Andrew Carter

Singer/songwriter Andrew Carter is on the verge of becoming one of the next big names in the country/southern rock arena. That is thanks to Carter’s latest studio recording, his new self-titled, eight-song EP. Released via Dog Songs Records, this record gives southern rock and country fans plenty to appreciate both musically and lyrically—two of its most important elements. The record’s sequencing rounds out its most important elements. Each element is key in its own way to this record’s whole. Collectively, they make Andrew Carter the first step in a potentially big career for Carter.

Andrew Carter’s self-titled debut recording is a solid start for this up-and-coming, Tennesee-based southern rock/country artist. That is proven in part through the musical arrangements that serve as the record’s foundation. From start to finish, the musical arrangements presented in this record conjure thoughts of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Black Crowes and even Hank Williams Sr. among so many other top name acts from the southern rock and country realms. The album’s opener, ‘Tear This Motha’ Down’ even conjures thoughts of Shooter Jennings with its arrangement. As if that is not interesting enough, the record’s second offering, ‘The Weekend’ conjures thoughts of Bob Dylan while the rest of the song lends itself musically to thoughts of more modern southern rock and country works. The reference to Lynyrd Skynyrd applies to the album’s fourth song, ‘Six Thousand Miles.’ Instantly lends itself to comparisons to the aforementioned band’s megahit ‘Tuesday’s Gone.’ Considering this and the equally easy comparisons that can be made through the record’s other compositions, it can be said easily that the album’s musical arrangements do plenty to make this record enjoyable for any southern rock and country fan. It is only one part of what makes Andrew Carter an enjoyable listen for those noted audiences. The record’s lyrical themes are just as important to its presentation as its musical arrangements.

The lyrical themes presented throughout Andrew Carter’s debut recording are collectively an important part of the album’s whole because while maybe not as diverse as the musical influences, they are still interesting in their own right. Carter sings in the EP’s opener about a woman who clearly made quite a difference in his life (or that of the song’s subject). ‘The Weekend’ is also about a woman, yet, it’s also about the joys of two people spending the weekend together; no stresses of work, just the two people. It’s a fun, light song that is sure to put a smile on any listener’s face. There is even a tribute to all things southern in the simply titled ‘My Favorite Thing (about the South)’ that is also a tribute (no surprise) to a woman. ‘Ghost Of Me’ offers up a fun, light-hearted introspective on Carter’s life that will entertain listeners just as much lyrically as it will musically. It’s just one more way in which the lyrical content presented in Andrew Carter proves to be so important It shows alongside the album’s other lyrical themes, Carter’s ability to be lyrically diverse without being overly so. That being the case, it becomes clear why the lyrical themes presented in Carter’s debut album is so important to the album’s whole. Even with its importance, it still is not the last of the album’s most important elements. The album’s sequencing rounds out its most important elements.

Andrew Carter’s sequencing is important to discuss here because it determines the album’s ability to keep listeners engaged and entertained just as much as the album’s musical and lyrical content. Obviously plenty of time and thought was put into making sure this record would keep listeners engaged and entertained, too. From start to finish, the album’s energy never lets up too much. Even in the case of the Tom Petty-esque ‘Same Old Song’ (which is one of the album’s slower songs and sounds eerily like Petty’s ‘Last Dance With Mary Jane’ musically speaking), the energy still maintains itself in its own way. Simply put, the album’s energy never lets up or gets too much at one point or another at any one point throughout its run. Keeping this in mind, the album’s sequencing definitely ensures just as much its musical and lyrical content, listeners’ engagement and entertainment. When all three elements are joined together, they make the album in whole a solid start for Andrew Carter, giving hope for a long career to come.

Andrew Carter’s self-titled debut album is a solid start for the southern rock/country musician. It is a record that gives hope for the future of his career thanks not only to its musical arrangements but also its lyrical content and its sequencing. Each element plays its own critical part to the whole of the album. All things considered, they make Andrew Carter a record that is sure to make his name very well-known very soon. It is available now. - Phil's Picks

INTERVIEW: Andrew Carter
RJ Frometa August 31, 2017

VM – How have you been?

AC – I have been busy. Which in my world is the greatest gift. Being able to do what I do for a living means every day, even the hard days, is kind of like a dream come true. And I get to sit down with VENTS today so that’s just further testament.

VM – Can you talk to us about your latest single “Ghost of me”?

