Paul Curreri

Paul Curreri (born January 28, 1976), an American guitarist, pianist, songwriter, and music producer born in Seattle, Washington, and raised in Richmond, Virginia.

He performs mainly in the folk and blues music styles.

Michael Paul Curreri, Jr. was born January 28, 1976, in Seattle, Washington.

When he was 13, his family moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he first put bands together and performed as a musician.

He was friends with fellow musician Drew Gibson and "from ages 13 to 18" they played "in bands together, writing songs and encouraging each other."

In 1995 he enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design to pursue painting.

He met artist Andy Friedman at RISD, who had dropped out of the Pratt Institute the previous year.

Together they used “the umbrella of art school to learn and act out creatively,” as Friedman explained.

Switching from painting to filmmaking, Curreri then ignored his coursework to write songs.

He and his new friend delved into "country blues originators and inventors, from Mississippi John Hurt to John Hartford."

Friedman said of his older-brother role in the relationship, “I liked that I pointed him the way of the country blues and drinking,” he said.

“All the good stuff, you know?” By the time Curreri graduated from RISD he had composed "more than 200 songs" on guitar and piano.

Moving to Williamsburg, Brooklyn after graduation, Curreri and Friedman lived in a "lopsided apartment with mice and layers of peeling linoleum."

They worked at mailroom jobs.

Curreri would take the Martin guitar his parents had given him to open mic nights, drawing numbers to play.

“Maybe you’re drunk, maybe not,” Curreri later said.

“Maybe you’re a featured artist.

Next thing you know, you’re drawing a number again.”

Following a spot at New York City's Knitting Factory in 2001, he received several tour invitations from Kelly Joe Phelps.

Over the next four years, the two would play over 100 concerts together.

After a year in New York City, he moved with a girlfriend to Knoxville, Tennessee.

There he "burned through a dozen jobs."

Curreri then moved back to Richmond and on to Charlottesville, Virginia.

Attending the debut of the King of My Living Room songwriter series in Charlottesville in 2001, Curreri decided to make his home there.

The original group of Charlottesville songwriters that launched this series of live shows included such artists as Brady Earnhart, Danny Schmidt, Stratton Salidis, Jan Smith, Lance Brenner, Browning Porter, and Jeff Romano.

He married songwriter-guitarist Devon Sproule in May 2005 and lived with her in Charlottesville, Virginia.

They have appeared and toured together, performing duets – most famously for Valentine's Day.

He now produces his wife's tracks, providing supporting instrumentation.

Schmidt, Curreri, and songwriter/guitarist Devon Sproule became housemates – with Paul and Devon marrying in May 2005.

The concept resulted in a number of concerts, many of which Curreri would join in on – including the reunion/finale in November 2007 at the Gravity Lounge in Charlottesville.

Schmidt recorded his fifth album Little Grey Sheep (2008) in the Curreri/Sproule home, with Curreri serving as production engineer.

Curreri had met while Devon was performing at a show in Charlottesville when Curreri leaped on stage to add vocals to a Johnny Cash song she was singing.

In Charlottesville, the now-defunct Gravity Lounge became something of a home venue for both.

Curreri gave the first official concert at that venue.

Many times over the years he and Sproule performed together there, receiving particular acclaim for their Valentine's Day duets.

Curreri contributed electric guitar on his wife's backup bands.

They both tour and perform in the UK extensively, where they have developed a considerable following.

In July 2008, Curreri suffered a throat injury, which caused him to cancel the majority of his remaining concerts for the year.

Curreri later wrote and recorded a letter in song form to Danny, who responded with "Two Guitars", which he began performing live in 2009.

Curreri and Sproule moved to Berlin, Germany in September 2011, have since resided in Austin, Texas, and now live in Charlottesville.