Brad Martin Project

Melbourne rock and roll veteran Brad Martin is behind the appropriately named Brad Martin Project. Described as “the love child of the Dirty Three and the Hendrix Experience after a real heavy night”, the band is an emotive ride down the rock and roll highway. We just couldn’t pass up the chance to chat with this love child.
Hi Brad, thanks for taking the time to chat with Forte. How are you and what are you up to at the moment?
Hey, I’m real well! Played Sydney last night and we’re currently en route to a ‘wedding’ of two legendary lady pals of mine in Bellingen!
How’s the tour been so far?
Hmm, searching for a non-generic response but to be truly honest it’s been unlike any other tour in my life due to the fact we’ve been playing all shows with my Indige bud Shaun Meehan from the WA community Wyndham.
You’ve played professionally as a musician for quite a while. What made you decide to create the Brad Martin Project?
Initially I created a band titled The Publican Band which was made up of a Canadian bass player, Spence, and an old friend from Joeys (Geelong), Liam Flanders on drums. At the time I owned and ran a little live music venue in Carlton, and essentially the boys careers had to take priority … Cutting a long story short, I was fed up with the bar and decided to sell to pursue playing live full time. As a result I needed to form a band of players who could tour (a lot) which led me to form a long list of amazing players who’d typically studied jazz and had the ability to drop it for a month or two and tour.
Your new release gets a lot of inspiration from the Kimberley. What is it that you love about that part of Australia?
I’ve had this question a lot lately and I’ve now figured the best way to articulate my response after years of thought! The Kimberley is some of the most ‘untouched’ country within Oz. Every aspect of the place is so sophisticated and deep and yet so unexplained to white people … The only way to properly understand how the place works is to learn from the Ballengarra people. You can’t just drive through the Kimberley, read the odd sign at a lookout and comprehend this country.
What has the response been to playing your new music live?
From this tour playing our Dirty Three/Hendrix-inspired tunes with an Indigenous poet on board, we’ve really found audiences to be levelled by what’s coming out! A dude in Broome cried and gave the band $150 for the performance! (Just so we’re clear, he was sober.)
You’ve been doing a fair bit of work with Shaun Meehan. What has he brought to the Brad Martin Project?
The idea of playing with Shaun or bringing him into the line-up was to showcase Indigenous/non-Indigenous rockin’ out together!
We understand he hasn’t seen much of the east coast. What has he thought of it so far?
He’s currently kipping in the back; perhaps he can answer this question on stage at the Barwon Club, Oct 18th! Feel free to put him on the spot!
Is Indigenous music something you’ve always been passionate about and wanted to include in your music?
Nope, not always, but since the light bulb turned on a year or so ago I’m never turning back! There’s so much to learn from Indigenous music and musicians.
Thanks again for having a chat with us. Is there anything you’d like to add before we finish up?
White guys invented the genre “desert rock”. I’m now co-writing a desert rock album with musicians who are actually born and bred in the desert! These guys are ‘desert rock’!
When&Where: The Barwon Club, Geelong – October 18