Carey Blackwell is a Country Music powerhouse.
He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, drums, bass, mandolin, banjo and piano and a singer/songwriter who has written, played, arranged and produced his debut CD... Betsy.
Carey could be called the Stevie Wonder of Country Music and his first full-length CD will show you why.
Music was always a part of Carey's home life. His father was a part-time musician and singer and Carey got serious about his musical life when he was twelve. He received his first drum kit and that was it! He listened to Rush and all his other favourite rock bands and started his own group. In grade 9 he formed a little high school band in Cochrane Ontario and the guitarist in the band needed some help. Carey began to teach him a few licks and before long he was playing guitar himself. He didn't get his own guitar until the following year and his love affair with playing guitar, singing and song writing began. He became a recluse and closeted himself in his room, learning riffs and chords and writing songs.
At the very beginning guitar player/shredders like Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson were his teachers and mentors up in his room. Soon after that, Carey wrote one of his first songs as an accomplished guitarist called, Ain't Nobody Like You... and he was hooked. He slowly built up a small home studio and began to record his songs.
Carey has become a highly prolific and talented songwriter, having written about 200 songs to date. He attributes his gifts to his father. As Carey says, "He was a musician his whole life...not really a songwriter, although he's written a few songs and he plays guitar and mandolin and little bit of fiddle...he played in the bars when he was younger, and he has a killer voice".
He also acknowledges that gifts like his come from God. As he said in an interview lately, "I definitely think they are gifts from God...it's my calling I believe...and I'm learning every day...the music just comes to me and I go with it".
Listeners of Carey's songs and music all agree that they defy categorization. Some are blues; some are rock; some are jazzy and some are downright country. In his interview for his website when asked why he became a country artist Carey said, "Well I dunno if I really decided, I think it just happened because my first couple of bands were straight ahead rock ‘n roll but the money was lousy and my brother Danny was living in Ottawa and playing in a Country band. They needed a lead guitar player and he asked me to go play with them, and I ...and I've been playing country ever since."
Says Tony Lofaro of the Ottawa Citizen, "Sudbury singer/songwriter Carey Blackwell is causing quite a stir in Ottawa music circles. The young performer wowed the crowd at his CD release party at Greenfields Pub this week with his singing and mean guitar picking. He comes across as a "soulful" Neil Young and his original songs are strong and well-crafted. Ottawa music producers Robin Moir and Joe Turner certainly saw something in the singer and are currently promoting him as a headliner. They brought up Grammy-winning producer and engineer Rob Fraboni to hear Blackwell sing and he says he was impressed. "He's an excellent songwriter and performer who has a great future in the music business," says Fraboni. Fraboni has worked with the best, including Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Levon Helm and knows talent when he sees it."