Today we’d like to introduce you to Charles Carr.
Charles, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Charles and Marsi Carr say they can hardly believe they’re about to celebrate their 40th year in San Diego. “We moved here in 1985,” said Marsi.
Before moving to VC, the Carrs toured the country as musicians for several years. “Every place we went,” Charles noted, “we would ask ourselves if it would be a good place to put down roots. One place was too hot, another was too cold, one was too buggy, another was too humid.” Finally, it became clear to the couple that just about the best spot in the nation was the San Diego area, a location each had previously visited separately. “It has it all,” added Marsi. “So, when it was time to settle down, we made a beeline in this direction.
After the move, the Carrs continued to play music throughout the So Cal area — about 200 jobs a year — including steady gigs at Safari Park, Seaport Village, Lawrence Welk Resorts, Seaworld, Hornblower Cruises, local radio and TV shows, “and just about every county fair and country club within 200 miles,” laughed Charles.
But with kids came the feeling it was probably time to pull back on the hectic and sometimes erratic life of pro music and the couple explored other interests. Marsi began teaching both privately and in the schools, while keeping her hand in the music world by penning the instruction book, “Marsi Carr’s Guitar Method” and recording original music including the popular children’s album “Just Like You I Was Little, Too.”
Charles became a journalist, eventually becoming an award-winning columnist for the Union-Tribune and the North County Times for over two decades. He continues to write for many So Cal publications, including a popular op-ed column for his hometown newspaper, The Roadrunner. Many of his articles and essays have been included in college textbooks published under the Macmillan Learning, St. Martin’s Press, and Bedford imprints. Charles also became a successful playwright with several of his shows now in national publication and produced at venues across the country.
Thirteen years ago the Carrs formed a 501(c)(3) federal nonprofit arts group, North County Players (northcountyplayers.com), and began staging original theater productions at many local theaters and entertainment venues including Balboa Park, PowPAC, the San Marcos Civic Center, and Patio Playhouse. For the past eight years they’ve produced an annual Christmas show at the California Center for the Arts Escondido, generally to sold out audiences.
With all that going on, the Carrs still continue their first love — playing music together — just not quite as often as they used to. “There’s just not that kind of time anymore,” said Charles, “but playing a few times a month feels about right.”
“There’s nothing like it,” said Marsi. “No matter what else is going on in our lives or the world around us, music creates its own wonderful place. It’s very peaceful — even when we’ve got everything turned up to 11!”
The Carrs most often perform as a duo as the band Skylark. Marsi plays live keyboard and sings and Charles plays guitar and sings. They’re backed by Charles’s recorded performances on a full drum kit. “It’s a very big sound, if we need it — although we can also play at a conversational level when people just want to visit for a while before hitting the dance floor,” said Marsi. “Our playlist is made up of songs primarily from the 70s to the 90s,” Charles noted. “Over the years we’ve tailored our play list to include songs with uplifting, positive messages that almost everyone knows and enjoys.”
You can check out few of their songs at www.artanimateslife/skylark.
“San Diego has been good to us in so many ways,” said Marsi, “so for the past few years we’ve been trying to give back by performing completely free for local nonprofits and charities, including use of our PA system for announcements and speeches.” “We realize many of these groups don’t have budget to pay us our normal rate for private functions,” said Charles. “And, besides, they can put that money to much better use furthering their important causes.”
“Playing music is one of the things we do best and enjoy most,” Marsi said. “And we’re honored whenever we’re asked to come help out.”
If you’re a local nonprofit or hosting a charity event, take Marsi and Charles Carr up on their offer to have their band Skylark play for free at your upcoming event.
Contact them at marsicarr@gmail.com or call 760-933-9174.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When kids came along we needed to make a choice to continue playing on the road or settling down. We’re glad we chose the latter.
What’s next?
We want to continue to play music for people as long as they’re willing to have us. So far so good! 😉
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artanimateslife.org/skylark
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skylarksandiego/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/skylarksandiego
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpNk7CS7TXU
Image Credits
Marsi Carr
Charles Carr
Alex Caratti
Tobias Waldenmeir
