
Updated as of 02/13/12 Wow! February already!!
****************************************** The Tullahoma Songwriter's Circle is planning to meet 4 times in the month of February:
The Family Music Center in Manchester on the first (1st) FRIDAY evening, 6-9pm; The Celtic Cup on the second (2nd) FRIDAY evening, 6-9pm; Old Tyme Viola Country Cafe on the third (3rd) FRIDAY evening, 6pm til... and at THE BREW, Brew's Alley - on the LAST FRIDAY of the month from 6-9pm. If you are in Tullahoma, Manchester or the surrounding areas, are a songwriter, or if you're just someone who wants to listen to some live music, please come by and join us!
Next Circle: Old Tyme Viola Country Cafe Friday, February 17th 6pm-9pm Don't miss it! Bring your friends!
The next Tullahoma MS Self Help Group meeting is on the 2nd Monday in February, the 13th, at Ming's, 11AM. We may have a guest --- stay tuned --- but if not - I PROMISE to be there! :) Hope to see you!
Anyone trying to get in touch with Ted Garber, his scoop is listed below. But check out the bottom of The Memories page for a link to a cool video of a promo of his new CD!!!!! Contact: ted@tedgarber.com Website: http://www.tedgarber.com/
Anything new I receive on "the boys" :) - Holly & Lou - will be found on "The Memories" page. Just click the link.
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As always, keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers!
Support the 99%!
And Happy Valentine's Day to one and all!
Kathy
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Singer ~ Songwriter ~ Guitarist ~ Poet ~ Computer Artist
Visitors to this site
Her music can add the perfect
touch to any occasion.
"I've played for everything from huge,
outside weddings to a tiny,
hole-in-the-wall bar with a stage cage...
from a wake for a little boy in Northeast
DC to a baby shower in Potomac,
Maryland. I feel as if I've seen it all!"
Click any TSC logo you see or the link on the Menu
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Kathy previously performed
with the band "The River", also
featuring Lou Pfrang, Bobby
Flurie, Bill Bates and
Michael Mayo.
"It's a lot of fun playing with the guys.
It's not all on your shoulders then... and
I love singing harmony. But it's still fun
to play solo, when I get the chance.
When asked what her plans for
the future are, Kathy says,
"I think I'm learning how not to make a
ton of plans and just to take things as
they come. Doesn't mean I'm not
always thinking of different things I
might want to do, and I'm still writing... I
hope I'll always be able to do that!"
Please continue to keep our military personnel in your thoughts and prayers. They are serving their country in these troubled, troubled times. These are our own kids out there... whether or not we know them personally. Please keep them always on your mind!
God Bless Everyone!
...yes, the price of glory is high... still paid by the fortunes of war......
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Kathy Martin is a former Air Force brat, born in Fort Dix, NJ. Singing started in church and school
choirs, leading to wedding work. And that led to her decision to try an open mike night at a local Virginia
restaurant in 1978. Kathy worked the open mike circuit like a job – 4 different places, 4 nights a week – for
about a year and a half. Before she knew it, she’d spent 12 years as a solo artist, playing the clubs and bars
and restaurants all over the area. The last 5 of those 12 years were also spent sitting in with Holly & Lou, a
local duo act – Holly Garber and Lou Pfrang. Jobs together became more frequent and soon they were doing
club gigs, weddings, private parties and New Year’s Eve dates. Also during that time, Kathy did some
recording work for Charlie Barnett (whose band at the time was called The Correctones). He was writing
jingles, and asked Kathy to sing on his demo tapes. Some of those demos became radio commercials,
including a short-lived one for Oldsmobile and one for Banner Glass, which aired off and on for about 2 years
in the Washington/ Baltimore area.
It took about 4 years total, but she was able to release her own cassette tape, entitled “Kathy Martin – NOW”.
The title song, written by Lou Pfrang, was performed with Sanford Markley, another local artist, who did all the
arranging and recording of her original material. The half studio, half live tape was well received, but sold a
little less than 500 copies. “Marketing is everything, you know”, she laughs.
Kathy moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1991. With the live music scene in Vegas almost non-existent at the
time, she kept her foot in the music biz by going to the Karaoke clubs – even made some money that way.
