Martin Rubs Huntsville the Right Way (from The Exponent, Student Newspaper of UAH):

By Leslie Tignor
Published: Thursdays, October 10, 2002

Brad Martin, a talented newcomer to the country music scene, gave a crowd of over 700 a stunning performance at the Big Spring Jam in Huntsville on Saturday, September 28.
Martin rocked the stage when he sang the hits "Before I Knew Better" and "Rub Me The Right Way" from his hot new album, Wings Of A Honky Tonk Angel.
Martin's debut single, "Before I Knew Better," is a heartfelt song about how a young man foolishly loses the love of his life. Martin said, "Anybody could relate to this one because everyone has something in their life they'd like to fix. It's about life lessons, and learning, and mending fences."
"Rub Me the Right Way" is about a "working man's blues, a guy who goes out and makes a living and works hard - kind of a 'take this job and shove it' sentiment." Martin's idea for this song came after seeing his dad strive to balance work, family, and music.
Although I am not much of a country music fan, I must admit that I was very impressed by Martin's singing and his personality. I had a chance to meet him and he proved to be more than just your average star. The twenty-nine year old Martin is overwhelmingly charismatic and seems to really care about his fans.
Martin is a writer as well as a singer. He wrote eight out of the ten songs on his album. "Much of my music is based on my own personal experiences in life. I try to relate my songs to common hardworking people. My songs are basically about love, lost love, and real life," said Martin.
Johnny Cash, Merle (Haggard), Conway Twitty, and of coarse, Johnny Paycheck are just a few of the artists that Martin says have inspired his musical career. Martin comes from Greenfield, Ohio, which is also the hometown of Johnny Paycheck. He said he became interested in country music because his father sang and played the guitar all throughout his childhood. His father had to give up his aspirations of stardom because of family responsibilities, but his dream stuck with Martin.
After receiving a degree in Telecommunications/Broadcast Engineering from Hocking College in 1994, Martin moved to Nashville to pursue his dream of being a country music star. He was soon singing five nights a week at a club called Barbara's in Printer's Alley.
It didn't take long for Martin to get noticed. Joe Carter (Tracy Byrd's manager) began showing interest in Martin. He encouraged Martin to develop his own distinctive style by doing more songwriting and demo tapes. Blake Chancey and Allen Butler of Sony Music gave Martin his first record deal after hearing his demo tape. Soon after striking his first deal with Sony, Martin hooked up with his producer Billy Joe Walker, Jr. (Travis Tritt, Pam Tillis, Mark Chesnutt, Tracy Byrd).
Things have been going well for Martin ever since. He has been touring the country as much as possible and says that his goal is to stay in the music scene as long as he can. :I want to still be making great music 20 years from now like a lot of the greats did. When I came to Nashville I didn't come down here to leave. I came down here to make it and to stay," proclaimed Martin.
Martin says to everyone who dreams of making it, "Follow your dreams and never give up hope…never lose sight of your dream."