Marty Thompson
Marty Thompson is an accomplished Songwriter, Musician, Producer, and Audio Engineer taking cues from a wide palette of jazz, rock and roll, psych-country and electronica, cleverly forging his own unique signature.
The independent artist was raised in West Texas in the 1980’s and was influenced heavily by classic Texas Rock and Psych-Country cross-vibes. Electrified under the Friday Night Lights, he had worn out and replaced his cassette of Van Halen’s debut album by age 6, saw Ozzy w/ Randy Rhodes at age 8, had complete collections of all Beatles, Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd albums by age 11, and saw ZZ Top in concert twice before age 15. It’s safe to say roots were grown!
Electrified under the Friday Night Lights, he now has written over over 300 original pieces of music. Marty performs with a modified steel string acoustic Martin 000-MMV, Gibson ES-335, or Gibson Thunderbird bass, as well as mandolin, banjo, piano, synth, Moog, latin percussion, and other instruments. He performs live with different arrangements but also multiple instruments at once utilizing looper technology on the fly. He also prides himself in studio audio engineering, and has built two extensive studios to record in. He uses these talents to multi-track and mix original compositions for release to the public.
In the mid-90's, Marty worked as Stage Tech at The Aardvark in Ft. Worth, Texas, also playing the regular acoustic drop-in show on Sundays (portrayed in his song Sunday / Sunshine). This Ft. Worth landmark was crucial in his development as a budding musician. He worked and played with Col. Bruce Hampton, Jimmy Herring, Patrice Pike (Sister 7), The Toadies, Tripping Daisy, Soulhat, The Grapes, Deep Blue Something, Matchbox 20, and many more. It was also at this time he met his wife, Kara, who introduced him to Paul Schnarz, manager for The Chicks.
Marty moved to Tennessee in '97 he (along with Sam Holt and David Dean) formed a band called StormWatch. StormWatch had regional success traveling around the South, as well as a fabled tour through Texas in Summer ’98. Through his relationship with Schnarz, Marty obtained a job at ASCAP in membership. Working here allowed him to network and share music with other songwriters, including Waylon Jennings. This was also when he was introduced to experimental recording techniques and production philosophy.
Marty continues to compose and produce music, releasing new material often and keeping his loyal fanbase on its toes.
COMPOSER / MUSICIAN // PRODUCER / ENGINEER