john Arthur martinez was kind enough to sit down with AngryCountry during the Country Radio Broadcasters convention a few weeks back. We previously published a portion of that interview (jAm's advice for this year's Nashville Star contestants) and many of our readers have been impatiently waiting for the rest of the story. Now, with his long-awaited album hitting store shelves, we bring you that interview in its entirety.

Mike: So, since we last talked to you [ August 2003 ] there's been some good news for you. You've signed a record contract...

jAm: Yes, I did, with Dualtone Records. Scott Robinson and Dan Herrington are trying to pave a new road in country music. They are trying to create a label that is artist-friendly and singer/songwriter-friendly, and yet has the reach and power of the majors. I think we're well on our way.

Mike: When we talked to you about six months ago - down in Birmingham - you said that you were holding out for the right deal from the right label that would let you make your music your way. Do you feel you have that now?

jAm: I certainly do. They basically told me in the first meetings that they weren't going to try and tell me who I am. I already know who I am. So far as artist development is concerned - where Dualtone and major labels differ - is that Dualtone is more in tune with trying to allow an artist to create an album that is truly their project. And, of course they paired me with Matt Rollings - a great producer. So Matt is capable, fully capable, of creating a project that radio will accept. And, at the same time he listens to the inner workings of the songwriter and musicians

Mike: That's really great, especially since you have a large fan base made larger by your performances on Nashville Star. And, they know what a john Arthur martinez song is supposed to sound like.

jAm: Eleven of the twelve songs are mine and some of them are re-issues and remakes of songs that appeared on my independent releases. But given the Matt Rollings treatment, I think the fans are going to be tickled to death.

Mike: Awesome... and when can we expect the new album?

jAm: Cuatro de mayo.. May fourth (he laughs, seeing me try to recall my three weeks of Spanish classes from high school.) May fourth is when Lone Starry Night will be released.

Mike: What is Dualtone's distribution like? Will we be able to find the album in most stores?

jAm: Oddly enough and ironically, Dualtone is partnered with Sony in distributing the product.

Mike: So you got the best of both worlds!

jAm: I get to make the album I want and Sony will distribute it. That's true.

Mike: Very cool. Well, having talked to us before, you know we like to bring questions from your fans, and we have a few of those today...

jAm: Cool.

Mike: One fan wants to know: Are we going to see a bilingual single from you in the future and do you think country radio is ready for it?

jAm: Yes and Yes. To the first question let me follow up and say that I'm not sure which single will be bilingual, but there's four tracks on the album that are bilingual and there's a fifth track whose theme is a Mexican fiesta (Tonight at Fiesta). So, even though it's an English song, the theme is Southwestern. As far as radio being ready for it? I think that my release of "When You Say Nothing At All" on the compilation album from Nashville Star was a true indicator that radio is definitely ready. That song charted without any radio promotion, and that was a bilingual effort.

Mike: Another fan question: A while back, in another interview, you said that you were learning to play the mandolin and trying to improve your drum playing. How is that coming? Might we see you playing those instruments in concert soon?

jAm: I have played the drums in concert already, so I think I am getting closer to being proficient at playing drums live and doing that professionally within my shows. The mandolin learning has been slowed by all this activity of making an album and producing and promoting a single. My mandolin playing has been a little slow. I can play the Armadillo song on the mandolin, though.

Mike: Have you felt any pressure to change your style of music to be less "Texas" and more "Nashville"? Not just from Dualtone, but radio and the entire industry.

jAm: I think that there are great examples already out there of folks that are Texan, but can be accessible to a national audience. George Strait is the first one that comes to mind. I would like to think that my music is as accessible as George is to a national audience.

Mike: john, with Nashville Star 2 just starting, do you have any advice for this year's contestants? [I will remind our readers that this interview took place in March 2004, at the start of the Nashville Star season. I kept this outdated portion in to preserve the continuity of the interview.]

jAm: You know, I've had a lot of time to think about this one and I have several things I want to say. First of all, don't ignore the fans. There's a very good reason why Buddy Jewell and I were the last two standing. He and I responded to every email that came to our website, after the performances, from fans around the country. We did that up until about the seventh show when we both started getting overwhelmed with emails. And then we started sending a mass response to the emails because we couldn't respond to each one at that point.  It had just snowballed. But, definitely don't ignore the fans! 
     That one fan that you respond to can make the difference, and there's only a handful of emails after the first show. At the beginning there was a lot, but nothing like what happened after the eighth, ninth or tenth show. So, don't ignore the fans.

    But two things about the performance that I wanted to tell them is: First, they have to be themselves. Country music fans can see right through you if you're trying to be something you're not. So, if you are a pop-country kind of artist, don't try to pretend to be a traditional kind of artist. And, vice versa. 

Mike: And don't try to sound like someone who's already made it.

jAm: Exactly. Be you. And, of course songwriting is going to play an important role in this year's show. The two songs that separated Buddy Jewell and I were "Home Made of Stone" and "Help Pour Out The Rain" and both of those were our own compositions. You may write the song that changes the course of the show, while on the show... so keep writing.

Mike: Did you attend the taping of the first episode of Nashville Star 2?

jAm: I didn't get to go to the taping, but I've gone to the website and I know some of the contestants from the Austin area. The one that I do know, Brennen Leigh, is phenomenal. I did a show with her in Luckenbach, Texas on an outdoor stage. She plays the mandolin, fiddle and plays guitar and sings great, sings in tune. She looks great. She has a lot of onstage personality. I think she has a good shot. The other girl from the Austin locale - my mind's gone blank on her name - but she's generated a lot of buzz in the Austin, Texas area, and I apologize for not remembering her name. I'll think of it later.

Mike: What do you feel is an artist's responsibility to his or her fans?

jAm: First of all, the fans are like your family. Don't ignore your family. Somebody told me that the way kids spell love is T-I-M-E. You have to spend time with them. You can tell them you love them all you want, but taking a walk with your daughter means more than saying "I love you" at night. You have to spend time with your fans, too. That might mean at concerts, taking the time to sign their photos and taking pictures with them. If they brought a CD of yours - by all means personalize that CD for them. You can not ignore the fans.

Mike: With that in mind, are you planning to attend Fan Fair this year?

jAm: I know that I have been invited to perform on the Riverfront stage already, so, yes. We're still working on everything else.

Mike: You once told us that you were the Saint Mary's Catholic Church Disco Dancing champion. Do you still dance on occasion?

jAm: My wife and I love to dance! When I was growing up, I would go to the country dances usually on Friday and Saturday night. And on Sunday night they had the Spanish dances. When I was in high-school, the head cheerleader of our school, Carla Ripley; she and I were the disco dancing champions of the High School. So I was also the champion at St Mary's Catholic Church. 

Mike: Finally, what else would you like to say to our readers?

jAm: They definitely need to keep patronizing the AngryCountry.com site and they need to make sure that they keep alive the passion that you have for independent-minded artists and also the legends that are largely ignored by the mainstream media. It's a crying shame that legends like Merle Haggard have to beg for interviews.

Updated Fan Fair plans from jAm's manager: Jam will be playing at the Riverstages on Saturday, June 12 in the time slot somewhere from 12:45pm to 4pm.  He will also be performing outdoors in front of the Opry House for a free show in the quad area adjacent to the parking lot at Opry Mills.  It's the Opry Plaza at the Grand Ol Opry House.
He also has a booth...there may be some more stuff but this is it for now.

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