Richard Carr est né le 19 février 1963 dans le quartier Ville-Émard de Montréal.
Issu d‘une famille modeste, il reçoit sa première guitare à l’âge de 7 ans.
C’est à l’ancienne église baptiste de la Petite Bourgogne (Little-Burgundy) qu’il reçoit ses premières leçons et découvre le Gospel. Ses premières influences viennent des Big-Bands tels que T-Bone Walker, Duke Robillard, et Dutch Mason. Depuis l’âge de 16 ans, il joue dans les bars et salles de spectacle et festival comme guitariste.
Après une longue absence du métier, en 1996 il fonde le Blue Ketchup Band où il prouve son talent indéniable de chanteur. À Boston en 1998 son chemin croise celui de Little Joe Cook et Weeping Willy. L’opportunité de jouer avec eux est un point tournant dans sa carrière. Il revient à Montréal fin 2000 en pleine certitude de ses habiletés innées et s‘affirme comme «band-leader» en fondant RichardCarr&TheGemTones.
Depuis on le voit prendre d’assault la scène de nombreux festivales et salle de spectacle tells le Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (Place des Arts), Festiblues, Maximum Blues, St-Hyacinthe en Blues, Centreville en Blues, BBQ Blues Fest, Festival L’Octobre en Blues de Joliette, Festivale de l’harmoica (Café-Campus), Centreville en Blues. Et divers clubs tels Skippers Smoke House (Tampa) The Pig (Memphis) Johnny D's (Boston) Cantab Lounge (Boston) Place Des Arts, le Bourbon Street West, Quartier de Lune, Pape Georges, Le Denier, CAFÈ-CAMPUS, Bistro à JoJo, L’Ours Qui Fume, Le Quais des Brumes, Porté-Disparu, etc.
Avec son style “Crooner” à le voix Ray Charles, Richard Carr immpressionne. Guitariste chevronné, avec un Talent indéniable de chanteur, il se positionne aujourdh’hui comme un leader du milieu du Blues du Québec.
Rene Malines : France. myspace.com/renemalines
VIRUS DE BLUES virusdeblues.free.fr
"Hey y'all, listen to Richard's music and tell me this guy's doesn't deserve a worldwide recognition ! "
Steve Arvey : USA myspace.com/stevearvey
"You sounded great!! It was great performing with you last week. Thanks!!"
Steve Rowe : CANADA myspace.com/steveroweblues
"Richard Carr is an authentic bluesman. He combines his solid
understanding of the music with great guitar tone."
2006 LysBlues award winner Richard Carr
is a class act, a captivating performer with
a powerful tenor voice. Superb vocals, solid
guitar work and a tight rhythm-section, is
what you can expect from this award winning
artist. Richard Carr and his musicians can bring
the unique energy of a live performance to your
next special function. In addition to enjoying these
musicians, booking the band also means you will also
have the confidence and peace of mind that you trusted
your event to an experienced professional.
2006 LYS BLUES ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR. Richard Carr is a singer,guitarist from Montreal who's early exposure to the culture of the South and a working-class background were two of the main elements that contributed to his natural inclination towards the blues and roots music. Add to that his musical connection to the gospel choir of the Baptist church and, slowly but surely Carr was discovering the foundations of his musical personality. 2006 LysBlues award winner Richard Carr is a class act, a captivating performer with a powerful tenor voice. Richard Carr has shared the stage with : Fiona Boyes, Damon Fowler, Sarasota Slim, Steve Arvey, Mookie Brill, Jimmy Botts, Sean Carney, Harrison Kennedy, Jason Fowler, Rick Hayworth, Jordan Officer, Stephen Barry, Andrew Cowan, Gordie Adamson, Cristian Malette, Bob Walsh, Bob Harrison, Carl Tremblay, Dawn Tyler Watson, Kim Richardson, Adam Karsh, Paul Deslaurier to name a few.
Richard Carr is an award-winning blues guitarist and bandleader based in Montreal, Quebec. His vast experience and talent have kept him at the forefront of the blues scene in Montreal. Carr sees himself as an interpreter of the music that has inspired him and shaped him into the musician he is today. His material comprises a wide variety of songs by renowned Blues & Roots musicians. Whereas most musicians these days tend to play a more modern style, Carr proudly sticks to the basics and performs his own kind of Blues music. "I try to play closer to the original version rather than doing more modern versions of tunes," explains Carr. "I make sure they sound really rootsy and rock 'n' roll." He performs both acoustic and electric sets, alone or with his full band. His full band performance include sets at the 2007 Centreville en Blues (Riviere du Luop) 2006 SIMMM (Place des Arts) Maximum Blues Festival (2005), Weekend En Blues, Octobre en Blues, Festival Blues De St-Fortunat and Cancer en Blues (2005). Also, you can catch him on weeknights playing gigs in venues across Montreal. With a great deal of experience under his belt, he continues to succeed in capturing his audiences with his sophistication and flair. He is a captivating entertainer with a powerful tenor voice. His specialties remain old-school blues, west coast swing and Chicago-blues. "I try the best I can to do justice to the material," he explains of the responsibility he has in upholding the quality of these timeless classics. "I try to emulate the famous people I appreciate but through this still develop my own personal style." Without holding any judgment toward other styles of music, he seeks to promote and preserve the old-school musical styles by performing them with the highest level of musicianship and respect.
Thank you so much for adding me as a friend. I truly appreciate it. I read that you are quite good at playing the Blues. I sincerely hope you obtain all your career objectives. I hope you will check out my upcoming debut CD, Dawn of a Waking Man in Sept. It will feature,(among others) a song called One night in Montreal. My many visits to the beautiful city inspired me to write it. Best regards to you and all in Quebec
Hey you, just wanted to say that I had the hell of a night at Mundial's last week: you rock man! J'ai hâte de remettre ça. Thanks for the good times!!!!!
Hi Darlin I am sooooooo wishing that we were at the BMA this year. About to go nuts to hear something, cause I can not pick up XM clearly tonight. Talk to you soon!! I WILL NOT MISS IT NEXT YEAR
Hey Richard. Thanks for the help on the website. You are awesome! And your music rocks! Love you Richard! Celeste President of the Middle Georgia Folk and Blues Society
We've recently released a Hawkeye DVD, "Hawkeye Live In Concert." The DVD consists of two 55-minute concerts filmed in 2005 and 2006. The DVD is now available at; www. HawkeyeHerman. com
