My unexpected source was Instagram ('SEE, HE IS A WANKER, I KNEW IT, YES!'). Let he who is without sin look a gift horse in the mouth, as the old saying goes. Okay, so Instagram, like Twitter, and unlike Facebook, can be tailored to draw your interests to yourself, I follow people who share my like of amateur photography, red wine, craft beers and mostly music (vinyl *cough* wanker *cough*, okay, enough of the self-deprecation from me, specifically). As a result I get to find out about lots of great albums, mostly old ones which would be my main interest, but also some new music as well.
Just today I was flicking through my feed and notice that one guy I follow from the U.S., because he has a relatively similar taste to me, is putting the finishing touches to his own album. On to Google and Soundcloud and I get to listen to a selection of 5 tracks, listened to the first one and thought, that's good, then let the other 4 play on and realise that this chap is not only a very talented guitar player, but also the music is really good. I like old folk music with a tinge of country like Bert Jansch, Tim Buckley, Dylan, for example, and in particular fast guitar-picking, so this young man was ticking all of these boxes for me, and I liked the way that a genre that is largely neglected by young people is his modus operandi.
So who is he? His name is Cody J. Martin (pictured), he hails from Ohio, and he's only 21, 'bloody hell' I thought, when I read that in his bio. He also comes across as a very humble person who is extremely grateful when he receives feedback on his music, indeed I sent him a little message saying I liked his music and he thanked me for spending time listening to his music, do you hear that Van Morrison??! Anyways, I'll throw up a few links to his music so you can make your own minds up. But before I do, to go back to the beginning, I don't think I'll ever get used to how technology has changed how we listen to music, before the internet you'd only get to hear artists who had 'made it big', or you had the smug friend who came back from America or the UK claiming they were the first person in Ireland to have Michael Jackson's new album on cassette (I actually know someone who did this, I'm married to her). Now everything is at our fingertips and it's wonderful, we really are so lucky. Cody has 4 gigs listed on his homepage over December and January, all in his hometown, a similar musician 15 years ago and I would never have heard the music, for that I'm very grateful. Now, at the risk of Cody thinking I'm an internet stalker, I'll desist with the platitudes and leave you with his music, I know he'd appreciate you listening to it.
N.B. - My own personal favourites are 'Riverside', 'What's Already Gone' and 'All Roads Lead To War'. His new album, Somewhere You'd Rather Be, is released on the 25th of January, 2014.
http://codyjmartin.bandcamp.com/ (with 2 free downloads)
https://soundcloud.com/codyjmartin
http://www.codyjmartinmusic.com/
