Nathan Carter Country Singer

Interview with Nathan Carter Country Singer.
With Jerry Burn on this and Saint Patrick's day and boy it's a St. Patrick's day with a difference i'm delighted to have online one of the top entertainers in Ireland. He's toured in many other countries as well a truly incredible  talent spoke to him uh back last year in the first lockdown and he was busy doing the grass and having the the lawn looking pristine at that stage I'm delighted to catch up with them again and say a very very happy Saint Patrick's day to Nathan Carter.

 Nathen how are you ? I'm great Jerry, thanks for having me on the show and happy Saint Patrick's day to you and all your listeners. Nathan listen it's lovely to lovely to catch up with you again now the last time we spoke you were it was the it was the height of summer and uh the grass was growing like like uh like heck and you were you were busy keeping it keeping the lawn uh good so where uh after all of that water what have you been doing you've been a busy lad doing other things. Yeah the grass kept me busy last year normally I'm not here to uh to do anything you know  but obviously with no gigs last year I got stuck into becoming a bit of well I wouldn't say a gardener you know, of any means. But I was in the garden anyway trying my best um but uh not been doing too much since to be honest I've been doing a bit of writing. Songwriting, a bit of recording and I released an album at the end of last year and called the the best of the last 10 years and it featured some some brand new singles that i'd written a song with the high kings called made a road rise single call Sarah Jane and my latest single which is called wings to fly, in memory of Nicki James.

 So they  tracks the role on that album and it had some some older songs from the last 10 years as well um and it did extremely well it's it's it was my most successful album in the chat today it stayed at number one for two weeks running and we were we were delighted with the success right now because obviously with covid 19 I couldn't get out to promote the album. I would do signings or anything like that so  we were absolutely shocked when it went to number one for two weeks indeed indeed yes the album it was an astounding success and it had some fantastic material and that particular song wins to fly in tribute to your late friend and a gentleman who has been just so good to so many many people under gone too soon Nikki James yeah yeah i mean Nikki passed away only a year ago now a year last month and uh Nikki was kind of one of my best friends uh he was my kind of inspiration growing up to get into music and he paid for my first album to get done and got me my first ever gigs in London and Manchester and Liverpool and um just an overall great guy and wants to help anyone he could and so he he sadly missed and I sat down in in march of last year to do a writing session with John Ferry my manager.

 And I said it'd be and I think it'd be very fitting to maybe write a song in memory of Nikki so uh we sat down and we came up with the song wings to fly and um again i've been kind of overwhelmed by the the uh feedback from us uh we stuck i made a video for it and we put it up on facebook and it actually went to a million views on on the actual year anniversary of his death which was kind of spooky as well it reached a million that day it was kind of like he was looking down on us but he sadly missed and and you know I'm actually performing that song.

 I performed it on the late late show there recently and it's a song that seems to touch a lot of people who've lost someone close to them as well which is always nice to hear. indeed so i did so it's uh definitely a song of a sort of true feeling and that uh it's you know it certainly did a storm and did mean an awful lot to uh to an awful lot of people uh so how are you how are you how are you coping with the whole situation you obviously the same as so many other singers and uh entertainers i i speak to uh you know you really miss going out and performing and miss meeting people. 

I do surely yeah, I mean it was my life for the last um probably 12 or 13 years since I left school it was music and gigs and shows and radio and tv and it kind of all stopped over a year ago now and it definitely left a big hole in in my time and figuring out what to do with myself was was it took a while but yeah I mean I'm pretty lucky in the fact that I've stuff to be out at the house and I can i can get outside and i can do a bit of recording a lot of the lads who work with me they've all had to take jobs you know whether they're driving or my fiddle plane I actually started a mobile coffee van and he's he's working with that so a lot of musicians have had to turn their hands to other things which is very sad to me.

