johncartermusic

JOHN CARTER “Some people call me crazy, but life is too short to take the easy road. If I didn’t seize the opportunity, I would always wonder where I could have gone with it,” says John Carter the laid-back, Arkansas native when asked why he got out of the Marine Corps after 11 years to pursue a country music career. “Nothing else will make me happy.” Carter’s foundation in music started like many other musicians - in church. Every Sunday, John and his family would sit together in two pe...

JOHN CARTER “Some people call me crazy, but life is too short to take the easy road. If I didn’t seize the opportunity, I would always wonder where I could have gone with it,” says John Carter the laid-back, Arkansas native when asked why he got out of the Marine Corps after 11 years to pursue a country music career. “Nothing else will make me happy.” Carter’s foundation in music started like many other musicians - in church. Every Sunday, John and his family would sit together in two pews toward the back of their church in Vanndale, Arkansas and each would contribute with harmonized parts. John also practiced his vocal ability with an 8-track player. “During the summer when school was out, I would sit on my parents’ bed and listen to the Oak Ridge Boys, Alabama, and Ronnie Milsap over and over. We didn’t have much money and that 8-track player was one of the best forms of entertainment I had to keep myself out of trouble.” A Marine Corps recruiter approached Carter just before High School graduation and asked him of his future plans. Towering at 6’5”, his dream was to play college football. “The recruiter said that if I was good enough, I could play for the Marines. It wasn’t long before I was signing enlistment papers.” Throughout his 11 years in the military, Carter worked as a helicopter mechanic on the CH-46E and manned the 50-caliber machine gun during flights. While aboard the USS Nassau with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2000, John spent his off-duty hours teaching himself to play guitar. After returning from six-months on the ship, Carter started a band at his new duty station on the tropical island of Okinawa, Japan and gained a loyal fan base including his fellow servicemen and quickly earned fans overseas. He entertained at bars and music venues for three years and the first song he co-wrote, “7x7,” became a hit in Okinawa, Japan and also found an audience in Ireland and Germany where it still gets radio airplay today. Upon returning to the U.S., Carter was stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, NC and formed another band that played in local clubs and festivals, but duties as a Marine started getting in the way of his love for performing. “I took a weekend trip with a friend to Nashville, TN for the first time in 2006 and that’s when it hit me. If I really want to take this to the next level, I’ve got to move to Nashville.” Within months of moving to Nashville, Carter landed his first gig on Lower Broadway at Nashville Crossroads and soon after, began playing all of the honkey tonks. After two years, he got the itch to play larger clubs. In 2008 and 2009, John toured clubs in the southeast, such as Whiskey River, The Country Club, Arizona Petes, Midnight Rodeo, Wildhorse Saloon and participated in USO Entertainment events. He has shared the stage with stars like Jamey Johnson, Kellie Pickler, John Rich and more. “The club circuit requires you to perform cover songs, but I always would sneak original songs into my sets and fans were really into it. That’s when I knew it was time to get into to studio.” John participated in the 2009 CMA Music Festival with a booth and an Acoustic Corner performance. Soon after, Carter acquired the song “Everything I Want” from a Nashville publishing company, Encore Publishing, and recorded it with members of the Toby Keith Easy Money Band and producers Josh Bertrand (member of “Easy Money Band”) and Kelly Schoenfield (Martina Mcbride, Tracy Lawrence). “Everything I Want” became his first single and impacted radio in February 2010. The song was featured as a free download for fans in Country Weekly Magazine and was also prominently placed in the iTunes New + Noteworthy section. The track hit #50 on the Music Row Breakout Chart. “This song is up-tempo, rocking country music. It describes the girl that every guy drops his jaw for but knows his that mom or the preacher would never approve.” Carter also completed a music video for “All Kinds of Beautiful,” which will be his second single to impact radio in August 2010. The video can already be seen on CMT.com, GAC.com, Yahoo! Music, AOL Music and several other online outlets. “This is one of my favorite songs I’ve recorded. I grew up on harmonies while singing with my family and this song really delivers in that way.” Carter participates in many benefit events and is passionate about community service and giving back. He participated in the Country Weekly Fashion Show on June 8, 2010, an event that helped kick off CMA Music Fest and benefited Musicians On Call, a non-profit that John is very active in. Country Weekly featured photos of John in the July 12 issue. Carter also headlined a military-themed event at the Hard Rock Café in Nashville, TN on July 1, 2010 to celebrate and honor our troops and to benefit Operation Troop Aid, which generated coverage from Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Fox 17, Digital Rodeo, Country Music Tattle Tale, Yallwire.com and more. When not working on his music, Carter is very active with organizations including Musicians on Call and the Nashville Humane Society, as he’s rarely without his rescued black lab Archie. Carter helps support his music career as an airplane mechanic at BNA Nashville International Airport. Keep a look out for Nashville’s hottest up and coming country artist. Check out www.johncartermusic.com for more information.