Playing and producing music has kept me sane throughout the last year, and I am very fortunate to be surrounded with opportunities to make music with my students and fellow musicians.  Here's 5 videos of recent performances to check out and enjoy. 

My students at West Middle School are about 1/3 face to face in school and 2/3 online.  We've been bridging the gap by using a browser-based recording software, Soundtrap, for them to record their voices.  I then combined the voices using Logic Pro X and created a virtual choir from them.  The students then made artwork that matched the songs, and the result will have you smiling ear to ear as you hear the sweet voices of children singing together. 

Playing to a room which usually holds 200 with an audience of just 10, Raising The Dead performed a live streamed show that gathered almost 2,000 live views and over 450 comments.  The original webcast is on Facebook, but here it's been transferred to YouTube.  Amazing jamming, 5 excellent lead singers, and some of the best music ever.  Check it out!

The GIPC Band met for a distanced, masked recording session at Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church recently for a 15-song marathon recording session.  3 of the songs were included in the Palm Sunday service today.  Enjoy these songs recorded for worship anytime on my YouTube channel. 

The 30-day Kickstarter funding for The Crown Sessions album was a big success - thank you to everyone who supported the album's publishing and release by pre-ordering a copy.  Thanks to your funding, I'll be working with GIPC Band drummer David Alvarez to lay down some new drum tracks, improving on my performances, and choosing a local artist to help design the visual art of the album. 
I expect the final album to be published to all streaming sites and physical CDs to be delivered about mid-May.  I'll even be including some bonus live tracks on the disc, but news on that will wait for another day.  
Thanks again for all your support, and don't worry - if you missed out, the CD will be for sale once it's printed! 

You can check out the latest Kickstarter updates here. 

Today, I'm launching a Kickstarter to fund the release of my album of new original music, entitled "The Crown Sessions"

In March, 2020, when the virus shut down the middle school where I teach choir, my first reaction to the fear and anxiety of the global pandemic was to channel my emotions into creativity.  When my church, Grosse Ile Presbyterian, had to transition to online worship, I decided to contribute by writing and recording songs for virtual services in my home studio.

Over the next 9 months, I contributed 12 new original songs to worship services, all recorded in my home.  I played guitar, piano, bass, drums, and sang, and I incorporated socially distant contributions from Doug Scott (piano), Carole Scott (flute), David Alvarez (drums), Godfrey Porter (bass), and Jordan Schug (cello).
Lyrically, the songs were each written to support a particular bible passage, sermon theme, or holiday.  The lyrics are personal but always reaching for God.
Musically, this group of songs encompasses a wide range of styles, including acoustic ballad, music theater, 60s rock and roll, funk, orchestral, jazz, and modern worship.
This Kickstarter is a chance for you to own a professionally-produced CD of this special music, and also your opportunity to help the music reach a global audience, while sounding its best. 

Please check out my Kickstarter to pre-order your CD, and to help bring this music to all streaming platforms and a worldwide audience.  Thanks! 

The new CD, "The Crown Sessions," consisting of songs of faith written during the pandemic in 2020 is ready to publish, it just needs your help!  Pre-order your copy and be a part of bringing the music to the world. 

See the Pre-launch Kickstarter page here. 

I've taken the last month off from composing and recording new songs, instead focusing on taking classes and going to conferences to help me be a better educator during the pandemic, as well as spending time with my family and taking drum lessons.  This week's sermon by the Rev. Dr. Phillip Reed of Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church was inspiring, and introduced me to the namesake of this new song. 

Nashon, according to Midrash (a collection of stories and statements studied by Rabbi), was among the Israelites who stood at the edge of the Red Sea, trapped by Pharoah's advancing army.  When Moses declares God will deliver them, a man named Nashon stepped forward first.  He stepped into the sea, and when his nose finally submerged, the waters parted, giving the Israelites their path to freedom. 

My goal with this composition was to put the listener into the mind and body of Nashon, his footsteps (and later heart beat) portrayed with the bass drum, and the sound of the water in the reverse-delayed guitars.  I hope you enjoy it. 

