Martin Pedersen has been writing songs since he was 53.
As a child, Martin had three 45 records that came with the hand-me-down record player. One was One O'clock Jump by Harry James (B-side: Two O'clock Jump), Caldonia by Louis Jordan (B-side: Open the Door, Richard), The Barnyard Song by Alan Mills (B-side: There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly). Was that enough? I should say so! Jazz, rock, blues, folk, swing, everything.
In 1972, Martin's 10-piece rockabilly band, SPIKE, was on Fresno television evening news on two different channels at the same time. There were no TV recording devices back then, so some band members watched one and some the other. Then they compared notes. (Currently, a SPIKE reunion is in the works.)
The final exam on the final evening of Martin's grad school education was the same evening as Elizabeth Cotton's only San Francisco concert. She was in her late 80's. Martin knew he'd never get another chance to see her play. But if he chose the concert he would not graduate. He had an around-the-world trip planned leaving in three days. What to do? He borrowed an Elizabeth Cotton record from the public library and passed his exam. Then he left and never returned.
While Martin was waiting outside the Great American Music Hall for a Bill Monroe concert in 1977, the bus drove up with Bill driving. They said hello and then during the break while Bill signed records Martin asked him why he drove the bus himself. "Don't trust anyone else," was his reply. Classic Bill.
One summer Martin worked for Joan Baez, but they never met. She did come eat dinner once at the house where he lived, but he was away for his father's birthday.
Martin owns several instruments older than he is, including a 1950 Martin concert ukulele. There's also an S.S. Stewart banjo in the closet dated 1890.
Weren't those fun facts?
