MARTI'S BIO

Marti at a young age, learned to harmonize to Billy Joel tunes. She learned to write emotional lyrics by listening to The Carpenters and Barry Manilow. She learned how to put chords and rhythms together by learning Eagle's songs. All the while, Marti was attempting to put her own feelings and emotions into her own songs. She has written close to 200 songs over the past 28 years of writing (she started writing at 13… You do the math.)

Some of her first gigs were in L.A. piano bars and Mexican restaurants where she donned her 6-string acoustic guitar and all the patrons would sing along. One of her strangest earlier gigs was in a Sushi Bar, playing country music.

Since then, Marti has fronted a 12 piece country and blues band in Iowa. The 133RD Street Band lasted 2 years and a few turns at the Iowa State Fair. She then began her first four-piece, self-named rock 'n roll band. They toured in south-eastern Iowa, hit the Fair a few times and released her first album, "Obsessive Behavior." In 1997, after a divorce and moving from Iowa back home to Los Angeles, she discovered the three musicians that she still plays with currently: Leslie Barker, Moss Reynolds and Lisa Vig. Together, they have solidified the text-book Marti Stevens sound, complete with compelling four-part harmonies and music with an acoustic folk-rock/country flair. They have even been known to be a bit blue-grassy….

Marti is a singer-songwriter whose songs reflect her life's challenges, such as being the daughter of Christian ministers and a divorced mother. She is an observer of the human experience and writes about little slices of other's life experiences, as well as her own.

Marti's singing and guitar playing is truly a style all her own. "I got my first guitar when I was twelve and taught myself how to play, listening to what was on the radio."

Marti had been a regular at the Iowa State Fair and The Women's Music Festival as well as the club scene in Iowa and Chicago for 10 years. Recently, Marti was a regional finalist in the television show Nashville Star and ended up being an alternate finalist for the televised show. For the last eight years, she has played many of L.A.'s local coffee houses, and clubs:

The Mint; The Universal Bar & Grill; Coffee Junction; Highland Grounds; Genghis Cohen;
Common Grounds; Passion Club; Passion Club; Luna Park; Blue Saloon; Jinky's Java Lounge; Sunset Junction Street Fair; Scruffy O'Shea; Blue Bird Café (Nashville)

She has produced two albums and is about to go back into the studio to cut a new CD. This one full of the same thoughtful music that has made her so popular in the LA area.

"Between her sensitive acoustic ballads and her forceful rock tunes, she creates a balanced and exciting show. Not only do her songs show off her unique and beautiful voice, but show off the rich and profound writing that reflects the deep joys and struggles in Marti's life."
Aaron Parry, Producer, Paramount.

"Marti Steven's "Read Me Wrong" is destined for the top of the charts; it's that good."
Mark Steele, CEO, deRevolution Music Group, LLC

"What about her" is one of the most powerful songs I have ever heard"
Leslie Barker, Producer, Anchor Records