GUITAR MILL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Owner, Operator and Master Luthier
Mario Martin has been singing and playing guitar for most of his life. Like many musicians, he started humbly; playing at family gatherings, parties and school functions. His first "real gig" came in the form of his ninth grade Black History Month program at school. "I got up on stage and sang Charley Pride…" Mario says, "…and it went over well, so I got bit by the guitar bug."
At age 15, Mario was playing at local honky-tonks and clubs in the Macon, Ga. area four nights a week. Often Mario would stay up until 2 A.M. to play a show, only to get up for school early the next morning. At age 16, he met his future wife and business partner, Shannon. The two became inseparable after Shannon attended one of Mario's concerts. "That style of music was new to me," Shannon laughs, "At the time, I was clueless to what he was singing about and I couldn't have told you which country artists he was covering."
In 1990, Mario entered the "Country Showdown," a national talent competition sponsored by Tru Value hardware and GMC trucks. He finished as first runner-up out of more than 1,000 contestants. At this point, he was causing enough of a stir on stage that Nashville music executives took note and traveled to Georgia to see the young, budding country star.
The "Country Showdown" led Mario to a record deal in 1991. His first record would come out on the now defunct Nashville-based DPI Records; a label that also included country music stars Hoyt Axton and Mel McDaniel.
Two albums, a couple of years and several music videos later, Mario found himself on the road opening for notable acts such as Tracy Lawrence, Ricky Skaggs, John Anderson and Lee Greenwood. "We did pretty well," Mario says. "But we never did well enough to get a lot of airplay on the radio."
By the end of 1993, DPI had gone out of business. Not giving up, Mario kept playing clubs, fairs and festivals as an independent artist. In 1995, he moved to Nashville to seek another record deal and play the local country music clubs. "Playing in Nashville, for the most part, doesn't pay the bills," Mario says, "There are too many gigging musicians. That is why I finally decided to chase my other, more lucrative, passion of working on guitars."
Job Titles:
- Owner, Shipping & Office Manager