Carter USM remain to this day one of my favourite bands and hold the record for the band I’ve seen live the most times. I first saw them back in December 1992 and so many other occasions since. Back in 2002 I had a chat with Fruitbat, one half of Carter. I am really proud to be able to put this interview on the Lights Go Out site for people to check out, yes it’s old, but Carter are still awesome!
Hi Fruitbat, thanks very much for taking some time to scribble answers to our questions, we really appreciate it.
Lets start with your new project, Abdoujaparov. How did that come about?
Abdou came about through frustration really. I was working on my musical (still am) and wasn’t getting anywhere. I decided to write a few throw-away songs to get my creative juices flowing and that resulted in the tracks that ended up on the Punk Confetti single. After recording the songs it only seemed natural that they should be played live.
You have released your album earlier this year, after a bundle of e.p.’s. How was the album received?
The reaction to the album has been amazing, I am close to selling out the first pressing of 1500, which is a major triumph as far as I am concerned. To be honest, I think that folk were a little surprised at how good it is.
Is there anything you look back on now and think, if only we’d done that?
Personally, I learnt a lot during the recording of the Album. We made mistakes in the recording which took ages of ProTools trickery to fix. I spent a lot of money on mixing at a high end studio, only to scrap the lot and re-mix the entire album at home.
I know it’s a cliché and I don’t normally ask about names, but come on then explain where Abdoujaprov came from.
Djamolidine Abdoujaprov was a professional racing cyclist who took part in many Tour De France races. he was a bit of a punk rocker cyclist and was always getting in trouble for his agressive and unorthodox style. He was eventually kicked out of cycling due to alleged drug taking.
According to your site, you are on your 14th different line up with the band, why so many changes?
I see Abdou as a musical collective rather than a normal band. No one in the band apart from myself is a permanent member. Everyone plays in other bands and sometime this means that we have to play around with the line up. For international touring, I find it both musically interesting and cost effective to have local musicians in the line-up.
You seem to tour a lot in Oz, is there a reason for this?
The main reason is that Abdou is wanted over there. We get daytime radio airplay and treated with respect by the media. Of course there is the added bonus of a two month holiday in the sun every year and the fact that I can catch the Melbourne Grand Prix!
How do you see the band in a few years?
To be honest, I have no idea. I don’t really have ambitions for the band, I just want to have fun with it. I am determined to write a new album early next year and have it released by the autumn. I think a UK tour is order as well as the obvious fourth Oz tour.
With the “Who’s the Daddy now” tour, how did that come about?
I came upon the idea whilst trying to work out how to get all of those old Carter fans off of their armchairs, away from the telly and into the sweaty pubs of Britain to see Jim’s Super Stereoworld and Abdou. I thought that the dangled carrot of promised Carter songs would mobilize the lethargic masses and to a large extent it has worked beautifully.
Was it great to team up with Jimbob for the finale and perform some old Carter songs?
It’s fun to play those old songs without having the pressure to live up to the past.
You are off on tour again next month, looking forward to it?
That question is a little out of date now, due to me being crap. But, I must say that a week after the tour, the full impact of the whole thing hit me. We played to bigger crowds than the last Carter tour and the whole 11 days were a hell of a lot of fun. The London gig in particular was like a triumphant return to the consciousness of the UK scene. There was a big contingent from the music biz there too, which only goes to further prove my point. The point being you can’t put us down any longer, Jim and I, along with the Invisibles are on our way up, the roller coaster is gathering speed, a return to the Academy in Brixton is inevitable!
Will there once again be some Carter songs at the end?
We played a different set of songs for this tour including Churchbell, Glam Rock Cops, After The watershed.
It’s been billed in the past as a battle between Abdoujaparov and Jim’s new band – is this a healthy rivalry between the two of you or just a bundle of fun for the hell of it?
We have always been rivals, it’s a tough competition and still hasn’t been decided
Who did actually take the victory on the last tour?
It was 50 – 50
I actually voted for you, but that’s cause you were there at the time and put some pressure on me to do so! Is this your usual technique while Jim is on stage with JSSW?
Yup!
Obviously people know you mostly for your days in Carter USM, was it disappointing when it all ended? And does it make the WTDN encore all that more fun?
It was disappointing when the Carter audience decided that they wanted to keep us in 1992. We attempted to change as a band, but a large section of the crowd just weren’t having any of it. We split up the band when it stopped being fun.
What would have been your highlight from the Carter years?
Reading ’91, it was the perfect gig and everyone knew it!
What would say was the worst?
The last Carter Astoria gig, the audience were nasty and we played shit
I expect this has been one of the most asked questions of you, but I have to ask, how good did it feel when ya twatted Phillip Schofield?
I didn’t actually feel anything, I was that drunk 😉 I only realised what a big deal it was when I saw the tabloids the next day.
Did ya enjoy the Top of the Pops performances? And what was the inspiration behind the whole campfire scene with The Impossible Dream?
I didn’t enjoy the first one, but the other five were great. I love TOTP’s as an institution and would love to go on there again. The designers at the Beeb got the campfire idea from the video I reckon.
Out of all you albums from Carter which one would be your favourite and also which song do you feel was your finest moment?
Post Historic Monsters is my favourite although I know it is not the most commercial or accessible. The Music That Nobody Likes is the song that i think carries the original concept and message of Carter to it’s logical conclusion.
From the booklet of your live album which lists all your shows, you guys sure toured a lot, what would be your favourite places you have played and why?
Australia ’93, East Germany ’90, Zagreb ’91, USA ’91 (with EMF). These are all places where we had the most fun and were treated well. Jim is writing a book about the Carter live experience, so you’ll be able to get the full picture from that.
You have an upcoming live CD coming out from the WTDN tour, will it be easily available in the shops or is it better to order direct from yourselves and your website?
It will be in UK shops from Monday 25th November. It is also available by mail order and for online purchase.
I guess when Carter were in their heyday, the web wasn’t such a massive source for music, do you feel that the scene is better for it?
I think that for Abdou, JSSW and also young upcoming bands, the web has made the whole thing possible. We have managed to self promote, sell merchandise and tour without the help of the big guns of the music industry.
So apart from the stuff we have talked about, what else is coming up for you in the near future?
Next of my agenda is the 2003 Oz tour, which need to be organised as soon as possible. Then the UK tour will need to be sorted. I have two films to score, a couple of bands to produce and several other irons in the fire to keep my busy for the time being.
Any final words at all?
Only big apologies for this being so late ;-(
Love Fruity xxx
By Mr. T (back in 2002 and originally appeared as part of FPM Zine)
Now go check out:
http://www.carterusm.co.uk/index.php
and Jimbob can be found here: http://www.jim-bob.co.uk/
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