Nova Scotia-based singer/songwriter Christina Martin was looking for a way to encapsulate her intimate, evocative and connective live shows into a format that folks could take away with them and enjoy at their leisure. She and producer/guitarist/co-writer/husband Dale Murray decided to choose some of their favourite cover tunes, strip them down and also render down some of her own originals, and create a collection of music that would convey the unique and quite powerful vibe of a Christina Martin live experience.
Essentially, they stuck to their plan, as the excellent performances and production on Martin’s forthcoming album Wonderful Lie, aptly demonstrate. Set for release in physical and digital forms on Sept. 20, the record consists of 10 songs that not only demonstrate Martin and Murray’s prowess as arrangers, producers and musicians, but is highlighted by a particularly deep and compelling vocal performances by Martin on each and every track. It is a tour de force of distilling a song down to its core emotional essence, something Martin does with rare exceptionality.
“You start with something in mind and the album ended up being quite a bit more challenging to record to a quality that we were happy with. So, it ended up morphing into a couple of different things. We do have a song on there that is a new song [Finsbury Park] and it’s got drums and bass, which we didn’t expect was going to be on it. We have six songs written by some other pretty iconic singer/songwriters, and then we got some other originals; we re-recorded three of my songs, Where the Dark Meets the Light, It’ll Be Alright and The Last Time I Saw You, some of which we’re playing differently now live now that we have a fresh new recorded version of them,” she said.
“It still overall honours our original goal to have more stripped down songs that are more representative of what we do live. It was a new experiment to do some cover songs, because I am not a cover act. But these are songs that we fell in love with and certainly there have been some incredible singers over the years, including Anne Murray, and a lot of others, who made their careers basically by selecting incredible songs to interpret. I think we eventually got over the weirdness of the concept for me. I have always done my original songs, so this is definitely new for me to go out there with six songs written by other people on an album. And I have no idea how it will be received. But we love the songs, they’re great songs and it will be nice to play a few more of them during the live show.
“Sometimes you wind up playing covers, maybe one in a set, and it’s kind of a nice break for me. Also, I have learned how to sing by singing other people’s songs over 20 years of performing, so it’s a nice change of pace in the set for me to just get to sing these songs that I just love.”
The covers include a tear-jerking version of the ABBA hit The Winner Takes it All, which Martin said she only added to her setlist after recording it. There is also Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love, Love Hurts (originally penned by Boudleaux Bryant and recorded in 1960 by The Everly Brothers. Its best known version is probably by Nazareth, but it’s also been covered by Canadian rock bands Triumph and Helix among others), Paul Westerberg’s It’s A Wonderful Lie and Richard Thompson’s A Heart Needs A Home.
“I have been saying on and off for the last 20 years that I compulsively listen to Paul Westerberg music on repeat when I was running, and the song It’s A Wonderful Lie is I song I used to cover when I did solo shows. I put it aside for a long time, but I love his work and it was a selfish treat for me to put that song on this record. And then I wanted to honour his work by calling the album Wonderful Lie.”
Of the gazillions of songs out there in the world, how did she decide upon the six she would cover?
“Well, I had a list of a lot more songs, but we can’t do them all. For one, we had to limit ourselves for time reasons. And then you start recording some and you get a feeling partway through that you can’t pull it off, for whatever reason. So, we stuck with ones that felt good and right. The goal wasn’t to make the songs super different from the versions that inspired us and so we just kept with what was working in the studio. We had some recorded and just weren’t feeling it, and I won’t mention which ones, because you never know; we might be able to pull them off in the future,” Martin said.
“Many of the songs we considered we ones that people had requested for a special occasion for them, so we learned them and fell in love with them and they made the list and then morphed in the studio. And we tested them in a live setting. The only exception was the ABBA cover which we had recorded but never played live but started doing it this summer with the full band. People recognize that song and really love it. I think break up songs like that are really powerful. Almost everyone can relate to the weirdness after a breakup, the weird, complex emotions and stuff. So that song was a risk for us, but hopefully it will be well received. And if not, f*** it, who cares, it’s done.”
As savvy with the business side of the music business as she is as talented as a songwriter and performer, Martin has engaged with the Patreon platform as a way to generate sustained revenue. As wonderful as it is to focus strictly on being creative … a person’s gotta eat.
“It’s a membership platform for creators and is set up to help them get paid and help them create more. I set up my page and designed my perks and content so that it would be in line with my goals and my intentions, which is basically to create more content, like music, live videos, music videos, encourage collaboration and at some point help cover the overhead costs, which are ginormous. It’s to help me just continue doing what I am doing and stay healthy financially and otherwise,” she explained.
“It’s a long-term platform. It’s different than a Kickstarter campaign where you’re asking for something right now and only now to help get a new album out, for example. With this, your patrons are providing a small monthly amount of money each, that is super meaningful and helps you with whatever projects you’re working on and your overhead. It’s one piece of the financial puzzle for me long term to allow me to keep doing this. I think there are enough people that like what we do who want to see us keeping doing it.
