We were lucky to catch up with Gary Martin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Gary thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I learned how to play guitar and how to craft a song much in the same fashion, through trial and error.
Many of us start out by trying to emulate those who we consider our heroes. But the journey must take a musician far beyond this, or guess what, you’re just going to be an imitation of something.
Finding your own musical voice comes from many factors, but having an opened mind is the most important skill.
Learning to allow myriad of influences and experiences to seep into your playing and writing has helped immensly.
Working with others who are also open-minded has also been a key factor.
I could’ve potentially had a faster learning process by getting out of my hometown sooner, which would have provided the opportunity to witness better musicians at a more impressionable, and also would’ve allowed me to have been a part of a music community which was out of my comfort zone.
Gary, 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?
I have been a guitar player since my early teens, and started writing songs in my twenties.
My current band is called THE CLAWS. Based in Los Angeles, we’ve been together since 2018, and have done two US tours, plus we have released 2 full length LPs (2020’s ‘No Connection’ and 2022’s ‘Stars And Broken Glass’), along with 2 four song EPs (2018’s self-titled, and 2021’s ‘Hazy Days’).
All of these have been released independently.
I have total songwriting freedom in THE CLAWS; anything goes, as long as it’s good!
RIFFHAUS is a independant production house that I started for the purpose of releasing music.
Almost all of the artwork, design, promotion, and release of our music has been through Riffhaus.
I absolutely love slinging the guitar and would love to get into studio work on a professional level and I hope to generate more opportunities moving forward.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
To me, the most rewarding aspect of being a musician is witnessing the process of an abstract musical idea that exists “in the ether” developing into a song, live and in the moment. It’s a fun journey when you’ve stumbled upon a guitar lick or melody whilst sitting on the sofa sipping coffee, and you get to watch it grow into a song, recorded and released to the public.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
There has always been a delicate balance between art and commerce, but NFT seems to be a sign that commerce has become more important to our society.
The success of an NFT is determined by it’s digital value, which is not (or should not be) the determining factor in art.
NFT is commerce masquerading as art.
To me, art should be something shared with the public, forever.
Museums, through paintings and sculpture, can give you insight on what life may have been like all before any of us were alive.
While an NFT is inadvertantly providing an example of our shallow, money-obsessed culture, I cannot imagine a museum full of NFTs.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theclawsrock.com
- Instagram: www.theclawsla.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/theclawslosangeles
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@THECLAWSROCK?si=fjNz1wmzvOdezD3_
- Other: The latest LP by THE CLAWS is available for purchase here: www.theclawsrock.com/store Or your can stream all of our music for virtually nothing, right here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2MEIDXJ3hxLOkVHnS6WQri?si=ydE4V16dSb2eJxV2esEI7A Play it loud!
Image Credits
Maya Kay photography Riffhaus Jeremy Lyverse Photography