Tearing it up: An Interview with Sean Parnell

Sean Parnell of Dirty Red Barn and Sean Parnell & South County talks blues and boogey

(Tickets for Dirty Red Barn with special guest Joe Rut March 13th at Lost Church in Santa Rosa available here:)

https://thelostchurch.secure.force.com/ticket/patronticket__publicticketapp#/instances/a0F3s000006EJuDEAW

By Emilie Rohrbach

ER: Tell us the story of Sean Parnell, musician!

SP: You know, as a kid I always felt "musical," but it wasn't until around 2004 at the age of 27 that I really started on this journey. I broke my leg pretty badly on a dirt bike and was off my feet for the better part of a year. Passing by Tall Toad Music in Petaluma one day my aunt Donna heard me say I'd like to get a harmonica because I had been so bored. To my surprise, that thing made music! I started practicing a lot using the "3 minutes to Blues Harmonica" book and DVD.

Flash forward 3 months: a friend said he knew a couple guys (Sebastian St. James & Travis James, today of the Highway Poets) who were looking for a harmonica player. I went by there with a couple harmonicas in tow, along with the most ridiculous amp for harmonica and before I knew it and through many iterations and names of that awesome young band of brothers, I looked up and we had done something like 100 "shows" in a year and a half.

The band kept growing up and changing faces until it was decided it was time for change. That included me being axed. It hurt at the time but it was apparently time for me to learn my next lesson. I started attending blues jams pretty regularly at this time and it was then that I really found the blues as a vehicle for what I had been yearning for. Through many a night of bombarding peoples’ ears with my sounds and learning some on the way, I found a home in the local Sonoma County blues community. They all really accepted me and taught me a lot about etiquette on stage and about the music of the blues in general.

ER: I had the pleasure of gigging with you last fall - you were the badass harmonica player for American Hearts. But then towards the end of the set you got up and sang for a few numbers, and I was amazed by your talent. Do you have a first love when it comes to music - singing, harmonica, or something else?

SP: Wow, thanks. You blew me a way with your amazing voice! I truly love to be able to make music in almost any setting but I feel at home when I'm singing and playing harmonica most. Don't get me wrong though, when I get the chance to sit in with folks like Eric Lindell, Tommy Castro or John Nemeth, I'll gladly take the chance to learn something about performance from those guys.

ER: You play in two bands pretty regularly - Dirty Red Barn and Sean Parnell & South County. Can you tell us the origin story for each? What do you get out of playing with both?

SP: Dirty Red Barn was born of Pt. Reyes National Seashore, really. Dave Brouilette and Ben Becker along with Scott Pardue essentially all worked there and had been playing music together. They had booked a gig and had to give the group a name and they happened to be standing at the entrance to the park - as the story goes, while they're talking, Scott says, "That’s a dirty red barn right there...." the rest as they say is you know what....

Not very long after this I get a call from a friend who was watching these guys play in Petaluma. She tells me they are going to need a harmonica player since Scott was leaving. Meanwhile, they get a call from another and separate mutual friend saying to call me for the open spot. A few weeks later, the universe brings us together for a hang and before you know it, we're doing some gigs and before too long, talking to Malcolm about joining on drums. Here we are going on 5 years together, 2 albums done and working on 3. The way we interact is like no other band I've been in or around. Very effortless progress, 2 great singers who make our harmonies jump out and an open space to create without pretense or pressure in any way.

As for Sean Parnell & South County - this band had been together as Arizona & the Volunteers for several years. Philip Mills their singer was my barber for a long time. I was basically invited to play with them any time and I did. I caught wind that Phil had picked up and was moving back home to Arizona. I called him almost immediately to let him know I was "stealing" his band. He told me he wouldn't have it any other way - Phil had basically told the guys if they were gonna stay together as a band that he'd just assume they do it with me. These guys: Jody Counter (guitar/vox) Peter Rochelle (Bass) and Jeff Piehl (drums) are the solid core that has helped Sean Parnell & South County drive home the blues for just over 2 years now. We hope to be regulars at blues festivals in the future with some plans to record in the more immediate future.

ER: What's next on your horizon?

SP: For now working hard on branding DRB seems to be the biggest focus. We're really working to get the new album heard while steadily working on songs for the next album. We're so pumped to have a great show on the books with our Camp Deep End buddy Joe Rut. We're playing March 13 at The Lost Church in Santa Rosa and we can't wait.

As for me and my South County brethren, we have been very encouraged by the response we're enjoying around Sonoma County, so look for us to start bringing our West Coast brand of Blues to a club near you!