AC – “Ghost of me” is a song about the mental, physical, and social symptoms of getting older. It’s about looking in the mirror and seeing an aging version of the child you once were. It’s about missing that child you were but coming to terms with the life you have forged in the years since then. It’s about the teenage you that seemed to have it all figured out and the adult you that knows better than to know it all.

VM – Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?

AC – I was living in Nashville with a great group of guys who were younger than me and still somewhat new in town. Always up for going out and drinking and chasing girls. Around the seventh time they asked if I wanted to join them and the seventh time of me saying “no thanks”, it dawned on me, I was well past the age of putting any effort in to chasing anything other than a career in music. That night while getting out of the shower, with the earlier thoughts still on my mind, I caught my reflection in the mirror and the words, “I am just a ghost of who I used to be” came in to my head. I put some clothes on and grabbed my guitar and started sort of tinkering around with those words and a couple of chords. A few weeks later I was demoing the song at my florida studio.

VM – Any plans to release a video for the single?

AC – The only video for ghost of me so far is a really cool lyric video that will release October 3rd online. It’s a cool mix of live footage and photo stills with cool effects and things like that. Ha! Ha! But I do have an idea for a real video for it. But it would cost a little / lot more than my current budget would allow.

VM – How was the writing and recording process?

AC – I polished up the writing down in Jacksonville, Florida at my studio at my parents house. The lyrics kind of came to me quite easily as all I was really writing was the truth of who I was and who I am today. My Step-Father, Bob is a long time guitar player and writer and he even got in to some of the writing with me in the bridge line “My pants are gettin’ tighter, hairs are gettin’ whiter”. And while that may not be true for me in particular, it just really fit the song so I used it. After getting the acoustic version demoed out I emailed an mp3 of it to my band (The Bumbs) up in Nashville. A few weeks later I was back in Nashville with Merc (The Bumbs) and Zach (The Bumbs) literally on the street sidewalks on Broadway playing “Ghost of me” and all the other songs I had written while in Florida. After a few weeks of doing that we got together with the rest of the band and started playing indoor shows as a full band at various venues in and around Nashville. A year later we went in to Bomb Shelter Studios in East Nashville which is an analog studio. We tracked all the songs live just as we had been playing them for the past year. Doing it that way really helped to capture the feeling of the songs and the sound we had developed in our time playing stages around town. And doing it analog helped get that 70’s tone that was very important to me for these songs.

VM – What role does the south play in your music?

AC – Being born in Jacksonville, Florida and raised in Stockbridge, Georgia, most of the people around me were listening to Skynyrd, Daniels, Marshall Tucker, and bands like that. Then when my brothers and I were a little older in the 90’s we were listening to The Black Crowes and Drivin n’ Cryin and bands like that. and I have always loved Tom Petty. So the sounds of the south, in terms of rock n’ roll, play a rather large part in how I write today. It is in me so I just let it take over and lead the way. Growing up in Georgia and driving around the cheaper vacation destinations my family could afford when I was younger, Chattanooga, North Florida, Alabama and all that, helped me a lot for lyric writing. I just think about all the places and people I have come to love and to maybe hate from time to time and go from there. They say “write what you know” so I just do that. HaHa!

VM – How was the transition from playing covers to writing original music?

AC – It’s kind of funny because I was in a cover band for 6 years but I was the drummer. We only played in a friend of our’s garage. Seriously, for six years we never left that garage. We never cared to. We just wanted to jam and get better at what we loved. We actually developed a huge book of songs we could really jam out. In learning those songs, especially as the drummer, I was able to get the structure of popular songs burned in to my brain. So when I started writing my own songs down the road, I was able to use those formulas for my own chords I was into and really get going. I knew I wanted people to like my songs the way we liked the songs we learned in that garage. And those songs were songs we heard on the radio so I just figured, “Yeah, use their formula (A B A B C B). So I did.

VM – How has Lynyrd Skynyrd influenced your writing?

AC – They have been a permanent soundtrack in my life since I can remember. As a kid I would sing every word to every song that was on the radio or being played on vinyl at my house. And I would mouth every guitar solo that they played. Even as a teenager I could relate to the pain in his voice. In my early 20’s I was dating the daughter of Billy Powell (piano Lynyrd Skynyrd). I was living with them and going on the road with them. Billy taught me a lot about writing and when to write and when not to. He was fairly hard on my writing back then but that served to push me even harder to get to a more professional level of writing. Aside from that just being side stage when Skynyrd cranks those amps was enough influence for a lifetime.

