Charlie Parr drew inspiration for his latest album, Rooming House, from his early days in Minneapolis, Minnesota on the city’s storied West Bank where he encountered many of the people who would inform his musical life. He could take in shows from legends such as Dave Ray, “Spider” John Koerner and Willie Murphy and soak up conversations at any of the local neighborhood haunts. Something about that time inspired him and he began writing a still-unfinished novella and then a group of songs about characters living in a rooming house, struggling with poverty and poor health but also finding community and chosen family.
To record the material heard on Rooming House, Parr collaborated with Dave King (The Bad Plus, Happy Apple), the pair finding a quick chemistry that allowed them to track the entire record in a matter of hours. Like Parr’s full body of work to date, the songs are haunting and true, populated by folks and situations familiar to us all. These are glimpses of ways of life in some cases that have vanished or are vanishing while others are too stubborn to take their cues and make way for better days.
Parr recently spoke about growing up in Austin, Minnesota, where his parents taught him the value of hard work and community, his move to the Twin Cities as a young man, and the lasting influence of “Spider” John Koerner on his life and music.
Host/Producer: Jedd Beaudoin
Theme music: Torin Andersen