 I really do hopefully come back to music whenever we're allowed and whenever gigs can get going again um because you know everybody needs music it's a it's a serious therapy to a lot of people and then you know we all have stuff going on and you forget about it whenever you put go out to a gig or listen to a bit of music. So you know definitely thinking of all the musicians out there and hopefully get back as soon as possible. indeed, so and  but you're lucky enough in that uh you've got your brother with you yeah my brother didn't took me on and off really for the last two years he's he's been here um and he's he's actually teaching a lot of children guitar lessons now on piano lessons via zoom which has its difficulties as well trying to get some children to hold the guitar for the first time it can be tricky.

 So he's busy with that and he helps his partner out Karen who's a a very professional dancer who works on dancing with the stars here in Ireland and he helps her with them classes as well so they're busy thank God indeed they did yeah that's it's a it's a it just goes to show you you know the times that we've got it at the sheer ingenuity of man like when you i can appreciate the difficulty on a zoom call you know for to get a child to hold a guitar for the first time i cannot we can understand those problems but I mean there's been there's been tremendous ingenuity uh shown by uh so many you know by so many people and we're blessed i think in the times we've got in it uh you know that we've we've got the communications and the and the the technology that we have yeah I mean at the start of this i kept saying could you imagine if we were actually 20 years ago in in this situation and you couldn't contact anybody you know you could only speak via the phone.

 At least nowadays I can facetime my my nan or my granddad or my mom and dad and you know you'd be seeing them most days  which you know we're blessed that we can do that in this in this day and age indeed so I did so I mean i said it is it is truly incredible as you said 20 years ago we certainly would not be in this  in this situation and uh you know it's great that at least you know uh there is the technology and you're actually able to we're actually able to to to speak and actually see  parents or whoever it may be you know and uh that's i think that's gotta be identified oh without a doubt without a doubt I believe last week that you're, your nan who's gonna be your biggest fan she celebrated her 81st birthday she did yeah we um unfortunately I obviously couldn't be there to celebrate with her but uh i was on facetime to her and we we organized presents and uh you know family called around outside and seen her and stuff which was which was nice for her you know because to be honest uh jerry i think she's missing the gig more than me even you know she she loved to be at the shows and meeting people and the whole buzz of the gig and obviously if anyone doesn't know she saw my merchandise at the shows.

Especially around the U.K. so she she's mad to get on the road again and to get kicking and and meeting people yes well i'd well believe it she certainly uh you know what every time I better she just absolutely loved it and uh was doing cracking stuff and loved meeting the people yeah she is she's a real people person you know and uh she she celebrates first birthday day but I think it's heart she's still 21 and um she's mad for the road anyway she can't wait to see everyone again I'd well believe it listen just look at your head Nathan later on in the year I believe you're actually headlining the British country music festival?.

I am yeah, we got boots for that last year and that's happening in Blackpool it's one of the few gigs that i think we will be actually doing this year uh live and we also got booked for an irish festival there in july a festival called crack by the creek which has only just been released as myself a great folk band called all up and Lisa McHugh is on the the build plus others and that's happening the 23rd the 24th of July and so delighted to see that festivals will be happening this year we're keeping everything crossed that will mostly get outside some live music at some stage indeed that will be that will be helpful but I think it's easier in the you know when the weather is good in the summertime to be able to do you know or to be able to organize things like that because really  the witcher time it's it's a new goal.

Ooh without a doubt and listen especially if we're outside social distancing can be you know put into practice a lot more and you know people can be spaced out and everybody can feel safe hopefully going to a show and hearing some live music. indeed indeed, now listen you've got you've got a a a cracking event happening tonight it's uh the St. Patrick's day live stream yeah it's my first ever live stream and um obviously with with the goodwill of technology um we're able to to broadcast live tonight over uh throughout the world to America, Australia obviously the U.K. and Ireland as well and I'm doing an hour and a half tonight with my own band um from a little place in Enniskillin just where I live we've got a little Shebeen there that way that I'm using for tonight's show as myself six piece band I'm going to be answering a few questions a lot of requests and doing some of the new material from that album we spoke about um and some of the old songs as well like wagon wheel and Caledonia and my other obviously a very heavy irish influence with the day that's in it so we'll be doing some some irish songs as well from Donegal all over the place so looking forward to that tonight though great stuff but it's on it's on at 8pm so it doesn't matter where in the world you live it's on at 8 p. m so it's 8 p. m tonight in if it's Australia New Zealand.

