Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

TONY MARTIN, is a heavy metal vocalist best known for his work with Black Sabbath from 1987 to 1991 and again from 1993 to 1997. Tony has since been involved in many other projects (such as the Tony Martin Band, M3, The Alliance, Misha Calvin, The Cage, Giuntini Project II, Phenomena’s Psychofantasy album)… A few days ago I had a chance to interview Tony about his projects and what he’s thinking about the Music Business in generally…

Hi Tony, and welcome to Shock Finland! how are you doing today?

Thanks .. i’m good.

Well, there are so many things to ask, however I’d like to talk first about you as a musician… despite  you’re performing almost exclusively as a vocalist, you’re a multi-instrumentalist… you play guitar, bass, drums, violin, keyboards, harmonica, bagpipes, and pan pipes… so, what is your relationship with these instruments, and how you “met” them?

They all come to me by way of curiosity… I never study them.. just pick ’em up and experiment.. if I can get them to work, I use them….

What are your musical influences? and what were the bands that made you to want to become a musician?

Well I am a child of the 70’s and back then we had so many bands that in general I listened to them all…. from Sabbath to King Crimson from Slade to T Rex from Yes to ELP ….. everthing .. today I still listen to music in the same way and can very easily appreciate the Foo Fighters and Radiohead….. nothing is out of bounds.
    
Your way of writing lyrics is quite evocative, how do you get into the right mood for them?

The music always comes first.. I never write poetry and then find the music to fit.. so … it’s the music that gives me the emotion and then slowly I apply the words that come to me .. either from stuff I read or sometimes things that just appear in my head.

If you could, would you like to change something in your past?

Hard question to answer……… in short I think the answer has to be NO …. I can think of lots of possibilities!!! But those are things from where I learned, and that is how we function as human beings… so I think I have to say NO.

For many Black Sabbath fans “Headless Cross” (1989) has been the last masterpiece of the band. What are your memories of that album?

VERY exciting… and pleased to be on board as I am sure you can imagine… especially having Cozy Powell on board. All was fine at that point.

Do you think it’s possible to see a reunion tour with Tony and the other Sabs?

At this point I can’t see how…. Sabbath haven’t talked to me in 15 years. All of the albums that I was on was removed from sale completely by them and it would take unbeleivable changes to get it all back together.

What do you think about the other Sabbath singers, Osbourne, Hughes, Gillan and Dio?

Don’t have any particular issues with any of them.. I know Ian slightly and got on well … I know Glen Hughes quite well and get on well …. only met Dio once and he wasn’t happy at the time, I tried talking to him but he was just unresponsive…. no idea what that was about…. never met any of the others. They all have a place in the history of the band of course.

Would you like to tell me about your last work with Clive Jones and the Black Widow?

Ha.. that was fun … completely unexpected….. the guys were great … it was a guest appearance on one of their songs…. they gave me a set of tracks and asked me to choose one to sing on… so I did and it ended up really quite good. I never knew them before… so it was a new experience for me but Clive is a great performer and player. Great to be involved in it!

Last month you were in Italy for a new album of Giuntini Project II, how it’s proceeding?

Ahaa!! … you DID research!!! .. well yes.. we have started .. I did 2 tracks there and i have 11 to write so I am back at home working on that as we speak…. The Giuntini thing is very unique … Aldo is not known that well but we have given it a lot of attention .. he is actually a businessman in Italy and music is his passion…. well that and football… but he does have some great ideas in music and I try to give the best I can to make his music work….. mostly it’s great. But I am very pleased to be working on this album, he has come up with some really cool riffs and we have a couple of covers on this one.

I’ve also read that the new The Cage-album with Dario Mollo is almost finished, what can you tell me about it?

Yes it’s done and ready .. the only issue outstanding is with the label releasing it and we are in talks with them so hopefully it will be released soon… It is VERY diverse!!!!! and with many different things on it!!! The Cage is famous for diversity.. we can do the softest ballad and then the hardest rock, so it will be interesting to see what the response is.

