Jake Martens

Giveaway Winner

2010-07-05T18:05:00.003-04:00

Hey guys, sorry about the delay announcing a winner. The winner is #4, Lydia's Pennies! Congratulations Lydia, we'll be emailing you with all the download information.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

St. Mary's 4th of July Celebration

2010-06-29T14:37:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to let you know I'll be playing from 2pm-3pm this Saturday at the St. Mary's, GA 4th of July Celebration. I'll be playing down by the park at the waterfront. I also *might* be playing short 15 minute slots later throughout the day. I hope you guys can find the time to stop by!

I'm glad I'll get the chance to play near my hometown again. Plus, it could mean I get to spend the morning out fishing near Cumberland Island, which is a pretty awesome place.

I've got a few new songs to play, and I plan on doing a cover or two of my favorite songs.

Also, don't forget that I'll be playing at Blackbird in Dublin, GA July 9th from 7pm-8pm.

Thanks for reading!

I hope to see you guys there!

*Also - don't forget to enter my giveaway! Check out this post to enter to win a free download of my CD!

CD Giveaway! (Closed)

2010-06-21T12:40:00.010-04:00

This giveaway is now closed - thanks to all who entered!

Hey guys,

I'm excited to let all of you know that I'm giving away a digital version of my CD, Inescapable Way of Life. Here's how to enter -

Follow my blog.
Listen to my music on MySpace and leave a comment on this post telling me which song is your favorite.
Like my page on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/jakemartensmusic
Follow me on Twitter - @jakemartens
Blog about this giveaway.
Tweet about this giveaway.
Tell your friends on Facebook about this giveaway.

MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST FOR EACH THING THAT YOU DO IN ORDER TO RECEIVE CREDIT!

All entries must be received by Thursday, July 1st, 2010 at 11:59pm. A winner will be chosen by random.org and will be contacted by email (and announced on this blog). If the winner does not respond within 48 hours another person will be chosen.

Thanks for entering, and good luck!

Inescapable Way of Life

2010-04-30T15:12:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! I'm going to write about a few of my songs, and I decided I'd start with this one, Inescapable Way of Life. Here are the lyrics.

Out of line, I've been wrong.
Been running from what I know is You.
It's times like these where you really show yourself to me.

This first verse was actually written a long time ago. It's pretty self explanatory. When I've tried to escape from God in the past or found myself caught up in sin, Jesus always ends up there, reminding me that I'm in the wrong.

I've been trying to escape for far too long.
How can I escape from You?

No matter what I do,
No matter where I go,
I know.
You'll always be beside me.
You pick me up,
You provide,
It's my inescapable way of life.

So many times,
So many lies,
I tried to hide the truth from You.
Still you're there,
Arms open wide.
I cannot run.

The rest of the song was written shortly after I accepted Jesus. My wife loved the sound of the song, so I decided to finish it. The rest of the song describes my many times turning down God when I thought I was already doing all that I needed to.

Each song that I write can be directed back to this theme. Like Jonah, we really can't escape. It's a beautiful certainty, really.

Crawfish Festival

2010-04-26T13:34:00.003-04:00

Hey guys, had a great time playing at the Woodbine, GA Crawfish Festival this past weekend. I got to hang out with some friends and family. I hope I'll get to do it again next year. Remember, I'll be playing at Blackbird in Dublin, GA on July 9th! I hope to see you there!

Marketing Stuff

2010-03-06T01:46:00.003-05:00

Well, it has been a while since I've actually posted anything to my blog. I've been so caught up with trying to keep up with the facebook and myspace sites and everything else that happens in the real life realm.

I spoke with my marketing rep today, and he has my form with all the little goodies that you guys need to know about me whenever my CDs are being sold somewhere or I'm playing somewhere. It includes my testimony, short description of my music, how I became involved with music, and a few things for shows and radio play.

We've built a nice list of places to possibly play at, and I definitely appreciate the suggests that you guys made on my facebook page. There is a high chance that I will be playing in Kingsland, Georgia twice before the end of April. I don't want to say which places yet, because honestly, I don't know all of the details yet, as most of this just began today. I'll definitely let you guys know as soon as it's a done deal. I really look forward to it. Keep checking out the facebook page for more information.

I really appreciate your support, keep praying for me!

It's Late

2009-11-30T03:02:00.004-05:00

It's late, and I am a horrid sleeper. I have taken this time and the time spent last night not sleeping to polish my facebook fan site and my myspace fan site. You can listen to Inescapable Way of Life, You're All I Need, Surfer Girl, and My Testimony on the myspace page. I'm happy that the songs are finished. The graphic artists are next in the line. They will be workin out what my CD cover and booklet will look like.

