sa130997
Jan 18th, 2004, 11:34 AM
MARATHON | THE AARON CARTER SAGA
Singer's upbeat amid discord
Bubble-gum pop star Aaron Carter churns out songs and deflects strife at his family's home in the Florida Keys.
By SARA OLKON
solkon@herald.com
http://www.miami.com/images/miami/miamiherald/7737/59863581944.jpg
MUSIC PARTNERS: Aaron Carter, 16, with dad Bob Carter in their home in Marathon. TIM CHAPMAN/HERALD STAFF
MARATHON - Just east of U.S. 1 lies a 13-acre compound that doubles as a factory for the care and feeding of teen heartthrobs.
It's here that preteen-magnet Aaron Carter channels his muse. It's also the Florida Keys home of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, Aaron's famous older brother.
The property was the focus of notoriety last week after dad Robert Carter's estranged wife Jane -- the woman who wrote two tell-alls about her famous sons -- was charged with attacking her husband's girlfriend.
Monroe County deputies said Jane Carter, 44, broke into the house on Tuesday and dragged Ginger Elrod, 29, out of bed by the hair.
Aaron, who turned 16 last month, stopped the fight by pinning his mother to the bed and calling deputies. A few hours later, he bailed his mother out of jail. Elrod isn't pressing charges.
Despite the celebrity scandal, the young crooner with peach fuzz remains upbeat.
On Saturday, he walked from the cottage he shares with his father and his twin sister Angel while a Weimaraner, a Shih Tzu and a limping English bulldog played on the oceanfront property's imported white sand. The compound is landscaped with silver buttonwood trees and coconut palms.
''Wanna see something?'' he asks a visitor, and rides by golf cart to an air-conditioned dog fort to show nine unweaned puppies, born of the family's male wolf and female Doberman.
The streaks of puppy poop don't faze Aaron, who said his father once trained canines in the military, before Robert and Jane Carter operated a retirement facility in Tampa.
That was before the couple discovered Nick's talent.
On the cusp of 13, Nick Carter, now 23, auditioned and won a spot in the Backstreet Boys, launched by Orlando teen impresario Lou Pearlman.
Now, the other siblings sing, too, except 22-year-old Bobbie. Leslie, 17, Angel, and Aaron -- who has won success -- want to get out from beneath Nick's daunting shadow. Still, the brothers remain close.
It was in his family's recording studio in Marathon that Aaron recorded his hit, Do You Remember. Yellow steno pads are carelessly strewn here and there, filled with future song lyrics ('You're my hope, You're my prayer, You're my anger when I'm fallin' down.'')
''Puberty hasn't affected me too badly,'' he said, playing a track from Aaron's Most Requested.
Inside his bedroom, stardom isn't so apparent, but it's not the suburbs, either: Few teenagers have a 60-inch television screen in their rooms, let alone a mini-fridge, a popcorn maker and chocolate-colored carpets on all the walls.
He often sleeps until noon. Robert Carter said musicians often jam at night when they are most creative.
Aaron has been home-schooled. He plans to study marine biology and get a college degree in a few years. He tried being a regular student in the fifth grade. He lasted two weeks. The girls swooned; the boys tried to beat him up.
Both Aaron and Nick are friends of Michael Jackson. Last month they attended a party at Jackson's Neverland Ranch to show their support for the pop singer.
Certainly, Aaron understands strife.
In August, Monroe County deputies arrested Robert Carter after Jane said he shoved her while she moved some items out of their Marathon home -- an allegation he denied. The charge was later dismissed.
The items they were fighting over? Photos of Aaron.
Jane and Robert Carter are still jointly managing their youngest son's singing career, although they separated as a couple last March.
More recently, Eliot Weisman, a Coral Springs entertainment manager, filed suit in Broward County Court, alleging, among other things, libel and breach of contract by Robert Carter.
''I don't really care about all the money,'' Aaron shrugged. ``I just want to be famous.''
As for his relationship with Jane Carter, Aaron says he just wants his mom to concentrate on managing his career instead of interfering with his father's new life.
Jane Carter did not return calls from The Herald for comment.
''She was a good mom growing up, but the money, fame and glory started attacking her,'' Aaron explained, standing barefoot in surfer shorts and a T-shirt.
Last month, he accused Jane of nabbing more than $100,000 from his bank account without permission. They resolved that dispute last week.
But Aaron said his mother is now talking about writing another tell-all about him.
Like most 16-year-olds, he finds dating complicated. He recently made news after teen actresses Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan were seen fighting for his attention.
''Lindsay wouldn't let me break up with her,'' Aaron said Saturday.
