Charles Theodore

Artist Information

Biography

Charles Theodore Zerner grew up in France and the US, graduated with honors from Harvard University, and moved to New York to sing in the subways.

After playing through a 3 month session with the producer of the Clash, touring the east coast, holding residencies in New York, carving his home in the antifolk scene, playing countless shows and cutting a record in France with the producer of Jacques Higelin, CT is finally selling something with his name on it. His first release, A Suitcase Life comes with a 10 page color booklet, and a long life-full of listening pleasure. It is available now at Itunes, CDbaby, Antifolk.net and select retail outlets in the North East.

Keep your eyes open for more east coast tours, the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Festival, new live/studio recordings coming soon, and a possible European tour later this year.

MORE EXTENSIVE BIO:
Charles Theodore grew up shuffling between France and the US, wandering through hallowed churches and looking at paintings with his art historian parents. From Providence, to Santa Monica to Chicago to Boston, going to the local school in a tiny French town with more cows than people, to living in the carnival that is New York City, Charles-Theodore's bicoastal, trans-Atlantic upbringing has shaped his songwriting as much as his musical heroes.

CT played weddings and club gigs for his pocket money through high school. He continued to perform and cut a record with a jazz combo (at Boston's esteemed Regattabar), while working toward an honors diploma in French Literature at Harvard University. There, Rimbaud, Baudelaire and T.S. Eliot joined Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, The Velvet Underground, John Lennon, and Serge Gainsbourg as lasting lyrical influences.

It was after his graduation in 2002 that Charles Theodore really began to stick out. He turned down the straight jobs and spend his time singing in the damp underground of the New York subways, developing a distinctive acoustic sound.

It wasn't long before Charles-Theodore was invited to cut a record with the mythic producer Joe Blaney (The Clash, Keith Richards, etc…) in a rock outfit. Although an immensely enriching experience, soaking up musical lessons for 3 straight months, he quit the band after finishing the recording, realizing he needed to further develop his own material.

Charles-Theodore hit the NY club circuit: Pianos, The Living Room, CBGB's and Galapagos are just a few of the venues he still plays at regularly. CTZ also found a home in the Antifolk scene, considered worldwide for being the heart of the New York songwriter world today. After playing gigs along the east coast from Vermont to North Carolina, including World Café Live in Philadelphia, The Evening Muse in Charlotte NC, Langdon St. Café in Montpelier, VT, Southpaw in Brooklyn, playing 3 anti-folk festivals in NY, CT made his way back to France.

There he covered 120 dates in 2006 with his three piece band, building a following in Paris. He founded the Folk Underground biweekly residency/concert series at the chic Ile St. Louis club Le Franc Pinot. It was in France that he met producer Francis Lassus, with whom he made his debut release, A Suitcase Life.

Delve a little deeper, and you will find why his understanding of French and American mentalities - not to mention a talent for capturing the universals – resonate with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, and beyond.

A SUITCASE LIFE
Charles-Theodore's first release is finally ready. Recordings began in late 2006, with drummer and producer Francis Lassus (producer of French pop star Jacques Higelin, and drummer for Claude Nougaro, African singer Ray Lema, Joe Zawinul amongst others) in the Pyrenées mountains near Pau, France. Charles-Theodore merges American folk-rock ramblings a la Dylan with
Baudelaire-inspired wordplay. Add bittersweet melodies, carefully layered keyboard, bass and drum sections, and irreproachably poppy production to his stripped down vocals and you have A Suitcase Life: an album that exudes professionalism and accessibility, but never at the detriment of a rawness, intelligence and sincerity. In an age of irony and prefabricated fluff, Charles-TheodoreZerner's Suitcase Life is a necessary and refreshing change.

