www.davidcarter.com
VIRGINIA BEACH
SUN NEWSPAPER
"David Carter: Up
Close and Personal"
Up Close And Personal"
PART 2 OF 2
written by: Victoria Hecht - Editor,
6/13/97
Name: David Carter
What brought you to
this area: IBM, also known as I've Been Moved. My father was transferred
here when I was 8 years old. We had been living in a rural area, Waynesboro,
VA. I remember, that before we moved here. All of my baby-sitters were
so excited, because Virginia Beach was the home of Bill Deal & The Rhondells.
Hometown: Although, I was born in Richmond, I have lived in Virginia
Beach 80 percent of my life. My experiences through having grown up here have
developed the spirit of who I am today. So I call Virginia Beach my hometown.
Nickname: Although I have never cared to be called Dave, it seems to
have stuck. Also several people call me "DC."
Occupation: Single dad. Also, I have a part-time job as a singer /
songwriter / entertainer.
Marital
Status: Single, which was a very expensive title
to regain.
Favorite
Movies: "Forrest Gump,"
"African Queen" and "Casablanca." Sometimes I can relate to
Forrest Gump's approach to life.
Magazines I
read regularly: Performing
Songwriter, Acoustic Guitar, Recording Magazine and Blue Ridge Country Magazine
Favorite
authors: Mark Twain, John D. McDonald
("Travis McGee" series), Edgar Allen Poe and recently, Edgar Rice Burroughs,
author of the original "Tarzan" novel. I am currently reading
"Tarzan" and have been surprised at how wonderful the book is. I found out
about the "Travis McGee" series from the lyrics of Jimmy Buffett's song,
"Coconut Telegraph." I like Jimmy Buffett's style of writing, too.
He's kind of a cross between John D. McDonald and Mark Twain.
Favorite night
on the town: Going to work and hanging out with my
friends while I'm singing. I very much enjoy the atmosphere of Key West while making
the "rounds" on my bicycle. Also, I enjoy the experience of spending a
night on the front porch of my cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Favorite meal
and beverage: My specific tastes seem to change on a
regular basis, but I am a major seafood fan for lunch and dinner. Also, entertainers
are big on breakfast. So for breakfast I'll say, "whatever the special is at
the Beach Pub" and "two eggs poached, bacon home fries raisin bread and coffee
at the Belvedere Diner." As far as beverages, you can ask my fans --
Corona, margaritas, Cuervo 1800 and at the Island Republic, a David Carter original
concoction known as the "DC Special" (Meyers Dark rum, Malibu coconut rum and
pineapple juice in a tall glass). All in moderation, of course.
What most
people don't know about me: As
a general rule, most people seem to see me in the stereotype of my "stage
personality." But I am an extremely passionate, caring person about the things
I believe. I have an extreme amount of patience, tolerance, understanding and
sincerity. Probably tempered by 20 years of working around people who may not
remember their names by the end of my performance.
The best thing about
myself: Probably my temperament. I've been told that
if I were any more laid-back that I would be horizontal. Also, my extended family.
They are wonderful and we are all very close. At Easter they come from all
around the world to get together.
Worst habit: Putting too many irons in the fire. Starting new projects before I
finish old ones.
Pets: Whatever my kids bring home from the pond, creek, woods, etc..
Ideal vacation: I'm not sure what a vacation is. I thought I was having one last March
when I took a cruise to the Bahamas, but some people who come hear me perform in Richmond
found out I was on the ship. The next thing I knew, I was performing on the main
stage for the Carnival Cruise Lines ship MS Fantasy. On the serious side, I
thoroughly enjoy my time in Key West. Every summer I take the kids on what they call
a vacation to Camp Greenbrier For Boys in West
Virginia for a week called "House Party." I'm usually begging to go back
to work by the time we get home. I love Camp Greenbrier and all of my friends there.
It's been an annual tradition since I was 10 years old. But a week of caving,
whitewater canoeing, tubing, fossil hunting, riflery, archery, tennis, basketball,
baseball… you get the picture, wears me out. I take mini-vacations in a
Venezuelan hammock in the 100 square foot tree house I built in the back yard.
Hobbies: I don't think you have enough space to list all of those, so I'll just say
the non-hobby. I hate painting the house.
Pet Peeves: Arrogant people, intolerance, abuse of authority, snobbery, poor
customer service, traffic and computer printers.
