CHARLOTTE MARTIN
This page contains a number of the official biographies issued relating to Charlotte and her music. Dates will be added where available.
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For Charlotte Martin, the most important thing is making a connection.
"Every single part of me is a piece of somebody else," says the piano-playing chanteuse. From connecting her life's tales with her powerful lyrics, to her fans that see themselves in her songs, Martin is an extraordinary kind of songwriter that builds close ties with anyone who hears her music.
Evoking influences as diverse as Kate Bush, PJ Harvey, Sarah McLachlan, Fiona Apple, early Tori Amos and Joni Mitchell – but still very much her own musician – Martin's music is a telling snapshot of her life.
A not-so-closet Goth with bleach-blonde hair, Martin has a knack for crafting emotionally-complex songs that continually flirt with pop structures. While her beautiful voice and piano-playing prowess offer an entrée into her music, it's Martin's uncompromising lyrics that keep you coming back.
Martin grew up in a small college town and dedicated most of her time to studying opera. She took piano lessons and eventually went to Eastern Illinois University, where her father is a music professor. That's when it all changed.
Martin moved in with a very-Goth roomie Raven (they're still best friends today) and went through several life-changing experiences. Beyond the normal college-age drama and relationship trials, Martin had two friends commit suicide in the same year. One was her then boyfriend's sister, who was also her best friend. The first song Martin wrote was for her funeral.
"I didn't really live until I got to college," she says. "I had all of this stuff happen and found out that I had a lot to express."
Martin continued expressing herself and moved to Los Angeles to begin her career. However, it didn't go as planned. "I thought that I'd just move to LA, get signed and that would be it," she says. Martin did get a deal and recorded an album, ONE GIRL ARMY, with producer Tom Rothrock (Beck, Foo Fighters) for Bong Load/RCA. Showcasing Martin's talents for tackling big issues without hesitation, ONE GIRL ARMY touched on the personal topics of anorexia ("Something Like a Hero"), stalking from the stalker's perspective ("I'm Normal, Please Date Me") and risqué examinations of the battle of the sexes ("Take It Like a Man"). Sadly, it never came out. "I was naive when I first got signed and felt like I needed a lot of people to help me. But now I know that I can just make music and put it out on my own. If you want to help, great. If you don't, great. The people will decide. You've got to take control and do it yourself."
Now she stands stronger than ever before - both artistically and professionally.
"I have my own studio and have learned how to become my own producer," she says. Martin’s most recent tracks were overseen by a combination of producers, but many of the songs were produced by Martin.
"Producing my own music changes the way I approach songwriting. I can do more and go other places," says Martin who has expanded her sound with drum machines and more keyboards.
Time has also allowed her to fine-tune her delivery. "My writing has become more direct. The structure of my songs is way different from ONE GIRL ARMY, which was very artistic and very quirky," she says. "Now I'm learning how to get right to the point with my songs."
Martin's openness comes through in other ways than just her recorded music. A comic book junkie, Martin and friends have developed their own online comic for her website, titled "766 6th Street," after where she lived in college. It gives viewers a glimpse into her room - literally - and what's going on in her head.
"It's that whole thing where if you make fun of yourself, nobody can make fun of you," says Martin, who always keeps a bright sense of humor. "That's why the comic exists. It's just an opportunity to make fun of myself in the most awesome way."
During her live shows, Martin also gives all. She attacks the keyboard, allowing her charismatic personality to take over the room with the same intensity as the topics she's covering. Martin uses her shows to further connect with her fans, keeping the evening conversational and often baring gifts for the audience. It's no wonder her shows have grown to become constant sellouts.
"I give away presents at my shows because I want people to keep coming back," she jokes. "I don't know why, I just feel the need to give people presents. I think sometimes I freak out on my own fans."
Martin recently sang the song "Bring On the Day" for the SWEET HOME ALABAMA soundtrack and is working on her full-length debut. Until its release, Martin will continue connecting with her fans - through her website, her live shows and her open personality, but mainly through her music. They're sure to follow.
