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Boys' Carter tries on a solo career (By G. Brown)

Denver Post Popular Music Writer

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Friday, February 28, 2003 - The youngest member of the Backstreet Boys has recorded his first album away from teen pop's now-old-timers. On "Now or Never," Nick Carter trades the slick harmonies and epic production of BSB songs for a more

'80s pop-rock direction. Nick Carter takes the stage at 7 p.m. Monday at the Paramount Theatre. Tickets, available through Ticketmaster, are $27.

"A lot of people are like, 'Oh, he's trying to be something that he's not.' The thing is, I'm trying to be myself, to do what I love and what comes from my heart," the boy-band heartthrob said recently.

It's an agreeable if predictably lightweight style. "Help Me" promotes the singer-songwriter feel. Guitar, bass and drums furnish the bulk of the instrumentation, and Carter's vocals are brought to the front. "Do I Have to Cry for You?" a glossy, ornate ballad, prolongs his musical soul-searching.

"It took that form because I'm a drummer, and I play guitar, also," Carter, 23, explained. "My main goal was to take pop songs and add live instruments to them, get that kind of feel going. I was very influenced by bands from the past like Journey and Tears for Fears. They were considered pop bands back in their day."

Blond, good-looking, Carter has assembled a band, and he's supporting "Now or Never" on tour. He'll visit the Paramount Theatre on Monday night.

"I pick up the guitar three or four times on stage," he said. "Other times, I take the mike and perform for the audience."

According to Carter, playing smaller stages than he did with Backstreet Boys is taking some getting used to.

"I wanted to grind it out again, show people that, even though I've had a lot of success with what I've done in the past, I'm willing to work for anything I get. I don't ever take anything for granted.

"This tour is cool. I don't have any hotel rooms, I'm just staying on my bus. We're all traveling around, playing gigs in little clubs. I feel like I'm giving back to the fans, something a little closer and intimate. It's a whole different vibe."

Carter also has a budding acting career. He appeared on NBC-TV's drama "American Dreams" as the frontman of Jay & the Americans.

"If people dug it, I'll keep going. But I'm not going to do something that doesn't fit my description, something I ain't good at like I used to do when I was younger. I'm a freak for music, for live performing. I might dedicate more of my time to that. Who knows? As long as it's still fun and exciting, I'll do it."

Carter is the first Backstreet Boy to undertake a solo career, but he doesn't know how the experience will carry over into the group. His excursion into rock has thrilled some fans and estranged others.

"If anybody disagrees with what I'm doing, come check out the show and then make your judgment. At the end of the day, I've been doing this long enough to have come to a decision. If I'm not happy doing what I'm doing, and if I'm not doing something that's real, then I'm not going to do it at all," he said. "Of course, it's scary. As a solo artist, I take on a lot of responsibility that I didn't realize until I actually got into it. But it's cool. I'm an adventurous person, and I love challenges."

Nick Carter with Sev: 7 p.m. Monday, Paramount Theatre, $27, Ticketmaster

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thanks to Mary

Source: The Toronto Sun)

Young female fans at the heart of Nick's solo effort

By Jane Stevenson

Once a Backstreet Boy, always a Backstreet Boy. Nick Carter -- touring in support of his pop-rock solo debut, Now Or Never -- proved his BSB membership remains intact on Wednesday night during a sold-out show at Kool Haus in front of hundreds of screaming, mostly young, female fans.

The youngest Backstreet Boy, who is playing considerably smaller venues than the arenas and stadiums his former boy band enjoyed in their heyday, got the loudest response when he trotted out a trio of -- you guessed it -- BSB hits.

Quit Playing Games With My Heart, I Want It That Way, and Shape Of My Heart, came during the unplugged and seated portion of the concert, about mid-way through Carter's 85-minute set.

The audience responded with a spirited singalong when fans were actually passing out amid the pandemonium.

Otherwise, the sweet-voiced singer, dressed down in an "ARMY" T-shirt and baggy jeans which showed off black Calvin Klein underwear, put away the choreographed dance moves, big sets and special effects that were BSB's trademarks.

Instead, Carter went for the stripped-down and sweaty bar band approach with his five backing musicians happily following his animated lead.

The problem was there's nothing really remarkable about his material which gives major shout outs in the influence department to Tears For Fears, The Cars, A-HA, Guns N' Roses, and Bryan Adams.

In fact, he even inserted bits of Tears For Fears' Shout, A-HA's Take On Me, Adams' Everything I Do (I Do It For You) and GNR's Paradise City into his own songs while outright covering The Cars' Just What I Needed.

Occasionally, Carter even strapped on an electric guitar, but it seemed more like a prop than anything else, and such horrible rock songs as Girls In The USA, or saccharine ballads like Who Needs The World and Heart Without A Home didn't further his credibility.

Meanwhile, with the Backstreet Boys filing a $75 million lawsuit against their label for holding up the release of their fourth album last year -- opting to produce and record Carter's solo album instead -- clearly all is not well in the BSB camp.

And with Now Or Never hardly flying out of record stores, Carter may find himself playing even smaller venues than Kool Haus should he return.

Maybe when you've sold 36 million albums, as the Backstreet Boys have done, it doesn't matter.

NICK CARTER

'Backstreet's already back'

-- JANE STEVENSON