North & South – June 2019

60 | NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019

groupsthatflourishedinearly-80sDun-

edinwhenCarterwasemerging.Nowa

seniorlectureratOtagoUniversity’smu-

sicdepartment,DownessaysCarteris “a

bitofa legend.Itwasa remarkablegen-

erationandShaynewasa prettyamazing

individualinthemiddleofit.”

Competitionbetweenthegroupsdrove

themtoplaybetterandwriteevenbetter

songs– andthenwipethefloorwithoth-

erbandsatthatweekend’sgigs.The

songsCarterwrotewillsurvive,Downes

says,becauseofhisinnatesongcraftand

becauseheneverattemptedcookie-

cutterpop.“Thechoiceshemakeswith

everynoteareprettydarnedclever.”

Carter,54,saysheneverfellforthefor-

tuneandfamegame,evenwhenStrait-

jacketFitsweretouringtheStatesandhe

wastoutedasanythingfromthenext

Bonotoa refreshedBruceSpringsteen.

“Toactuallyreallybehuge,youdohave

tobuyintoit toa certainextent– you

can’thaveanydoubtsaboutit.Andwhen

I wasyounger,I wassurroundedbythat

kindofstuff:‘Oh,if youjustdothisand

justdothat,you’llbesuccessful.’ButI’m

notanidiotandmybullshitdetectorhas

alwaysbeenstrong.”

However,Carteradmitshedidoncetry

topurposelywritea hitsong.“Ithought,

I likepopsongs,I couldwritea hit.But

I can’t.Itwasa reallyshitsong.”It made

it ontoa StraitjacketFitsalbumthough,

andit’sa lingeringhumiliationforCart-

er.“I’dnevernamethatsong.Never.I’m

nevergoingtofessuptowherethatis.”

He’llneverplayit live,either.

Itwasa lessonontheevilsofcontriv-

ance,andanothersignhewasn’tmade

formainstreammoulding.“I’venever

mademuchmoney,buttome,that’s

beenpartofthetrade-off.I’venever

beena globalsuperstar,butI’vealso

experiencedwhatfameis allabout.And

it justmeanspeoplelookatyouinthe

supermarketwhenyou’rebuyingtoilet

paper.That’sprettymuchit,man.”

T

here’sthatGreatUnwashedsong,

“WhatYouShouldBeNow”,by

DavidKilgour,whoCarterkicked

aroundwithwhenstartingoutin

bands.Andit’sgotthatline“Sawyouback

inDunedin,thingsarestrangeyeah?”

Thingscouldhavebeena bitweirdfor

Carterwhenhereturnedtohishome

cityaftermorethan 25 yearsaway.But

it’sbeengood,peoplehavebeenkind.

Theworstthingshavebeenlosinghis

football-playing buddies from Auck-

“Ithinkanaudiencewouldhavebeen

quitehappyforhimtodotheStraitjack-

etFitsforever,buthethendemolished

thatandstartedDimmer,andstarted

experimentingwithverydifferentways

ofputtingmusictogether.

“It’sthepunkethostonotselloutand

I thinkit’salwaysbeenimportantto

himnottohavebeenseentosellout.

He’smuchmoreinterestedinfollowing

hisgenuineloveofmusic,hisgenuine

curiosityaboutwhereitcanleadyou

andwhatcancomeoutofit.”

GraemeDownesflattedwithCarter,

taughthimhisfirstguitarchords,played

footballwithhim,andDownes’band,the

Verlaines, was part of the cluster of

CarterrecordingStraitjacketFits’albumMelt
at Airforce Studios, Auckland, in 1990.

thewholeoftheDunedinscene.I mean,
thereweresomeotherbrilliantmusi-
cians,don’tgetmewrong.Butthatwas
theerawhenshoe-gazingwasatitspeak

• theyworeblackjerseys,staredattheir
  shoes,andstrummedtheirmeaningful,
  heartfeltsongs.ButShaynewasdiffer-
  ent.Shaynewasa rockstar,andheknew
  it.Hewasactuallyawareofhischarisma
  andwhatit meanttobea performer.”
  WhatalsosetsCarterapart,Bollinger
  says,is hisconstantwillingnesstoextend
  himselfandexploredifferentmusical
  veins.“Hewasn’tgoingtodoendlessre-
  runsof‘SheSpeeds’.Hemovedbeyond
  thatguitar-bandthingeven before other
  people were sick of it.

JOHN COLLIE