He isn't dating either one anymore. ''The girls always take it so seriously -- like we are getting married,'' he said. ``I'm just playing.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/7738784.htm
Singer's upbeat amid discord
Bubble-gum pop star Aaron Carter churns out songs and deflects strife at his family's home in the Florida Keys.
By SARA OLKON
solkon@herald.com
http://www.miami.com/images/miami/miamiherald/7737/59863581944.jpg
MUSIC PARTNERS: Aaron Carter, 16, with dad Bob Carter in their home in Marathon. TIM CHAPMAN/HERALD STAFF
MARATHON - Just east of U.S. 1 lies a 13-acre compound that doubles as a factory for the care and feeding of teen heartthrobs.
It's here that preteen-magnet Aaron Carter channels his muse. It's also the Florida Keys home of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, Aaron's famous older brother.
The property was the focus of notoriety last week after dad Robert Carter's estranged wife Jane -- the woman who wrote two tell-alls about her famous sons -- was charged with attacking her husband's girlfriend.
Monroe County deputies said Jane Carter, 44, broke into the house on Tuesday and dragged Ginger Elrod, 29, out of bed by the hair.
Aaron, who turned 16 last month, stopped the fight by pinning his mother to the bed and calling deputies. A few hours later, he bailed his mother out of jail. Elrod isn't pressing charges.
Despite the celebrity scandal, the young crooner with peach fuzz remains upbeat.
On Saturday, he walked from the cottage he shares with his father and his twin sister Angel while a Weimaraner, a Shih Tzu and a limping English bulldog played on the oceanfront property's imported white sand. The compound is landscaped with silver buttonwood trees and coconut palms.
''Wanna see something?'' he asks a visitor, and rides by golf cart to an air-conditioned dog fort to show nine unweaned puppies, born of the family's male wolf and female Doberman.
The streaks of puppy poop don't faze Aaron, who said his father once trained canines in the military, before Robert and Jane Carter operated a retirement facility in Tampa.
That was before the couple discovered Nick's talent.
On the cusp of 13, Nick Carter, now 23, auditioned and won a spot in the Backstreet Boys, launched by Orlando teen impresario Lou Pearlman.
Now, the other siblings sing, too, except 22-year-old Bobbie. Leslie, 17, Angel, and Aaron -- who has won success -- want to get out from beneath Nick's daunting shadow. Still, the brothers remain close.
It was in his family's recording studio in Marathon that Aaron recorded his hit, Do You Remember. Yellow steno pads are carelessly strewn here and there, filled with future song lyrics ('You're my hope, You're my prayer, You're my anger when I'm fallin' down.'')
''Puberty hasn't affected me too badly,'' he said, playing a track from Aaron's Most Requested.
Inside his bedroom, stardom isn't so apparent, but it's not the suburbs, either: Few teenagers have a 60-inch television screen in their rooms, let alone a mini-fridge, a popcorn maker and chocolate-colored carpets on all the walls.
He often sleeps until noon. Robert Carter said musicians often jam at night when they are most creative.
Aaron has been home-schooled. He plans to study marine biology and get a college degree in a few years. He tried being a regular student in the fifth grade. He lasted two weeks. The girls swooned; the boys tried to beat him up.
Both Aaron and Nick are friends of Michael Jackson. Last month they attended a party at Jackson's Neverland Ranch to show their support for the pop singer.
Certainly, Aaron understands strife.
In August, Monroe County deputies arrested Robert Carter after Jane said he shoved her while she moved some items out of their Marathon home -- an allegation he denied. The charge was later dismissed.
The items they were fighting over? Photos of Aaron.
Jane and Robert Carter are still jointly managing their youngest son's singing career, although they separated as a couple last March.
More recently, Eliot Weisman, a Coral Springs entertainment manager, filed suit in Broward County Court, alleging, among other things, libel and breach of contract by Robert Carter.
''I don't really care about all the money,'' Aaron shrugged. ``I just want to be famous.''
As for his relationship with Jane Carter, Aaron says he just wants his mom to concentrate on managing his career instead of interfering with his father's new life.
Jane Carter did not return calls from The Herald for comment.
''She was a good mom growing up, but the money, fame and glory started attacking her,'' Aaron explained, standing barefoot in surfer shorts and a T-shirt.
Last month, he accused Jane of nabbing more than $100,000 from his bank account without permission. They resolved that dispute last week.
But Aaron said his mother is now talking about writing another tell-all about him.
Like most 16-year-olds, he finds dating complicated. He recently made news after teen actresses Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan were seen fighting for his attention.
''Lindsay wouldn't let me break up with her,'' Aaron said Saturday.
He isn't dating either one anymore. ''The girls always take it so seriously -- like we are getting married,'' he said. ``I'm just playing.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/7738784.htm