Invincible

Every once in a little while I watch a movie from my list of favs to get inspired to do something great with my time here on earth.  In order to make my list of favs there has to be some element of overcoming adversity or going hard for a goal.
This morning on a rainy Monday in early December my internet was down so I pulled out my box of DVD's and found the Disney movie "Invincible" and watched.
There are so many things that I love about the movie.  From Vincent Papale walking onto the field of his favourite NFL team and making the team, to the relationship between the he and the coach and his father.
But something that really stood out to me this time through was the special bond between the group of friends that hang out at Max's bar and play touch football together in a local park.
Each one of those guys had something pretty major happening in their life and the really stood behind each other.
Recently I was asked to take a funeral service and I was moved by the group of guys that shared loving woods and funny stories about their dear friend who has suddenly passed away.
I couldn't help but think that day and was reminded of it again today that we really need each other in this life.  For anyone who feels alone and doesn't have a solid support structure of friends like that, you need to change that.  We can't make it in this life alone.  I don't think we were created to be that way.
So I am once again inspired.  Not to try out for a football team but to be a better friend to those in my life and to really strive for my goal to be a professional musician.

I Met With a Real Pro

Tonight I had the chance to sit down with a gal who is an absolute pro when it comes to developing a business plan and marketing your "product".  It feels very weird to talk about your music or yourself in those terms but the truth is,  as an artist, I am trying to get my songs into the hands of as many people as will listen.  Does that sound wrong?  I mean, it feels a bit wrong but why should it?
I've been thinking a bunch about music as a career and here's what has been going on in my mind.  If I were selling computers or miracle shakes or pencils, I would first of all make sure that the product I was selling was of good quality.  If it's not worth selling, nobody is going to buy it.  But if I believed in that product and believed that it could help people or save them time or whatever, I could get very excited about it and promote the stink out of it so that everyone I come in contact with could at least have the chance of owning such a product.
With my music, I am working very hard to make it the best quality that I can make it with the budget that I am working with.  I want to keep improving on that and will in time, but I believe in my songs and want lots of people to hear them.  I know that my music style or voice or CD quality won't jive with everyone who hears it, but I also know that in order to succeed in this, I need more than my family members and friends to hear it.
So anyway, this gal was super helpful and really inspired me to keep plugging away, keep focused on the main thing and putting in the time and passion.
So look out, cuz here comes a bunch of tweets, short video clilps, and facebook updates letting you know that Darin Martin Music is alive and kicking, hopefully soon in a radio near you.

In A Holding Pattern

I'm sitting in a holding patter right now and hoping that something happens soon.
A few weeks back I met with the amazing producers at Oak Studio who recorded a new single for me which I'm super stoked to release.
After the first song turned out so good, Geoff and I have decided to go back into Oak to record another 5 or 6 songs.  Now we need to come up with a bunch of money to keep going and it's just not available right now.
In the meantime, we are trying to play as much as possible and save up as much cash as we can for this project.  I am very confident that people will really like the new songs when they are released and as soon as I get the green light I will release my first single "My Let Down" produced by Gord Richard's at Oak Recording Studio.http://www.oakrecordingstudio.com/

The End of The Rude, The Beginning of Something New

On Saturday night Geoff and I met up at The Rude Native in Mississauga at 6:00pm for our last time.  Well, for now anyways.  The owners of the Rude have decided to go back to having a D.J. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays instead of live music.
At first I must confess, I was disappointed.  Besides the fact that it is nice to have a steady gig as a full time (Struggling) musician, we also looked forward to hanging out with a great staff and playing a ton of tunes together.
But not long after we received the news that our weekly gig was finished, Geoff and I realized that it actually opened up more space for us to travel around to more venues and play for more people.  We also don't have a long term goal of playing primarily cover music as our own music is really our passion.
So after a quick sulk, I started to get excited about the prospect of playing in more places for more people.
A big thank you to Brad and Chris and all of the great people that we have met during our time at the Rude Native.  It is a great little restaurant and I would still love you to go a check it out some night for a great meal in a cool atmosphere.  Hey, while you are there, say "It sure would be nice to have some live music in  here."

