Apathy is Boring - Art & Music

Featured Artists

Josh Martinez

is an Apathy is Boring artist.

…The Lifestyle
In the past five years Josh Martinez has managed to tour 200+ dates per year all over the world, start his own label, Camobear Records, ink deals with European labels Bella Union (UK) and V2 (Europe), license records to distributors in Japan, Europe and North America and headline festivals and showcases worldwide. And all of this, with absolutely no help from an established North American record label, manager, booking agent, publicist or industry support.

His recent naming to Urb Magazine’s Next 100 rising stars, profiles in Rockpile, Pitchfork, Magnet, Spin, CMJ magazine, and reviews from all over, signifies a larger media interest. Profiles in Europe have included excellent reviews in UK’s Jockey Slut, DJ Magazine, NME, Fader and HHC.

Josh has managed to find time amid all the deal cutting to develop not just his solo career, but that of two groups as well. Josh is a founding member of both The Chicharones and The Pissed Off Wild. The Chicharones is Josh’s underground pop project with rapper Sleep of Oldominion. Together they have released two full length albums since a chance meeting between the two at South By Southwest led to the formation of the group. The Pissed Off Wild, (or the P.O.W.), is a live rock band which Martinez fronts. Musically the band draws more from artists like the Black Keys and Beck, than the hip-hop sounds that Martinez would generally be known for.

2005 was a year of change for Martinez. He has recently enlisted the help of a management firm, agent and publicity company and he’s suddenly finding time to make music again. “I’m DIY guy, and since record labels weren’t knocking on my basement door, I figured why wait for them to find me?” says Josh. “I did everything myself til I came to the point where I hit a ceiling. I needed help to get over the industry hurdles and free up some time to make music. I’ve got a great team, who I’m putting to work with this next album of pure fire.”

Now in 2006, Josh is hard at work in the studio. Martinez most recent solo album, Midriff Music, won “Best Rap Recording” at the 2005 Western Canadian Music Awards. After the success of his solo and Chicharones material he’s hard at work in the lab constructing his next solo album, “Traditional Songwriting with Choruses”. Working with some of his regular production partners, he’s also enlisting the help of some notable guests who he’s met over the years. Josh is aiming to have the album complete prior to the end of February for a release in Spring 2006.

Martinez is next scheduled to tour Japan, Australia and Hawaii. His latest two releases in Japan have been greatly received and he is looking forward to touring a new territory and performing in front of a new crowds. Stay tuned for more information in early 2006 as the album is completed and Josh readies his arsenal for the Japanese tour.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Has played every major and most minor North American markets, playing over 1200 shows in the last 5 years with special focus on college markets
Headlined Southwest by Southwest (2001-2005), North by Northwest, Bumpershoot, CMJ, Nemo, Florida Music Week, Winter Music Conference
Performed on the 2003 and 2005 edition of the Vans Warped Tour and the 2004 US DMC finals at Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles
Canadian Showcases at Pop Montreal, Canadian Music Week, North by Northeast, Slam City Jam and New Music West and various festivals throughout the West Coast
Three highly successful tours of Europe including shows in the UK, France, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands
Overseas Showcases include Transmusicales (France), Triptych (Scotland), Printemps en Bourges (France), Innsbruck Fest (Austria)

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Interview

What music are you listening to / art are you checking out these days?

I’ve been pretty quiet on exploring new art but I’m just about to jump in fully in the next little while as i’m craving new experience and inspiration. For music I mostly listen to doo-wop, old rock and a fair amount of new rock. Kings of Leon, Black Keys, Beirut, White Stripes, whatever rock has drums that bang like a rap record. I also like crazy jazz to blow my brain with. Ornette Coleman, Jimmy Smith, Coltrane, Bird...

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

Its the absolute least you can do. A lot of people love to complain from the sidelines as if there is anything that has ever been accomplished on the sidelines. I have friends who refuse to vote on some principal they made up in their head and it gets a serious tongue lashing and a couple swats to the head everytime I hear it. If youth voted, Stephen Harper doesn’t run this country, Sam Sullivan does not run Vancouver (into the ground) and George Bush is pushing hot dogs at a Texas Rangers game, instead of turning the USA into the world’s least liked country.

Why do you care about community, when it is so easy not to?

Community is the only place you can have an immediate and direct effect on changing things. For me community is the most important aspect of reaching criticial mass and making real change happen. You need to start in your own backyard, assemble a healthy gang of like minded troublemakers, and start hitting back at unreasonable activities. Also my community is where I connect with my lifeblood as an artist, which is interesting people and unique experiences.

What do you look for in a politician? What do you expect from your MP?

I expect a politician to be a politician. Promise everything, say the right things, and look good for the cameras. That’s what politicians do. But the ones who do that well while pushing an agenda I believe in and support, that is what is needed for me to feel comfortable in the political process. I’m not much of a fan of the way politics plays out as it seems to be a lot of petty bickering but there are some inspirational folks out there that can play the game and get things accomplished for the home team, which for me, is Canada’s legacy of strong social support for communities, for the impoverished and for the continuing role our health care system plays as a model to the world.
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Media

	Another Day MP3
	BC Trees MP3
	Just a Dood MP3
	Official site http://www.joshmartinez.ca/

Quotes

“Martinez litters his tracks with more melodies per square inch than any rapper on the planet. Once he gets his hooks in you, he’ll never let go.” - URB Magazine

“Magnetising audiences with his ridiculous stage presence and inimitable joie de vivre, Josh Martinez’s is a legitimate underground success.” – NOW Toronto

“His latest album, Midriff Music, is an opus of anthemic rap music, bullying topics all over the schoolyard, pushing the envelope of acceptable hiphop behavior and making one of the best rap albums at the same time.” – Ion Magazine

“Midriff Music is a must-have. Going from banger to anthem to summer jam and back again, this album showcases a colossal display of songwriting prowess, with Martinez guiding the feel and flow with effortless ease.” – DJ Magazine...
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