ARTIST: The Martino Conspiracy
TITLE: Hope In Isolation
LABEL: Gladius Records
GENRE: Rock
BITRATE: 200kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 49m total
RELEASE DATE: 2007-06-05
RIP DATE: 2007-05-16
Track List
----------
1. Growing Pains 4:36
2. Note To Self 3:43
3. Love Extinguisher 3:58
4. Moat Around Your Heart 4:38
5. Faces Change 4:58
6. Just Don't Know 4:18
7. Remember Me 5:10
8. More Than You've Known 4:18
9. The World Outside 4:28
10. Re-Ignition 4:10
11. Hopeful 5:27
Release Notes:
"The Martino Conspiracy" is the alternative-pop/rock project of 23 year-old,
Tony Martino. A lifelong resident of the Chicago area, he says that ten years
ago it was while listening to the Beach Boys song "I Just Wasn't Made For These
Times" that he suddenly felt the need to start playing an instrument and writing
his own music, and cites Brian Wilson as being his biggest musical influence.
Fast forward to 2007, and Martino claims that he is on a personal mission to
make a major impact on the modern music scene.
"Maybe I'm a bit too critical, but I feel like the majority of new music being
played on rock/pop radio lacks heartfelt emotion, and lacks creativity. Most of
it seems very manufactured to me. I'm not inspired by most new music these days
like I used to be. These days, about the only thing I am inspired to do when I
turn the radio on is to turn it right back off, at least when it comes to
seeking out new music. It seems like each year there are a handful of good new
songs that come out, but then those same songs are regurgitated by about 100
other bands that all sound the same. I was fortunate enough to grow up during a
brief window of time when pop/rock music seemed to be inspiring people in a
special way. It was changing directions, and ultimately evolved into what was
called "grunge" or alternative rock. Well, that movement died in the
mid-nineties, and since that time it seems like pop/rock music for the most part
has taken a turn for the worst and has been in a downward spiral ever since. In
my opinion, each decade since the 50's has had either a new phenomenon of rock
and roll music, or a new certain sound or feeling of community to belong to,
except for the current decade. To me, these days most new music just seems to
blend together into one very forgettable symphony, and I'd like to see that
change and hopefully be a part of that change when it happens. There are still a
lot of great bands playing and making new music today, including some newer
ones. But in my opinion, in general a lot of these bands came out sometime ago
and are certainly not ripe in age or years of existence."
Even at his young age, Martino has already had a taste of success when he
released (under his own name, Tony Martino) his first independent LP (through
Koch/Compendia Records) in 2004 to AAA commercial radio stations in the United
States. With hardly any real promotion or touring behind it, the album was
picked up by over 75 stations nationally and had two different singles from the
album top the charts as the most requested and played song on a number of
different stations on the format (coming in ahead of many currently well known
major label artists), he would go on to be named AAA radio's "Artist of the
Month" the second week of May, 2004. In addition to the radio success, Martino
also beat the odds by either winning or placing as a finalist (out of thousands
and thousands of submissions) in many songwriting contests including the winner
of the VH1 "Song Of The Year" contest for the month of August, 2004
(Instrumental), the "2005 Billboard Songwriting Contest, (rock)" as well as the
2005 "International Songwriting Contest (Adult Contemporary)." He was invited as
a show guest on numerous radio stations nationally, as well as received numerous
feature articles and write-ups from radio program directors and mass media
publications like The New York Times, San Francisco Examiner, The Daily Herald
in Chicago, Performing Songwriter Magazine, and Amplifier Magazine.
In mid-2005, Tony Martino's music caught the ear of a high profile entertainment
attorney in Los Angeles, and ultimately landed Martino back in the studio to
record a follow up record titled "Hope In Isolation" with internationally renown
record producer and former Psychedelic Fur's keyboardist Ed Buller (Suede, Blur,
Crystal Method, Ben Lee, Pulp, Tatu, etc..), based out of London. A good portion
of the record was produced and recorded by Buller and Martino in a number of
different studios out in Los Angeles, and the other half of the record was
produced by Martino in various studios around Chicago. Other notable guest
appearances on the record include members from platinum selling groups like the
"Verve Pipe", and "Stabbing Westward." Without having even been released yet,
the album has already been receiving some significant advanced press, including
an article written last summer by Adam Schlesinger (academy award nominee, and
bassist for the bands Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy) in the New York Times, in
which he cites that the album and Tony Martino "have incredible potential,"
after hearing demos of it while it was half way through the recording process.