She opened for the “Elvis” act at the El Morocco on the strip (she was the show’s Patsy Cline), and was also
able to start her own open mike night at a tiny place called The Glass Pool. From contacts there, she fell into
more recording work, doing background vocals for some of the “Legends”-type shows in Reno and Laughlin.
When Kathy came back from Las Vegas in 1994, she found that Lou Pfrang was working in a duo with
Ross Firey – they called themselves Riverbend. She started sitting in and, when they found they had a great
trio sound, started playing more and more with the guys as their 3rd part harmony. She also started working
with Lou as the duo Green Lights.
Over the years, Riverbend/Green Lights went through many metamorphoses. The band simply became The
River. As the core of the group, Lou and Kathy worked with many different players, including Bobby Flurie, Bill
Bates, and Michael Mayo.
Kathy learned in 1998 that she has had multiple sclerosis since at least 1991 (more probably since 1985),
and now Type 2 Diabetes has been added to her mix. It’s more difficult for her to play for long periods of
time, but she still likes to sing and play the music she loves when the opportunity presents itself. And
writing… she wants very much to continue to write more songs. She's currently playing and singing music
for masses at St. Paul's Catholic Church with Mark Chappell every week, and she's one of the founding
members of the Tullahoma Songwriter's Circle that meets several times monthly to sing and play original
music. And now she's trying to branch out into children's books and poetry ventures as well (some of her
poetry has been published --- books, not so much yet...). She’d also love to be able to sing blues and jazz
standards at a piano so she wouldn’t have to concentrate on playing guitar. Who knows... Any players out
there?



If you would be interested in finding out more about the rising Diabetes epedemic in the US, please click on the butterfly icon below labeled DB and it will take you to the American Diabetes Association Website.
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If you would be interested in finding out more about Multiple Sclerosis, please click on the butterfly icon below labeled for MS and it will take you to the NMSS Website.
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MS
DB
If you'd be interested in learning more about what we with MS deal with every day, here's a really interesting page on the NMSS site. It's called "The Faces of MS"
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My story is under
"Facing MS with Attitude"
Washington Post, 1998
Riverbend Publicity Photo, 1996
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Cape Gazette, 1996
Reston-Herndon Folk
Club Showcase, 2004
Favorites...
What Artists Were Your Biggest Influences in Music?
Billy Joel
I was and still am in awe of his songwriting talent, not to mention the piano playing AND he could sing it seemed
like everything! I knew every one of his songs by heart and for about 8 years when I was able, I went to every
concert I possibly could. He's an amazing artist who is still going strong!
Barbra Striesand
I saw her in "Funny Girl" on a 2-story high theatre screen in Bangkok, Thailand, and said WOW! I want to be able
to sing like that! I used to practice in the mirror with a hairbrush for a mike, belting out "Don't tell me not to live,
just sit and putter" at the top of my lungs along with her record. (Yes, that's right people. I said record!) :) She's
the ultimate "voice" to aspire to. And I always tried to match her note for note. I'm sure that's what helped me
gain what range I ended up with later in my career.
Glen Campbell
When we returned from Thailand, it was 1970, and there was a lot of strangeness going on in the Washington DC
area. I stayed in a lot and TV was my friend. So Glen Campbell became my friend, with his Goodtime Hour. He
doesn't know it, but he taught me to pick the guitar. I used to watch him every week and that's how I learned to do
it. Friends helped me with bar chords and things later, but my original "picking style" came from Mr. C.
Thanks, Glen!
Bette Midler
She helped me appreciate what Rock & Roll really, really was. I didn't REALLY get it until I saw her performance in
"The Rose". Everything changed for me after that. The light bulb went on! I got it.
Linda Ronstadt
Maybe my biggest influence in the '70's because I could sing all her material since we had such similar ranges and
I loved everything she seemed to choose to cover; from Smokey Robinson to Willie Nelson to Warren Zevon - she
did it all. And I wanted to do that. Plus it didn't hurt that The Eagles were her back-up band! :)






If you want more information on Oral
Cancer and what you can do, click
on the Oral Cancer Foundation logo
to go to their website.
Click this ribbon
to go to The
Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer
Foundation
website.
Click the hat at
right to go to
another cool
website:
http://www.check
yourboobies.org/
The Battle This is dedicated to anyone out there battling with the dreaded Big C, whether it's breast cancer or any other kind, like my sister did with oral cancer and now my mom with liver cancer. In the last statistics I saw, 1 in 33 breast cancer patients loses their fight. That's hopeful for the 32, but we need more help for the one we're losing... click on the ribbon at right if you'd like to find out how you can help.
