Totally captivated by the guitar work of Buddy Merrill, a seven-year-old Marty knew he wanted to play guitar. Then came the Everly Brothers, Elvis and the Beatles. He was hooked.
High school years were filled with talent shows, band gigs and playing for dances. Some Saturday nights Marty would tag along with his uncle’s polka band and shift gears into a totally different musical genre.
Following the time-honored tradition of “growing up and getting a real job,” Marty’s music went by the wayside – only picking up the guitar now and then to strum along with whatever was being played on the radio.
New inspiration came when a local country station in Oregon was hosting a songwriting contest, and Marty decided he had to give it a try. While only winning a boombox for 3rd place, he was inspired enough to keep going. Gigs followed at local wineries where Marty has been a favorite, engaging wine sippers with his original songs as well as favorite covers.
The 2020, self-produced album of original holiday songs was inspired by Marty’s Christmas memories. If your father or grandfather was ever the local Santa Claus, you should identify with the title track.