Nashon (Waters Part)
by Dave Martin
I step with faith, do not let me sink.
Cold seas engulf me limb by limb, I seek delivery in the deep.
Let my stride follow the path that leads to You.
Master of the world, what am I to do?
Let my next step be the first to seek your grace.
Not a test of you but of my trust.  I give myself to faith. 
My heart is helpless, but I will not turn around.
Belief propels me. You’ll be with me as we drown.
Waters part!

Father's Day is a song I wrote in 2015 for premiere with the GIPC Band, and I recorded this version for the GIPC's 2020 Father's Day online service on June 21, 2020. 

The lyrics to this song reference Genesis ("And it was good") and refer to God the Father, but there are layers to the words I'd love to explain. 

My father passed in 2013, but one of the things I recall him explaining to me when I was young, was this: He and my mother said they owed my brother and I everything, and in return, we owed them nothing. Instead, we owed everything to our children, if we have them some day. Little did I know, he was describing the concept of grace. This conversation is the inspiration for the lines "I'll give you everything, a gift you can't repay... Just show your children the way."

When I wrote the song in 2015, my children were 9 and 6 years old.  Their individual personalities were well formed, and I would often notice something of my wife or myself in them.  This observation led to the lines "How can you be so much like me and be yourself in so many ways?" and "...and still surprise me with the things that you say?" 

Today, my children are 14 and 11.  They are themselves in every way, yet I continue to see the echoes of not only my wife and myself but also my father in them.  And it is good. 

"Father’s Day" by Dave Martin
When God looked down at all that He had made
He saw it was good, that’s what they say.
And when his children looked up to Him with love,
That was the first father’s day. 
And it was good.
Yeah, it was good.
How can you be so much like me
And be yourself in so many ways? 
I’ll give you everything, a gift you can’t repay,
Your Father’s love is here to stay.

How can you be so much like me
And still surprise me with the things that you say?
I’ll give you everything, just show your children the way,
And every day is Father’s day.

Now every father knows all children must grow,
Change, and move away.
Because those kids, you see, they're really you and me,
And we’re made to stumble along the way.
How can you be so much like me
And be yourself in so many ways? 
I’ll give you everything, a gift you can’t repay,
Your Father’s love is here to stay.
How can you be so much like me
And still surprise me with the things that you say?
I’ll give you everything, just show your children the way,
And every day is Father’s day.
And it is good.
He is good.
​All the time, He is good.

Today, the News-Herald published Sue Suchyta's article on Dave's composing for Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church's online services.  You can read the article here. 

To hear all the songs, scroll down this page or visit Shinyhead Music's YouTube channel. 

This song was written for the 5-10-2020 Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church virtual service. The YouTube video above will premiere at 11:30am, after the service ends. 

Another Word For Love
words and music by Dave Martin
performed by Dave Martin
Mother is another word for love.
Mother means sacrifice and caring,
Mother means selfless and strong.
A mother’s someone to lean on who knows right from wrong.
Mother is another word for love.

And a mother can be family or a friend.
A mother wants to know where you are
and she cares where you’ve been.
She’s a confidant and a helping hand,
But a mother can be family or a friend.

Sometimes mothers are tough, 
sometimes mothers are cool,
But they always  remind you 
when your acting a fool.
They cherish the laughter 
And the sad times too.
And you miss her when she’s gone,
But not as much as when she misses you.
A mother cares and she’ll tell you so,
A mother keeps you in her prayers,
and she might say, or just let it show.
A mother holds you in her heart and she never lets go.
A mother cares and she’ll tell you so.
Every woman you meet has been a mother
To her own or to someone else’s kid.
Because we all need more 
Than what our parents can give,
Every woman you meet has been a mother.
So, Let’s hear it for our moms,
and all our other moms too!
our Sisters and our teachers, friends and
Grandmas, aunts and everyone who
showed us selfless love,
and cared our whole lives through.

To every woman, 
happy mother’s day to you!