First Job: My first job as far as receiving money was cleaning out the ditches at my
parent's house. I made 50 cents and hour, worked five hours, received $2.50, rode my
bike to the local arcade at the bottom of the Mayflower Apartments at 34th Street and
Atlantic Avenue and spent it in 15 minutes. This was my most important financial
lesson. I truly learned the value of a dollar. My fist paycheck job was
as a bellhop at the Seahawk Hotel on 26th Street and Atlantic Avenue. Then I
graduated to oceanfront lifeguard on 36th Street, which is how I discovered the Belvedere
Diner.
Worst job: When the military had the hovercrafts designed, they forgot to take into
consideration that these vehicles would be traveling across the ocean and therefore did
not use stainless steel screws in the construction. During a break from Elon
College, I got a job through a temporary service with Bell-Aerospace at Fort Story.
My job was crawling through the craft engines and painting all the screws with this liquid
plastic anti-corrosion concoction. It was freezing, wet and miserable. The
service paid me $10 an hour. I found out later that they were charging
Bell-Aerospace $30 an hour for my services and that the liquid plastic stuff was
carcinogenic. I'm not sure which entity to sue when I get cancer.
Favorite sports team: Great Neck Little League t-ball team
"Reds." I'm their coach. Also, the Great Neck Little League kid
pitch team "Red Sox," David Russell's team. On the professional level, I
have been a lifelong fan of the Redskins, but have endured much frustration through them
over the last several years. My friend, Vicki Petitbon (her dad was there coach),
had them sign a football for me on the flight back from their last Superbowl win in
California.
Favorite musicians: Dave Mathews and his band. He is an extremely talented guitar
player/singer/songwriter/vocalist and his band is phenomenal. Exposure to his music
has had a major impact on my more recent approaches to songwriting. His music also
rescued me from a period of musical "burn-out." I'm proud to say that he
and I were performing at clubs next to each other, he at Lewis' and myself at O'Sullivan's
Wharf.
My all-time favorites and influences are James Taylor (his music
convinced me to give up the electric guitar for the acoustic guitar), Van Morrison (his
influence is obvious in my musical style), David Wilcox, Marvin Gaye. Jimmy Buffett,
not so much as a musician but as a songwriter and entertainer. Buffett is very
prolific in his unique lyrical style.
Most embarrassing
moment: This happened as of late. I was performing at
Paul's Deli in Williamsburg last spring. A guy I had met a couple of times, a
student at the William and Mary grad school, came in with a bunch of girls. He was
using the "I-know-the-singer" approach to impress the girls. Understanding
the dynamics of the situation, I figured, "Hey, I'll help this guy out."
So I spent a lot of time talking to him from stage and pumping him up through the obvious
attention I was giving him -- to give him the appearance of being a good buddy of
mine. I said something like, "Hey, how's it going? Is your band still
performing? Long time no see! How come you get all of the good-looking
girls?." The girls thought he was "the man." I realized that I
needed to take things to a more personal level to keep his image going, so I started
calling by name. I must have said "Scott" a hundred times that night.
But it was working negatively. I noticed that he had sunk into the background
of the club. I woke up the next morning and the first thought that entered my head
was, "His name is not Scott, it's John." I got his phone number from
information and left a message of apology on his answering machine. I never heard
back from him, nor have I seen him since. I'm known for never forgetting a name.
That night of his life was not a good time for a "first."
I would like my
epitaph to read:
Well, I saw a good one in the
Key West cemetery once, "I Told You I Was Sick," but I guess that would not be
original. One thought might be, written in a Southern drawl, of course, "I'm a
seventh generation Virginian." Or, "This Boy Loved To Sing." On
the philosophical side, "David was unique. To know his songs is to know his
life." But I'll probably tell my family just to leave the stone bank and set a
can of spray paint on top of it for the "do-it -yourselfers" in the world.
If I received $1
million: I would probably consider putting running water in
my cabin. I'm not sure that I would go so far as putting in a bathroom. There
is something about an outhouse that keeps a man humble and appreciative. I would
secure a second address in Key West, Fla. I would probably buy the house next door
to the most pompous, arrogant person I know and then buy all he yard toys in Toy-R-Us and
tell the kids to leave them in the front yard. I would have the rusted, broken down,
'67 Lincoln Continental convertible that my dad owns (and sees as a classic) refurbished
or buried with an Elvis 8-track playing in it, of course. I would set up trust funds
for my children and probably buy my 15th left-handed guitar. Then I would buy a
couple extra pairs of sandals and go to work that night.
If I had 10 minutes
on national television: I would perform my
songs "Somewhere Under This Moon," "Maybe She's Right,"
and "Cayo Queso" off my CD, TWO HANDS ARE ENOUGH, and say, "Thank you for
your time."
webpage hits