Each week Laura Oakes takes a look at the sunnier side of life on "Laura's Good News," Sunday mornings at 6:30 on WCCO Radio and now available as a Podcast.
This week Laura chats with folk music artist Charlie Parr.
The Austin, Minnesota native's story is pretty simple. He's a self-taught guitar and banjo player who pretty much drives around the country playing his music - musical stories, really. Parr's life is typically the subject of his songs, with lyrics ranging from the dark to the humorous to the uplifting. Parr says music has saved his life on more than one occasion, having battled clinical depression for decades. His lifestyle, while not for everyone, works for him.
"I'm sleeping in a van in rest areas and truck stop parking lots and being cold and feeling like I really would like a shower and a warm meal,” Parr says. “It doesn't feel glamorous or successful. It feels hard.”
So why does he live life this way when he doesn't have to?
"Well, the financial reality is, I don't make very much money," Parr explains.
Parr listens to jazz and experimental music and practices his guitar for several hours a day to help cope with his depression. He's divorced with two kids and currently lives in Duluth, but is on the road most of the year.
"This is seriously what I've chosen to do,” says Parr. “It's what I love to do. It's my passion. And I would do it under worse conditions. A lot of people who are marginalized and impoverished don't have the luxury of that choice, and I do. And I don't take that for granted. I spend time every single day in gratitude of even just being able to play the guitar."
Right now Parr is touring the U.S. promoting his latest record and he performs at the Palace Theater in St. Paul Saturday night. He's off to Europe for another leg of his tour next spring.
Catch Laura's full conversation with Charlie Sunday morning at 6:30 on WCCO or anytime on the Laura's Good News Podcast. Find it on the Audacy app and wccoradio.com.
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