Social Circle is proud to conduct an interview with singer, Natalie Martin. She released a CD "And All This, Too" which is available at Zune Marketplace. She's a dear friend of mine and I asked her if she wouldn't mind being the first interviewee for this new segment. She was more than enthusiastic to take part and answer the questions I sent. I hope you all enjoy the interview and there's some goodies that follow.

1) Who were your musical influences growing up? Although I loved pretty much everything I heard -- from Classical to Punk to Jazz, my standouts definitely would be Phoebe Snow, Rickie Lee Jones, Steely Dan, Vince Guaraldi and Genesis.

2) How did you arrive at the title "And All This, Too" for your CD? Actually, it's so sad -- I couldn't think of a title at all, and it seemed a good excuse to break away from the title-track-type album. After I finished the CD, I had some second thoughts, but it was too late to re-title it, so, I figured it hopefully would be a title that A) easily is remembered and B) would allow people who have the CD to give it their own meaning. Maybe if I'm lucky, one of those people will tell me what that meaning is.

3) If you could collaborate with an artist/group for a CD, who would it be? Oh, man, these days there are so many artist from which to choose -- I'd be hard-pressed to find one artist/group who embodies all the things I love about my favorite bands and artists. I mean, while a totally sweet notion to picture Rickie Lee Jones doing a song a la Rage Against the Machine, it's not something I think is too plausible. However, of late I've really been digging Cold Play -- the incredibly ethereal sound, quite evocative. If I had to choose today, they certainly would be in my top 5 -- along, of course, with Rickie Lee Jones, Birds & the Bees, Sise and probably De La Soul.

4) What future projects would you like to be (or are planning on) doing? Alas, I'm still too much of a new mom to do much music, although my current projects include drumming and doing background vocals for Angie Evans (www.angieevans.com) and doing some songwriting for musician friends. I think I kind of like drumming better than lead stuff -- less to worry about and I feel more vested in the overall musicianship. Plus, you get to sit down the whole time.

5) What music/artists are you listening to now? Well, my daughter takes precedence in the house, so we've been listening to a lot of old Captain Kangaroo albums, although after she's had her fill, we throw on Latin jazz or salsa, as well as some rare disco albums. We're somewhat going through an extended-LP phase right now.



6) You have a Zune Social page. What are your thoughts on music being a "middleman" to connect people? That's an accuratequite view of music. I mean, just a cursory look at any given social-networking site will show you how many people relate to someone through that person's favorite band: "Oh, you like Jeff Buckley, too? He was so great! Want to be my friend?" People in New Mexico are saving up to visit online friends in Italy -- all because they both absolutely loooove The Gypsy Kings. Would they have met if it weren't for that shared love? Possibly, but you can't deny that music is an astoundingly strong unifier. You can look at it like communication mediums throughout the world, and how stilted each medium makes it. Music probably is highest on the totem pole of global communication, perhaps followed by film, math and sign language, etc. What you're unable to express in words almost always can be conveyed through a love song, an opera, a ditty -- music can spur imagery you may not be able to express with words, and communicate them more effectively at that.

7) What hobbies do you have outside of music? I love to write -- that's actually where my focus has shifted since I've been doing less music. My husband and I are working on a book about food. I'm also working on a separate book -- oddly enough, also about food -- but that one's only in the planning stages. Writing seems like a natural transition from music for me -- perhaps it always was there, waiting in the wings while I got the "performing" side of me out of my system. But, you must admit: you can't go wrong with food and writing. You just cant.

8) Many artists are now offering their music free (or nearly free) via their websites. Do you think this is a good path for artists to take? For the ones who are starting out, absolutely. While it's not not ideal if you want to make a profit, let's face it -- most of these newer artists and bands probably still have day- and/or side jobs that are paying the bills while they pursue their true loves (music), so profit isn't in the equation at that stage in the game. Nevertheless, I can attest to the many situations in which friends who never had to pay to see or hear you aren't too pleased with suddenly being asked to fork over some money for a show or CD. But the whole joy in being a professional musician is in being paid to do what you love, and, frankly, the friends who do pay (or have always paid) truly recognize that. They've seen you work toward that end. Surely, there's no distinct line you draw that says, "OK, now that I've released my third CD, there are no more freebies." You can't really do that, but there is a subtle, perhaps more tactful way to announce that this is your life's blood, and you deserve to be compensated for your creativity.

9) Anything you'd like to say to the readers? Remember that we start leaving the instant we enter, so enjoy life for all you can before it's over. Thanks!

So here are the goodies:

• Below this list is a link to an unreleased track by Natalie called "Gemini" Check it out.
• Natalie's album "And All This, Too" is available at Zune Marketplace. Users with Zune Pass can download it at no additional cost.