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Charlie Parr
Favorite musicians: Charlie Patton, Mississippi John Hurt, Elizabeth Cotten, Jack Rose, Spider John Koerner and Dakota Dave Hull.
Favorite song at the moment: The traditional "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground."
Favorite TV show: "We can't watch TV in our house. My wife doesn't like it and I don't have the sitting span for television. I like pacing around the kitchen, drinking coffee."
Favorite films: "Down on Skid Row," a short documentary filmed in Minneapolis, and "An Injury to One," a documentary about the murder of union organizer Frank Little.
Favorite books: "'Ironweed' by William Kennedy and anything Raymond Carver wrote. Lately, I've been reading "West Bank Boogie" by Cyn Collins; it's a history of the West Bank (Minneapolis) music scene in the '60s. I also keep going back to the oral autobiography of (blues musician) Mance Lipscomb, 'I Say Me for a Parable.'"
What do you do in your spare time? "I play dinosaurs and Legos with my son (Elijah, 5) and build things out of Play-Doh. I go for walks. My son and I tow a wagon up the hill and ride down it, which is dangerous, but we do it anyway. I'm like a giant toddler."
On the Duluth scene: When asked if Duluth is a good place for a musician to live, Parr - who moved there from Minneapolis in 2000 - said: "Yeah, I do. There are a lot of musicians and a lot of venues. Most of the places downtown have music and most of it is original. Coming up here and being involved in a community of musicians has been great for me."
On touring overseas: Parr has almost as big a following in the United Kingdom and Ireland as he does in Minnesota. He has toured there five times.
"My earliest CD got released on a label in Leeds (England)," Parr said. "They invited me to come over and it went so well I just kept going over. I'm planning two trips this year."
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