Medium Exclusive Lyric Video Premier: Lloyd Carter Band’s “Better Days”
Reigning from a small town in Georgia, Lloyd Carter found his passion for music at a young age. Brought up in a musical family, he was surrounded by an eclectic array of sounds. His mother managed two different radio stations, while his father’s side of the family had a gospel quartet consisting of Carter’s grandfather, aunts and uncles. “The Carter Family” would travel around the country singing at small churches.
“My writing partners, Gary DiBenedetto and Henry McGill, and I have been in the music industry a number of years and have faced many battles. There’s a lot of heartache in the music business, but there’s also a lot of joy.”
When he’s not writing music or performing, you can find Carter and his family out on their boat or at their favorite local barbecue joint. “I would love it if people hear my music and say You know, that Lloyd is an alright singer/songwriter, but he seems like a good ole dude.”
At the beginning of the pandemic you suggested fans take a little trip to the beach, courtesy of “Live Life Well”. Now months later, what other songs have you had on repeat as the tough times continue?
I just love the whole Texas vibe and romance in that song. Thank you so much for taking your time to give it a listen. I love songs that tell stories, anything with some truth in it. If I had to pick a pandemic favorite that I’ve had on repeat it has to be Luke Combs “6 Feet Apart”.
Thank you so much for taking the time to give us this wonderful interview and premier the lyric video for “Better Days”. My writing partners Gary DiBenedetto, Henry McGill, and myself are three guys that decided to get together and compare notes of our lives then put it to music.
What unique challenges did Henley Productions and Gary DiBenedetto have to work around shooting the video for “The Hand You Hold” during the quarantine? {Ed. Note: The video will premier November 17th on The Nashville Music Guide.}
“The Hand You Hold” is a very special song to us as it pays tribute to Gary‘s precious daughter Memarie DiBenedetto. We filmed the video in a large local theater but honestly we didn’t use the full band because we wanted an intimate setting with just Henry, Gary, and myself. We all practiced social distancing during the shoot and there were a very limited number of people on the set. Regardless of the quarantine or not I wouldn’t change a single thing about that video. It’s so beautiful to go with that lovely song to remember Memarie. I honestly hope it brings comfort to others that have lost loved ones as well as remind people to love and appreciate the ones that are still here.
“Friday Night” features Colt Ford. Ford is a former professional golfer. Professional sports have been played the past few months within social distanced guidelines. When do you see more live music concerts returning, within the same guidelines?
Colt is a wonderful friend and I’m so thankful for him jumping onboard to do that collaboration with me on “Friday Night”. Yes most people don’t realize what a heck of a golfer he is but, he like myself is definitely missing the live performances. There’s not a better feeling in the world to be on that stage and seeing your fans that love your music singing along and having the times of their lives. I’m praying hard for 2021 to have a vaccine for that terrible virus so we can all get back to some sort of normalcy.
Nothing To Lose. You worked countless hours putting together your new album, cherishing every moment. Can you share some of the best memories from the making of the album?
Absolutely, some of my best memories are on Tuesday nights. That’s writers night, when we three amigos get together in Gary’s studio. It’s such a refreshing stress reliever to break the monotony of the week when we get together to laugh, cry, and create. We compare notes of thoughts and lines that we may have written down over the weekend or the week before. I love seeing that spark in Gary’s eyes when Henry or myself say a line or a phrase that really gets his attention. You’ll see him spin around in that seat from behind that mixing console and he’ll say “we got her by the short hairs now boys!!!” Translation, “this is good or we’re getting close.” Lol
What message do you hope fans take from the album’s title track?
Gary D, Henry, and myself have been in the music business for a number of years always playing someone else’s material. I’m so thankful for the day the three of us got together and decided to put this project out. A dream never chased will always remain a dream. The album title “Nothing To Lose” boils down to three guys taking a chance and telling the stories of their lives. We are truly thankful for anyone taking time out of their lives to listen to what we have to say in our music. That being said, I am eternally grateful for them and you.
You said one of your favorites on the album is “Autumn Leaves.” What makes this song so special for you?
When we released our first single “Come Dance With Me” in October of 2019 Gary, Henry, and myself honestly didn’t know what direction we were going. We were just three guys that got together and wanted to make some good music. All our lives we’ve been playing music for someone else and never taken the time to put something together that was ours. We were so happy with our first single released that we decided to do the second one titled “Autumn Leaves”. A local support we started to receive from our fans was overwhelming!! I think one of the greatest complements we ever received was with from a well respected local musician friend of ours who came to us and said “man that’s really amazing you guys are pursuing your dreams because let’s face it you’re no spring chickens.” I’ll have to say we all laughed about it because it’s true, we are some old soldiers in a young man’s game, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. We’ve worked hard all of our lives and now we’ve got something out there that we’re proud of that’s truly ours.
“I still believe in things that are real.” Songs that are the stories from the pages of our lives … What topic have you never written about but hope to one day soon?
That is a great question, I think one of the most beautiful things about the three of us waiting this late in life to start producing our music as we have so many stories still to come.
I truly do believe in things that are real. So far we’ve covered romance, joy, pain, gains and loss. With all of those being covered honestly I’d really have to dig in to see what the notebooks will reveal. I say the notebooks because we have got 30+ years of notes, lines, thoughts and ideas scribbled in such a fashion that sometimes I even have a hard time reading my own handwriting.
Farm life. Fishing trips on the boat. Putting chore lists in perspective as truly blessings. Can you share some positives from the past few months at home?
Honestly the pandemic has shed a different light in everyone’s lives. I think for the most part we have been glass half full kind of people trying to embrace the struggle and to continue to forge through. One of the biggest blessings we’ve received from 2020 is having more time to spend with the family. We have two boys at home, one a senior in high school and one in middle school. Most people don’t realize how quick the kids grow in the blink of an eye.
As Thanksgiving approaches, how can the message of your song “Better Days” help us keep a positive outlook?
Thanksgiving, a time where we all should be thankful for our blessings but let’s remember the ones less fortunate. Most of the time people don’t realize how they’ve chosen their path to wind up in the situation they’re in whether it’s good or bad. Take time to remember your brothers and sisters out there struggling. Be the one to step up and help them out. When you do something you think is small to help them, it could possibly be one of the biggest blessings in their life.
