Clarence Bucaro
“ Warm
Songs That Hark Back to Late Seventies Van Morrison”
–New York Times
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Clarence
Bucaro was born in 1980, in Northeastern Ohio, in the heart of the
snowbelt-an unlikely birthplace for a blues singer-songwriter. His music is a
collage of Americana inspired by his deep knowledge of roots music. When
Clarence was sixteen, he was introduced to the blues, and began educating
himself in the traditional country blues styles of the early 20th century. He
was greatly inspired by early blues artists such as Blind Willie Johnson,
Blind Willie McTell, Robert Johnson and Mississippi John Hurt. Clarence's
love for blues led him to expand his musical studies towards other types of
American roots music.
At
age 28, Clarence has crafted a unique sound, based upon his love for blues,
jazz, gospel, country, New Orleans Dixieland, soul, jug band, ragtime, Latin,
and folk storytelling. His musical style and strong vocal delivery incorporate
his inspiration from artists ranging from Billie Holiday and Van Morrison to
Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.
His
inspiration from folk troubadours Townes Van Zandt and Woody Guthrie is
present in his socially conscious lyrics and honest storytelling. Clarence's
merging of many different styles of American music is not fully understood
without knowing the great influence that New Orleans Jazz, African American
spirituals and Appalachian music also had on the formation of his musical
style. While Clarence's love for American music is rather diverse, it comes
together as one cohesive, contemporary brand of his original music.
 Clarence Bucaro's Burnside Records debut, Sweet
Corn, comes three years after he scraped up enough money from working at
the local record store to record a demo featuring six songs. In November of
2000, Terry Currier of Burnside Records (Portland, Oregon) called Clarence in
response to the demo he sent. Terry was interested in signing Clarence, and
the two began an eighteen-month long dialogue, focused on making Clarence's
diverse musical influences into one cohesive style with the proper musicians
and instrumentation behind him for this record.
After
taking a four month solo hike on the Appalachian Trail, where a handful of
songs and inspirations for the album were created, Clarence's writing and
vocal style had grown tremendously, and in May 2002 Terry Currier was ready
to sign Clarence to Burnside Records. In August, three days after receiving a
bachelor's degree in Political Science, Clarence went into the studio to
record his debut album Sweet Corn.
With
New Orleans blues artist Anders Osborne as producer, a guest appearance by
folksinger Eliza Gilkyson, and a great, multi-talented backing band, Clarence
created a beautifully crafted album. The record features twelve original
songs written by Clarence, featuring his distinct brand of roots music and
excellent songwriting, and showcasing his smooth, easygoing, and youthful
vocal style.
 Click
the album cover to listen to song samples from,
purchase a copy of and learn more about
Sweet Corn.
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