There's a certain feeling musicians get when they perform live for others, and it's because of this feeling that Katie Martin, a musician out of Atlanta, continues to come back and play at local venues in Auburn. This Saturday, Martin will join two other bands and play a 4/20 show at Stir Auburn.
Martin was involved in band when she attended Auburn High School, but didn't start making and playing the kind of music she does now until she was about 20.
"I just kind of tapped into it," she said. "I started writing music on the guitar and I got a lot out of it emotionally, so I just stuck with it. Somehow, it switched over to what I'm doing now."
Martin said when she moved to Atlanta about a year and a half ago, she got involved with the blues' music scene, and because of this, the bluegrass genre of music has had a heavy influence on her sound.
"I can't really be classified as a straight up blues musician, but I definitely have some strong influences of blues in what I play. I also have a good bit of folk and soul genres mixing in with what I'm doing," Martin said.
She added that the song-writing aspect of her music has become a main focus lately. Martin said that with her song-writing, sometimes she'll just hear a melody and go from there.
"Some of it just comes to me--I normally get a line or two stuck in my head and end up writing the rest of the song based off of that," Martin said.
This isn't always the case, however. "Some songs are going to be more difficult," Martin said. "A lot of my writing comes from personal experiences, things happening in my life and how I'm dealing with them at the time."
Actually making it to the finished product of a song and then performing it is something Martin loves about what she does.
"When I'm able to find the sound that completes it, it's almost like a drug. It can be a little addicting," she said.
She said that not much can compare to the feeling of performing live. "When you're playing in front of people, you're very much in the moment--you're in the now, you are in the music."
It's because of this feeling that Martin continues making music and performing live. Additionally, Martin said playing her music in the moment can help her forget about any stresses she might have. "I find that when I play music, I just have to let it take over," she said. "It also makes a big difference in how your audience feels the song or feels the music."
The show at Stir Auburn will begin at 9 p.m. on Saturday, April 20. Martin's hip-hop group, Hey Alligator, will play in addition to an Atlanta based band called The Hollidays.
Martin said The Hollidays are a group of brothers who will put on a great show.
With regards to the future, Martin has begun recording songs for an album, and said she only wants to grow more as a songwriter and musician. In a year, she plans to move to Hungary along with her Hey Alligators band mate to further pursue music.
"One of the guys that I've played in shows with is originally from there, and is a phenomenal blues musician," Martin said. "His family lives there, so he is going to help us get into some festivals over there and just see how it goes."
Martin said all she has to do now is learn how to speak Hungarian.
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