Tony Martino (singer)
Encyclopedia
Tony Martino is a 26 year old singer-songwriter
, record producer
and independent record label
owner from Chicago
. Martino is also the primary singer/songwriter and producer for his band, "The Rarest Kind", a group with a "revolving member" format in which he is the only official and permanent member. His songs have been featured in television shows such as the "Ghost Whisperer
" on CBS
, MTV
's "The Real World
" and "Road Rules
", Discovery Channel
's "Dr. G: Medical Examiner
" and many others. He has also received critical acclaim and other mentions in major media publications and music magazines such as the Daily Herald, Amplifier Magazine, and Performing Songwriter Magazine. Martino is also known for his outspoken nature on various topics. For example, he was recently quoted in The Wall Street Journal
discussing the controversial use of Auto-Tune
recording software. Academy Award and Emmy Award
-nominated musician, Adam Schlesinger
, also praised Martino's music in an article in The New York Times
, after randomly meeting him and being given one of his demos prior to an Ivy
concert in Chicago.
of the Verve Pipe, Steve Gillis (formerly of the rock group Filter
) and Andy Kubiszewski
of Stabbing Westward
. He has also co-produced some of his earlier songs with Brit Awards
-nominated record producer, Ed Buller
. In early 2004, through a distribution partnership with Koch Records
, Martino independently released multiple singles on the Adult Album Alternative radio format in the United States, where he gained enough airplay to become the radio format's "Artist of the Month" in March, 2004 at only 18 years old. Limited pressings of the recordings were released in select markets, but since Martino was still only in high school an official tour never commenced, leaving the recording (titled, "New Beginnings") mostly improperly promoted. Between 2005-2006, Martino focused primarily on writing and refining his production skills in the studio, while winning or placing as a finalist in several prominent songwriting competitions in the United States, including the Billboard (Magazine)
songwriting contest and Vh1
's "Song of The Year Contest." In 2007, Martino was part of a short lived studio project called "The Martino Conspiracy" that briefly toured throughout 2007-2008, where Martino again independently achieved national radio exposure on the Hot AC radio format, even charting a single titled "Just Don't Know" on the top 100 airplay chart (peaking at #81) in February, 2007. The Martino Conspiracy recorded only one album (composed primarily of Martino's earlier songs which he co-produced with Ed Buller
), titled "Hope In Isolation." The album was only available at the band's live shows and on their MySpace
page and never commercially released, making it somewhat difficult to find today. In October 2009, Martino was selected by ASCAP as only one of only fourteen up and coming songwriters out of several hundred submissions nationally to partake in their prestigious annual Lester Sill
Songwriter's Workshop.
As of December 2010, Martino is recording new songs for an album to be released in 2011 under the band name, "The Rarest Kind", with some of the tracks having already been mixed by renowned engineer/producer Brian Malouf (Michael Jackson
, Pearl Jam
, Madonna
, etc.). He is also writing/producing songs for other artists.
In January, 2010, Martino co-founded an independent record label called Gladius Records based in Chicago,.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and independent record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
owner from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Martino is also the primary singer/songwriter and producer for his band, "The Rarest Kind", a group with a "revolving member" format in which he is the only official and permanent member. His songs have been featured in television shows such as the "Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...
" on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's "The Real World
The Real World
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...
" and "Road Rules
Road Rules
Road Rules was an MTV reality show that debuted on July 19, 1995. The series, which was MTV's second reality show after The Real World followed six strangers between the ages of 18 and 24 after stripping them of their money and putting them on an RV traveling from location to location only guided...
", Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
's "Dr. G: Medical Examiner
Dr. G: Medical Examiner
Dr. G: Medical Examiner is a reality television series shown on the Discovery Fit & Health. Dr. G, or Dr. Jan Garavaglia, is the Chief Medical Examiner with Florida's District Nine Medical Examiner's office in Orlando, Florida.This series features Dr...
" and many others. He has also received critical acclaim and other mentions in major media publications and music magazines such as the Daily Herald, Amplifier Magazine, and Performing Songwriter Magazine. Martino is also known for his outspoken nature on various topics. For example, he was recently quoted in The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
discussing the controversial use of Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
recording software. Academy Award and Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-nominated musician, Adam Schlesinger
Adam Schlesinger
Adam Schlesinger is an American songwriter, composer and record producer. He has been nominated for Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Grammy , and Golden Globe Awards. He is also a winner of the ASCAP Pop Music Award....