VM – How’s your album coming along?

AC – I finished and released my “Self Titled” album this past January 2017. It is available on all online music stores as well as plenty of streaming sites.

VM – Any plans to hit the road?

AC – This past May I did a 46 day coast to coast solo acoustic tour playing bars and coffee shops all around America. I am currently working on a 90 date full band tour starting March 2018. I have a bunch of networking conventions around the southeast that I am attending between now and then and I am trying to get on some pick up shows here and there as I can find them.

VM – What is happening next in Andrew Carter’s world?

AC – I am working on a video for another song from the album called “The Weekend”. I am working with an amazing team on that and I am very excited to release that a little later this year. I am also writing songs for the next album that will release in late spring of 2018. I co-own a record label (Dog Song Records) and we just signed our second artist (Alex Miller) and will begin tracking his first release in October. I am producing it for him and we are just very excited to have him on the label.

2017 has been great to me and so has my time with you today.

Thank you so much for this opportunity and have a great year!


Read more at http://ventsmagazine.com/2017/08/31/interview-andrew-carter/#qOBkvBwl87ydUwMr.99 - VENTS MAGAZINE

Wie weit auch immer man von der Aussage „Kunst kommt von Können“ stehen mag, ohne Können ist, wie das Albumdebüt von ANDREW CARTER ziemlich eindrücklich beweist, Kunst und vor allem Musik nicht allzuviel wert. Carter - ein Sohn des amerikanischen Südens, geboren in Jacksonville, Florida und aufgewachsen unweit von Atlanta, Georgia - wendet sich mit seinem nach ihm benannten Debüt vor allem an die Liebhaber des Gitarren-lastigen Country Rock, den er zusammen mit der aufstrebenden Nashville-Band The Bumbs immer wieder mit kräftigen Elementen aus Blues und Americana variantenreich präsentiert. Das zeugt schon von vertiefter Kenntnis eines Genres und einer ungebrochenen Liebe zur Southern Music. Schließlich zählt der Sänger und Songschreiber Größen wie Tom Petty, Lynyrd Skynyrd („They have been a permanent soundtrack in my life since I can remember“), The Allman Brothers, The Rolling Stones, aber auch Neil Young, Paul Simon und Peter Gabriel zu jenen Künstlern, die ihn in seiner musikalischen Entwicklung vornehmlich beeinflusst haben. Auf seinem Erstling schafft er es, eine Vielzahl von Themen aufzugreifen und mit seiner eigenen Art von Musik interessant gestaltet. Die instrumentale Umsetzung ist sowieso über alle Zweifel erhaben. Man tut ein Gutes, diesem Album mehr als eine Chance zu geben, denn dann entfaltet manch ein zunächst wenig auffälliger Song doch noch wahre Schönheit. Beileibe kein Routine-Werk, mit dem Andrew Carter wirklich zufrieden sein kann. Wie man hört, stellt er gerade eine eigene Band auf die Beine und werkelt bereits fleißig an neuen Songs für den Nachfolger. Gut so! - Country Jukebox (German)

INTERVIEW: Andrew Carter
INTERVIEW SEPTEMBER 20, 2017
SCAD Radio recently had the opportunity to get on the phone and chat with musician Andrew Carter.



Andrew Carter’s self titled album, released earlier this year, is a seductive mix of rock and country. The music calls to mind the music of Americana greats like Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, and Hank Williams Jr., which make Carter the perfect man to be leading the revival of classic style country-rock.



Here’s a look at SCAD Radio’s interview with Andrew Carter.

You released your self titled album at the beginning of this year. Is there a song off of that album that you’d recommend as an entry point into your music?

Well, it really depends on whether you want a fast song or a slow song. On the slow song side, I’d have to say my favorite and the one that is most descriptive of me as a writer would be “Six Thousand Miles.” That’s a nice slow song about hitting the road and going the distance for what you love. I really like that song a lot and I think a lot of other people will too. On the faster end, “Ghost of Me” is one of my favorites. It’s a little bit more of a honky tonk song about getting older and what that means as somebody that used to be a bit of a hellraiser who’s not so much anymore. I think both those songs are good jumping points into who I am as a writer.



What was your experience like recording this album?

Oh man, my experience with this album is way different than any I’ve ever had before. My biggest difference in how we’ve done it now versus how we’ve done it before is the time I’ve put into it. I’ve put a lot of time into this album.