I also submitted a song to be considered for Tate Music Group's artist of the year. The top ten artists will be announced on Feb. 1st, and the top five will compete later that month in Oklahoma City.

I hope you'll check out my facebook fan page and my myspace fan page, enjoy the music!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jake-Martens/184048392478?ref=nf

http://www.myspace.com/jakemartens

New Myspace Page

2009-11-24T03:43:00.003-05:00

The final edits of the songs on my album were sent to me earlier today. This allows me to start a myspace page and add a few songs there. The page is pretty simple right now, just the standard myspace set up. As time goes on, I'll add more and make it a bit cooler looking. For now there's just a little about me and 4 of my songs.

I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.myspace.com/jakemartens

We're home!

2009-11-10T15:02:00.002-05:00

Well, we actually got home early Saturday morning at around 3 am. It was a crazy long drive, 20 hours or so. The drive was supposed to take about 17, but between stops, and the 2 hours to get through Baton Rouge, we lost a lot of time. The recording went well. We finished all 8 songs, and now the producer and musicians will add in a few more tracks before it's finished.

This next month the graphic designers will design cover art work. In January marketing will begin, and maybe even radio play that early, but I don't know yet. In February the CD will be released and ready to buy in store or order online through places like amazon and itunes.

Thanks for reading, hopefully I'll have more news to share soon!

In Oklahoma

2009-11-05T11:35:00.003-05:00

Hey guys, my wife and I arrived in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. I started recording yesterday. We laid down a good chunk of the guitar parts. Today and possibly tomorrow we'll record my vocals. We did finalize the list of songs on the album, they will be:

Could Not Imagine
What to Be
You're All I Need
You Came In
I ain't got the Blues
My Testimony
Surfer Girl
Inescapable Way of Life

I've posted three of those songs on this site. I will probably only post one more. The CD should be released in February. Between now and then the producers will be mixing and mastering the tracks. The graphic designers will also be designing the CD cover.

If we do finish recording my vocals today, we'll leave to go back to Florida tomorrow morning. It is quite a drive, bit it wasn't too bad at all on the way up here. We stopped in Memphis for one night to break up the drive. This time we probably won't break up the drive. The drive is about 17 hours including stops and the such.

I'll post more as time goes on and the release date gets closer.

Production

2009-10-13T12:47:00.005-04:00

I've talked with my producer briefly now, and I can't wait to discuss the full album with him. He's beginning the process, and by the time I finish recording my tracks on November 6th, all of the tracks should be completed.

Kari has the whole week off, so I'm grateful that she gets to go with me for my week of recording.

After recording and producing the album during November and December, they will do any album artwork for the cover and the booklet. After that is finished they will begin marketing the CD and the songs will become available for download on Amazon, Itunes, and a few other music download websites. A few songs will also be sent out for radio play. After all of this, the actual CD should be ready for release in the beginning of February. I'm definitely looking forward to it. Keep praying for us as the busy part of the process is getting closer.

Kari and I have been fairly busy these past few weeks, and we've had our minds on other subjects, so I haven't been able to post another song in quite some time. I'm thinking we'll have plenty of time this weekend, and hopefully I'll post the song "My Testimony" this Sunday. Thanks again for reading, and make sure and check back for more news soon!

Ignite Church

2009-10-01T14:48:00.002-04:00

I had the opportunity to share with Ignite Church in Kingsland, GA this past Sunday. I know I was blessed to have the chance to be there, and I pray that I was a blessing for Jesus on somebody there as well.

It's now a month before I leave to record the CD. I'm definitely excited, and I can't wait to take the trip. I'll work on making another rough video to post here and on youtube.com. The next song will be called My Testimony. It definitely brings out more of the blues side to my music. Hopefully I will have it posted by this weekend.

Thanks for reading, and please continue to pray for my wife and I as we are getting closer to beginning this new part in our lives.

You're All I Need

2009-09-21T12:29:00.003-04:00

You're All I Need is a song that I wrote as I reflected on the time before I knew Jesus. I remembered the pain that I felt as I recognized that I was a fallen man. These words express the agony of not knowing Him, and then move into revelation as I realize that He's truly all I need.

It's been killin' me.
Tearin' at my mind,
Is this what it's like,
Without You in my life.

Lord, I know
Oh, I know
It's been killin' me.

In deep agony,
Noticin' just how bad.
This life I lead,
A fallen man.

Lord, I know
Oh Lord, I know
It's been killin' me.

You're all I need.
Take away the pain.
Make night day.
Bring me to Your way.

Lord, I know
Oh Lord, I know
You're all I need.

All I need
You're all I need.

Again, I hope you enjoy this one. I'm tweaking another song called My Testimony and should have it posted before the week's end.

Music and Testimony on September 27th

2009-09-04T14:51:00.005-04:00

Sunday at 10 am I'll be leading the morning service for Ignite church in Kingsland, Georgia. I will join their church's praise team for worship and then share my music and testimony with them. I will play the two songs that I have posted here on the blog along with four others. If you're in the area, I'd love to see you there! Kingsland is my home town, and it's always great to see familiar faces. I really enjoy getting the chance to be home and visit Ignite. It really is a wonderful place to worship Jesus.

To the members of Ignite, thank you for allowing me to come and share with you. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Inescapable Way of Life

2009-08-31T18:22:00.002-04:00

I've finished recording the sample of Inescapable Way of Life. As I described in my most recent post, it's a song about running away from God, and how I cannot hide from Him. Here are the lyrics to the song.

Out of line, I've been wrong.
Runnin' from what I know is You,
It's times like these where You really show Yourself to me.

I've been tryin' to escape for far too long.
How can I escape from You?

No matter what I do,
No matter where I go,
I know You'll always be beside me.
You pick me up, You provide.
It's my inescapable way of life.

So many times, so many lies.
I tried to hide from You the truth.
Still You're there, arms open wide.
I cannot run.

I hope you enjoy listening to it!

Video Issues and Lyrics

2009-08-27T14:52:00.005-04:00

I know that I said in a previous post that I would post a new song in a few days, and that was Sunday. My voice has been a little under the weather recently, so I haven't had the health to properly record a video to post. I apologize.

I do want to give you a little bit of information about the song though. Inescapable Way of Life is a song that I wrote about running away from God. I'm sure everyone knows the story of Jonah and how he tried to run in many different directions, but he could not hide from God. If you've read the about me post then you know that I have done my share of running. I've tried a lot of different things before I finally realized that I can't run. It's my inescapable way of life. I wrote the song as my prayer to God to let Him know that I am so grateful that His love stretches to wherever I run. I can't run away from His love.

Hopefully I'll be able to record the song sometime soon. As soon as I get it done, I will post it here.

One more thing... I know sometimes, especially with video recordings, that it's difficult to hear all of the words, so I wanted to give you the lyrics to You Came In.

I've been singin' the blues for far too long,
Wearin' my heart on my sleeve.
Everybody knows that I've been upset.
There's been something wrong with me.

Well, You came in.
My life is given reason.
You came in.
I've got a brand new song.
You came in.
Jesus, how You've changed my soul.
I just gotta let you know.

The music has changed since I've realized.
The songs are all for You.
I know not why, but since I've come alive,
It's a brand new sound to me.

Again, I hope you enjoyed the song. I will try to have Inescapable Way of Life posted within the next few days. I'm trying to decide now which song that I will post after that. It will either be a song titled You're all I Need or another titled Goodbye to Sin.

I'm having so much fun just doing these little videos. I can't wait to actually get the CD recorded and share that music with you!

You Came In

2009-08-23T20:37:00.005-04:00

This is the first song that I will post to give you a feel for what my style is like. This song is called You Came In. I actually wrote it about two days after I was saved. It is my prayer of response to Jesus for just how amazing it was to finally know that I was taken care of. I had written the music to the song quite a while ago. In the few days after I accepted Jesus, I started playing the music, and the words just came. There were no preliminary thoughts. It was truly a God thing the way that the words just flowed. I hope you enjoy it!

I'll post another song called "Inescapable Way of Life" in a few days.

Videos, concerts, and prayers

2009-08-15T14:45:00.003-04:00

In preparation for recording and releasing the album, I am recording a few of my songs and posting them on Youtube.com. I will link them to my facebook, and try to figure out a way to link them to this blog. I have no clue how to do that.

After talking with Tate and my family I've decided that we're going to push marketing around the Kingsland, GA area. Hopefully after building a fan base there, the interest will spread to nearby areas like Bruswick and Jacksonville. I'm talking with my parents now who have decent connections in the area, and hopefully we'll be able to do a few concerts to begin getting my music out there.

Also, pray for my wife and I. This is definitely a new venture and it could turn out many different ways. We need to make the trek to Oklahoma for recording in November, so pray for our safety then. Pray that God opens doors for us to share in churches and other venues. I believe in the power of prayer, and with God behind us I know that this can be a success.

Studio Dates Scheduled!

2009-08-09T16:28:00.002-04:00

I've been scheduled to begin recording on November 4th. It will include 8 of my original songs. The styles will include acoustic rock and blues flavors. A lot of the inspiration for the songs came from artists such as Eric Clapton and John Mayer.

When the list of songs is finalized, I will post a list with a short description for each song.

If all goes as planned, my first album's release date should be before the end of this year. I will keep any new information posted. Subscribe to keep updated!

About Me

2009-08-09T15:45:00.004-04:00

First of all, thank you for taking the time to come and read my blog. I have started it to begin getting the word out about my soon to be released album. I hope you'll subscribe and keep updated on any news and information including the release date and title.

My name is Jake Martens. I was born to a navy family in Bremerton, Washington. My father served as a career navy man, and I am very thankful for the contributions that he made for this country. When I was 6 years old my grandmother bought my first music book and children's flute for me. I quickly picked up on reading music, and it didn't take long for it to become a passion.

When I was nine years old my father was transferred to Kings Bay, Georgia naval base. We left all of our family including my grandparents, cousins, and all of my aunts and uncles and came to a completely different culture and climate. I continued to play the child's flute that had originally been given to me.

I didn't pick up another instrument until I was eleven years old. Shortly before going into middle school, my parents bought an alto saxophone for me to play in the school band. I played a mixture of baritone saxophone and alto saxophone throughout my grade school years.

It wasn't until I was thirteen years old that I began to sing and pick up the guitar. My mother had bought my father a guitar for Christmas. When he went out for sea duty shortly after, he left it behind. I used the books that he had and the guitar to teach myself how to play. I also bought a bass guitar from a friend around that time. I sang a lot in church, mostly with the youth choir. The minister of music was gracious enough to allow me to play a few main parts and sing many solos during my time there. It really allowed my passion for singing to grow.

Guitar and bass were not as large of an interest for a few years. I sang in our church's praise band and two other high school bands that did a small amount of concerts around the town. It wasn't until I began to take music theory in high school that my guitar and bass skills really took off. I knew how to read music and how to play it, but once I learned how it worked my fascination grew tremendously. I began writing songs that included full guitar accompaniment. In a short amount of time before I graduated from high school I wrote well over seventy songs. Some of course were not always finished or very well done, but they were a work in progress.

I graduated high school and began attending Brewton-Parker College while majoring in music. While at Brewton-Parker I played bass for the school jazz band and the small performance ensemble known as the Baron Singers. I also began playing acoustic guitar more than ever. I had no one to play in a band with in the area, and most of my singing was done classically for scholarly reasons. Acoustic guitar was easy as a solo artist, so it became a natural way for me to express myself in music.

While in attendance at Brewton-Parker I met my wife, Kari. We began dating shortly after I arrived at the school.

During my sophomore year, I had a terrible time. I wanted out of the music department. I had grown tired of the classical styles and wanted to pursue more contemporary styles. I left Brewton-Parker with only 15 hours remaining of music classes and a large portion of my core classes still needed.

I decided that I would become a cop. It didn't last long. During my time with the Folkston Police department I had a deep respect instilled in me for officers of the law. They put their lives on the line everyday for people that take them for granted very often. It is definitely a calling, and I was not called to do it. I left the position and began searching for a minister of music position. Wellborn Baptist Church was extremely gracious. They hired me as a full-time minister without a degree.

Three months after being hired, I married Kari, and she moved in with me. It definitely still feels like I'm playing house sometimes, because I really don't feel grown-up yet.

I served at the church for about a year. During my last few months at the church, I began to have strange feelings. I doubted God's existance and I doubted what Jesus has done for us. My thoughts became almost nihilist in nature. I wondered what exactly was real, and what I could count on. I began to pray vigorously that God would reveal Himself to me, and let me know that He was there for me. He immediately turned my thoughts to the night that I claimed to accept Him. Why had I walked forward? Why did I choose to tell everyone that Jesus was a part of my life? I had done it because my sister had. There was no sincerity to my acceptance at all. Realizing this, the reason for my doubts became clear. I had never truly committed my life to Christ. I had never taken the time to confess to Him that I was a sinner in need of His saving grace. It was three in the morning before a Sunday service when I realized this. I woke my wife up and she prayed with me to accept Jesus into my heart. Shortly after, I left the church, because I really did not feel fit or called to be in a place of leadership as a new believer. I began to take online college classes again. I am only a few hours short of my degree now! =)

Since leaving the church, I know that God has a place for me. I feel His call towards a life filled with music; music for Him. My wife began insisting that I should submit music to talent managers and record companies. I was extremely surprised to get a couple call backs. I ultimately decided to sign with Tate Music Group and take a chance at sharing music with others in hopes of spreading the love of Christ.

My music is largely built on a style of classic rock and blues. I enjoy writing music, and it's something I do on a daily basis. God has truly blessed me with a talent that I need to use for His glory. I'm on my way to a life where I will use my music for Him. I'm striving everyday to better myself and my talents. I pray that my music will be a blessing on others for Him.