Batttttty
goes around the track with
Jeff
Martin |
JEFF MARTIN is a fella who is no stranger to danger.
Not only is he a champion bike-racer, as you can see from the
photo on the right.... but he was also in the line of fire at
Manchester, and after that he went on to work yet again with both
Michael Schenker AND Pete Way.
Is he quite maaaaaaad? Well, yeh, he is! No wonder we got on so
well!
OK,
Jeff.... you're in the driving seat..... let's go! |
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Most
people who'll read about you on our SITN site will know of you
from the Covenant tour with UFO, and your stint with MSG for the
Be Aware Of Scorpions album, and also the Plot cd with Pete Way
and Michael Schenker. I'll come back to those in a bit, but...
first of all... your work with Racer
X is well-documented on your website, but tell us a bit more
about your time with Badlands and the other projects you've done
with Paul Gilbert. And about other work that leads us up to the
present day.....
Badlands was a great band for me as a drummer. They pulled from
some bands in the 70s that I came from so it was like an old pair
of shoes - (?) I mean they fitted
well! I also did a number of Blues Rock albums on an offshoot
of the Shrapnel label dedicated to that type of music. Three albums
with Blindside blues band, one with Craig Erickson, a tribute
to Cream with a host of great Players, a Black Symphony album
that I toured in Europe with, Dio and a number of Paul Gilbert
solo albums and tours that were alot of fun............ Sounds
like you kept busy! |
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For anyone who doesn't know your work, which album would you
suggest they buy (ok, they should buy all of them, I knowwwwww),
but which one gives the best showcase of what you do? (I think
I read that the Racer X album 'Superheroes' was recorded at
The 'Batgirl' Studios. Blimey! Seems I have a studio named after
me??? Wow!) As
far as drumming goes the Badlands "Dusk" album is
cool for the fact that it is all one takes with no click track,
and it, by that fact is a very real thing to me, there are other
tracks on albums that I may like better, but that as a whole
is kinda nice. As far as vocals go "Superheros" is
pretty scary. Paul just got back from Japan and said he went
to a Karaoke place and they had the title track in their song
list. Sounds like a tune you would bring your pet dolphin down
on Open Mic night....... Hahahaha.
OK, now... singing AND drums. Not always an obvious combination
(Karen Carpenter and Phil Collins, of course, but not toooooo
many others). How so? You
would be surprised how many singers are drummers ... Steven
Tyler for one, the drummer in Rare Earth, Don Brewer from Grand
Funk. I am working on a solo project now so we'll see how it
works out.
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Who
are the drummers you admire most? Who influenced you when you
first started out? .......Ringo Starr of
course made me wanna play the drums, but drummers like Mitch Mitchell
from Hendrix, Don Brewer from Grand Funk, Ginger Baker from Cream,
Ian Paice from Deep Purple and most of all John Bonham made me
wanna play good. |
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One of your previous bands was Surgical Steel - I've seen some
great photos from those days. Which was more scary .... worrying
about keeling over from the weight of the chains and studs,
or worrying about your hair spontaneously combusting. Did it
ever? I
did build most of my stage wear at the ACE hardware store, and
thank god my mom was a hair stylist... She got us discounted
hair spray by the gallon, and that's no shit. Hahahaha. It was
a good time to be a lead singer in Phoenix Az. At that time
in the 80s I remember a story in the Phoenix newspaper stating
that the Girl to Guy ratio was 10 to 1.....I'm still recovering.
Tell us about working with Rob Halford. Did Surgical Steel benefit
or suffer from being linked with Rob? It
was a blast having Rob as a bud back then. I remember the first
gig I had with the SS, it was the first time singing out from
behind my drum set and I was shitting myself for that fact,
and for the fact that the guy who made want to sing was watching.
He would come up and do Priest tunes every now and then and
we would have a great time. Clubs were always packed, glasses
were always full, it was a great time to be a clone Priest lead
singer in Phoenix. There were always some grumblings of me being
gay because we hung out, I would just have my wife slap them
across the puss, and if that did not work I would take over.
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OK,
now... fassssstttttttt-forward to November 2000...
The Covenant tour seemed so promising when it started out.....
European gigs went relatively well, and even the Newcastle show
got very good reviews ... sitting behind that drum-kit onstage
at Manchester will have given you a viewpoint that no-one else
experienced. How did you feel as things progressed? Could you
believe what was happening? Tell us how it was for YOU. We've
never got the perspective on it from someone who was in the band
and could see it all, without being part of the actual fray. You're
a key witness, darlin - give it all!