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These are some other items from the "Art Gallery". If you want to take your life in your own hands and peruse the rest of the collections, click on the flower pot above. :)
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Thanks for the visit - come back again anytime!
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Welcome to My Website! www.kathymartinmusic.com Any comments or problems with this site, please contact the Webmaster on this link.
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Biography
Kathy's Art Appreciation & Poetry Corner
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This started out as a joke, but has become fun and even sometimes inspirational! I won't win any awards, but we sometimes get some laughs with the art and now I've found a place to post my poetry! If you want to peruse the "Art Gallery" click on the flower pot above and it will take you to the entire collection -- but at your own risk! I take no responsibility!!! :) And to browse through "Poet's Pantry" click on the tea cup!
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Press/Articles
June 9th at the Jackson Civic Center.. We were there! Check it out! Click on the thumbnails:
GO GREEN COFFEE COUNTY!
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Kathy Martin's singing style is reminiscent of Patsy Cline with the soul of Mahalia Jackson. Whether it's singing
covers or her own original compositions, Kathy wows her audiences with a heartfelt delivery that comes from deep
within and has folks asking for more. If I'd been a car, then the first time I heard Kathy Martin sing she'd have blown
my doors off. Kathy is a woman who sings with such deep down feeling… that I can't help but feel she's singing just
for me.
Karen from Annapolis, MD
Kathy’s music is like medicine for my ears.
Vince from Cumberland, RI
I always enjoy Kathy's songs, but the thing I think I like best is that they tell interesting stories. "The story behind the
song" is one of the most entertaining parts of listening to Kathy.
Sara from Tullahoma, TN
My description of (Kathy) would be "awesome voice, awesome delivery".
Kathleen from Vienna, VA
How would you describe Kathy's music?
Tullahoma News, 2007
Click the link below to join Garth Brooks through the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to donate today!
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Sign the petition! Insurance companies are forcing women who have to have
mastectomies to leave the hospital before they are really ready. Allow them their 2 days for
heavens sake! The doctors and nurses know they need it! Make Congress force the
insurance companies to stop their tyranny. It will take you 1 minute, and it's free. Just click
the link or the banner to the left! And thank you!!!
Click on the butterfly to go
back to the top of the page
Tullahoma News, Aug 20, 2008
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Check out the Photos page for other shots of
Kathy and more...
If you'd like to add a quote here... one Kathy would be able to use on a future CD project, send it to her by email at kmmartin_7@yahoo.com
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Tullahoma News,
May 13, 2009
My mom fought but lost her battle with liver cancer... there were
no real symptoms to speak of, except she was having "gall
bladder problems". They decided to remove her gall bladder due
to stones, and found a small mass on her liver... biopsy and then
scan led to the discovery of a massive inoperable tumor. There
are a lot of stories like this... Here is a link to info about Liver
Cancer:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/liver/page8
It was believed that my mom's liver cancer may have started in
her pancreas... by the time it was found, it was moot. But
pancreatic cancer is aggressive. Here is a link to information
about pancreatic cancer support:
http://www.pancan.org/
To go directly to my
Mom's page... click
on her picture at right
September was Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month -- Please do what you can to help the cause!!!
We lost my Aunt Joan to Ovarian Cancer in October 2008
We love and miss you, Aunt Joanie!
Cancer is everywhere. My sister
fought and - so far - won her
battle with Minor Salivary Gland
Cancer, a more rare type of oral
cancer, but no less invasive and
deadly. She lives with what
cancer did to her every day --- but
she LIVES! So many others can't
say that... we need to find a cure!
Some of you have been asking me how
my puppy dog is getting along...
My little Miss Merri is doing fine in her
new home in Austin, TX... here she is
below, waiting with her brother Pippin
(right) and Mr. Leo (center) for treats!
Just one of the gang! :)
My sister has moved into her new
house!! Pippin is back! So a three
doggie babies are frolicking in the new
backyard with Ree!
Tullahoma News,
January 30, 2011
Tullahoma News,
March 6, 2011
Tullahoma News,
March 20, 2011
Pippin & Merri -- Brother & Sister -
but Buddies for life!