North & South – June 2019

56 | NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019

STRAIGHT

FROM

THE

HEART

Fromsnottypunkto seniorstatesmanof

NewZealandmusic, ShayneCarter’scareer

hasbeenwild and acclaimed.Buthisjust-

releasedmemoirreveals thedrama andtrauma

goingonbehindthescenes.MikeWhitetalks

withCarter aboutwritingsongs,writing

his book, and almost writing off his car.

O

h,ShayneCarter.Rockgod.

Guitarneckthrustintothe

facesofthefrontrow.

Crouching.Grinding.Kill-

ingit.Allthatpoutingthey

alwaystalkabout.Abig

soundina smallroom.Sexandsweatand

rock’n’roll.Hisshoeslookprettyordi-

nary,though– likeonesyou’dgetfrom

Hannahswhenyourkidgoestocollege.

It’sDecember,andCarterisinWel-

lingtondoingtwogigs:halftheshowis

songsfromhisformerbandDimmer,

and the other half is from the earlier

StraitjacketFitsdays.About 25 years

coveredinthosebands,andthetwosets

reprisemuchofthegoldthatcamefrom

thattime.Cartercloseshiseyesinthe

chorus,anddevoteesrepeatthewords

withhim.Thesensibleoneswearear-

plugs.Therecklessletthechordsburn.

IfanyoneisNewZealand’sMick

Jagger,it’sCarter:Jaggerwithoutthe

stringofillegitimatechildrenandtax

evasion.Jaggerwithoutthepilatesand

heartsurgery.Jaggerwithlessprancing.

Jaggerwitha wangingguitar.Jagger

with a whole lot more shit in his past.

Mike WhiteisNorth & South’s senior writer.

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