remissionfor 20 months.
“Fortwomonthsbefore,
Carsonwasn’tallowedaround
otherkids,includingElle,and
hadinjectionsinhislegs
everydayfora fewweeks,”
recallschiropractorJodie.
“Theydrilledsixholesinhis
hipsandtookoutabouta litre
[ofbonemarrow]overthree
hours,whichtheythentook
straightupstairstofeedinto
Elle’sbloodstream.”
Carsonwasoneofthe
smallestpatientsdoctors
hadtakenthatamountof
marrowfrom.
Hewaslabelleda “young
superhero”whenhebravely
becamea bloodandbone
marrowdonoragainatfive,
hopingtosavehissister’s
lifea secondtimewhenthe
leukaemiareturned.Sadly,
thebright-eyedgirllosther
four-yearbattleandpassed
awayatage12.
“Beingsoyoung,there
wasn’treallyanywaytoOR MY
EALS
n angel
TEXT: CLOE WILLETTS. PICTURES: BERNADETTE PETERS. HAIR, MAKE-UP & STYLING: COLLEEN CALDER. CLOTHING: BARKERS, FARMERS, RODD & GUNN.Gorgeous
curly-haired
Elle has been
Carson’s
inspiration.As a toddler, Carson (below right)
was a bone marrow donor for his
sister Elle (above and below left ),
who died from leukaemia aged 12.Carson croons for
his family (from
left) Armani,
Jodie and Mark.express how I was feeling, and
I stopped talking to my parents
about it because they’d cry,”
reveals pianist and guitarist
Carson, who also has a 10-year-
old brother, Armani.
“Counsellors didn’t know
what I was feeling, so it wasn’t
helpful. I escaped into music
and as I got older, I began
writing. I don’t like to call it
an outlet because it seems
like you’re getting something
negative out. It’s more about
letting things heal.”
Carson’s soulful and mature
sound is heavily influenced
by swing tracks from the
golden era, but he’s equally
into performing pop, classical,
choral, jazz and rock’n’roll.
“When I write lyrics, they
aren’t about getting drunk and
going to the club!” he laughs.
“I tend to write story songs
with meaning, which people
can relate to.”
Jodie – whose husband
Mark, 48, is Carson’s stepdad- says her son never played
radio pop songs, instead
strumming away to the likes
of the Bee Gees. “They were
always songs about love or
loss and when he started
writing at 14, they were about
those things. That’s how his
experience has shaped him.”
When Jodie sent demos
of Carson’s singing to his
mentor and now-manager
Gray Bartlett – who helped
launch a 13-year-old Hayley
Westenra’s career – he was
impressed. The New Zealand
music mogul helped with
Carson’s album, recorded
at Neil Finn’s Auckland
Roundhouse Studios and
released in May.
“Gray’s the loveliest, kindest
old soul you’ll ever meet,”
Carson beams. “He liked my
music style and we just clicked
in the way you sometimes do
as singers and guitarists.”
Carson also made his
television debut performing
at ‘This is Who We Are’, the
fundraising concert for victims
of the Christchurch mosque
attacks. His moving rendition
of Willie Nelson’s “Something
You Get Through”, backed by a
nine-piece band, was broadcast
on Maori Television.
“I was invited to perform
by one of my managers, Mark
Dennison,” tells Carson, who
heads to Hong Kong and
Germany next year as choir
leader with the New Zealand
Secondary Students’ Choir.
In June, Carson visited
Nashville, Tennessee, as the
only Kiwi invited to perform
at the annual Country Music
Association Festival. There,
Keith Urban and Carrie
Underwood were among the
350 country-inspired acts.
“I got to see what music
is like overseas and met Ray
Stevens, who I love,” Carson
beams. “I had a mini heart
attack when I saw him in the
green room eating cheese and
crackers, and went up and
shook his hand and gave him
my CD! He was lovely.”
Excited for his upcoming
shows in Auckland and
Hamilton, Carson hopes there
are greater things to come.
“I couldn’t see myself doing
anything else,” he says. “My
experience has made me more
understanding of people and
the songsI’msinging.” #Woman’s Day 41