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There will always be a flavor-of-the-month child performer whose popularity peaks sometime after puberty. That’s just the cruel nature of show business, where talented kids fall by the wayside because the Next Big Thing is just around the corner. Yet triple platinum recording artist Aaron Carter, a mere babe in the woods at age 25, is well into his next stage of musicmaking.
The junior prince of hip-hop pop, who also lays claim to being the seven-years-younger brother to teen idol Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, vaulted to fame while still in his wonder years. Credit a catchy song catalog of flossy ear candy and a wholesome, all-American-lad persona for Carter’s seduction of a tweeny-bop generation of young misses. At age 13, for instance, Carter’s concert tour lured 9,438 screaming fans (and their parents) to the New York State Fair for an Aug. 24, 2001, Grandstand gig.
Carter’s hit albums included Aaron’s Party (Come Get It) from 2000 and Another Earthquake (2002). He hit it off with the ladies, too, as he romanced fellow teen thespians Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan. Like many other 20-something celebrities, however, Carter has experienced a few de rigueur brushes with the law, as well as a February 2011 rehab stint. And let’s not forget the new rite of passage for Y2K-era celebs: a 2008 turn on Dancing with the Stars.
Yet even a young dog can learn some new tricks. Carter went legit, so to speak, when he joined the cast of the off-Broadway run of the Tom Jones-Harvey Schmidt musical evergreen The Fantasticks in November 2011. (In one interview Carter admitted knowing nothing about the classic, thinking that it was instead connected to Marvel Comics’ superhero outfit, the Fantastic Four.) He has since logged more than 450 performances as the play’s young lover Matt at the Snapple Theater Center’s 199-seat Jerry Orbach Theater, named in honor of the original 1960 Fantasticks cast member.
“It’s kinda crazy to think about that,” the Manhattan-based Carter says with a laugh in regard to his many Fantasticks shows during a recent phone conversation. “To me it’s just like, oh, notches on my belt.”
This week Carter bids a temporary farewell to the lights of off-Broadway in favor of, believe it or not, the sidewalks of the Westcott Nation. With his participation in The Fantasticks having concluded Feb. 17, Carter embarks on what’s labeled “The After Party” tour so fans can come get some more of his greatest hits. More than 30 dates have been announced, with Carter’s performance slated for the Westcott Theater, 524 Westcott St., on Sunday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m.
Several current musical acts have also caught Carter’s attention, as he lists the indie rockers .fun, singer Miguel and rapper Kendrick Lamar as favorites. Still, his youthful determination means that he’s also throwing out there some concrete declarations. “I’m a 25-year-old man and I’m gonna have a good time, and whoever comes {to “The After Party”} is gonna have a good time, too,” he says. “I consider myself to be a true performer and I will never stop.”
Also on the Aaron Carter bill: sister trio Petrel plus Justin Levenson, Nikki Flores, Big Dan’s iPad Experience, Leo LeMay, Jay Loftus and Project Boy Machine. Tickets are $15, with a VIP meet-and-greet special for $50. For details, visit thewestcotttheater.com.
Q: This is probably an unfair question, but do you remember anything about the New York State Fair when you were there? Did you go on rides? Did you eat a sausage sandwich?
A: Honestly, when you do, like, 150 state fairs in a year, you lose track of which one is which. There are significant moments that stand out, but I can’t point out where they were. Any kind of fairs I was at, it was mandatory that I went on the rides and dabble in everything that the fair had to offer. I’m not the kind of kid who sits around in his dressing room moping around and not wanting to have fun. {Laughs.}
Q: This was the night of your drummer’s birthday. You put a cream pie in his face.
A: Oh yeah, Petey Pete. That’s right, I remember that! {laughs}
Q: And you sang a couple of Journey songs, like “Oh, Sherry” and “Send Her My Love.” Can you still hit the high notes like Steve Perry?
A: {Affects a high squeal} Heck yeah! It’s funny because since I’ve been in The Fantasticks, I’ve learned really, really how to sing, like for real, for real. When you do eight shows a week, you don’t have a choice but to be as perfect as you can be, and that really, really strengthens all of your qualities as a singer. And I get to work with a musical director {Robert Felstein} and it’s a different kind of style of music than I’m singing in general. So, yeah, I can hit higher notes now than I could when I was younger.
Q: So this Fantasticks experience has flexed musical muscles that you had, but now you know you have them.
A: Well, yes I did. And honestly, I don’t think I was singing in the right way. The musical director here at The Fantasticks said, “I tell ya, you know, now you gotta really sing. There are certain little things that you could do to make it better.” And he did it. There’s a lot that I’ve noticed that goes into singing, a lot more than I ever really knew. But now that I’ve learned and I’m really starting to get it, hopefully I can apply that to my stage show.
Q: Are you doing a lot of rehearsals before you go on tour? Will it be an elaborate show? And can you reveal what’s on the setlist?
A: It’s mostly going to be focused on the performing and me, on what I do. There’s no band. I have a deejay, I have two dancers and myself, and just a couple of stage props here and there for a good, choreographed dance and hype show. And all the songs: “Another Earthquake,” “I Want Candy,” “Aaron’s Party,” “Iko Iko,” “Leave It Up to Me,” “My First Ride,” “One Better,” “Wheels in Time,” “Summertime,” “To All the Girls,” “When It Comes to You,” “Not Saying That’s a Rule,” “Cowgirl” and six new songs.
