NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019| 61“Ijustwanttodogoodwork,man.I’ve
saidtosomanymusicianfriends,you’re
notgoingtobereadingyourbankstate-
mentonyourdeathbed,andthat’sso
true.Whereas,if you’vedonegoodwork,
thatliveson.I lovethefactthatI canbe
touchedbysomethingsomebodycreated
200 yearsago.I canactuallyheartheir
soul– it makesmefeellesslonely.”
Anddeepdown,beyondanyprivate
anxietiesorlingeringscarsfromlifeinthe
musicindustry,Carterknowshiswork
willoutlivehim.Milestonessosolidthey
willplothispath.Touchstonessouniver-
salthey’llresonatebeyondhisgeneration.
“Andthat’sawesome,man,” says
Carter. “That is my reward.” +29 May-9June).He’senjoyedthediversi-
tyandwonderswhetherhe’lleverdoan-
otherrecord.Buthe’sbeensayingthatfor
decades,andthenthenextonecreepsup
onhim,readytobefleshedout.
He’dliketowritemore,maybea com-
icfable,maybedosomecomedy,ashe’s
alwaysloveditsabsurdityandattendant
sadness.Butmusicwillalwaysbethere.
“Goodmusic,itsbasicessence,isthat
itmakespeoplefeelbetter.Andthe
squaresdon’tgetthat,becauseyoucan’t
puta monetaryvalueonit.It’stherecog-
nitionofcommonfeelings,themutual
celebrationofsomethingeveryoneloves,
andthepossibilityofhumanpotential
when you see someone great performing.land,anddrivinghiscarintoa ditchthe
otherweek.(Carteronlylearnttodrive
a fewyearsagoandtherehavebeena
stringofmishaps.)
“Thecommunitydownhererespects
meandtheykindoflookoutformeina
lotofways.”
Aswellashisownprojects,Carter
mentorspromisingmusicians,including
kidsathisoldschool,KaikoraiValley
High,whereCarter’sprincipaltwice
walkedoutonhisbandduringtalent
questsinthe70s.Thatbitisstrange,
Cartersays.“Youalwaysfeellikea fraud
assoonasyouwalkintothestaffroom
andfeellikeyou’re 13 againand
shouldn’treallybehere.”
Buthelovesit,impressesonthekids
howvaluableandvalidmusicis,en-
couragesthemtoholdontotheirquirks
andweirdnessandputit intotheirmu-
sicsotheydon’tsoundlikeeveryone
else.Cartertaughthimselfguitar,can’t
playa scale,buttellsthekidseverything
heknowsaboutthemusicgame.
“You’rea twigintheriverandmusic,
likemanykindsofwisdomandknowl-
edge,youjustpassontothenextgener-
ationandtheydotheirownthingwith
it.Andit’snotsomethingI’mgoingto
jealouslyguardinthebankandsay,‘Oh
no,youcan’tlookatthat,becausethen
you’llstealmytricks.’It’s,‘Here’smy
tricks,dowiththemwhatyoushall.’”
Ofcourse,peoplestillcomeuptohim
andtellhimtheylovehissongsandthat
he’sgreat.That’snice,butheisn’t
hookedonflatteryanddoesn’trelyon
approbation.“AndI don’tthinkthat.I
thinkI’ma guythatdrivesintoditches.”
Cominghomehasalsomeantexperi-
encingDunedin’snaturalenvironment
again,andthe“beautifulandbleakmel-
odies”ofplacesliketheOtagoPeninsu-
la.You’rehemmedinbyhills,hesays,
withan“action-packedpocketofsky
whereallthisturbulentshitishappen-
ingatquitea lowlevel.Aucklandis this
bigwide-screenthing.
“Youcan’tstandinthesesurroundings
andnothavethemaffectyouandimpact
onyourpsyche.Ittotallyseepsin.”
Carter’srecentlyreturnedfroma three-
monthartist’sresidenceinThailand,
wherehewasexposedtocompletelydif-
ferentmusicstylesandartists.He’sbeen
doinglivemusicwithAtamiraDance
Company,andalsowithMichaelHurstin
thestageproductionAnIliad(performed
inDunedinlastyear,theshowis inAuck-
land for a season at the Herald Theatre,
CarteratWellington’sBarBodegain2005.“Goodmusic...makes
peoplefeelbetter.Andthesquares don’t get that, because you can’t
put a monetary value on it.”KIM MAZUR