigns as well as playing the usual songwriter haunts. He returned to Sydney and finished 2001 with a stint at Liberation Records.
Cletis Carr lives in the historic Blue Mountains just west of Sydney Australia, where he is co-owner of the Mt. Vic Cafe. He was a contributing writer to the great, late Rockrgrl Magazine, is an obsessive foodie, and knows some great jokes. He can occasionally be found at the Gladesville Guitar Factory, pontificating endlessly about resonator guitars. He tries to collect Australian wines, but they never seem to stay in the rack very long.
Discography:year/artist/title/label:
1977/Shaniko/Soiled Angels (single)/Chrome
1979/Sneakers/Ear Cartoons/City Lights
1981/Sneakers/Music From The Sole/unreleased
1984/Cletis Carr/That Kind Of A Girl (single)/Random
1985/Cletis Carr/Visible Tracks/Random
1988/Cletis Carr/Colourblind/Chase-Sony
1991/Cletis Carr/Tales Of Ordinary Madness/Pelican
1992/Cletis Carr/Wooden Nails/Pelican
1994/Big Whiskey/The Distance/Pelican
1994/Hillbilly Moon/Volume One/Pelican
1996/Hillbilly Moon/Volume Two/Pelican
1998/Hillbilly Moon/I Won't Come This Way Again (single)/ABC-EMI
1999/Cletis Carr/The ABC Sessions/ABC
2007/Various Artists/Bakers Dozen/Big Rock
2009/Blues Pirates/Skullduggery/Big Rock
Performing "Please Don't Lose Me" in Sydney, March 2008
Cletis Hi! Hope all is good with you just dropping by, Hows the weather down there? Hope to see ya up this end of town soon. All the best to ya. Wally!
Thanks so much for your thoughts - the tour ended up working out great and we had successes all the way through Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic! hooray!
Hello, it's me, Ruby Jane. I am a 14 year old fiddler, songwriter. I have some songs posted that are fresh out of the studio. Let me know if you like the new songs..be one of the first to hear, even before they are released!Thanks! new videos too! Ruby Jane
Hi everybody, just here to say our new RORY GALLAGHER HAWK BOOSTER is ready for shipping. Have a listen if you get a chance, All the best, Stevie Flynn.
Hey cletis! =) please check out our new demo up now and pass the blackbirds myspace around!
tell us what your doing and keep the comments coming.!
xx emma.
Hey Cletis, Looking forward to the gig at the Gearin. Let us know the address for your cafe and we will send you some posters for the gig.. Cheers, Erle Dennis
Hey, It's Dave Clupper. If I haven't told you thank you for your support yet, thank you! Check out the video below for a live clip shot from Downtown Tulsa with my daughter Ellen. Also, stop by my profile and enjoy a majority of my new record "Letting Go" released earlier this month. If you want to own a copy, look for the Buy Now Button on my profile or to just own a track, visit iTunes by clicking here. Talk soon!
In life, we all have goals. Goals are what drive us, what push us forward, what give our lives purpose and meaning.
My main goal is to appear and perform my original poem, "Half Hearted," on The Ellen Degeneres Show. I've been working on this goal for 2 years, and I can't give up. If you would like to help, please visit www.RendaWriter.com and sign my online petition that I created to help me get the attention of the show's producers and get me on the show.
Most big goals are reached by setting smaller goals along the way. So my goal is to go from 590 signatures to 650 signatures by May 1st. I can do that easily with your support. Thanks for your support.
It was nice to finally meet you last night at the Imperial and hear some of your music (I'm a Mini Maton convert!). Looking forward to seeing you again.
