Ok, so I know I've been AWOL for a bit, when I kept saying I'd continue to write, that I promise to keep up, blah blah blah. Apparently I'm bad at keeping promises that I make to myself. To be honest, I just haven't been feeling that inspired to write lately. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut, and every time I try to crawl out, I get tamped back down into my burrow, like one of those Bop-'Em games at a carnival. From what I've heard, it is common for 20-something girls to go through a quarter-life crisis, so I'm just going to agree with that and milk that excuse for all it's worth...while simultaneously trying not to annoy my friends and audience.
While waiting for my motivation to return, I recently ventured out to a show at Hotel Cafe with one of my good friends from CSUN. If you have never been to the venue before, I highly recommend it; it may be a small, cozy place, but you never know what wonderful talent you could come across during your visit. For example, I didn't know that I would find my next topic for RR when I walked through the door!
My friend had told me that she was hearing a lot of buzz about the artist, Jack Martello, from her colleagues at Bill Silva Management. Neither of us quite knew what to expect from a brand-new artist on the LA scene. Let's face it: Some are fantastic as live performers, whereas others are better suited to keeping their work relegated to the recording booth. However, the fact that a leading artist management group was rallying in support of Jack helped get us jazzed for the show.
As we hung around the foyer before Jack's set began, we spoke with some of the Bill Silva crew, whose excitement was palpable and contagious. We had yet to meet Jack, but were told that he is a recent arrival from England, who had - after completing his master's program in economics & business - chosen to travel to the U.S. to pursue a music career. As he told us later from the stage, he was incredibly lucky to make contact with a few good people that encouraged and enabled him to make his cross-continental move.
From the very start of his set, I could tell that Jack was not the type to visibly fret before a show. He calmly hopped up on stage for his sound check, tuning his acoustic guitar precisely. After a brief introduction and a jab at his "habit of making funny faces", he launched into his first song...and my jaw just about hit the floor. His vocals were so spot on, and though he was correct in pointing out his interesting facial expressions, they became endearing as he crooned through one original composition after another. His banter in between pieces made it even clearer that he is an honest-to-goodness, down-to-earth miracle musician that is thankful for every show he can give, every audience he can entertain. Jack has so much talent and potential, but he offers something else that many other up-and-coming artists do not readily show: gratitude and appreciation.
I really hope to see Jack succeed, because he has so much to offer to the music community. And instead of leaving you with a Lyric Pick, I'd much prefer to leave you with a YouTube clip :) Jack Martello - Lost For Words (Alfie's Song)
You can find Jack Martello on Facebook, Bandcamp, and Blogspot.
That's all for now! If you have any questions or comments, OR you have an artist you'd like to see me review in the future, let me know :)
Peace and Pianos,
Roxi G.
