Wes Carr… Heart of a Lion

By John Bones on November 15, 2012 in Arts

Buffalo Tales is the new project for Sydney based singer?songwriter Wes Carr.

From his early days fronting Silverchair offshoot Tambalane, to his well?publicised success on reality TV, Wes has well and truly paid his dues and already lived several musical lifetimes before reaching the age of thirty.

Buffalo Tales sees Wes return to his organic singer/songwriter roots and is an intimate and natural fit with folk and alt country overtones that lets his music speak for itself.

During the month The Beast caught up with the man in question…

Wes Carr in a sentence is… Sometimes introverted, sometimes extraverted, passionate, generous, wears a heart of a lion, sometimes cynical but tries to stay positive.

First memory of music… When I was about two years old, singing an Al Jolson song for my family. I still remember the buzz I used to get sitting alone and playing records every weekend growing up. It was my own world and I was happiest there.

First album you bought… It would have been a Michael Jackson cassette of some sort. I collected every release of his before my teens. I remember buying ‘Off The Wall’ in Rundle Mall in Adelaide but I don’t remember my very first purchase.

Song that gives you goosebumps… Many songs have that effect on me. I couldn’t pick just one. When I wrote songs sometimes an idea would give me a goosebump or two and that’s when you know you have something that’s pure and true.

Fave driving album/s… I’ve been listening to Bon Iver’s new record and some mix tapes I put together myself with Ryan Adams, Elliot Smith, Fleet Foxes, etc.

A Wes Carr highlight… Releasing the new EP Blood & Bone under the new music name of Buffalo Tales, of course!

If you could pick a supergroup its members would be… Jim Keltner on drums, George Harrison on guitar, Hendrix on guitar, James Jameson on Bass , Little Richard on keys, Stevie wonder on mouth organ, Elvis on lead vocals and his gospel choir on backup vocals.

Sydney bands giving you the good tingles at the moment… Leopard are a great band living in Sydney but originally from Adelaide. Boy and Bear and Martha Marlow are also very cool.

Fave Sydney venue… I used to love playing the Hopetoun in Surry Hills. It was such an institution and now it’s really sad to drive past it and see it boarded up – such a shame. I do love the Enmore theatre too, and the Annandale Hotel. All three are different and they’re all great music venues, past and present.

Band or genre that gives you an ice-cream headache… The fake Europop where they have just over-loaded the cheesy in-built sounds that come with their computer software. It comes out sounding like on big cluster of over-produced crap.

If you bowed to corporate sponsorship it would be to advertise… Peace, love and happiness.

Your dream bill for a night (Wes Carr included of course)… The Beatles, Hendrix, Bon Iver, Elvis, Edith Piaf and Snoop Dog.

An unknown Wes Carr fact… If I tell you I will have to kill you.

What next for Wes Carr… My new project Buffalo Tales is gaining some momentum. I’m playing some festivals next year and I’ll be touring around the place and moving forward positively with my music. My EP is on iTunes under ‘Buffalo Blood & Bone’ and I can assure you it’s nothing you have seen from me before and I really like it that way.

To find out more about Wes Carr and Buffalo Tales, visit www.buffalotales.com.au.