Heartland balladeer Dave Martin, describes his work as “95% autobiographical”, a statement attested to by his narratives about carefree exploits, comical two-bit criminals, and quieter reflections that appraise his place among his midwestern surroundings. A suburban Chicago native, Martin has stated that he knew he would write songs from the age five, after attending a James Taylor concert wherein the 70s folk/pop icon picked him up and lifted him onto the stage.

Growing up initially listening to records his parents had in the house, Martin developed a strong affinity for raconteur songwriters of the 1970s. He began playing guitar at the age of 10. By the age of 12 he was playing cuts from Randy Newman’s Good Old Boys, or performing Jerry Jeff Walker’s bawdy anthem “Pissin’ in the Wind” on curbs, to passing cars. Participating in classes at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, Martin became interested in old folk and blues music, including artists such as Woody Guthrie, Big Bill Broonzy and Huddie Ledbetter.

Martin’s acoustic guitar based sound adduce singer/songwriter underpinnings. Throw in a measure of Americana-flavored rollicking piano or spirited bursts of electric guitar, as well as a dash of Earl of Old Town-era Chicago folk (his song “A Jobseeker’s Lament”, which tells a humorous story of unemployment over a single acoustic guitar is a dead ringer for something Steve Goodman might have performed a few decades ago--and that’s a compliment) plus his geographic locality, and you have a sound Martin variously self-describes as “ag-folk”, “Second City Stomp”, or “Corn Belt Rock.”

A University of Iowa Journalism graduate who is etching a songwriting sensibility that lies at the wry musical crossroads somewhere near where Jimmy Buffett and Greg Brown meet, Martin puts his journalistic skills to good use to tell stories that alternately poke fun at and thoughtfully regard the human condition; a soft, warm touch consistently ensured.