Please Visit:
www.myspace.com/charlestheodoremyspace

www.charlestheodore.com



FRANCAIS

Charles Theodore est ne pres de Boston, une oreille formee aux rhythmes de l'Amerique, heritage de sa m�re, l�autre sensible � l'art hexagonale, cadeau de son pere. Brinquebale des son plus jeune age, entre la Cote est et la Cote ouest, entre les deux rives de l'Atlantique (Paris, et la province angevine), son apprentissage est d'emblee place sous le signe de l'art, de la route, de l'echange. Malgre un parcours universitaire flatteur (diplome avec Honors de l'universite d'Harvard en 2002) que certains imaginaient deboucher sur une carriere en costume- cravate, il repousse Wall Street pour le metro new-yorkais ou il se devoue a la chanson. Souvenirs : "C'est un endroit incroyablement formateur ; on y est confrontee un public indifferent qui au mieux se desinteresse de vous. Un public melange a qui l'on ne peut offrir que sa musique et sa presence pour l'interesser. On comprend l'essentiel de ce que c'est qu'etre musicien et on muri plus vite." C'est dans le Lower East Side, a Manhattan, que Charles develope son style. Apres avoir �cum� les clubs new-yorkais (Piano's, The Sidewalk Cafe, The Living Room, Galapagos, Cbgb's, Southpaw etc.), et avoir tourne modestement sur la Cote est, il rencontre un producteur suedois, habitant Paris, qui lui propose d'enregistrer un album en France. Tres vite, les seances ne se revelent pas a la hauteur de ses attentes. Au regard de ses autres experiences en studio (aux cotes de Joe Blaney producteur des Clash, de Keith Richards etc...), il reste insatisfait. C�est alors qu�il fait la connaissance de Francis Lassus, batteur et producteur (Joe Zawinul, Jacques Higelin, Claude Nougaro, etc.). Direction Pau, au studio de Francis et deuxieme rencontre : Laurent Vander (fils du grand pianiste Maurice Vander). Entre les trois, l�entente est immediate : "La musique, c'est toute de meme un peu de l'alchimie. Comme l'amour, il faut que la chance et le temps s'accordent. Une entente de ce genre est tres, rare." Apres un travail intense, la pre-production fait preuve d'honnetete et d'une complicite musicale prometteuse. Petit a petit, le mariage culturel qui a toujours guide ses pas est en train de prendre tout son sens. Explications : "Je crois que c'est une musique profondement franco-americaine. C'est dans cette dualite culturelle que ma musique a pris sa source, et c'est en revenant en France que j'ai trouve l'energie qui la complete."

Instrumentation

USA:
Charles Theodore Zerner - voice and guitars
Chris Volpe - Vocals, guitar, banjo

EUROPE
Charles Theodore - Guitar and voice
Laurent Vander - B3 organ and keyboards
Olivier Perez - Drums

Discography

A Suitcase Life Produced By Francis Lassus - 2007.

A free copy of A Suitcase Life is available upon request for Industry purposes, such as booking, terrestrial/satellite/internet radio, by emailing the artist at charles@charlestheodore.com

Live on air performances have been recorded at WHRB Boston, WXPN Philadelphia, WBAI New York, WUTC Chattanooga and more...

Links

• FOR UP TO DATE PERFORMANCE DATES, SEE MYSPACE PAGE
• Charles Theodore Zerner's Website
• Charles Theodore Zerner's Myspace Page

Audio

• Hollywood Boogie Woogie (the hustle)
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• Bars and Parties
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• The American Way
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• You were right the first time
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• Paris dans L'entretemps
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• Moonlight on the dotted line...
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• A Suitcase Life
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Lyrics

• Paris dans l'entretemps

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• A Suitcase Life (pre-release copy) [+ Show ]
  

  Charles Zerner is a very well-rounded young man. Combining intimate folk rock ramblings, choruses th...Charles Zerner is a very well-rounded young man. Combining intimate folk rock ramblings, choruses that wouldn't sound out of place on Top 40 radio, Spanish inspired guitar fills and noticeably rhythmic bass and drum sections, his songwriting draws from a multitude of influences. Fortunately, this diversity sounds neither gimmicky nor gratuitously eclectic, and he succeeds in this ambitious endeavor because of his genuine, consistent honesty. Jetlagged longing, lost loves and moments of displaced loneliness are revisited track by track, memorable and every bit as fresh as they once must have felt. Still, Zerner never compromises his upfront lyrics for rhythm, catchy bittersweet melodies and an intricately arranged acoustic pop-rock sound; the album is a sincere and well-thought-out commentary on a twenty-something's life, not a sentimental confessional about what went wrong.
  
  
  
  Zerner's songs range from straightforward guitar-based pieces to more complex and layered arrangements complete with soaring, playful synthesizers and perfectly timed bass lines. His voice is strongest when stripped bare, as heard on "Broke St Lullaby" and "You Were Right the First Time"; more layered vocal sections lose their sweetness and verge on generic, especially when he speaks/raps rather than sings. The production on the instruments, however, is irreproachably poppy - unusual for such an upfront record so strongly influenced by bare-bones folk rock. This smoothness works well more often than not and accentuates the care with which the songs were written: there isn't a sloppy moment on the whole record. But two slick, hip, upbeat tracks, "Andrea in Passing" and "The American Way" (a timely commentary on the current state of affairs) fall victim to their own neatness. Lyrics beg for a crack in Zerner's voice, some sign of vulnerability; the riffs build up but never distort or explode; the poetry is replaced by literalisms and the drums and synths feel heavy-handed. The songs sustain their hooks and are certainly memorable, but sound out of place next to the slower, deeper tracks.
  
