Carey Worrod and Memphis Mudd

Worrod makes blues short list
Oro-Medonte resident performs tonight at Sticky Fingers by: Susan Doolan

Carey Worrod has the blues but he's happy about it. Especially now, because the musician has won a spot as one of six finalists in the Toronto Blues Society Talent Search.
He won't find out until June 28 but
Barrie can catch his pre-competition
show tonight at Sticky Fingers.
"We're actually going to play the
songs in sequence that we will be
playing at the (Toronto Jazz)festival," said Worrod, who entered
the competition as a way to have his music heard by the right people.
In the blues genre, there is limited
means of exposure for musicians,
Worrod said.
Of the four songs the 21-year-old
Worrod and his band, Memphis Mudd, will be playing at Sticky Fingers and the Toronto festival, there will be include two original tunes he wrote as well as covers of Howlin' Wolf and Kenny Shepherd songs.
If Worrod wins when he goes before a panel of judges at the Nathan Phillips Square concert, he will receive a prize package that include studio time, a professional photo shoot, CBC recording for Saturday Night Blues and a gig at the Southside Shuffle, the 9th annual Port Credit Blues and Jazz
Festival, which is scheduled for Sept. 7-9.
Since Worrod moved to Oro-Medonte Township two years ago, he's made inroads into the local music scene, appearing both solo and with his band during the recent Barrie Jazz Festival.
He credits Stickey Fingers for giving
him his first start.
He met Curley Bridges there at an
open jam session and played backup for him during the winter of 2005/06.
Worrod favours blues music because he grew up listening to it around the house.
"I figured that was all there was," said Worrod, who was inspired try music for himself after seeing a video of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix.
"I picked up a guitar and figured I
could do it right away," Worrod said with a laugh. "Then reality set in."
So at around 11 years old, he began teaching himself how to play guitar.
He started writing songs after he
finished high school. He called it part of living in Owen Sound, where he joined the Georgian Bay Folk Society and its youth ongwriting group.
Worrod stared the band after he
moved here and has been playing all over southern Ontario, including both solo gigs and higher energy show with the other members of the three-piece group, Memphis Mudd, which also includes drummer Tim Kwiatkowski
and Barry Reid on bass guitar.
While it remains Worrod's dream to
take his music further and have it
occupy the majority of his spare time, he's also interested in graphic design.
He is entering his second year of the three-year program at Georgian College this September.
Tonight's pre-competition show starts around 9:30 p.m.
Sticky Fingers Bar & Grill is located
in Barrie at 199 Essa Rd.

Barrie-area musician Carey Worrod is a finalist in the Toronto Blues Society Talent Search. Chosen as one of six finalists from across the country, Worrod will perform with his band, Memphis Mudd, on June 28 at the TD Toronto Jazz Festival. - The Barrie Examiner

Chatsworth native Carey Worrod is a finalist in a talent search being
staged by the Toronto Blues Society. The 21-year-old singer-songwriterguitarist entered the contest on a whim and learned he had been chosen as one of six finalists based on demo recordings. The other finalists are the Douglas Watson R&B Revue, Smoke Wagon Blues Band, Son Roberts Band, Tracy K and Up the Line."A lot of them have been around for quite a while, 20 years or so," Worrod said of the others, adding with a laugh, "I'm the only young'un in the crowd."
The OSCVI graduate is studying
graphic design at Georgian College in Barrie but he also fronts Memphis Mudd, a three-man classic rock-blues-R&B band. He's been playing the guitar since age 11 and has been performing publicly for about three years, including at Owen Sound venues like Copper Ridge Restaurant and at Jazzmyn's, where he used to
run the jam sessions.
Worrod was already working on a
solo demo when he found the Toronto Blues Society's website on the Internet. The site included details about the talent search and he decided to enter after realizing that current Canadian blues star David Rotundo is among the former winners.
He submitted a three-song demo
which included an original composition along with two tunes
written and first recorded by
legendary Delta blues singer-guitarist Robert Johnson, one of Worrod's musical influences.
Although he entered the contest as a solo performer, Worrod will be
backed up by Memphis Mudd when he appears in the final June 28 at the Toronto Jazz Festival. They plan to perform at least two original songs in their allotted 20-minute set. A panel of industry judges will pick the winner, whose "professional
development" prize package will
include a live CBC recording, studio
time, a photo shoot and performance slots at the Celebrate Toronto Street Festival in July, the South Side Shuffle in September and the blues society's Blues Summit next January.
Just getting this far in the talent
search is a victory of sorts for
Worrod, who knows he has an
opportunity to impress the audience which is expected to include a number of talent scouts and booking agents.
"Anybody who's anybody in the blues vein (will be there)," he said. "Even if you don't win, you have kind of won."
© 2007 Owen Sound Sun Times (ON) ; CEDROM-SNi inc.
- The Sun Times

Musician Carey Worrod is a busy guy. He performs solo two nights a week at local restaurants, plays in his band Memphis Mudd, teaches music lessons on Mondays and Tuesdays at a local guitar shop, and goes to college.


“Yeah, I’m busy,” he said. “I play around a lot, with my solo stuff and the band. We are staring to develop a following, really getting things going.”


Worrod knew achieving his goal of becoming a professional musician was not going to be easy so he’s not one to complain about the amount of hard work involved.


“I think everyone wants to be a professional musician. I am taking that one step at a time, just getting to that next plateau. Just getting out there and getting exposure.”


Worrod describes his sound as very blues influenced with a lot of soul, delta blues and jazz.


“I play a wide variety of stuff, but that’s the music that I truly like,” he said. “I write my own music, but I like to re-work the standards. Blues, jazz and even classic rock standards. I add my own flavour to it.”


Worrod has been playing guitar for 11 years, but began focusing on music as a career about three years ago.


“Self-taught,” he explained of his ability to play. “I locked myself in my room for a summer. There was always a lot of music going on in my house growing up. My parents are huge music lovers. We had everything from Jimmy Hendrix to Motown.”


The guitar player is in the process of recording an album with his Memphis Mudd bandmates Andre Paraskevas and Blaine Jefferey.


“The band plays a lot of classic rock but we do some R&B. A lot of crowd favourites,” he said.


Worrod, who is from Owen Sound originally, now calls Barrie home.


“I moved here to go to Georgian College, but it’s sure helping the music career. There’s not much going on in Owen Sound. It’s great to be close to Toronto.”


Worrod said he likes to think he’s bringing something new to the Barrie music scene.


“I don’t like to do the same songs that everyone else is doing. I like to keep it fresh. This music is very over looked nowadays. It’s important, a lot of the masters are gone, it’s important to keep it going.”


Memphis Mudd will be on stage at Sticky Fingers Bar and Grill on New Year’s Eve.


Worrod plays at Monsoon Lounge every Wednesday and Thursday night.

- Barrie Advance