I put a band together in order to get this album together. I didn’t have a band already, but I knew I needed one in order for these songs to come to life. I recorded six songs down in Florida and I knew they needed to come to life more than that and I happened to know the right people. I had friends up in Nashville that I knew could do it. We got together and kind of just worked them out live. We decided to listen to the people and listen to what they had to say about the songs. We played thesesongs live for about a year before we even stepped into the studio.





That made a huge difference in how we recorded this. The difference was that we didn’t spend a lot of time in the studio figuring stuff out. We know what we wanted and we knew how we wanted it to sound. We also went to an analog studio up in Nashville and that opened up some doors –and closed some as well. But that certainly amped up the experience as well. When you do a take, you can’t go back and fix it too many times. After a certain time, you’re losing the continuity of the take. You know, you want to get it right at least the first five times. And the band I went in with, The Bumbs — on their own, they’re one of the best bands that I’ve ever known. And I’ve known some pretty damn good bands in my life. And working with them and being with them has been great for getting in and out and make it cool and make it a great experience for everyone involved.



I really attribute the whole experience to recording with The Bumbs. And working with tape really helped solidify what we were doing. It was a lot of fun. It was probably the best experience I had recording.



Were there any struggles that you came across during the recording process?

Not really. All the prep we did with getting the songs down as well as getting in the studio and talking with Eddie, the engineer, about microphones and getting all of that set up and figuring out a few set ups really helped. We didn’t really run into any struggles or anything. I have a record label now and their support really helped as well. There’s two sides to it. One of those halves is me. The other is family. All their support really helped as far as not having to worry about how we’re going to pay for it and stuff like that.



I didn’t come across any struggles. This album was meant to be. I was meant to record this album. I was meant to do it the way we did it.



It did sort of start out difficult, though. We went through a studio beforehand and we worked on it and we weren’t getting the sound that we were looking for. We weren’t getting the feeling we were looking for. That would have probably been the only struggle that I had to deal with. But after that, when we got into the studio, there were no struggles.



It sounds like the perfect situation for recording.

It really was. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation or a better band to back me up. The studio itself, The Bomb Shelter, and the guy that engineered it – that helped a lot. He understood me a lot and it really helped pick the right microphones and the right amps and all of that. And the guy that mixed, he’s mixed some pretty great musicians before we came along. Everyone that came together in the studio really helped make it great.



Is this your first time working with The Bumbs and this engineer?

It’s my first time working with The Bumbs and this particular engineer. It is also my first time recording my own music with The Bumbs. I have actually produced a Bumbs demo album about three years ago in Nashville. So, I’ve been working with The Bumbs for a while, they just haven’t always been my band.



How did you come across the inspiration for what to write your songs about?

I write the truth. You know, for so many years I’ve been with so many bands and projects in so many different genres and for a long time I was just writing songs to write songs. And nobody paid any attention — myself included — until I started telling the truth. I started telling the truth as far as what was on my mind and I wasn’t sugar coating it or holding back if it is gritty and dark and I am having fun with it if it is lighthearted. [laughs] So really, I pull all my inspiration from the truth of my life and the lives of people I’m involved with. The song, “Long Road Home,” is about my friend and how she went out to California and got an RV and was driving it back. We were talking back and forth as she was doing it and she was going through some troubles back in Nashville and she was clearing her head and that’s what the song is about. It’s a truth of my life and a truth that was happening at the time that I was writing it. And so, my greatest inspiration is that I just pull it from the truth.



Now, you’re a guy who grew up in the South. Has that influenced you in anyway? Does the region play a part in your music?

Yeah it does, especially on this album and a couple albums a long time ago. Just the sheer knowledge of the region alone has helped with the writing process. Just being able to cite landmarks and things like that. Actually knowing what you’re talking about and which direction you’re going on on the interstate when you’re talking about those landmarks certainly helps a lot. Growing up on a farm as a kid definitely helps with some inspiration for these songs.



I’ve lost most of my southern accent over the years but it shines through here or there. It really comes out in my writing because I want my songs to be as natural as they can upon delivery. So when I sit down and get real, that’s the voice that comes out of me. You know, we had trucks and we drove them and we got in trouble. We had to jump a few fences here and there. Growing up in the South is definitely an influence as far as how I write and how I perform. But I also love the entire United States. I just did a huge tour, a solo acoustic tour across the country here and back. I watch documentaries on America all the time and I just love all of it. It’s always nice to come back home. Not necessarily to the South, but to home in general. You know, family and my friends. But I think I owe a lot of what I am to being from the South and growing up around the culture there. Especially the music and growing up around people listening to the sounds of the South. That was great inspiration for what I’m doing today.



