We recently connected with Natalie Martin and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Natalie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Being in a band is an amazing thing, but never thought it was the right path for me. I always heard that “bands break up, solo artists break down,” and I knew right away which one of those fates would best suit me. I’ve broken down plenty of times, and I always manage to get myself back together, whether through reinvention or sheer determination. On the other side of that coin, among the dozens of bands I’ve been in, none of them have ever gotten back together after breaking up. Breaking up is just so…permanent. Aside from that, being a solo artist allowed me full reign of my creative landscape, with no need for approval or outside contribution. I’ve put in countless hours to learn piano, bass guitar, and percussion/drums, plus a degree in vocal performance, so all I had to find was a way to multi-track myself, and I was off and running.

For 13 years, I wrote everyday. Whether it was just a bassline, a drum beat, a lyric, or a full song, I was always writing. The thought of having a band and still being a “solo” act (Like Billy Joel) was appealing, but unrealistic due to my constant creative output and lack of social skills. Using a Yamaha Motif ES-7, I learned how to program full songs on just a keyboard, and I developed a solo stage show. In 2011 I entered a battle of the bands and got first place, which in turn got me signed to Vindicated Records in Columbus. I released two solo albums, all songs and all instruments written and performed by yours truly, but they didn’t really sell. Turns out, it’s easy to make music by yourself, but it’s a lot harder to sell it.

I made my first post-transition record of original music in 2016, and in 2017 I was invited to perform at Akron’s inaugural Pride Festival. I decided to put together a band to help me bring the songs to life. For the first time in my professional career, it worked. I had my “Billy Joel” band and we rocked the stage at Pride, but as the saying goes, we broke up, shortly after that performance in fact. I saw it coming and was well prepared for it, but I had gotten a taste of being in a real band, and I loved it. I wanted more.

Enter Madeline Eckhart. This is where my risk comes in. Maddy was one of the background singers in my band, and her voice complemented mine in a magical way, as if her voice was just a higher version of my own. When my ex-wife and I separated, Maddy moved in to help me make ends meet, and it wasn’t long before we were singing together every day. Her taste in music was very different from mine, but as we introduced each other to the other’s musical tastes, we grew closer, and our voices seemed to mesh together even more.

One night, we had an idea to make a Paramore-style cover of Kokomo by the Beach Boys, just as a joke. Using FL studio and Maddy’s voiceover equipment, we turned our back room into a space where we could record. The song came out way better than we thought it would, and listening to its finished product was crazy fun. Maddy had gotten the bug, so to speak, and she started experimenting with original song ideas on FL Studio, a beat producing software. I loved watching her learn how to produce, and helping her out with little things here and there, but one night she wrote a beat that sparked a fire in me, and I asked if we could work on it together. When it was done, we just listened to it on a loop for almost an hour. It was called “Thumpin'” and it was a perfect summer song, just right for blasting in your car on a sunny day.

It was at that moment I decided to take the biggest risk of my music career. I asked Maddy if she would like to join my solo act, and make it a permanent duo. She said yes, and we started thinking of a band name. We landed on DreamStates, because we wanted our songs to have no limit to what they could sound like; each one is a soundtrack to a different dream. We released the first half our first album in December of 2017, and the second half in January of 2018. Titled simply “Parts One & Two”, it was also a fitting representation of my collaboration with Madeline. It made me so proud, and profoundly grateful that I’d found someone with whom I can work so well.

Five years later, we’re about to release our 8th record as DreamStates. We’ve seen over a dozen members come and go, we’ve performed all over and outside of Ohio, and we just signed a deal with a record label in London. I could describe my relationship with Maddy in myriad ways; as best friends, as bandmates, as partners, as musical soulmates, as lovers, as exes, as girlfriends, but it doesn’t really matter what title we use. She;s the Garfunkle to my Simon, the Kyle Gass to my Jack Black, the Oates to my Hall. She’s my Maddy, we are DreamStates, and I’m so happy I took the risk for her.

Natalie , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Natalie Martin, and I’m the co-founder of DreamStates, along with my partner Madeline Eckhart. We are transgender activists, musicians, and community organizers. We like to consider ourselves “musical activists.” Our music speaks to and beyond the transgender experience, and we proudly represent the Ohio LGBTQ+ community at festivals, on the airwaves, and online. I’m most proud of our body of work: five full-length records of original music, one album of cover songs, and one 3-track EP, and a new full-length album of original music in the works. It’ll be our 8th release, and we are immensely proud of it. Prior releases are “Parts One & Two” (2017/2018), “Mode of Being” (2018), “Massive Sonic Implications” (2018), “SAD BAD HAPPY GOOD” (2019), “Something Borrowed Something Groove” (2020), Definition Part 1: Chrysalism” (2020), and “Comets” (2021). Our new album is called “DiscoNeck” and will be released some time later this year, led by the powerful lead single “Trans In America.”
We are also very proud of our reputation as Ohio’s all-transgender band. We have performed at Akron Pride every year they’ve held one, and also have performed at Columbus, Stark, and Warren Pride. We have multiple songs that play on local radio station 91.3 the Summit, and have been interviewed by multiple online blog sites and music reviewers. We opened for Ryan Cassata in 2019 at the E3 Summit in Erie, PA, and most recently, headlined the queer mini-festival Akron Out Loud!! in Kenmore.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Positive transgender representation is at the forefront of our mission as a band. The music industry only recognizes trans and gender non-conforming artists as a novelty, and we want to show the world that we are more than just a niche. We have universal experiences, we experience triumph and heartache, loss and redemption, and that’s what we sing about. Recognizing that trans people aren’t that different from cis people is a challenge for some, and we hope to make that easier.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding moments come after we perform, when our fans get a chance to meet us and tell us how we’ve helped them in their lives. Simply being visible as transgender performers, I believe, helps those who might be scared of coming out to see that there is life to be had after transition, and even more, there’s community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dreamstates.carrd.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamstatestheband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dreamstatesmusicband
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DreamStatesUS
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy1ogRKUzgwdLvNaqUi_cGQ