, also praised Martino's music in an article in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, after randomly meeting him and being given one of his demos prior to an Ivy
Ivy (band)
Ivy is a New York City band composed of a trio of musicians, Adam Schlesinger, Dominique Durand, and Andy Chase.-Lately and Realistic:...
concert in Chicago.
Biography
While Martino acts as the primary producer on all of his recordings and plays the majority of the instruments on them except for the drums, some of the notable guest drummers on his solo recordings include Doug CorellaDoug Corella
Doug Corella is a rock drummer and keyboardist who has played in various bands during the 1990s and 2000s.-Career:Doug was a member of The Verve Pipe and is a member of the band duo The Karlz with guitarist Todd Bowie. Corella had a domestic relationship with Jenny McCartney.-Notes:Doug Corella...
of the Verve Pipe, Steve Gillis (formerly of the rock group Filter
Filter (band)
Filter is a rock group formed in 1993 in Cleveland by singer Richard Patrick and guitarist/programmer Brian Liesegang. Filter has released five studio albums, the most recent being The Trouble with Angels, which was released on August 17, 2010....
) and Andy Kubiszewski
Andy Kubiszewski
Andy Kubiszewski is an American/Polish musician, songwriter, remixer and producer.Kubiszewski was born in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. His start in rock music came while attending the Cleveland Institute of Music when he and a pair of classmates formed the new wave band Exotic Birds...
of Stabbing Westward
Stabbing Westward
Stabbing Westward was an American industrial rock and alternative rock band. They formed in 1985 in Chicago, Illinois and began recording in the 1990s. The band announced a dissolution in 2002.- Early years :...
. He has also co-produced some of his earlier songs with Brit Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
-nominated record producer, Ed Buller
Ed Buller
Ed Buller is a British record producer and former musician. He primarily works with Australian and British bands like Suede, Pulp, The Raincoats....
. In early 2004, through a distribution partnership with Koch Records
Koch Records
E1 Music , the primary subsidiary of E1 Entertainment LP, is the largest independent record label in the United States. It is also distributed by the Universal Music Group in Europe under the name E1 Universal...
, Martino independently released multiple singles on the Adult Album Alternative radio format in the United States, where he gained enough airplay to become the radio format's "Artist of the Month" in March, 2004 at only 18 years old. Limited pressings of the recordings were released in select markets, but since Martino was still only in high school an official tour never commenced, leaving the recording (titled, "New Beginnings") mostly improperly promoted. Between 2005-2006, Martino focused primarily on writing and refining his production skills in the studio, while winning or placing as a finalist in several prominent songwriting competitions in the United States, including the Billboard (Magazine)
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
songwriting contest and Vh1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's "Song of The Year Contest." In 2007, Martino was part of a short lived studio project called "The Martino Conspiracy" that briefly toured throughout 2007-2008, where Martino again independently achieved national radio exposure on the Hot AC radio format, even charting a single titled "Just Don't Know" on the top 100 airplay chart (peaking at #81) in February, 2007. The Martino Conspiracy recorded only one album (composed primarily of Martino's earlier songs which he co-produced with Ed Buller
Ed Buller
Ed Buller is a British record producer and former musician. He primarily works with Australian and British bands like Suede, Pulp, The Raincoats....
), titled "Hope In Isolation." The album was only available at the band's live shows and on their MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page and never commercially released, making it somewhat difficult to find today. In October 2009, Martino was selected by ASCAP as only one of only fourteen up and coming songwriters out of several hundred submissions nationally to partake in their prestigious annual Lester Sill
Lester Sill
Lester Sill was an American record label executive, best remembered as Phil Spector's partner in Philles Records , and also as the head of both Colpix Records and the later Colgems Records...
Songwriter's Workshop.
As of December 2010, Martino is recording new songs for an album to be released in 2011 under the band name, "The Rarest Kind", with some of the tracks having already been mixed by renowned engineer/producer Brian Malouf (Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, etc.). He is also writing/producing songs for other artists.
In January, 2010, Martino co-founded an independent record label called Gladius Records based in Chicago,.
External links
- http://www.therarestkind.com
- http://www.myspace.com/tonymartinomusic
- http://www.gladiusrecords.com
- http://www.facebook.com/tonymartinomusic