What can you reveal me about your project with Andy LaRocque (King Diamond) and Magnus Rosen (Hammerfall)?
    
I met them earlier this year and went to see them at the invitation of Magnus…. He told me that he and Andy were looking to do a kind of final big thing… and wondered if I would be interested…. well Magnus is such a great guy and Andy is too I could not resist the chance to work with them… So we recorded 2 tracks and they turned out realloy cool…. but the problem at the moment is we all have previous things to complete before we can get on to any more.. so we are making plans and hopefully have a new sound for you all to hear later this year.

Tony, you have 45 years of experience in the music business, and you still have the flame inside of you… tell me, what is your secret to keep it alive?

I have been a musician since I was 7 … and I can’t get it out of my system… I am trained in many things…. from electronics to Plumbing!!!  … I even worked in a sex shop once hahaha!!! that was hilarious!!!  …. but music is the thing that has kept me …. and the thing that I have been able to live on in some ways…. it never made me a milionaire and it never will .. but I have had most of my adult life involoved in it someway or other.

What is your “A-B-C” to a newcomer band who wants to make it?

    A… Get a job
    
    B…. Find another way, other than record labels, to get your music out
    
    C … Stop working for FREE and giving your music away for FREE …. once the people that like it have it.. there is no one else to sell it TO!!!

By the way, how do you spend your spare-time? and what are your favourite dishes/beverages?

NOOOOOOO!! thats a crap question and i wont answer it!! haha!

Talking about the music business of today, is there something that makes you angry? and if you could would you like to change something?

Ohhhhhhhh Hell yes!!!!!!!!!! ……… If you think about it.. the artist is the FIRST person in the chain…. we WRITE the stuff that EVERYONE else earns their living from…. promoters managers labels publishers press … ALL of ’em live off the back of the thing we create….. but we are the LAST person to get paid…… we are the same person!!!! All of those people get their cut and percentage and wage which they STILL take… even though there is far less money in the industry….. which leaves the artist with nothing. ….. It has to change…. the whole thing.. but it has to start with the musicians and artists….. firstly as i said…. STOP WORKING FOR FREE!!!! Its not helping….. STOP GIVING MUSIC AWAY FOR FREE .. its not helping…… and start changing the contracts and percentages we give away.

…. Labels are NOT the answer…. not these days….. when so much is available to the individual.. we never had access to the world when i had my last record deal …..We NEEDED labels .. but not now….. I honestly think they are a hinderence for most of us….. Time to re think and take back the value of the thing we create… Music is a worthless art these days…. there is no value in it. .. I aproached lawyers to find out why we as creators and manufacturers don’t have the same rights as other creators or manufacturers…. they are able to expect a basic price for the things they make.. but we are not…. it seems that the world does not like price fixing… and we as a group were concidered to have our own mechanism that was supposed to give us our basic rights …… contracts ….. but those are useless today in the download age …. once the artist has got to change the way we work.. then we have to show the public the VALUE of what they are taking from us…. and the way i see it is with comparison… take going to the cinema… you go to see a film and pay 10 bucks for eg.. you see the film and leave your ten bucks there!!!! if you want to see it again .. YOU PAY AGAIN!! ….. Not so with music…. once you have bought the song…. its yours for LIFE~!!!!!!!!.. we don’t ask you to pay every time you PLAY it!!!!!! …. And STILL some people think its too expensive… well that’s just fuckin crap!!! Also it used to be that we could earn money from shows.. but in MY experience the past 5 years.. we now have to pay the PROMOTER just to stand there and sell it.. and I have had to pay everything between 20 and 50%!!! of the merch!! So that isn’t so attractive either. …. LOTS of things need to change…. and i could go on for weeks.. !!!!!!!

What would you like to say to your worldwide fans and our readers?

Stay loyal … be selective…. enjoy your artists ….. and buy the damn records!!!!!!!!!! …… oh yeah .. and .. we love you!! …..

Interview by Tarja Virmakari – Photos: Tony Martin’s Official Facebook page

For more information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tony-Martin/46342487363?ref=ts