  
  
  "Bars and Parties," however, is produced in the same vein but pulls it off - the gorgeous melody and spot-on lyrics are enough to win even the most critical listener over, almost to the point of overshadowing the songs that come after. "Soft Lips and Champagne", "Broke St Lullaby" and "Moonlight on the Dotted Line" are more representative of his sound as a whole, with softly strummed guitar parts and wistful allegories. Weathered cynicism atop a lingering innocence characterizes the mood of the record - jaded, but still young and unwilling to give up on hope. A genuine sincerity ties the songs together, though never at the detriment of professionalism, originality, and technical skill. Combined with a talent to comment on, rather than fall into, cliché, and a heart-wrenching set of melodies that stick long after the songs end, Zerner has made a thoroughly meaningful and sensitive record.
  
  

• Spotlight CD Reviews Indie-music.com [+ Show ]
  

  Artist: Charles Theodore Zerner CD: A Suitcase Life Home: New York City Style: Singer/Songw...Artist: Charles Theodore Zerner
  
  CD: A Suitcase Life
  
  Home: New York City
  
  Style: Singer/Songwriter
  
  Quote: "This CD is gentle and profound."
  
  By Catherine L. Tully
  
  I never liked Bob Dylan -- a fact that I don't advertise, since so many people think he is a complete genius. The simple fact is, I can't stand the sound of his voice, and even though his writing is tremendous I can't get past that sound. Why am I talking about this during my review of A Suitcase Life? Because Charles Theodore Zerner is very "Dylanesque," but with a voice I don't mind listening to. I enjoyed the lyrics, the sound and the feel of the CD in a way I never could have if it was good 'ol Bob.
  
  This CD is gentle and profound. The music runs nice and easy throughout but it is the sentiment and feel of each track that really grips you. The intelligence of the lyrics should come as no surprise, since Zerner is a Harvard grad, but he does something that can be very difficult to do. He can rhyme lyrics without sounding campy. This is no simple task, and as someone who even avoids buying cards if they have a singsong feel to them, I must say that I am impressed by this fact alone.
  
  Some songs have a very popular appeal to them, while others call to mind more of a "folk" feel, but overall I liked all that I heard here. I also find it funny that despite the fact that Zerner reminds me of someone I don't like and does things with lyrics that generally make me cringe, I would recommend this album to others. It just goes to show you that if things are done right, they work.
  
  Indie-Music ProfileIndie-Music Profile
  
  May 03, 2008
  Artist Website: http://www.charlestheodore.com/

• Charles Theodore & Chris Volpe in Studio ’99 [+ Show ]
  

  By: Sean Phipps Rarely do we get to meet such motivated musicians as Charles Theodore and Chris ...By: Sean Phipps
  
  Rarely do we get to meet such motivated musicians as Charles Theodore and Chris Volpe. Both got their start in music playing the subways in New York and became part of the much lauded ANTI-FOLK movement. Now, they both have solo records to promote. Recently they stopped by Studio ’99 to play a few songs and tell us what it’s like to perform in a crowded New York subway station.
  
  Listen Here:
  http://media.timesfreepress.com/podcast/music/mp3/041108.mp3

• Editor's Music Pick [+ Show ]
  

  A combination of electronics and plucky, acoustic folk make Charles Theodore an interesting and uniq...A combination of electronics and plucky, acoustic folk make Charles Theodore an interesting and unique listen. ... A must for hippies of any stripe.

• Gene Shaye
  

  "What can I say? The world needs more songs like this."

Setlist

Sets typically last 45 minutes-90 minutes.
Set lists vary nightly according to the needs and expectations of the venue.

CTZ sets are primarily comprised of original material, but can include carefully picked cover songs from artists such as Hank Williams, Dylan, The Velvet Underground, Serge Gainsbourg, Gillian Welch, the Carter Family, or perhaps even a folk styling of Paris Hilton or Megadeath. We always aim to entertain!

Basic Requirements

Calendar