Today we’d like to introduce you to Darren Martin.
Hi Darren, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
One of my favorite questions I definitely get asked this a good bit from people starting out who are just like me and wanna know! I’ve always had an interest in music growing up. I grew up on Christian music. My first mom played a lot of piano. She loved southern gospel and she would play a lot of the gospel greats on the piano so I kinda got an ear for it young I believe that was my start to a love and passion for music! I also loved country music growing up I’d listen to it on the radio I remember telling myself that I would someday be on that radio growing up I think my first song that ever spoke to me that this was gonna be my career path was a song called southern boy by Jordan Rager and Jason Aldean also are ppl who I still look up to in the industry today that song came out 11 yrs ago . I always felt like I was kind of the odd kid in the group, and I always struggled to find a place to be recognized and it seemed like there was always more popular kids than me and I would just get pushed to the back of the line so I kind of turned to music as my healer I guess I always thought I was never good enough for anybody so I kind of kept to myself when I was younger when I was 15 I started writing my own songs I really picked up an interest for it when I was in my teenage years. I never really had anybody to tell me how or to coach me through it so I just kind of found my own way. It’s been a long tiring road with a lot of dead ends and broken promises! My mom passed away from a heart problem. I remember making a promise that I would someday sign a Record deal and make my family proud. I just wanted to be somebody I wanted to prove to the people that always told me I would never be anything that I could be something! Looking back I’m not really sure what has persuaded me to keep moving forward because so many times I’ve wanted to give up and I think a lot of musicians do give up when the times get really rough. I guess I just believe in what I have to offer, I know what I wanna do. I know where I wanna go and I keep pushing forward. I give all the praise and glory to God because without him I don’t think I would still be doing what I do since I’ve been 17 to now (27) I feel like it’s taking all those years to finally get to where I’m at now and doors are finally slowly starting to open. I’m starting to meet different people make new connections and build a fan base. There’s still a lot of work ahead of me where I want to go with it, but I’m definitely further than I’ve ever been! I think my biggest motivators have been my haters and the people that have laughed at me for choosing this career path. It has just kind of kept me motivated to keep moving forward and prove them wrong and I don’t give up very easy honestly I don’t have a back up plan. I feel like it’s a cop out if you do so I don’t really know anything else but this! I don’t really know what other career path I would take if I quit also I’m so invested in my music it would just be dumb to quit now!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it has not been an easy road. I didn’t realize it would be so many stumbling blocks and dead ends in trying to pursue a music career. The music industry is Rough. It’s not something that you can just jump into and expect to make it overnight. some people do find that overnight fame but there’s still a lot of hard work that goes with it. Nobody was around to really coach me through the first 11yrs of my journey I just winged it and had to learn from my own experiences how things work and didn’t work! I didn’t really know who to go to for help. I didn’t really know anybody inside the industry! when I first started out. I sang gospel music then I transitioned over to Country, which is what I do now! I think my biggest challenge was when my mom died that really put a setback in my dreams that I was chasing, but I still continue to plunge forward and it’s been almost 6 years now she’s been gone. I believe I hope that I’m doing her proud with what I do! I recently released four songs and I’m currently in the process of releasing another one here soon, but I think my song Sarasota breeze that I wrote has been my biggest one ever very personal to me but I think it’s been an open door in my career so far I think a lot of people have been able to relate to the song thus far! Also, I’m in and out of Nashville a good bit I’m hoping to move there in the near future permanently!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I love farming. I grew up on a farm. I love working with horses and cattle. I still do when I’m not busy doing music. It’s getting harder to do these days but I still love coming home to my parents farm. Also, what am I known for good question? I used to build show trucks. I owned a few show trucks I would go out to truck shows on the weekends meet a lot of really cool people in that line of work. I build a fan base and a following off a truck account that I started online and yeah, that was really cool. That was probably one of the biggest things I was known for growing up besides my music! the thing I’m most proud of is that I have never given up on a dream that a lot of people would consider impossible. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it you gotta believe in yourself before others can believe in you and that’s kind of the motto I go by today. I think consistency and just sticking at something is probably gonna get you the most results. I think so many people start a project and they realize that it’s bigger than they think or they just fall off and things just never happen. I tell people with you have a dream by all means chase it if music is your thing go for it do it!
How do you define success?
I think for me it’s more than just about the money or the fame. I love building connections with my fans when I go out to play shows I love intermingling with my fans getting to know people on a personal level. I always try to make time to meet and greet with as many people as possible. It’s about building connections and relationships with your band with your team with your fan base. I think that’s kind of what builds you as an artist. I think a lot of people might look at it is just getting out there for money and fame and that’s not really what it’s about. I think those are some perks that might come with it, but I think if that’s the only thing you’re chasing then you’re doing it for the wrong reasons for me at the end of the day. I just hope that my music can speak to somebody in a way that helps them. I hope that I can be a channel for their lives. Whatever they’re going through. Music is powerful music speaks a lot of powerful things and I think it does things for people in a lot of different ways so I think honestly success for me is just being able to connect with other people in this crazy big world! And hoping, and knowing that my music has reached a spot in their hearts that hopefully changes their lives forever!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darren.martinn?igsh=eDl5MHBmdXJwbWg2&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@darren.martinn?si=O-tH-duspmlXL96o
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/32YEO9IFQggNlxPrNt0EwM?si=dIApJAK8Tt-SMxKlFZmwQw
