CHARLIE Parr is mulling over the implications of being called a “cult hero”. The Minnesota-based blues songwriter has performed almost nightly for decades, releasing dozens of solo albums since 2002, many selfreleased or on tiny labels and long out of print. His new LP Little Sun is a typically beautiful, often delicate collection, recorded with aband for the first time, including ace guitarist Marisa Anderson.
“I’m not sure anybody should consider me ahero but I don’t mind the cult part,” Parr decides. “I feel really good about where Iam at, in the sense Ican play abunch of cities over the US and Europe and sell out aroom. It’s not abig room but it’s aroom of people who want to see me, and that’s very comforting. Every morning Ido a gratitude dance that Ican make aliving playing guitar, which Ihave wanted to do since Iwas eight.”
Parr has adeep catalogue to work through –if you can find it. He explains he doesn’t reissue old albums as he believes the latest version of himself is always the most relevant. It’s an approach he extends to individual songs, as they evolve through performance into something quite different, until they’re worth recording again to document the new perspective.