Cletis Carr

Singer-songwriter Cletis Carr has one mantra: Play the song, rather than the instrument. The American born roots rocker has been a careful student of the human condition and has developed a keen eye for a good story.

The success of his 70’s band Sneakers gave him the experience and confidence to launch a solo career that’s taken him all over the planet and has seen the release of five solo albums and numerous band projects.

Over the years, he’s toured and shared stages with the likes of Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, Chuck Berry, Elvis Costello, Joan Jett, Nick Lowe and Huey Lewis.

An intended brief vacation in Australia has now lasted over two decades as Carr found himself touring with members of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, the Easybeats and the Saints.

In the mid-90’s he started working behind the scenes with an independent label, as a staff writer for Warner/Chappell then as a producer of new artists for ABC/EMI. He moved to Nashville in the late 90’s and worked with Virgin and Capitol Records on various marketing campaigns. He returned to Sydney and finished 2001 with a stint at Liberation Records.

After running two café / acoustic music venues, Carr is now returning to his recording career. Most of his back catalog is again available, and a collection of tracks from his Australian recordings is set for release shortly.

In 2004, Cletis Carr was diagnosed as suffering from depression, an illness that is caused by an imbalance of serotonin levels in the brain. It can be a very debilitating disease, and Carr has been struggling to resume his career since. He is involved with several organisations such as Beyond Blue, DepressionNet and the Black Dog Institute to help raise awareness of this disease which affects over 300 million people worldwide.

Cletis Carr lives in Sydney Australia , where he runs a part time graphic and web design business. He was a contributing writer to the great, late Rockrgrl Magazine, is a passionate cook, and knows some great jokes. He tries to collect Australian wines, but they never seem to stay in the rack very long.