“With Patreon, I’ve got 16 patrons right now that support us every month. And it’s growing and it’s only been half a year, but it’s already helped me achieve my goals to create more. I have to deliver things every month that I would want to be creating anyway. But if I don’t have that extra pressure of a deadline, it might be easier for me to be distracted by any one of a million other things. It helps me to get my job done.”
As well, she has become an adherent for various show booking platforms, including Home Routes and Side Door.
“I think that, for me, any help I can get is great, because you have to do so much as an independent artist. I am not signed, and I am self-managed. I do hire help when I can, where I can for publicity, marketing and things like that, but I just can’t afford a lot and I have to still do a lot of it myself. So, when you have a company like Home Routes it’s a huge help. They are a big part of how this tour came together, because we have two separate runs through them of 11 shows each, for 22 shows all together. I only have one through Side Door on this tour, but there have been other tours where I have used them more. Whatever gets the job done, whatever gets me and the music to the people, so we can accomplish our goal to get the music heard and build connections and share the messages on the tour,” Martin said.
“And there are times when I work with agents and they’re doing most of the booking and I really appreciate that, but good booking agents are really hard to come by, for many reasons. So, whatever gets the job done, whether it’s just me, or working with a bunch of different companies, I do what needs to be done.”
The tour Martin has scheduled to promote the release of Wonderful Lie is the most extensive she has done in her home and native land, spanning the entire breadth of Canada, and incorporating more than 40 shows from mid-September through the end of November. Many of the shows are in small intimate venues. It starts with an extensive run of 14 shows in Newfoundland alone, before moving west, with a handful of dates in Ontario, including Ellena’s Café in Napanee on Oct. 3, the Old Church Theatre in Trenton on Oct. 6, as well as shows in Renfrew, Middlesex Centre, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay before another long run in Manitoba. Martin and Murray made it out to the west coast before cycling back east in November, including a show at Hugh’s Room in Toronto on Nov. 19. The tour ends Nov. 29 at The Carleton in Halifax.
“For most of my shows, we bring the same show that we would bring for a big stage, or a listening room, café or theatre that we do to a house concert, at least we try to. Sometimes they are more intimate because of the size or the way the room is set up, but they’re all similar in that with house concerts there is a model in place to help the artist earn revenue. People feel comfortable, they can sometimes bring their own snacks or BYOB and they’re usually kid friendly,” she said.
“They are special because they are so up close and you get a chance to really connect with the artists, whereas you might not be about to in a bigger venue or at a festival. I think people like that about it. I treat them the same as every other show, I try to make it intimate and special and build a connection. I built most of my long-term fan base through these intimate listening room type shows, and it’s such an important part of my business model and it always has been for the past 20 years. I think more and more artists are seeing that too; artists who have been in the business far longer that I have are now looking into this.”
As for new music, Martin and Murray and in the process of deciding on what sort of approach to take with their next creative chapter.
“Some songs are finished for the next one, but I am giving myself as much time as needed. I would like to have some resources in place before we undertake the next one, because I think it will be another kind of lush album like [2018’s] Impossible to Hold. I can’t say what it will sound like exactly, but we do like layering and lush arrangements and I would like to plan special shows here and there and tour plans around it, so there’s a lot of work. And I want to be careful not to burn out again, because I have a real tendency to experience that and then it makes enjoying the work more challenging. I am not making any promises although I like the timeline of releasing a new record at least every two years. I am also dreaming of where we’re going to record it and who we’re going to work with,” Martin explained.
“I am thinking along the lines that I would like the next album to help build us in the United States and build fans there, so I am definitely dreaming and scheming, but I am not putting any hard deadlines on this yet. We want to keep things fresh. Dale and I sense within ourselves that it’s time to collaborate with other producers and engineers, because right now we do most of that ourselves, especially Dale who does a lot. We’re also married and together all the f***ing time, you know, and we both acknowledge that it’s time to bring in other people on the production and let’s work in other studios, let’s maybe go to L.A. , let’s go to New York. We need to branch out and have other people encourage us and try some new things with our music.”
The run through Canada will come to an end as the snow starts to fly, and then Martin and Murray will be off to Europe in 2020. It can be a grind, with all the travel, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I have been inspired over the years by other Canadian artists and some U.S. ones as well who are willing to put in the time and work. You have to be relentless and committed and have to be driven by some unknown obsession to stay on this path. There has to be some core intentions, I think, if you’re going to be the kind of person who sticks with this and builds it and builds it and builds it,” Martin said.
“I have always been in this for the long run. Although it would nice to have a quick lift, I have always thought this is going to be more of a slow burn for me. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I have to be happy with what’s going on now and then hope for that slow, steady build to continue. And I do think that’s what’s happening, and that is what seems to work for me. If there’s anything extra that comes along the way, awesome, and if it doesn’t then I’ve got to just keep doing the work, you know?”
Fans of Martin are loyal, and the legions are growing with every new album and every show. With the impending release of Wonderful Lie, she adds even more songs to her already impressive and compelling repertoire and undoubtedly will add even more adherents thanks to her exceptional, emotional vocal performances.
For more information on Wonderful Lie and upcoming tour dates, visit www.christinamartin.net. To support her through Patreon, visit www.patreon.com/ChristinaMartin.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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