Michael James Martin
Monterey, California, United States
Music
Press
Two acts stand out as fair openers
Marc Cabrera The Beat
Article Last Updated: 08/10/2008 01:50:26 AM PDT
And then there were 10.
My second week at the Central Coast Talent Search, playing judge and jury in the quest to find opening acts for Jessica Simpson and Randy Travis during the Monterey County Fair, was considerably (and thankfully) pared down compared to Week 1. Ten acts (versus 67 the first week) vied for two spots. Five were trying to gig for Simpson, and five for Travis.
Sitting on the judges' panel in the dark recesses of the Fox Theater in Salinas, it was hard to gauge the anticipation level among the artists sitting backstage. Event host Anthony Lane, co-owner of the Fox Theater, relayed that the artists were amiable and supportive, generously loaning guitars when malfunctions like broken strings occurred.
From the judge's panel, we felt a little more comfortable with our role. We knew opportunities like this rarely occur for local talent. By no means was it "American Idol," but the chance to open up for big name acts like Simpson and Travis are a wedge into the big time, no matter how slight. You just never know who's out in the audience.
The first round of acts vied for Simpson's spot. All five acts were female, late teens to early 20s. Three used backing tracks, two played guitar. One, Xolie Morra, blew them all out of the water.
With respect to the other talent, Morra's win was unanimous. A native of Campbell, the 23-year-old indie rocker separated herself from the rest with stage swagger for days. While her backup was a bit delayed in its setup, Morra nonchalntly banged out some riffs on her guitar and instantly got the crowd on board.
She also showed a touch of class by inviting the country/bluegrass trio 2 Bad 3 on board to back up. Any of the three men could have been her father, but Morra held her own and commanded the stage in their presence.
The straight-ahead country portion of the competition came second. The judging here was more challenging, as any of the five acts could have held their own setting up for Travis.
Like the competition for Simpson's opening spot, one act brought out the big guns.
Michael James Martin was a lean, mean, country machine. Cutting a figure somewhere between Toby Keith and one of Jesus' disciples, Martin's towering presence, rugged features and country soul made him the immediate favorite.
The tunes Martin and the boys kicked out banged between standard country western and bar room blues. Everyone in the audience could feel it. I'm far from a cowboy, but my toes tapped in time with the swing.
The crowd was buzzing with anticipation at the end of the final set, and I made one final plea to the audience before we deliberated.
"There's 10 acts, but we can only choose two, so to all the family and friends of those acts that don't get chosen, please be kind and let us get to our cars safely," I said. "And if you are thinking of hitting me up in the parking lot, just remember, I'm packing."
We met backstage and compared notes, tallied the votes, and came to the obvious conclusion. Martin and Morra were the clear winners, and everyone knew it.
Which is by no means a slight on any of the acts who came out for the competition. It takes guts and drive to enter a talent competition. I respect anyone who has the verve to perform in front of a judging panel.
The best part is that two local acts will get to open up for some big name performers and, who knows, maybe the right person will be there at the right time to help them fulfill their dreams.
And if that happens, I'll be able to say I helped discover them before they were famous.
To read more of Marc Cabrera's thoughts, visit his blog "The Beat" at www.montereyherald.com. E-mail comments and suggestions to mcabrera@montereyherald.com.
- Salinas Californian Newspaper
Discography
I have one CD. It is Called Just Lookin'.
You can find it at www.cdbaby.com/cd/michaeljames martin
You may also go to:
www.myspace.com/michaeljamesmartinmusic
or
www.youtube.com/user/ghostdrifter1333
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Bio
I started playing guitar when I was 12 years old, and took guitar lessons from Charlie Robinson, a local guitar phenomenon in Oroville, California, my home town. Within 3 months, I was playing in the Charlie Robinson Band, a group comprised of Charlie’s best guitar students. There were 6 guitar players, and we all had to read music, and play the parts assigned to us by Charlie. We played songs such as Night Train, and Green Onions, and did several gigs for local businesses, men’s and women’s clubs, and parties. I had to leave the group because my father attended the University of Notre Dame, in South Bend Indiana, and our family moved there for a year.
When I returned to Oroville, I was entering 9th grade (High School) and immediately contacted some of the members of the Charlie Robinson Band. I hooked up with one of the guitar players named Cash Colby, and his friend, Andy Byer, who was a Drummer. We started a band, my first. We had no bass player, but knew a guy named Barney Brasitas, who played trumpet. We did not need a trumpet so I taught him to play Bass. We were together for about a year, and played a couple of high school dances. I left the band when I was a sophomore to pursue sports.
I did not start playing music again until I was a freshman in college. I attended Butte Community College in Butte County, California. I hooked up with Jim Townshend, a guitar player, and Pat Holmes, a bass player. We went through a couple of drummers and finally found Jim Barns. Jim was still in high school. We started playing high school dances, and whatever local bar would allow under age band members to play in their club. Soon, we added a female singer, Ann, and a sax player, David Dick. The band was called “Magpie”, like the bird, and we won the battle of the bands in Sacramento, California, against 30 other bands from northern California. This is where I first started writing my own songs. I left this band to pursue my college degree.
I did not start playing music again until 1993, when I decided to start singing again. I started a band called “Michael James Martin & the Range Riders”. The initial lineup changed several times until I met a man named Jack Lupertino. Jack took a great interest in my music and helped me find a bass player, Randy Tupper, a lead guitar player, David Scott, and a great drummer, Eric Gunn. This band won the San Francisco Bay Area “Country Band of the Year” in 1994. Over the next couple of years, we played almost every venue imaginable from Sacramento to Santa Barbara. The band lineup changed in 1995. A new drummer, Marty Carpenter, and Guitar Player, Jim Lewin, were added to replace Eric and David. In 1997, Artemus Gordon replaced Randy Tupper on Bass and Tom Ayars replace Jim Lewin on guitar. The last gig this band played was the Hollister Motorcycle Rally, opening for Eddie Money, at the Weekend at the Ranch party.
Due to problems with the IRS, over my music being a quote “hobby” and not being a bona fide profession, as well as marital problems with my current wife, over the inevitable relationship problems associated with me playing in bars and nightclubs 4 to 5 nights a week, I quit playing music in mid 1998. I decided to pursue my engineering career, and let music drop from my life.
In August of 2008, a friend of mine, Anthony Lane was hosting a talent contest, for David Drew Productions, at his newly renovated Fox Theater, in downtown Salinas, California. I had been both the Engineer and Building Contractor responsible for the renovation of the Fox, and developed a friendship with Anthony through that experience. Actually, I had met Anthony earlier (1995 to 1998) when I played at his night club, The Planet Gemini, in Monterey. However, at that time we never became friends. Anyway back to the story. The contest was called the “Central Coast Talent Search”, and was kind of like the reality TV show, American Idle. The main difference was: this contest allowed older guys like me to compete. Actually, the contest had no age restrictions, and there was even a children’s group competing. The winner was awarded the chance to be the opening act for Randy Travis at the Monterey County Fair to be held August 16. There was a panel of 5 judges, including Karen Bonds from HANK 95.5 FM, David Drew, of David Drew Productions, a guy from the local newspaper Salinas Californian, a guy from the local TV station KION Fox 35, and someone else who I do not recall, who would pick a winner. Long story short, I decided to enter.
In the first round of competition took place at the Fox on a Sunday afternoon. There were about 65 competitors, I simply got up on the stage and sang solo with my old guitar. Seriously, I had not picked up the guitar for about 8 years. Somehow, I managed to get selected in the top 5 to compete for the top slot the next weekend. However, now I needed a backing band. Well, I called several musicians and finally got my old
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