That was a fucking weird night to be shure. It was kind of heart-breaking
to me most of all because ticket prices are not cheap, money is
hard fought to be made by the fans and the look in the fans' eyes
of discontent and horror made me sick. Grievances were aired in
a strange way to me but it's how they do things I guess. I don't
want to go into any details about it, what's past is past. I only
know things are on the up and up now. I apologize for the happenings,
I was there to rock you and that what I tried to keep doing.
Well Jeff, I certainly don't think you need to blame yourself
in ANY way, not at all. I think it was quite clear on the night
what was happening, even though seeing it happen didn't make it
any easier to actually believe it was happening.
Click
on the photo for a picture of the full kit |
OK, time moves on a while....... and even the die-hard UFO/Schenker
fans were amazed when we heard you had agreed to be part of the
Be Aware Of Scorpions studio line-up. How did that come about?
Some kind of death-wish? Hey
I'm a Shenker fan too! I went for it and had a great time doing
it. Michael was a gift to work with in the studio, so creative
and fun to work with. It was one of the best projects I got to
work on. Wow,
that's good to hear - and it confirms what other people have said
who've worked in the studio with Michael - and proves that a lot
of his demons are tour-related.
On BAOS you're credited with the lyrics on Roll It Over. Did you
want to have more input? Or did you have more input and it wasn't
credited? The whole album has quite a Badlands vibe.... I
don't know about it being a Badlands Vibe.There were three songs
that the singer did not like or just did not have any ideas for
so MS passed them my way. I like "Sweet Cool Kiss Of Night"
the best. A story of a man who hears that Christ is going to be
crucified and runs to be with him, but has to cross a long hot
desert to get to him. In his crossing he dies and meets JC at
the gates of Heaven. Kind of a real life soul-searching, we all
have to find the Lord and our own personal hardships we endure
trying to find the truth. Very deep, and
yes, a clear message like on all the recent Schenker albums.
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Are
you still in contact with your colleagues from the BAOS album?
Were you asked to be part of the new Arachnophobiac album? No
I was not asked, and I do talk with them by email now and again.
I am in contact with Rev Jones as I will have him play on my solo
project when we hit the studio. Michael has also consented to
do a few tune on it along with Paul Gilbert and Zakk Wild. Great!
Of all the albums and tours you've done, which has been the best
one to work on? Which have been the best people to work with?
Paul
Gilbert is always my favorite. We have a great time and the tours
overseas are the best.
Now...
The
Plot.... Reactions to The Plot have been very mixed - it's
as if people either love it or they ... errr.... don't love it.
I think it's safe to say that UFO fans weren't expecting the sound
that came from you fellas. Did you enjoy being part of the Plot?
Were you surprised at the absolute rawness and earthiness of this
new Pete Way project, compared to (for instance) UFO or Waysted
etc. Knowing
that it was a Pete Way project and his love for the Stones I was
not surprised at all ..... Just a bunch a guys getting back to
their roots. I love the drum tone that Ralf got on it, its my
old 64 Ludwig Ringo Starr kit. I helped Pete do his vocal and
in doing so learned to sing like him ... now there's a piece of
work. Hahahahaha.
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What
other stuff do you like doing? I
started riding and working on bikes at twelve years old and have
owned and worked on them ever since. I now own three vintage bikes
that I ride and show, two of them placing 3rd in Cycle World Mag's
Sanoma Fest held each year at Infinion Raceway not far from San
Francisco. Some pictures including my muddy rim and helmet can
be seen in the September issue under the title Antiques Rode Show.
Luvlee.... To me biking is my escape,
it's where I learnd how to sing, its where I come up with songs........
it's my release valve if you will. My best bike is a 1974 Norton
Command. I love British bikes the best. One of my dreams is to
find a bike in the UK magazine 'Classic Bike', fly to England,
buy it, ride the rubber off it all over the UK, Scotland and the
Isle of Man, crate it up and bring it home. I'll take you for
a ride when I get there. You
certainly will!
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What's
next for Jeff Martin? What projects have you got coming up ?
Like
I said I am working on a solo album, I will have some great
Guitar work on it. I am drumming and singing so none of that
will be put down with anyone other that my self saying what
to leave in what to take out ...I'm going full balls on both.
The writing will have more strange time to them such as "Tool"
but bomb blast is the main rule.
Any
message to the people out there.... ? Graduate
from any higher learning facility and get a real job. I'll let
you know how much fun I have had being a musician while I sell
you a pencil on some lonely street corner years from now. Hmmmm,
ok... wise words!
Well Jeff - thanks for the ride - I hope I haven't damaged your
engine! Good luck with the new album, and with everything else
in the future. Now tell me, honestly, DOES my bum look big in
these skintight leathers?
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©
Batttttty - August 2003 |
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All
photos are copyright of the people and places I've nicked them
from. Thanks! |
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