It’s timeless music. When I hear it and wherever I’m practicing, it brings me back to the same place, and I can’t wait to be able to bring those kinds of feelings to the people who never really got to see me perform these songs. And I’ll never stop performing these songs. I’ve been performing them for the last 10, 15 years, you know? I’ll be changing it up, making new renditions to things. There’s always going to be something funky and fresh about it, and that’s why I got a deejay, because he’s hungry for a lot of the new music stuff {mixed} with my other songs. It’s really so exciting, I can’t even express to you how happy I am. This is, you know, what I do. It’s just all I know. It’s where I’m most comfortable, and where I’m at the best of my ability.
Q: Do you have to do workouts to stay in shape for a tour?
A: No, it’s more like I don’t work out: This show is a workout. It’s going to be a hard show; these songs are very hyperactive and in a hard-funk vein. And all these girls and guys who have been listening to all these songs growing up, they’re going to come back and say, “Oh wow. At the same time he sounds the same, but he’s older.” {Laughs} And it’s really for the fans to let them know that “Hey, I’m still here. I ain’t goin’ nowhere.” It’s time for me to come back, release my new album and really put all my attention and love into my music career.
Priority is releasing the album more toward the end of summer because we still have a lot of work to do, and now that the tour’s happening we have to find time to figure out the songs. I’m going to some of the producers that I’ve worked with in the past and get them back.
Q: When did you start thinking about going back out on tour?
A: About two months ago from this booking agency {Supreme Entertainment Artists} run by Alex Ross. He just believed in me; he said, “You’re Aaron Carter. You need to be on tour. Let’s get you out there.” And I said, “Well! Nice to hear that! Let’s do it!” So he was able to solidify these dates for me, and I said, “Oh wow, that’s cool. Let’s get all these old songs back up and running, make a setlist and put on a great show for everybody.”
Q: The Fantasticks is a tough show to do. If you go in one direction, it’s too sappy, and if you go in a different direction, it’s too campy. It seems like you have to play it straight down the middle.
A: Yeah, that’s kinda how I do it. The Fantasticks is definitely a beast of its own, and it’s definitely difficult. But you know, I think you can only improve from doing something difficult, and if you do something that’s easy and comfortable, you’re not going to get any better. There’s always going to be growing pains—that’s why they call it growing pains—and if you’re not experiencing that, then how are you improving? And I have definitely experienced that. It was hard as hell for me, but I have disciplined myself and I put myself in a good place that I know I could depend on myself and I could trust in myself.
But it kicks my ass, man! It’s so hard, it’s really, really, really tough. You don’t really have time for anything else, you’re so submerged in this world and it’s just crazy. Eight shows a week is a lot, man.
Q: You got to hang out with 84-year-old Fantasticks lyricist Tom Jones. How cool was that?
A: It was very interesting. {Laughs.} He’s a brilliant man and a beautiful poet—and he expresses it every chance he gets. {Laughs.}
Q: And your co-star {as the character Bellamy} is John Davidson, who also played Matt {in a 1964 television adaptation}. Has he given you tips to play the role?
A: No {giggles}, not really. He’ll come up to me and say, “You’re just doing it so well, you’re doing it so great.” He’s a very nice guy, you know, very humble and encouraging.
Q: Is it true that you’re taking an extensive leave from The Fantasticks and planning to return after the tour?
A: Well, that’s the situation right now, but there are more dates being added on. And if I can be on tour all year, I will be.
Q: Whenever you’ve had personal issues in the past, you’ve been forthcoming in laying it out there.
A: Yeah, there have been a lot of things that have happened to me in my life, and if I’m not the one who is forthcoming about it, people are going to insinuate and make up things that people are going to tend to believe, which has happened quite a bit in my career and in my life. And I just don’t want that to happen anymore, and if I can be the one to clear things up first, then I’m going to be that. And I’ll say it like it is, because it’s who I am, and I love who I am, and my experiences just make me into the man I am today. Without those experiences, I’d be somewhat of a lame man, you know? I wouldn’t have so much passion and love and sensitivity for others and basically being able to care for people and be empathetic. Nobody’s perfect, and if somebody wants to judge me based on my experiences, let’s turn it around and let’s judge you, see what you have to say.
Q: Coming from a family of musical talent, was it inevitable that you were going to be a musician, too?
A: It kinda happened at the same time with me and my brother. He joined the Backstreet Boys when he was, like, 12 {in 1993}. It was kind of like a joke almost, like, “Oh, I bet Aaron can do this, too. Let’s have him open up for the Backstreet Boys.” Then I did {in March 1997}, and I got a record deal the first night I performed, then it happened really fast. Six months later I was signed to Trans Continental Records and in the studio recording {a cover of The Jets’ 1985 single} “Crush on You” with {producer} Gary Carolla up in Uniontown, Pa. My old manager, Johnny Wright, told me, “This was supposed to be for fun, and then you ended up blowing up!” {Laughs}
My childhood was older people, doing interviews all the time, photo shoots, cameras, screaming girls, tutoring on the road, weird messed-up sleep schedules, being in Australia one day and then in the Philippines two days later because it was a two-day flight. And I loved it. I can’t get enough of it, and that’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.
Q: When you were starting out, was it always about the music or was it about meeting girls?
A: I started out at a really young age, so for me it was just about having fun and going along with the family tradition, like, “My brother did this, so I could do it, too” kind of thing. So it wasn’t really about girls for me then—but it’s about the girls now! {Laughs} The thing about me is that I’m straight-up, you know, and I’m gonna have a good time. I’m not a goody-two shoes guy. I still have fun, I just know how to do it a bit more responsibly, and to keep my private life private.
