By Tracy Dietlin
Famous for his hit song “We Ride” Martin is just getting started after 30 years of singing and 26 years of writing songs. My interview with him was more like catching up with an old friend than interviewing someone for the first time. His humility and gratitude really came through during our conversation.
CVW: Aside from your hit song “We Ride,” I found some other songs that I really like such as the new track “What About Me,” and previously “Wolves Cry” and they both have a real grungey bayou sound. Does that come from your Louisiana roots?
Martin: “Awe yes Ma’am. I can’t hide them.” (Laughing)
CVW: You write your own songs with the occasional collaboration. What is your writing process? Do you do the lyrics first?
Martin: “I really just… It’s always been like “We Ride” it was almost like a freestyle it came out in about 5 minutes. I think the longest it’s ever taken me to write a song has been an hour, maybe an hour and a half. But most of them take like 10-30 minutes. They just come out the way they are, the lyrics, melody, all of it. It’s always been a blessing for me. It’s been a long time. I started writing poetry when I was young, about 11 years old. Then I learned how to play guitar and that turned into melody and rhyme when I was in my mid 20s. I lost all that when I came to town. I wrote nearly 3000 songs and then I lost it all. I was working the oil fields in West Texas, so I was writing about my experiences there and missing my family. I always felt like I could never walk out of a room without finding the right words to say without it turning into an argument. So now I feel like I can put it all into words and most of the time it goes over people’s heads that I’m trying to talk to.”
CVW: And the song “Aint my Old Man. Did you write that about your Dad?
Martin: “Yes, I did. Yea he’s a hardheaded guy but I love him to death.”
CVW: So when did you first start performing?
Martin: “My Mom would drag me around to festivals because she was a singer so that’s when I started singing. I did that for a while then I started riding bulls and working on a farm. Then I found a new love for my music when I came back from the military. I got discharged and I felt like such a failure I had never quit a job and never failed at anything. So I took a bunch of pills and misfired the gun and my suicide note turned into my first song.
It’s about a story of resilience and overcoming your circumstances and trying to relay that in a way people who have been where I’ve been or are going through it can get up and keep going.”
CVW: That’s amazing how you turned it around. Who were your influences growing up?
Martin: “Well Merle Haggard, Townes van Zandt, and Waylon of course. I always looked up to old school writers like Kristofferson and their authentic selves. You know there’s no way these guys are sugar-coating anything. They’re going to tell you how it is.”
CVW: Who do you most admire currently in Country?
Martin: “I would say Cody Jinks is a good friend of mine and I wrote a few songs with him including his new single “Snake Bit”. I’ve always been drawn to people that are keeping it real and straight forward and not just wavering to what the machine wants.”
CVW: Who would you like to do a duet with?
Martin: Well maybe Ashley McBride or somebody like her. Maybe Kasey Musgraves.”
CVW: You have released 4 albums now. You have a new album getting ready to drop as well. Tell us about that one.
Martin: “Yes Ma’am. It’s called “Years in the Making”. It’s just a testament to my life. How I came up struggling and turned it into what it is now. A lot of people hear “We Ride” and think it was an overnight success, but it’s been a very long journey. So, I feel like I’ve been singing for 30 years growing up in the music business and I’m 37 now. The stories that come along with thar are often hard to relive every night on stage when I sing these songs.
But it taught me a new toughness that I never knew I had inside me and being able to be vulnerable and to be able to hear other people’s stories every night. It makes me realize I need them more than they need me…you know? I need the fans and that just keeps me digging deeper so I can help other people to do that too.”
CVW: Do you have a new single off the new album?
Martin: We had “Going For Broke” and we had “Wishbone” and “Aint My Old Man” and now “What About Me” is the new leading single. You’ve got to check it out as it’s a little different. It showcases me more as a songwriter.”
CVW: What is your favorite song you’ve written and to perform?
Martin: “I’d say my favorite song I’ve written is “Addiction” off one of my old albums. You know it reminds me of what I’m doing, what I’m up against. What are the odds that someone like me could break through and see the success I’ve seen.
It’s crazy because there were times that I thought it was impossible, but I kept getting back up. It’s not about how many times you fall but how many times you get back up.”
CVW: That’s a real testament to you because a lot of people are going through similar things, and they need to hear your stories to let them know that they’re not alone and they can get back up to.
Martin: “Yes Ma’am. If I can do it anyone can.” (laughing)
CVW: So, after releasing these albums, having the major hit song and video for “We Ride”, what are the next career goals you have set for yourself?
Martin: “I mean I’ve been blessed beyond measure as it is. So, it’s hard to one up myself when I never thought I’d be here as it is. I feel like God’s got a bigger plan.
CVW: What does Stagecoach mean to you? Have you ever been as a non-performer in the past?
Martin: “I never thought in a million years I’d be performing there. This is amazing and I mean in the middle of the bill. We’re coming in hot.”
CVW: Have you ever done any other festivals?
Martin: I’ve done a few other festivals but not of this magnitude. I just want to thank Kevin and the team for getting me on this lineup and out on the Wallen tour last year. And to think I’m on the same lineup with the biggest stars in country music.”
CVW: Well, you are one of those names now. People just love you and what you have to say resonates with them.
CVW: Do you still live in Louisiana?
Martin: No. I got a house in Tennessee, but my ex-wife and kids are still in Louisiana, and I get to see them when I can. I thought I worked a lot when I was swinging a hammer working on a drilling rig for 15 years, but right now I think I slept 8 days in a bed last year. But I’m very blessed and thankful. But we were all in a single wide trailer not long ago, so I just keep rocking and rolling and the last 3 years we’ve done what they say takes 15 years so we’re going to just keep pushing the envelope further.”
CVW: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
Martin: “Well I got my first movie cameo. There’s still not a lot of information about it. If you get a chance to check out the video for “What About Me” it’s about my life story. It was written and directed by the great Rosalind Ross. She directed Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson in the movie Father Stu a couple years ago. She’s a big fan and a good friend and she reached out and wants me to be a part of this movie she’s doing about the Angola prison rodeo. We don’t have any details about when it’s coming out.
But she heard the song “What About Me” and my story and this video is the first time I’ve let it tell my story and it not just be me riding in a car singing. If you get a chance, go check her out and be looking for my lovely mug on a TV screen somewhere in the future. And thank you so much for this and I love ya’ll. Be good.”