Every Time You Smile T's

We have some t-shirts for sale for $15.
There is a wide range of sizes or we can custom make a shirt in the colour and size you want.

Lisa Rocking in her new Every Time T.

All t-shirts are designed by Dave Fretz photography and Design and created by Students for Justice.

http://studentsforjustice.ca/sfjc/about.php

The Monday After

Friday Nov 4th 2011
This past weekend was super sweet.  On Friday at around noon I left my house and went to jam with Geoff before meeting up with some friends and heading up to the House Show in Baden.
Our drive up was perfect!  Coffee in hand, great company on the ride and a beautiful Fall evening with the sun fading slowly behind the rolling farm hills.
Our show went very well and the crowd seemed to really enjoy our music.  Especially the little lady in the front row who tapped not one but both feet to Geoff's beat for the whole set.
Beck Abbott who I had seen perform a few years ago in the GTA was brilliant and was accompanied by Ken Michelle who I had also seen play in his days with "The Dust Kickers".
After the show we headed back down tot Hamilton to crash at Geoff's for the night and we both felt like a million bucks.
Saturday Nov 5th 2011
The sun seemed to rise at around 10:00am on Saturday and I was greeted with a hot cup of coffee that Geoff had brewed for us.
I spent most of the day lazing around Geoff's before hanging out with my good friend Greg for a few hours before the show.
After my second cup of coffee with Greg it dawned on me that I had been drinking coffee all day and hadn't eaten anything.  Greg graciously hooked me up with a fine peanut butter sandwich and at 5pm I headed over to meet Geoff at the FRWY.
The night was awesome!  Lot's of great music and real sense of pride and love for the FRWY and what it does for the city of Hamilton.  Particularly the musicians and artists of Hamilton.  That place is where I had my first Hamilton gig, where I met my good friend Geoff Laforet and where we released "Every Time You Smile" so it has a special place in my heart.  It also has live music every Friday night and is a great place to hear an artist play as well as meet them.
Myles, Nate, Drew, Lindsay, Hannah, Hilary, and Hilary all came to hear us play and after watching a few other artists we headed out to Crabby Joe's for some pub crawl.
It was so good to spend some time with some dudes that have meant so much to me for the last five years.  They are a really sweet group of people and I'm so happy to have them as friends.

Sunday Nov 6, 2011
It was nice to sleep in a bit and spend a lazy afternoon with my dear friends Curtis and Tara and their new baby boy Theo.  They are truly special people and we enjoyed a walk to the park, homemade cookies and some left over halloween treats.
Off to bed at 9:45pm...
Monday Nov 7, 2011
This morning I woke up and spent the day with my daughter who is home for school sick.
We went to Long and McQuade's to get some guitar strings and are enjoying a quiet afternoon of reading and blogging.
All in all, it was a great weekend.  Geoff is an absolute treat to play music and hang out with.  We are planning to make lots more great music together and play lots of gigs.
It's the Monday after that allows me to slow down, put it all into perspective and have a real sense of thankfulness for all that I have experienced in that past few days.

Unbroken Son

A few years ago I was searching to find my musical sound so I tried a few studios until I met up with the guys from the band "The City Harmonic".  They had recently recorded their own record and I loved the big rock sound that had achieved.  So I booked some time with Aaron Powell (Guitarist of TCH) who was an old friend from the church I grew up in and we started creating a 4 song EP.
In the studio my good friend Rick Morgan laid down the bass and Ryan Donais played the drums whilst Aaron did most of the guitars and I sang.
When the project was finished I was very excited to get it into the hands of the "right people" but there were a few problems.  I was working a very busy job and "Unbroken Son" was really just Rick and I.








Eventually we pulled together a band and played a few shows but "UBS" never really took off and the recordings faded into the abyss on itunes under a name that nobody would recognize.
Still being pretty proud of the songs, I started thinking, why don't I pull those out again and see if we can put a little life back into them.
So, when I released my new EP "Every Time You Smile" in September I was able to pull up my "Carry Me Away" EP which is on itunes and CD baby under the name "Unbroken Son" and am now starting to promote those songs again on Facebook and my CBC Radio 3 profile.
Sometimes projects need a little extra time and space to develop into something new and fresh.