Larry Carlin

The self-proclaimed "King of King of Prussia, PA," now living in self-imposed exile in Sausalito, CA, Larry has been singing and performing since the early 1970s, when his first band played "Sympathy For The Devil" by the Rolling Stones at a contest at a local church. With such an inauspicious debut, one can easily see where his sense of humor was born.

Playing rock and roll in his early days, he "stumbled" (it was a surefire way to make money) across bluegrass and country music in the rural college town of State College, PA., where he attended Penn State University in the mid 70s. It was there that he began writing songs and performing solo, playing the coffeehouse circuit as well as some festivals.

In 1979, the lure of warmer climes and a broader music market found him moving west to San Francisco, and before long he was (and still is) playing in a band with Dr. Elmo, the person responsible for the annual Christmas hit "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer." Listening to Larry's songs, you can tell that he has been influenced a bit by the zany doctor's antics and advice. Along with his longtime gig with Dr. Elmo, he also has a delightful country duo with another former Pennsylvanian, Claudia Hampe, and together they are called Keystone Crossing.

From "Sympathy For The Devil" to "Grandma," and with tongue planted firmly in cheek more often than not, Larry Carlin's view of the world is a tad different from most, yet one thing is for certain -- he is one of the most entertaining and engaging performers around.

When he is not performing Larry spends his spare time writing CD reviews for bluegrass publications and doing film reviews for the radio show Movie Magazine.

Email Larry at "larryc at carltone.com" (this is written in code to fool spammers; you know how to really write this address)