Local Video
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| A one-man show, and then some |
By: DAVID HENKE, Staff Writer
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Posted: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 11:47 pm
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Joe Carey takes the term “one-man show” to another level.
Not only did the long-time musician write all of the songs on his latest album, “Sunflower Soul,” he also played all the parts — the guitar, bass, drums and vocals — on the roughly-hewn classic rock album.
And he did it all from his unheated garage, in the middle of a Minnesota winter.
“It just so happened that when I got to guitar parts, it got cold,” Carey said laughing. “When I needed my fingers the most, I could hardly feel them.”
Carey’s do-it-yourself approach was prompted, the musician said, by finances. Recording his 2003 solo album, “Wondervibe,” at a recording studio cost $10,000, Carey estimates — an expense the musician didn’t want to front a second time around.
Instead, Carey bought some vintage recording equipment online, set up shop in his garage and invited in a friend to help him mix and master the album. Then he started laying down his tracks, written over the last six years, one instrument at a time.
To combat the cold, he even outfitted his garage with space heaters and made a habit of drinking hot tea.
“I just kept pushing the envelope,” Carey said. “It was a personal challenge to myself, something that I had never done.”
Crafting his album from start to finish, Carey said, gave him absolute freedom to pursue his vision for “Sunflower Soul.” The result is a 10-track throwback to an older era of rock ‘n’ roll that the St. Paul Pioneer Press calls a “soulful rock record with a distinctly ‘70s vibe.”
Carey, who will perform on Saturday and Dec. 19 at the Tavern Lounge in Northfield, says his solo work on the album let him branch out musically and taught him how to envision an album as the sum of its parts.
Plus, it only cost Carey $3,000 to $4,000 to produce the album — space heaters included.
JOE CAREY
AGE: 34
HOMETOWN: St. Paul
FIRST INSTRUMENT HE EVER PLAYED: A $70 guitar purchased out of a Sears catalog when he was 10.
THREE ALBUMS ON HIS PLAYLIST: “Before the Frost,” by The Black Crowes; “Blue,” by Joni Mitchell; “Teaser and the Firecat,” by Cat Stevens.
8 UPCOMING CONCERTS
Joe Carey will perform two shows at the Tavern Lounge in Northfield. The first is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday and the second is at 8 p.m. on Dec. 19.
— David Henke covers city, business and youth issues. He can be reached at dhenke@northfieldnews.com or 645-1100.
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