"Some artists have changed my life. In the humblest way, I really hope I can do that for somebody some day," Martin says. "I want to give my fans something special."
There's a one-girl invasion coming.
Count Charlotte Martin's piano-driven songs among recent work from the likes of Coldplay, Ryan Adams and PJ Harvey as a set of passionate, emotionally open songs that don't skimp on the hooks. Her work comfortably balances both artistic
credibility and commercial appeal.
Martin's approach encompasses the orchestrated ruminations of Kate Bush, the
poetic storytelling of Joni Mitchell and Billy Joel, plus the fiery piano playing and alternately dark and humorous lyrical take of Ben Folds.
What sets Martin apart from her peers is the candor in her songs and her
willingness to not take herself too seriously. Her songs brim with her
personal passions, without self-indulgence, perhaps due to her small-town
upbringing. Martin grew up in a small college town in Illinois, fairly prim
and proper. Singing since she was four, Martin started voice and piano
lessons three years later. Martin attended her hometown school, Eastern
Illinois University where her father is a music professor, earning her
Bachelor's Degree in opera. Yes, opera.
"I love singing opera… I don't like listening to it," she says. "I thought I
was going to be a professional opera singer until I started writing songs."
Her career goals changed after a series of life-altering experiences. "I did
a lot in one year," she says, understating it. "I met this guy, with whom I
had sex for the first time-and boy was that a disaster. His sister, who was
one of my best friends, committed suicide. I think life just decided, 'Okay,
I'm going to kick the shit out of you so you have something to say.' I wrote
my first song for her funeral."
Despite the dark roots of Martin's artistic career, the blond-haired singer
has found a balance among emotions. Sure, she has a fascination with gothic
comics such as Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and Lenore and wrote her own
semi-autobiographical comic, titled 766 6th Street, but she's not dark or
miserable: "My sense of humor is edgy and off-beat, that's what I love about
the comics, not necessarily the moroseness. I mean, I don't dress all in
black."
Her quirks and contradictions are out in the open. She's a former anorexic
who now relishes eating steak and peanut butter M&Ms and has little patience
for the waifs in her adopted home of Los Angeles. ("It's the most horrible,
pathetic, selfish disease in the world.") Among her more interesting
idiosyncrasies are a fascination with drag queens and a love of Andrew Lloyd
Webber. Also worth noting are her two pet turtles, one of which is named for
The Cure's Robert Smith.
Live, her gregarious personality and willingness to share whatever is on her
mind make for an engrossing concert experience-even when she's just
introducing the next song. When the music starts, Martin plays full-contact
piano, perhaps forgetting that she's seated, by throwing her legs and body
around, twisting sideways, and filling up more of the stage than her tiny
frame seems capable of.
In order to capture the energy of her performances, Charlotte has worked with producer Tom Rothrock (Beck, Foo Fighters, Gwen Stefani/Moby, Badly Drawn Boy) recording most of the songs with Martin on piano and vocals, bassist Sasha Krivtsov (New Radicals) and R.E.M./Beck drummer Joey Waronker playing live for 40 headphone-wearing guests in a studio. The unconventional approach worked, with the trio punctuating the coda of "Silver Honey" with a sense of jam and improvisation, giving off the tightness of a group performing within eyesight of each other, while keeping the looseness of a concert. And still, her work is fully realized, with studio touches adding fire to Martin's intense melodies. Put on headphones and you can hear her feet working the pedals of her piano at the opening of "In Parentheses" or the left-field new wave feel of "The Girl I Left Behind". No less a songwriting authority than Richard Thompson sings backup on “One Girl Army” his baritone swooping in like an evil conspirator.
Martin's shows her straightforward manner of reacting to and processing her experiences. "I can't sit down and just write; I need to live first," she says. Whether delivering a lighthearted song about stalking-from the stalker's (read: Martin's) perspective-"I'm Normal, Please Date Me," or the note to a friend, "Raven," her living comes through her confessional, conspiratorial style of singing. Listeners will see themselves somewhere in her songs, meaning the ‘One Girl Army’ will have plenty of recruits.