Entertainment

Interview: By George, Here Comes Wes Carr!

That’s right folks, Adelaide’s favourite son and all round nice guy Wes Carr is headed back home this weekend to perform his interpretation of George Harrison songs in ‘Here Comes The Sun’. Carr, who shot to the public eye on Australian Idol in 2008, has recently toured with ‘Rolling Thunder Vietnam’, showing off his acting skills along with his fine voice.

UnknownThat’s right folks, Adelaide’s favourite son and all round nice guy Wes Carr is headed back home this weekend to perform his interpretation of George Harrison songs in ‘Here Comes The Sun’. Carr, who shot to the public eye on Australian Idol in 2008, has recently toured with ‘Rolling Thunder Vietnam’, showing off his acting skills along with his fine voice.

It’s a little bit War and Peace coming off a tour about the songs of the Vietnam War and then singing pacifist George Harrison’s music, but this shows the diversity of Wes Carr and his ability to step up to the plate.

I admire what he stood for and it aligns with my ideals, it’s a celebration of his life really ,and although I’ve never been into covering songs or concept music, this time it feels right. The songs are great and his words are always meaningful. Harrison said he could write a whole bunch of songs and churn them out, but he really didn’t want to do that. He wanted it to matter, as do I. That really hit home when I heard it in an interview with him. In the show I touch on a lot of his philosophies without being too dogmatic about it.”

Harrison, often referred to as the ‘quiet Beatle’, was a searcher who was known for his collaboration with Ravi Shankar in practicing Transcendental Meditation. This too is a connection Carr feels with Harrison, who started this meditational practice several years ago and subsequently helped Carr recover from depression.

“George Harrison said that he wanted to give people another key to unlock something with his music, and that’s essentially what this show stands for. Come along and listen to the songs for sure, but also to the message that he left.”

In that respect, Here Comes The Sun is more of a biopic than a musical tribute to Harrison.

“If you come along to hear a bunch of George’s songs, that’s great, but there are also a number of surprises and discoveries where people may not realise that he wrote a particular song. He was also a profound thinker, and many people tell us after the show that something changed them, it moves a lot of people,” says Carr.

The songs are Carr’s own interpretation of them, and are done acoustically in a stripped back, bare all show that has been very well received thus far.

Much like Harrison, Carr has come to the realisation that fame isn’t everything, and sometimes comes at a cost to privacy, public expectation, and self-awareness.

“There’s more to life than being recognised and having all this fame and perceived importance, and I love the fact that George Harrison didn’t take himself too seriously despite being one of the most recognised artists on the planet. I think that’s an important message. At the end of the day there are things of greater importance, and I do think the world has become a little narcissistic and voyeuristic in a sense.”

A true sentiment, and as we see daily with social media the line between anonymity and celebrity can change in an instant.

Thankfully for Carr, he’s a down to earth Adelaide lad who has experienced the trappings of fame, the scrutiny of the public eye, but has lived and learned to tell the story. That a young, talented musician has seen the light, so to speak, so early in his life can only be a good thing. The Wes Carr I’ve just spoken to is a doting dad, husband, and fellow Gawler boy who has a fantastic outlook on life. With any luck, this celebrity-obsessed world might take a leaf out of his songbook!

Here Comes The Sun will play in Adelaide this weekend, Saturday 8th August at Published Arthouse, Adelaide.

 http://tickets.oztix.com.au/default.aspx?Event=52069

 

Interviewed by Darren Hassan

Twitter: @DazzHassan

 

wescarr.com.au

https://www.facebook.com/wescarr

https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloTales

 

 

 

 

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