You grew up playing drums and then more recently had a dance-pop project, Masseyvibe. Did either of these projects help you grow into your current southern rock sound?

No, not really. Just growing up, listening to the radio. You know, Marshall Tucker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, the Crowes and just a bunch of those type of people. That’s really what got me to the sound I have now. If you listen to it and can’t tell that Lynyrd Skynyrd was an influence, then you aren’t listening to this album. I can’t really say that Masseyvibe — which was a blast — doesn’t really have anything to do with my current sound. Now playing drums, I can attribute that to everything I’ve ever done. Drums started it for me and keeps it going for me. And on any album that has live drums, I can communicate with the drummer that I’ve brought on for the project in a way that drummers can communicate. That helps me out a lot, especially on this album. You know, two drummers got together and put this album together. Now to say that either of these things helped me grow into my southern rock sound — I can’t say that it did. But they certainly both kept my love for music going and that’s pretty important to me.



Are there any albums or artists from other genres that have helped shape you as a musician and songwriter?

Absolutely. If it wasn’t for the bands that I heard on the radio and the bands that they used to play on MTV, I wouldn’t have ever cared about music. The Rolling Stones — just number one as far as rock ‘n’ roll goes for me. As far as I can remember hearing The Rolling Stones’ music, I’ve been loving what I hear. As I said earlier, The Black Crowes have influenced me a lot. And they’re not country or anything, they’re just kind of rock ‘n’ roll. But I can get into everything. There’s a bunch of rappers I can get into. Old school rappers and new and what’s going on in the underground. There’s a lot of underground club rap that I really like. Skater rap is what they call it because a lot of them are skateboarders as well as rappers. I’ve been into them a lot. But yeah, The Rolling Stones were the first album I ever bought. That’s just exciting music to listen to and it got me excited to see what they would do with their next song. Paul Simon is a big one that always surprises people. The Graceland album — it changed my life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve covered Graceland in Nashville and many other places. Paul Simon and The Rolling Stones were pretty much everything for me and knowing that I wanted to be a part of what they were doing. I would definitely put those two right up at the top of the list.



Is there a new album currently in the works?

Well, I’ve actually got two that I’m working on right now. There’s going to be one called Songs I Love, and that’s exactly what it is. It’s going to be a collection of songs that I love and a couple of songs that I wrote. I’ve also got an all acoustic, all original later on in addition to the covers album that I’ve got coming out in the spring of 2018. When I say all acoustic, it’s still going to have drums and percussion and all of that. But it’s going to be keeping the electric guitars down to a minimum. So I’ve got those two in the works and I’m really excited about those and working with The Bumbs on both. I’ve never put out an all acoustic album before, so I’m pretty excited to see how that sounds at the end of it all.



What else is coming up for Andrew Carter?

I’ve got touring and shows coming up in 2018. I’m down in Florida and we had this hurricane coming and we were prepping. Now, we’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do. So that kind of put a hold on a couple of things. But we’ve got some shows coming up later this year up in Atlanta and up in Nashville. I’ve got a couple videos I’m working on right now. I’m working on “Ghost of Me” which is going to be a lyric video. We’re also working on a video for a song called “The Weekend” off of this album. That’s just going to be a fun, big deal. I’ve got my own record label called DogSong Records and we’re going to be seeing what that’s all about and figuring out the best thing to do as a label owner. That’s going to take a lot of time. Next year is when we start getting out on the road big time and play some shows and some festivals and a couple club dates and hopefully some radio shows. So, we’ve actually got a lot coming up and if you go to the website, all that stuff’s up there.



Anything else you’d like the SCAD Radio community to know?

Well, speaking of the website, you can find me at andrewcartermusic.com. We’ve got a lot of stuff up. Some photos and some music is up there for streaming and purchasing if you need to and some calendars. Also, you can check me out on Facebook at facebook.com/andrewcarterforreal. I do have some merch that we’re working on. We’re going to be coming out pretty strong with merch in 2018. We’ve got some cool t-shirt designs that a buddy of mine and I are working on. Just go through and let me know you’re there and talk and hopefully I’ll see you out at some shows. - SCAD Radio

Andrew Carter has released his new single titled "Ghost Of Me", a rocky country blues sound that is so refreshing and truly shows how he is the true son of the South! - NataliezWorld