Every weekend WCCO's Laura Oakes takes a look at what's going right in the world on her Sunday morning show, "Laura's Good News." This week, we meet a 'little man' with a BIG sound and an even BIGGER closet.
Chris Perricelli fronts the Twin Cities rock band, Little Man. It's a name with more than one meaning, including the fact that Perricelli stands 5'2". But his charisma, confidence, and eye for art and fashion stand tall in everything he does.
"You know if I'm rockin' out on a guitar that I'm playing on an oriental rug and maybe I've got snake-patterned shoes on and maybe a velvet flared pant, this is visual. I see it and it makes me feel good. It inspires me to play."
Fashion is front and center with every Little Man show. Perricelli doesn't take it lightly and sees it as a way to honor some of rock music's masters.
"For example, there's Jimmy Page of Led Zepplin. He's on stage wearing clothes with symbolism - dragons and roses and stuff like that. It conveys a certain energy. That energy is part of the performance and it embodies a certain energy for the rock to happen."
Perricelli is open about the mental health hit he took during the pandemic, all the while mustering the motivation for sometimes uncomfortable online shows, a lifeline for out-of-work performers.
"I definitely got into a pretty serious depression myself. I backed off social media a bit because it wasn't making me feel very good. There were aspects of my life that I felt were taken away from me. A lot of it was difficult. With the depression you don't want to do anything. You don't want to be seen. You don't want to play guitar. You don't want to write songs, even though that's a great way of expressing your emotion. You don't want to do anything.. get out of bed. You don't feel like eating," said Perricelli.
Not to mention he was going through a relationship breakup at the time. But Perricelli doesn't feel sorry for himself. Instead, he chooses to channel that grief into compassion for others - and other artists - who have had similar difficulties.
"It was a lot of things all at once for many, many people. Going through it personally makes you feel that other people are having this experience too and you can share your sorrow with other people knowing that you feel this way. Then you know how other people are feeling. There's a compassion there that's learned in these moments."
Catch Laura's full interview - including some serious guitar jams in Perricelli's practice space - Sunday morning at 6:30 on WCCO Radio and the Audacy app.
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