Carpenter turned crooner on Australian Idol
Just over a year ago, Loganholme’s rising star – who recently completed a stint on Australian Idol – spent most days hammering and working with wood.
Today, Eli Parr juggles carpentry with performing as part of On Parr, a 4-man band that successfully flits between pop, rock and soul music.
OnParr is currently represented by the City of Logan’s premier talent agency, Performance Studios.
Eli says the last few months have been incredibly rewarding as an artist.
‘Australian Idol was a really awesome experience – all the people I met along the way were so lovely and it was so surreal being on that stage,’ he says.
‘One of the most rewarding parts was seeing how far I’ve come since I started singing and being able to see the difference.’
Although he’s always loved performing in front of friends and family, Eli never considered becoming an artist until his younger brother and cousin suggested forming a band.
‘It restarted a fire that had kind of gone out a while ago,’ he says.
It has since been a whirlwind for the group, which comprises brothers Eli, Jacob, Issac and cousin Caleb.
Destined for bigger stages, Eli has been busy preparing for more gigs after a string of shows last year.
On average, he spends around 11 hours a week training with world-class vocalist and vocal coach, Lisa Lockland-Bell.
‘She’s really helped me learn how to work as a team, because solo performing is totally different to performing with a band,’ Eli says.
‘I have a stronger voice, so I’m learning how to control that so others’ voices can shine through.’
OnParr has become known for earnest takes on pop songs like Lay Me Down by Sam Smith and groovy classics like I Want You Back by The Jackson 5.
For Eli, nothing beats country and soul music.
‘Both are heavily emotion-based and I take aspects from both when I’m performing,’ he says.
‘My goal is to get the audience to process the song’s message with their hearts open, to feel the emotions they need to be feeling at the time.
‘‘This industry is difficult but the feeling of performing on stage is second to none.’
Eli also recently joined Chic Management, an international modelling agency.
Learn more about Performance Studios and check out On Parr on Instagram.
