Natalie Grace Martin

Natalie Martin is a prolific songwriter and lyricist, known most for her creative approach to chord progressions, jazzy melodic sensibilities, and her bombastic twisted arrangements of pop cover songs.

During her six years in Hollywood, Martin studied songwriting under the wise instruction of David Cat Cohen and "Baywatch" composer Robin Randall, and after graduation she worked as a composer-for-hire, providing soundtrack music for radio and television commercials. In the year 2007, she was hired as composer and co-director for the first ever musical production of Louis S. Peterson's "Take A Giant Step", which was directed by Hollywood veteran Warren Berlinger and ran for 8 nights at the famous Studio 58. Hollywood legend Elliot Gould had high praise for Martin, calling her a "budding genius." Following that, she composed the score to the full-length independent film "Being An Adult Sucks (2009) written, produced, and directed by Molly Anne Jacobs. She also helped to co-write and arrange songs with Nashville singer Gina Galardo.

Her solo career consists of five studio albums. Signed to Columbus independed label Vindicated Records as a solo artist, Natalie released two pre-transition albums under her former alias C. Mardo Martin: the eclectic electric pop debut "Such A Mess It's Beautiful" (2011) and her rock opus follow-up "UltraHeavy" (2013).

During the years that followed after "UltraHeavy", Martin experienced a writer's block that wouldn't break for 3 & 1/2 years. She stayed productive, releasing a collection of solo piano pop covers (and her first post-transition record as Natalie Grace Martin) "Rules Are For Breaking" (2015). Eventually Martin found her footing musically, and released her post-transition debut of original material "She/Her/Hers" (2017) which solidified her presence on the LGBTQ+ community's radar, and landed her the title of Akron's Transgender Sweetheart." Most recently, Martin made a 17-track compilation of covers from her favorite musical productions, "MUSiCAL" (2021).

Natalie Martin considers piano to be her "default instrument." She began playing piano at age 5, taking lessons for only a short time before her parents decided to let her explore the instrument independently. It quickly became her favorite thing to do. She immediately fell in love with artists like Billy Joel, Elton John, Alicia Keys, the Beatles, Ben Folds, and anybody who could rock behind a piano. No matter what musical pursuits she had outside of home, the piano was always there for her at the end of the day.

When Martin joined the percussion section in high school, her piano experience gave her an edge in the mallet section, and she played marimba, vibraphone, bells, and xylophone in the front ensemble.

In college, Natalie kept a piano in her room while studying voice, bass, and percussion at school. After her move to L.A., she continued to compose on piano, and learned how to make full-band productions on her Yamaha Motif ES7 synthesizer workstation. Using the Motif, Martin became a constant composer and unleashed her creative potential making hundreds of demo recordings, with all the instruments performed on a keyboard.

Her time jamming with Avril Lavigne as her keyboardist/backup vocalist was brief, but potent. Standing next to a multi-platinum selling recording artist and holding your own is quite a confidence boost, and even though she wasn't invited on tour, the experience has given her priceless amounts of faith in her abilities as a performer.

Upon her return to Ohio, Natalie worked as the keyboardist and lead vocalist for the reggae band Mr. Maze, and played piano for Jay Patrick Boland and the Members Only Band. The piano will always be a major part of Natalie's life, no matter how many instruments she plays. The piano came first, and is her main compositional tool.

Natalie first picked up the bass guitar in the 6th grade jazz band at school when she was 11 years old. As of this writing, she has played bass for 28 years. She is best known for her busy, melodic style, but she's also content holding down simple grooves to help others shine around her.

Her first experiences as a working musician came while playing bass in a trio of young jazz musicians, affectionately known as the IDK Jazz Combo ("IDK" standing for "I Don't Know"). Chris Baker was the drummer, and Alex Hoyt was the pianist. Later in their senior year, the trio was approached by local guitarist Marc Agnessi, and they formed the Deep Blue Sea blues quartet. Martin had to leave this band to go on tour with the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, coincidentally trading her bass guitar for a bass drum.

In her second year of college, Martin got her signature red Alvarez 5-string bass, named Mary. She switched her major to Jazz Studies, sang tenor in the jazz choir, and played the bass in the Akron University Afro Cuban Salsa band. During her time in Los Angeles, Martin played bass for the hip-hop/funk/rock project Obscure Relevance, and released their debut (and only) record "What You Gotta Say" in 2008.

