Hope In Isolation : iSOUND.COM™

Biography

"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 2006, and Martino claims that he is on a personal mission to make a major impact on the modern music scene. "I feel like the majority of what's currently 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. 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 was inspiring people, changing directions, and evolving 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 took a turn for the worse 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 State. 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 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 early 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, keyboardist Nick Wygonick, and drummer Tim Lydon. "I don't have any hidden interests in real life conspiracies, or anything of the sort. Other than working well next to my last name, the idea behind naming the group "The Martino Conspiracy" is that I have a natural tendency to write very different types of songs. Some you'd probably call pop songs, others you may even call harder rock songs. 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 records, you could honestly think you were listening to entirely different bands, but still find that thread of identity throughout each different song that linked back to me as the songwriter. While I definitely implement different influences throughout the album, I 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, Tony is really looking forward to getting on the road with his band 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. I've spent so much time in studios lately that I was starting to refer to them as dungeons that you can order in lunch from. Seriously though, I 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. I'm very hopeful of doing great things through music, and obviously have set my sights very high. But truly, I don't want to be or sound like Brian Wilson, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, 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."