Martin flaunts her brass

Charlotte Martin will perform along with Liz Phair, Katy Rose and the Cardigans on the Chicks With Attitude tour at the 9:30 Club in Washington tomorrow

EMILY GILMORE

Date published: 9/2/2004

By EMILY GILMORE

THE FREE LANCE-STAR

wHEN I FIRST began talking with Charlotte Martin, her tour bus was 22 miles from a rest stop, and Martin really had to pee.

The diminutive singer-songwriter-piano player knew she had left Denver, and she thought she was on her way to Minneapolis, but her actual location was anyone's guess.

"I like it," Martin said of being unaware of her surroundings. "Everything else is just kind of passing, and I don't really know about it, and that's good."

Martin is traveling the country as part of the Chicks With Attitude tour, which is headlined by Liz Phair and also includes the Cardigans and Katy Rose.

These feisty females will end their tour at the 9:30 Club in Washington tomorrow night.

Chosen for the tour by Phair herself, Martin's solo piano act and the somewhat mellow pop of the Cardigans balance out the rock sounds of Rose and Phair, Martin said.

Possessing a strong will and a tendency to speak her mind, Martin considers herself a chick with attitude, although the particular attitude may vary throughout the course of a day.

Last month's release of Martin's RCA Records debut, "On Your Shore," coincided with the beginning of the tour, much to Martin's relief--the CD is finally seeing the light after being held up for about four years.

Martin's music is often compared to that of Tori Amos. Album tracks range from bleak and lonely to upbeat and hopeful, but they are all driven by the same thing--strong emotion.

"If I'm not feeling it, I don't do it," Martin said.

The one-time Miss Teen Illinois conveys intelligence and brutal honesty through complex and instantly appealing melodies and vocals.

"I think there's more emotion in the human voice than any other instrument," Martin said.

A classically trained vocalist since the age of 7, she planned to pursue a career in opera until, as a college student, she wrote her first song for a friend's funeral.

"I kind of about-faced and did a 180 because I felt compelled to," Martin said.

The transition was not at all natural, however.

"The first stuff I wrote was terrible--past terrible," Martin said. "I always had to work hard to make things I thought were cool."

She admits to being too hard on herself, but the self-criticism has helped her grow as a songwriter.

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Date published: 9/2/2004