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Martin Bell

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Martin Bell  ~  'An Exceptional Talent !'

But Martin is quite different, (and I think quite special) from the usual mix of musicians that can be found in the usual open_mics and gigs around the UK.

And it would be wrong of me to describe his style as Classical, Rock, or Folk etc...

Because that would only serve to pigeon-hole his style, which would inevitably mean that some folk may not go and see him because of it !

And that would be a real crime... Because Martins style is all of these... and so much more. 

So my best recommendation is that you should judge for yourself... and go and see Martin play LIVE,
But in any event be prepared to be blown away !

I asked Martin how it all started...
'I started playing guitar at the age of 13 (nearly ?? years ago – yikes!).

And after a couple of years miming with a tennis racquet in my bedroom to cassette tapes of stuff like Wishbone Ash and Alice Cooper, the guitar was an instant love affair !
And has been ever since, every day of my life.

I’m as left-handed as it’s humanly possible to be, but my first guitar teacher (classical) made me turn the guitar the ‘right’ way around, because he refused to teach me ‘looking at you upside down’...

(editor: What a moron !  ~  Who and where is he ?  ~  I'll go round and sort him out )

...which I guess has, in a way, made sense to me down the years, since my left hand has to contort itself and do the hard work on the fingerboard, while the right-hand fingers and thumb simply set the strings in motion (although some of the music I’m working on lately turns all of this on its head...).

My Influences:
My first big hero was Steve Howe, of Yes, and his solo acoustic tune ‘Clap’, which became my ‘Holy Grail’ until I learned to play it, after a fashion, at 17...

Then (and in no particular order or preference), players such as Alex de Grassi, Julian Bream, David Qualey, Pat Metheny, Steve Hackett, Michael Hedges, Pierre Bensusan, Don Ross, Andy McKee, Preston Reed, Isato Nakagawa...the list goes on...and on...and on...

My particular passion is for Japanese music (which just suits the steel-string guitar so well), and some of the wonderful sounds and players from the Far East (YouTube has done so much to ‘spread the word’ in the last few years...)

But overall, I think musical appreciation is all a process of maturing, and the older I’ve got, the wider my tastes have become. So now, I draw inspiration from sources as diverse as (Estonian composer) Arvo Part, Max Richter, Craig Armstrong, Portishead, the Tord Gustavsen Trio, Miles Davies, Tom Waits, Sting, movie soundtracks, The Beatles, Ryuichi Sakamoto and a million other artistes...

My Instruments:
Numerous guitars have come and gone over the years (often at great expense!), but for me, discovering Lowden instruments (three of them!) was the moment my own search was over.

So, very simply, my main performance guitar is a Lowden 010 (cedar top, mahogany back and sides), equipped with a Fishman Rare Earth soundhole pickup, and Elixir custom light strings, and an implicit trust in whoever happens to be operating the P.A. System on the night!

Occasionally:
The Roland GR33 guitar synthesiser might put in an appearance, along with a Godin SA Multiac Steel-String midi guitar, or a Frameworks midi nylon-strung guitar (very cool-looking instrument!), for ‘string orchestral’ type things... 

And I’m still working my way through the ‘phone-book’ style manual for my Boss loop-station, and deciding what tunes I could one day use that on... but by and large, my first love it just a solitary steel-string acoustic guitar...

I hope music will be a constant my whole life:
I regard myself as an eternal student of music. I’ll never be as good as I want to be – but trying to get there is part of the challenge/fun, and if there ever comes a moment when you imagine you’re ‘there’, you might as well forget it...

I’m really grateful to all the friends and folk who’ve expressed an interest in the music I play, encouraged me, made a nice comment, or simply listened for five minutes.

And I promise, one day I really will get round to finishing the CD !'

Martins Myspace & Youtube websites coming VERY SOON !

Open-mic's:  

Usually at the: Fitzherbert Arms

Reviews of Martin Bell's Previous Gigs:  

Why don't you go and see Martin perform LIVE ?   Then let us know what you think !

Please let everyone know that you heard it here first on Great Local Music

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