Marc Martel – Impersonator

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) It’s pop rock. It’s kind of a combination of everything I grew up listening to. I love pop and I love rock. I’ve recently been heavily influenced by classic rock. Being in The Queen Extravaganza (Queen’s official tribute band), I think there is a little bit of everything I mentioned. I grew up listening to a lot of Top 40’s and in the 90’s I got into the grunge thing. I’m kind of one of those musicians who gets bored easily with one sound. I have a heard time keeping one continuous sound throughout one album. I think people enjoy that especially these days where it is a single driven business I think you can get away with it a little more. I love experimenting with a lot of different sounds.

Q) Your new album Impersonator is out now. Where did the idea for the title come from?

A) It didn’t take me very long to come up with it. The bulk of the album is a look into the last couple years of my life with my old band Downhere coming to a hiatus and the Queen thing becoming the main focus me. It was a big transition time for me. I had gotten the comparison to Freddie Mercury for a long time, never thinking it would amount to anything. I thought, “I’m just one of those guys that has that voice.” I didn’t think there was anything particularly unique. It was really uncanny that at the end of the shows with my band, where we are playing original music, at least five people (conservatively) would come up to me and say, “You know who you sound like?” I would say, “By now, I’ve caught on that people think I sound like Freddie Mercury and that’s great! I love it!” Then, the whole thing with the Queen band started in 2012 where I was actually playing Queen’s music that it was kind of hard to escape those comparisons. I think most people know me from that and this is my first solo album coming out saying I’m also my own artist. Sure, Queen is great and props to them. It’s opened some doors for me that I never thought possible, but here is my own music. I sound like Freddie and even when I try not to sound like him people still compare me to him. But that’s where the title comes from. It’s kind of tongue-in-cheek. I’m definitely not an impersonator, but some people call me that and I’m cool with it. People are going to call you what they call you. We all put people in boxes, that’s just human nature.

Q) Your first single is “Paradise.” What inspired the song?

A) That song was really fun to write. I recorded the album in Los Angeles and my producer, John, knew this songwriter Jen DiSilvio and she cowrote three of the songs on the album with me. We had written “Say The Word” first and the next day we came in and said, “We did this sort of vibe-y throwback rock.” Muse is one of my favorite bands and I had this riff in my head. We decided to go on that riff and write a song around it. We threw in this epic piano ballad on the end. It ended up being our first single because it represents a lot of the sound of the album in one song. The sound within the song changes quite a bit drastically. The song itself is about life controlling issues. I’ve written about life controlling issues before and I’ve been around people who have worked with people in these sort of rehab homes where they come in and face their demons. They have to be really honest with themselves. “Paradise” is a song about a person being super honest with themselves like, “I’m so addicted to this,” whether it be a substance, a bad relationship or an unhealthy view of yourself. There are moments where you have to admit that, “I can’t do this by myself and if I tried to do this by myself I wouldn’t be able to get out of it.” It is kind of a dark theme to start off your first single, but sonically it is a song that I go back to and listen to because the ending has the juxtaposition of this person at the end of their rope, but the music is so hopeful. It’s just a real contrast to the first half of the song. I’m just really proud of that one.

Q) What is your songwriting process like? Do you need the music before the lyrics?

A) It’s different every time, but what it basically comes down to for me is generally most of the time if I start the song with a lyrical nugget (this is what the song is about or the title of the song) it usually turns out to be a more cohesive idea and has a greater likelihood of being finished. I’m the kind of guy who starts a lot of songs and doesn’t finish them. So, I’ve got a lot of my hard drive on my studio computer that are full of these half baked ideas that I would be embarrassed to show anyone. I’ve kind of discovered that co-writing is so great. I’ve really shied away from co-writing for a number of years. I was in the band Downhere for twelve years and we had two lead singers. We would kind of write our own songs, me and my friend Jason, in our own corners and we got to the point where we were able to write for one another, but we very rarely wrote together. It was weird and kind of too bad because when we ended up writing together, the three or four songs we’d end up writing together in the twelve year career ended up being really good songs. I was still unsure and wanted to keep it to myself because I wanted to protect my own song writing. Once that was over and I’m kind of in my solo career, I thought it would be wise to take a chance and do some things I’ve never done before. Co-writing was one of those big things. Letting other people speak into my music and take me places I wouldn’t actually go was a great experience. It was just a great experience writing the whole album and more than half of the songs on the album are co-written. It was really great and now co-writing is something I seek out. If I meet someone who is a great songwriter I’m actually the guy who says, “Hey! We should get together and write sometime!” I would say the process mostly starts with a lyrical nugget and then every now and then you come up with a musical idea that drives the song. That’s not the norm for me, though.

Q) You are a part of social media. What has the fan reaction been like to your solo music?

A) It’s all been really great! The album has been out for a few months now and everyone who has given me feedback…I don’t think as an artist, how well known or how unknown I am right now, I don’t think people will go out of their way to say, “Hey! Your album sucks!” It’s been all really positive right now. I don’t really feel like the album is sort of released because I haven’t played a show yet, which is kind of weird. My first tour starts this week and we have a short run of ten dates. That’s where I think the rubber is going to meet the road and I’ll get to meet the fans live. I’ll get the real feel from the stage and see how the music is connecting with people. I’m really looking forward to that.

Q)  What can fans expect from a live Marc Martel performance?

A) It’s going to be pretty high energy. I’m definitely a rock artist with pop sensibilities. If you’re coming hoping for quiet acoustic story time then you are in for a surprise! That’s definitely not my thing, but I don’t think anyone who has heard anything from me would expect that. I love performing and getting sweaty on stage, putting everything I’ve got into a performance. I’ve got a really great band backing me and filling out the sound. It’s a bunch of great guys. It will be a lot of fun and high energy. Again, it’s not all upbeat rock n roll. I have some great ballads that I love to pour myself into and I think people are really going to enjoy it. My favorite thing is for people to sing along and take a moment at a concert to teach the crowd to sing a certain part in a song. I can’t wait to do that!

Q) Is there anything else about the album or tour you want to make sure fans know?

A) There are going to be a couple surprises, unexpected songs in the set that will be from some pop artist influences in my life. I think there will be a couple songs where people go, “Oh! I definitely didn’t expect that song to be played tonight.” I’m excited to see what the reaction is. The tour and album are all fresh to me right now and I’m just really excited to start something new.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your music?

A) Definitely thank you so much. People have been so supportive and I think with the Queen connection that has just been a huge thing for me. I think a lot of Queen fans are kind of seeing in me a chance to sort of relive what a lot of people who are Queen fans that never got to see them with Freddie Mercury. I’m happy to be a harkening to that. Stick with me! There is a lot more coming. With the first ten dates of the tour, if we don’t come near you we will definitely eventually!