Tony Martino (singer)
Tony Martino | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Tony Martino | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Pop, Rock, Acoustic |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Keyboard, Piano, Electro-Theremin, Programming |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Website | www |
Tony Martino is a singer-songwriter and record producer from Chicago. Martino is also the primary singer/songwriter and producer for his new side-project formed in 2016, The Rarest Kind,[1] a group with a "revolving member" format in which he is the only official and permanent member. His songs have been featured in several television shows, including the "Ghost Whisperer" on CBS, MTV's "The Real World" and "Road Rules", Discovery Channel's "Dr. G: Medical Examiner" and many others. He has also received critical acclaim and other mentions in major media publications and music magazines such as the Daily Herald, San Francisco Chronicle, Amplifier Magazine, and Performing Songwriter Magazine. Martino is also known for his upfront opinions on various music-related topics. He was quoted in The Wall Street Journal discussing the controversial use of Auto-Tune recording software.[2] Academy Award and Emmy Award-nominated musician, Adam Schlesinger of the pop/rock band Fountains Of Wayne, also praised Martino's music in an article Schlesinger penned in The New York Times, stating, "I get handed stuff almost every day. I try to listen to all of it -- 99 percent is garbage. But every so often you get something that stands out...This is a guy with incredible potential." [3]
Biography
Martino acts as the primary producer on all of his recordings and plays the majority of the instruments except for the drums. Some of the notable guest drummers and musicians on his solo recordings include Doug Corella of the Verve Pipe, Steve Gillis (formerly of the rock group Filter) and Andy Kubiszewski of Stabbing Westward and Exotic Birds. He has also co-produced some of his songs with Brit Awards-nominated record producer, Ed Buller (Suede, Pulp, etc.) [4] As a teenager in 2004, Martino independently released multiple singles on the Adult Album Alternative radio format in the United States, where he gained enough airplay to be named the "Artist of the Month" for the entire AAA radio format.[5] In 2007, Martino was part of a very short-lived band called "The Martino Conspiracy" that briefly toured throughout 2007 and early 2008. The band achieved national radio airplay on the Hot AC radio format, with one released single titled "Just Don't Know" charting on the top 100 national radio airplay chart for the format in February 2007, but the band disbanded before any album was released. [6] In late 2009, Martino was selected by ASCAP as only one of only fourteen up and coming songwriters out of several hundred submissions nationally to partake in their prestigious annual Lester Sill Songwriter's Workshop.[7]
Due to health issues, Martino was on hiatus from the music industry from late-2010 until re-emerging in late 2015 with news of a new album. As of August 2016, Martino is in Nashville recording the debut album for a new project called "The Rarest Kind, "[1] with some of the early tracks having already been mixed by renowned engineer/producers Mark Needham (Imagine Dragons, The Killers, Fleetwood Mac, etc.) and Brian Malouf (Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam, Madonna, etc.), and with Brad Pemberton, formerly of Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, guesting on drums. Martino is also writing songs for other artists.[8]
References
- ^ a b "Official Website of The Rarest Kind! | News". The Rarest Kind. 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ^ "The Battle Over Bionic Vocals". Wsj.com. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ^ Schlesinger, Adam (2005-07-03). "MUSIC - PLAYLIST - Finally, Def Leppard Without the Pretensions - NYTimes.com". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ^ "Chicago's MARTINO CONSPIRACY Embarks On Nationwide Tour @ Top40-Charts.com - Songs & Videos from 49 Top 20 & Top 40 Music Charts from 30 Countries". Top40-charts.com. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20080905195752/http://www.myspace.com/tonymartinomusic. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Site Disabled - FreeServers". Shawn-m-perry.freeservers.com. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ^ "Silly Songwriters!". Ascap.com. 2009-12-15. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ^ "Music Morsels - Indie Band Spotlight 4/2007". Musicmorselsonline.com. Retrieved 2014-08-04.