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Multi-instrumentalist
from Asbury Park, New Jersey, who earned his nickname when police mistook his
loud drumming for gunshots. Friends
were quick to attach the moniker to him.
Early in his
career, he did a tour of the American south with Carla and Rufus
Thomas. In 1971, he became fast
friends with David Sancious and they started their
own band, Cinnamon.
When David Sancious and Garry Tallent
were gobbled up by Bruce Springsteen for his debut album, Ernest relocated
to Atlanta and went on the road with Little Royal and the Swing Masters.
The Boss fired
Vini “Mad Dog” Lopez in 1974 and David
Sancious suggested Ernest take his place. Ernest was brought on board in time
to go on tour with the band in support of their second album, The Wild, The Innocent, and The E Street
Shuffle. He also appeared
on their third album, Born to Run,
and played drums on the title track.
His last performance with the E Street Band was on 14th August
1974 at Red Bank, New Jersey’s Carlton Theater.
Ernest and
David had other ideas about the musical direction they wanted to go in,
namely jazz fusion. Along with
bassist Gerald Carboy, they formed their own group, simply entitled Tone. In 1975, they released their first
album, Forest of Feelings. They followed this up with Transformation: Speed of Love in 1976. It would have been succeeded by an
album called Dance of the Age of
Enlightenment, but complications between Arista
and Epic delayed its release by almost three decades. Eventually, and at long last, it was
issued in CD form in 2004. A
fourth album, True Stories, was
released punctually in 1978 but the band split.
Ernest went on
tour with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and they even made an appearance
on the German television program, Rockpalast.
Other artists and groups he worked with included Steve Forbert, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, and
Billy Squier. In 1980, Ernest appeared on Billy’s
Tale of the Tape and the
compilation, The Sounds of Asbury
Park. He hooked up with
Billy Hector & The Fairlanes and performed on
their 1986 album, Hit the Road. Afterwards, he did just that, moving
to San Francisco, California. Artists
he worked with in the bay area included Clarence Clemons, John Lee Hooker,
Harvey Mandel, and Pete Sears.
He went on to
join The Lord Gunner Group, a power-pop rock band led by Ricky DeSarno and Lance Larson.
At the turn of
the millennium, Ernest released his most ambitious project to date, a truly
solo album entitled Temple of Boom,
for which he wrote all the songs and played all the instruments.
Other CDs on
which he appears include Pete Sears’ Long Haul, The Essential
Bruce Springsteen, and Howard
Tate: Live.
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Carter_%28drummer%29
- http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ernest
- http://www.jcflyer.com/jcband_boomc.html
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