If liquid honey could be turned into a voice, it would be Dave Carter’s. The Newcastle singer/songwriter is blessed with vocal chords that somehow exude a melting warmth and texture that is immediately appealing. It’s like a song-hug and it is just one of the reasons behind Carter being a popular mainstay in the music scene for decades.
It was the year 1979 when Carter’s professional music career began. It was the year that The Knack hit the top of the charts with My Sharona, Chic were going Le Freak and Rod Stewart was asking us Do You Think I’m Sexy?. It was also the year that Dave Carter, while still a Year 10 high school student, received his first payment as a musician. He won $50 in a band competition. To be presented with the cheque, Carter had to go into the studios of radio station 2NX. He joined all the other winners and media stars for drinks and nibbles and, in his words, he “felt like a rock star for a brief moment”. With his initiation done, Carter propelled himself into the 80s with gusto and a truckload of nascent talent.
Over the coming decades, Carter’s talent was noticed not just by the thousands he has performed to but by some of the biggest names in the industry. He has toured Europe with Ian Moss (from Cold Chisel), performed with Alex Smith (from Moving Pictures) and toured around the country as part of Bob Corbett’s Roo Grass Band. He has also played with The Mark Wells Band and with a host of other well known acts.
Many will remember Carter as the bass player with the legendary Funbusters. Here, his clever wit and often risque banter combined with his bass duties to help create what is arguably the longest running residency ever held in Newcastle. The Funbusters packed The Cambridge Hotel every Thursday night for years, with all sorts of antics part of a show that was somewhere between chaos, comedy and complete hedonism. Crowds would pack the venue every week to witness, or participate in, a whole spectrum of routines that would be deemed today as politically incorrect. Sadly, perhaps wisely, it could never happen now.
There is, however, much more to Dave Carter. He has formed bands like Mr Jinx. He has been a member of the local musical elite in bands like Special Branch and Bliss – the songs from both are still played on Newcastle Live’s audio stream. He was a member of the hugely popular duo Loonatic Fringe and was a member of the local supergroup 24 Strings. These days you can catch him as part of the amazing trio Love That Hat, with Sue Carson and Mikey Stove, as part of the wonderful band The Autumn Hearts, or performing solo at any number of venues around the region. And he often performs in Sydney with his friend Ben Little.
Carter has an expansive body of work. In his days with Special Branch, he got to record with the acclaimed producer Kevin ‘Caveman’ Shirley and with Bliss he recorded with Screaming Jets’ bassist Paul Woseen producing. Songs like the pop/rock gem Is Love An Answer and the rocker Money spawned from those early days and have now found a new life as part of Carter’s solo recordings.
Although he has been on the scene since the late 70s, Carter didn’t release his debut solo album Ten Tall Tales until 2013. And it was worth the wait. The album features his classic Black Coffee, the wonderfully infectious Blue Love as well as tracks like The Letter, Corner Of My Eye, Breathless and the hypnotic Her Love Is Everything that have found their way onto radio and into people’s favourite playlists.
Since his debut longplayer, Carter has released a number of singles. In 2020, there was the sparsely produced These Few Words where he, with just his guitar, seeks parental counsel about love, life and relationships. Also from 2020, his single Everything Hurts is a melodic joy despite the pain conveyed lyrically. Carter’s harmonies here have the lush softness of a whisper while the song is contemplative and both introspective and retrospective. Simply, it is a great single deserving of more recognition.
In 2021, he released the tidy little single Wake Up. The intro itself intrigues as opening silence moves to a distant shout and the real beginning of the song. Over a gentle, rolling beat, Carter’s laid-back delivery belies the words he is singing. The double-tracked vocal captures the rich beauty of Carter’s voice perfectly. With an inviting bass riff and some great rock guitar nuances, the song unfolds to a point where he hits full voice with dreamy refrains swimming around in harmony. It is one of his best releases.
It was in 2022 that Carter followed with the birth of his 2nd album Distracted. It opens with the catchy All Or Nothing, full of hooks, some nice arrangements and that incredible vocal tonality that can only be Dave Carter. A re-working of the Special Branch track Is Love An Answer follows and, while it is almost impossible to compare it with the wonderful original, it is Carter’s own take on the track and, for that reason alone, is worth a listen. Two other early Special Branch tracks (or re-workings thereof) make it onto the album: the live favourite No Getaway and the more keyboard-driven Missing In Action. Then there’s the dynamic title track, the layered vocal wonders of As Far As I Can See, the country tinged rock of Make It Rain and the majesty of My Garden which deserves to be sung in a cathedral.
Yet, despite his cheeky charm and self-effacing nature, there is depth to the pop/rock of Dave Carter. Like all of us, he deals with the highs and lows of being a human being; the emotional rollercoaster, the relationships, the experiences, the riches and the rough roads. Through his music though, he conveys this complexity in a deceptively simple way, lyrical snapshots of moments, observations and feelings captured with literary vignettes wrapped up in earworm hooks and melody. Along with the dreamscape that is his voice, this is why Carter’s music is so accessible and alluring to his audiences.
Catching Carter live can be delightfully confusing. There are times where you’ll not be sure you’re watching a musician or a comedian. There’s no doubt that Carter has a fabulous sense of humour but he is still a boy at heart and he can laugh, or make you laugh, at almost anything. He is a natural on stage and his banter is almost as much of his signature as his music. He is universally loved and admired for his personality and his gifts. He can play almost any instrument he lays his hands on, including the guitar, bass, piano, banjo and the bagpipes, believe it or not. Love That Hat often finish their shows with a rousing rendition of AC/DC’s Long Way To The Top and the audience is left screaming for more after Carter adds his bagpipes to authenticate the cover. There are rumours now that he is well on his way to mastering the sax and the flute. It creates an unseemly thought that, if only Dave Carter was an octopus, what a solo show it would be.
In the meantime, and bereft of such nautical fantasy, a journey through Dave Carter’s body of work or a night out to catch him live is recommended. His grasp of pop, rock, blues, soul and blends of all four is virtually unrivalled. He is, quite simply, one of the most gifted musicians I have ever had the good fortune to experience. And his best is yet to come.
Check out his file below:
THE LIVE FILE
NAME:
Dave Carter
GENRE:
Rock/Pop with bluesy edges at times
INFLUENCES:
50’s rock & roll, Paul McCartney, David Gates & Bread, Status Quo, Sherbet, The Eagles, The Beach Boys and more
DISCOGRAPHY:
Ten Tall Tales – 2013 (album)
These Few Words – 2020 (single)
Everything Hurts – 2020 (single)
Wake Up – 2021 (single)
Distracted – 2022 (album)
Money – 2022 (single)
NEXT GIG:
Saturday, May 27, The Nags Heads Hotel, 8pm
FOLLOW:
instagram.com/davecarteraustralia/
WATCH:
https://youtu.be/e34rOjNbpqo
(Black Coffee)
STREAM:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Kr4QcmFOQPZJSLD21tk0f
INTERVIEW:
