10 Quick Ones with JAY MARTINEZ of ACROSS THE ATLANTIC – August 2017

According to a recent press release: “Coming in HOT straight from San Antonio, Across The Atlantic have announced signing to SharpTone Records and have released a new video for their song “24 Hours.” The band consists of singer Jay Martinez backed by guitarists Jason Lugo & Julio Bautista alongside bassist Jayy Garza & drummer Cody Cook. Across The Atlantic are currently putting the finishing touches on their debut album which is slated for a summer release.” We singer Jay Martinez to answer our 10 Quick Ones about new music, her influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Our upcoming album is entitled “Works of Progress” it is our sophomore release and first under the Sharptone label. A lot of the lyrical commentary and themes are derived straight from my personal life, so I try and keep things as public as possible in terms of happenings in my life for context of the record. There are some hidden references to past songs in the album and a lot of innuendos and Easter eggs known amongst the band and friends from our hometown and through touring as well.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Personally speaking, I’ve always had a passion for music and really just the arts in general. With respect to this particular genre, I loved the emotion and the authenticity of it. I think the first album I ever bought was Hybrid Theory from Linkin Park. I was probably in 4th or 5th grade at the time and from there it was just off to the races. I think the first time I actually decided I wanted to be in a band though happened while I was attending a show. It was at an Ozzfest maybe circa 2008, I was really only there for the radio friendly bands that were on rotation in my hometown but I remember standing all day at the barricade just bored out of my mind watching bands I didn’t know play songs I didn’t know until finally this band called Hatebreed hit the stage. I didn’t know any songs or even ever heard of them really but the passion and the emotion was infectious, I had never really witnessed anything like it. The intensity in the crowd was something special that just captivated me and from that point forward I was in.

3. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Wow, this is a tough question. I just gotta say now, my top 5 influences are probably very different from the bands collectively. We are all pretty independent of one another in terms of our backgrounds and particular influences in music. For me its gotta be Blink 182, Eminem, Nas, N.W.A. & Tupac. Obviously Blink 182 did a lot in terms of pioneering the platform and foundation for bands like us and I’m definitely indebted to that but I also very much consider myself a hip-hop head. I love storytelling and poetic elements of rap & particularly with these artist the aggressive and raw content of their lyrics is something that has always resonated with me.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be?

Staying true to my roots, this has gotta be Mark Hoppus of Blink 182. I think that’s really enough said in and of itself. The dude is incredible.

5. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before?

This is another tough question, truly I wouldn’t know how to define our music other than just… music. A blend of hardcore punk elements mixed with poppy uptempo choruses. When it’s heavy it’s really heavy but when it’s poppy its really poppy. It’s really hard to single out one or the other cause I think the entire script can be flipped from song to song with us and that’s the fun of it for me.

6. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

The best thing about being a musician undoubtedly is the connection with the fans. The talks after shows, the messages in social media. The feeling you get knowing you somehow made an impact or influenced a change in someones life for the better. I mean really what could surpass that. You can’t put a monetary value on something like that even if you tried. It’s why I loved music and to possible give that same feeling to another kid just finding his footing through life is completely unreal.

7. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Interesting! Jayy definitely cooks, he is the undisputed vegan chef extraordinaire around these parts so he gets that nod no doubt. Who gets the drinks? Hmm that’s tough, Julio and I are automatically ruled out as the two sober dudes of the band. Between the other three its a toss up but I gotta give it to Cody, he’s the most social for sure and he’s been known to enjoy a drink or two here and there. The acoustic sing a long is a tough bill to fit with us but I gotta give it to Julio by default. He does a lot of cool covers on YouTube for fun so I’m sure an acoustic jam is all good.

8. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

Outside of music my dream job would be being a A&R rep for a label. Honestly I love the business side of music almost as much as I do the entertainment, it just always has fascinated me and maneuvering my own band through the ranks gives me hope that someday I could help another. It’s nice just to keep making strides and overcoming things that at one time might of seemed unattainable. The fun is in the challenge.

9. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”?

Definitely the biggest misstep we had was not investing as much as we should’ve in good music videos early on. We had great songs and solid merch but for some reason we were reluctant to really open up our wallets and invest the extra money into locking down a professional video. I can’t really tell you why that was the case but it was. We just needed to learn that lesson the hard way I guess. There’s no shortcuts in this, if you want to be taken as a professional you have to carry yourself as a professional and that means quality is essential. Invest, invest INVEST, at the end of the day if you skimp out on photos, recordings or videos, expect skimped results to go with it.

10. I you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

It’s gotta be Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I mean you talk about capturing lightning in a bottle. Everything on record is so perfected, I think that’s the definition of legendary. The album is timeless, literally timeless. I would love to study just the way the production team worked, how meticulous Michael was on that record, anything I could learn about the process and becoming a much more efficient writer. Regardless of my taste in genre or opinion of the artist, what a time for music? Literally, history in the making. 

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Category: Interviews