Since her return to Ohio, Natalie has become a go-to bassist in the local Akron music scene. She has lent her skills to bands such as Rachel Roberts, Twin Atomic, Zach Friedhof, Daveferatu & the Highland Squares, and most notably, Church of Starry Wisdom (pictured).
She frequently fronts her band DreamStates on the bass, and recently graduated to a six-string named Kelly, thanks to the inspiration of Thundercat.

Natalie's percussion career began in high school, where she played mallet instruments in the front ensemble of the marching band, and carried cymbals during the football halftime shows. During her sophomore year, she was moved to the tenor drum section for halftime shows, but stayed in the "pit" for their competition season. This was also the year she marched bass drum for the Collage Indoor Percussion Ensemble, which would become the world renowned Matrix Indoor Percussion Ensemble the following year.

By her junior year, she was the full-time section leader of the tenor line, and on her second year marching bass drum for indoor percussion. During the summer between her 3rd and 4th years of high school, Natalie was invited to join the Empire Statesmen Drum and Bugle Corps from Rochester, NY. They needed to replace a tenor drummer who had quit mid-season, so Martin learned the music and marching quickly, and the corps finished 4th place in the 2000 DCA World Championships.
After another year of being section leader for her high school tenor line, Natalie graduated and auditioned for the bass drum section of the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps. That group wasn't in the cards for Natalie, but later in the summer, she learned that the world champion Santa Clara Vanguard from Santa Clara, California was in dire need of a bass drummer. Through an odd and long chain of acquaintances, they had learned of her quick learning for the Empire Statesmen, and they invited Martin to come fill the spot, if she was up to the challenge. She met up with the corps in Reno, Nevada, and after a grueling summer, finished their tour with them, ending up coincidentally in 4th place again at the 2001 DCI World Championships in Buffalo, NY with their show "New Era Metropolis".

When Martin returned to Ohio, she was welcomed into the Akron University marching band with open arms by director Galen Karricker, who had marched in the Phantom Regiment Drum Corps, serving as their drum major during their world champion season in 1991. She marched two seasons of bass drum for Akron University, and in the year 2002, she marched bass drum #3 for the Glassmen Drum & Bugle Corps from Toledo, Ohio. They finished 8th place at the 2002 DCI World Finals in Madison, Wisconsin.

In 2011, Martin was hired as the assistant percussion instructor for the Copley High School marching band, being promoted to lead percussion instructor and composer the following year in 2012. In 2013, Martin played drums for the Allan Ilg Band, who performed around northeast Ohio, and opened for the Gin Blossoms at the Get Well Gabby's Foundation For A Cure Benefit Concert.

Natalie is a proud and confident percussionist, drum set player, and mallet percussionist. She played real drums for her first two Vindicated Records albums, and since then, she's been honing her ability to program and produce drum sounds for recordings. Her thorough knowledge of genres, sampling, percussive patterns, and rudiments allows her to program drums that sound convincingly like a real player.

Natalie Martin is not a "born leader," she is a learned leader who has followed great people and who values giving people around her opportunities to grow.
"I would never have known what I can do if people hadn't taken chances on me, and given me opportunities to prove myself worthy," says Martin. "So much of who I am is thanks to those people who gave me a chance to shine."

As a community organizer in the local music scene, Martin co-produced 91.3 The Summit's 330 Day "Reimagined" Concert in 2017, featuring 18 northeast Ohio bands and musicians on one stage. She hosted the July 2016 Electric Pressure Cooker Open Mic Cabaret in Akron, where she met her band Church of Starry Wisdom.

Natalie shines brightest when she's working for the LGBTQ+ community, proudly hosting workshops for trans vocalists and trans allies at the yearly TransOhio Trans & Allies Symposium. As a model for the TransAkron photojournalism project she shared her story of transition and life with writer H. L. Comeratio and photographer Shane Wynn, and was honored by the Gay Community Endowment Fund at the Akron Civic Theater.
She proudly serves on the Board of Directors for trans advocacy organization Margie's Hope, which runs the Margie's Closet thrift store in Cleveland, TransAlive support groups in Akron (where Natalie is the host and facilitator) and in Cleveland, and also the Margie's Kids youth support group for trans and gender non-conforming kids.

Natalie began her teaching career as a percussion instructor for the Copley High School marching band. She then worked as a private vocal and piano instructor at the Fairlawn School of Music in Akron, where she also coached youth rock camps and songwriting camps hosted by the school during the summers. Martin has also worked as a coach for Girls Rock Akron, a yearly summer camp for young female rockers.