 Yeah yeah exactly yeah the poster was a little bit confusing but yeah wherever you are at 8 p. m it's going to be on there yeah and listen for details the the website to go to is dice fm d-i-c-e dot fm yeah or you can just go to my website Nathan cartermusic. com and you'll get all the details there to just click the link and watch the show tonight at eight o'clock indeed that should be uh that should be crap it must be great to uh uh you know to be able to meet up with your band you know all be at the distance and all the rest of it but it must be great to actually sort of be with your band again performing yeah we were on a group watts up there and half of us were saying we we won't recognize each other after the lockdown some of us have put weight on some of us have lost weight so you know because we haven't seen each other in 12 months  so and obviously I've been having to re-learn lyrics again because i haven't sang a lot of these songs in over a year so I've been practicing the last couple of weeks now trying to remember all the lyrics for them so looking forward to it now it'd be great great to meet up again and play a bit of live music indeed indeed i bet it is i bet it is you know and uh and also the fight you're saying but that's requested to that no doubt you'll have a because you've got a huge huge fan base and no doubt they'll be as well as others will be will be watching the show as well please God you know what and  originally this gig was meant to be in Belfast Crumlin road jail but due to unforeseen circumstances we had to move the venue.

 but listen it doesn't really matter where the venue is does it really because everybody's watching online um so you know everybody can be together listen to a bit of music and in the day that's in it celebrates everything that's good about being Irish and an island itself so we're looking forward to it indeed indeed you know that stuff definitely definitely it seems somewhat amazing that you know on a day like today which uh you know is is usually just a hectic schedule of events and events happening and parades and celebrations and all the rest of that all of that is being done sort of  social distance and online for a lot of people  you know it's it's uh it's it's the second year in a row really that a lot of people haven't been able to celebrate St. Patrick's day in person with other people in a pub or at a gig you know we've done a good couple of shows from the London Palladium on St. Patrick's day.

I think, but uh you know we at least we can be in people's homes and celebrate with other people online that's that's the main thing indeed now you were also one of the many people who's involved in the uh the song reach out uh which had a an absolute stack of uh singers and artists i i don't know a singer in Ireland that wasn't on that record would you believe i think there must have been a hundred things by the time it was finished uh but yeah it was great to be involved in um i think i made about 40 phone calls to fans across islands U.K. America as part of the retail campaign which Trudy Lawler and it was her brain brainwave and it was a great idea it was really lovely to speak to some of the farmers see how they were keeping and you know everybody's having good weeks and bad weeks at the minute so uh a phone call it goes a long way just to speak to someone indeed indeed and the song the song reach out where you you were involved with the you know one of the many voices there you know together with Daniel O' Donald Margo Foster And Allen and Mike Denver et cetera et cetera.

 There was just too many numerous to mention uh that song actually was a huge huge chart success as well yeah it did very well I think online I didn't follow it too much to be honest uh because uh the week it came out I was actually in the recording studio all week um but uh yeah it did very well and you know like as as you say it was great to see so many fingers and and performers all uh getting together for a great cause indeed so yeah so he said you were at the recording studio so will it be something new coming out uh at some stage a little later on in the year yeah for sure jerry i've written and recorded about five new tracks um which I'm very excited about and hopefully going to have a summer single ready to go um the end of may for my birthday maybe june time um for uk and irish radio that's the plan excellent excellent that's uh that's right absolutely brilliant to hear Nathan has been lovely to to catch up with you and uh i wish you all the success in in the world no doubt the gig tonight will go an absolute storm and at least I'm looking forward to getting the singles and you know to yourself and all the family uh stay safe and well you too jerry big big happy saint patrick's day to yourself and all your listeners stay safe and please God we'll meet again before too long.
Nathan Carter Songs