The album is set to release nationally (on Martino's own Gladius Records) early
in 2007 in conjunction with a national tour, as well as the first single going
to multiple radio formats across the United States. According to Martino, it is
a very personal album.
"In general, I'd have to say that this record really captures everything I want
to say about who I am as a person and as an artist, at least at this time in my
life. Lyrically, everything about it is very real. I'd describe it as being what
I like to call a musical autobiography. You'll know what I'm all about after
hearing the record."
Another big change occurred early in mid-2006 when Tony Martino decided that
rather than just be another solo artist using their full name, to add permanent
members to his live show, and therefore re-named the band "The Martino
Conspiracy." Added to the mix were well established Chicago musicians (both
studio and live); bassist Steve Smith, lead guitarist Svilen Mikov, drummer
Richo Marquina, and keyboardist Nick Wygonick.
"This is honestly the best and most talented group of musicians I've ever played
with. Everyone in this band is amazing at what they do. I'm very excited to
unleash this new band on all our fans. I have a good feeling they are going to
be very impressed," says Martino.
"As far as how we named the group, we all in the band are very much intrigued by
the concept of real life conspiracies within our world. However, that was not
the only reason we decided to name the band The Martino Conspiracy. Other than
working well next to my last name, the idea behind naming the group what it is
was the fact that I have a natural tendency to write very different types of
songs. Some you'd probably call pop songs, some british rock, others you may
even call modern rock songs with a grunge feel. I have so many different
influences and goals with music, that I thought I would be extremely limiting
myself if I decided to pick just one sound and write every song in that style. I
wanted it to be as if when you turned on one of my band's records you could
honestly forget that you aren't listening to entirely different bands with each
different song on the record, but yet at the same time still find that special
thread of identity throughout each different song that linked back to me as the
singer/songwriter. While I definitely implement different influences throughout
the album, ultimately I still want each song to be as memorable and inspiring as
the last. I'm not sure that qualifies as being a real conspiracy, but it made
sense at the time I thought of it, which was 3 or 4 O'clock in the morning."
Music critics and press have often described Tony Martino has having a very
intriguing charisma, as well as a certain originality in the manner in which he
carries himself on and off the stage. After being holed up in many different
studios the past eighteen months, the band is really looking forward to getting
on the road in support of the record in 2007. After all, expectations are very
high for this new album. The foundation has already been laid down with the
release of his previous record , and now Martino wants this to be the record
that puts him over the top. There's very good reason to believe that is exactly
what's going to happen.
"I can't wait to get out there and play for people again. There's nothing like
the feeling of making a connection with an audience. Knowing that you can in
some way make an impact on another person with something so simple in life such
as a song or a melody, it's truly inspiring to me. We've all spent so much time
in studios lately (nearly two full years while recording the upcoming album)
that I was starting to refer to them as dungeons that you can order in lunch
from. Seriously though, we think this next album will really hit home with a lot
of people, and my anticipation for this to happen continues to grow each day.
We're very hopeful of doing great things through music, and obviously have set
our sights very high. But truly, I don't want to be or sound like Brian Wilson,
John Lennon, or any other musical inspiration of mine. Nor in my right mind, do
I have any delusions that I could expect to ever possibly be as influential as
any of them. But to some degree, I do want to be as impactful in terms of
leading people and other aspiring musicians like myself back to that same
feeling I used to get when I used to sit around on Friday nights in the
summertime as a young boy listening to new albums I had just gotten. That
genuine feeling where I knew deep down that there was this other outlet in life
that I could feel a connection to, and knew that I was living through something
truly special in the times. I know there are many others out there like myself
that can relate to that same feeling that hasn't been in the pop/rock community
for quite some time. I miss that feeling. Whatever it was."