Currently, Natalie is in her fifth year as the music teacher for the Lippman Elementary School in Akron, an extension of the Shaw Jewish Community Center. She works with all grades from pre-kindergarten to 8th grade. She co-teaches Hebrew music classes with the younger grades (pre-K through 4th), teaches ukulele with 3rd and 4th grades, and teaches concert band with the older students (5th through 8th grade). She still teaches private voice lessons for all ages (rates are $40/hour), and can also teach private lessons on percussion, bass, ukulele, and piano.

Martin chose the flute as her first band instrument in school, and played from 5th through 7th grade. She picked up the flute again her sophomore year of high school, and learned how to play the clarinet in her free time.
In her junior year of high school, she wanted to learn a brass instrument. Her band director, Samuel Mayes, told her "I could always use a good French horn player," so that's what she chose. Falling in love with the instrument, she played double horn through her senior year, earning first chair in the wind ensemble. Feeling a lack of low brass in her life, Martin picked up the baritone bugle her senior year and marched the Ocean City boardwalk with her high school band in Maryland.
Upon getting hired as an elementary music and band teacher, Natalie acquired a trumpet, a trombone, and an alto saxophone so she could better learn how to teach her students.
For her band DreamStates and her solo album "MUSiCAL", Martin has recorded trombone, flute, French horn, clarinet, and alto saxophone.

Martin met Madeline Eckhart at a karaoke night in Akron, and they became fast friends through their mutual love of singing, movies, and theater. After Natalie's divorce in 2016, Madeline moved in and they started singing together regularly. Madeline sang backup vocals for Martin's She/Her/Hers band in 2017, which directly led to the pair deciding to start a band. Their first project was a cover of Kokomo by the Beach Boys, which led them to start making original music. They chose the name DreamStates because they see their music as soundtracks to dreams, which can go any direction and take any shape.

While the band has had an ever-evolving cast of characters, Natalie and Madeline have always remained the constant core of the band. Together they have made and released 7 records, with their 8th currently in the works.

"Parts One & Two" were released in December 2017 and January 2018, respectively. Following their self-titled debut, they recruited singer Logan Alan and released their sophomore album, the funky, ukulele-led "Mode Of Being" in April of 2018. The lead single from that album "Memory Lane" was heavily featured on local radio station 91.3 the Summit.

Their third record, "Massive Sonic Implications", is a collection of twisted cover songs and was released in December of 2018. 2019 saw the release of their 4th studio album "SAD BAD HAPPY GOOD" led by the electronic bombast of the single "Impossible Me". This was a watershed album for DreamStates, with three songs ("Impossible Me", "Spray Paint" [featuring Jeri Sapronetti of the bands Big Pop and Time Cat] and "Twisted") sporting popular music videos and plenty of radio play.

Their fifth album, the love-fueled "Something Borrowed, Something Groove" saw the introduction of singers Jo Heil and Jasper Martin (Natalie's current spouse) to the band, and marks the introduction of their iconic band logo, designed by Jasper Martin.
The quartet of trans singers were stopped from playing shows to promote the album due to the first Covid outbreak, but quarantine gave them many opportunities to perform online, joining what some called the "live-streaming revolution," and time to write. The band's sixth release, "Definition Part 1: Chrysalism" is a three-song mini-album in a planned 3-album series, featuring the groovy, serene single "Grounded".

The seventh DreamStates record, "Comets", saw the band tackle a harder, grittier rock sound, and primarily featured songs from Martin's vault of unfinished and unreleased songs, written before her transition to female. That summer, the band eschewed the pre-recorded backing tracks for a full live band, consisting of Martin on bass, Eckhart on guitar, Heil on drums, and welcoming guitarist Ashley Lauren Fahey and percussionist/singer Dexter Stevenson to the fold. (Pictured above)

Their upcoming eighth album, "DiscoNeck", will be the spirit of the seventies fused with the attitude of the 90's. Part groove, part grunge, all DreamStates. Stay tuned for more information!

DREAMSTATES ALUMNI:
Trish Pekarcic (vocals)
Ruth Chapman (percussion/vocals)
Xander Golightley (vocals)
Samantha Bartilson (vocals)
Logan Alan (percussion/vocals)
John Burrington (bass)
Jasper Martin (vocals)
Donald Alan (guitar)
Colten Huffman (guitar)
Joe Kidd (drums)
Nathan P. Frimel (keyboards/horns)
Jeri Sapronetti (guitar)
BJ Bishop (trombone)
Corey Haren (guitar)