415 / Eric Martin Band (1978–1985) Martin had decided to live independently by the age of 18. His first job was selling ice-cream. Later, John Nymann, guitarist for the band Mile Hi, gave him a call and asked if he would want to form a new band together. The two had known each other since their former bands (Mile Hi and Kid Courage) had played together at the
Mabuhay Gardens on Broadway in San Francisco. In agreement, Nymann and Martin got people together from both their previous bands, and formed a new group named 415 – which was the telephone area code for the San Francisco Bay Area, since every person in the band was from there. 415 was formed in late 1979. It marked the start of Martin's career as lead vocalist. He stated, "415 played hundreds of shows at area nightclubs, beer parties, even high school and college dances, before eventually headlining San Francisco's premiere night club – the Old Waldorf. Selling out in advance, word quickly spread about our dynamic live shows and soon we were opening for established acts like
Billy Squier,
Hall & Oates,
Rick Springfield,
Molly Hatchet, the
Marshall Tucker Band, and
Foreigner, to name a few. Eventually, without yet being signed to a recording contract, we played in front of 60,000 fans at Oakland Stadium at
Bill Graham's
Days on the Green Concert." The band became a popular local draw, all the while still being an unsigned act. 415 was later signed on to
Elektra/Asylum Records under the management of Walter "Herbie" Herbert, Ron Chiarottino, and Sandy Einstein. These three persons managed and worked for the band
Journey. The management decided to change the name of the band to the Eric Martin Band (EMB), as singer-named bands were popular during that time. EMB debuted their first album in 1983, entitled
Sucker for a Pretty Face. The LP received a gold disc
(certification?), and consequently led to the band's appearance on
American Bandstand and in various arena tours as the opening act for
ZZ Top,
Night Ranger, and
Journey. In one interview, Eric mentions that they "worked thousands of shows, from clubs, to frat house parties,
Bill Graham concerts, opening for anybody and everybody." One of the most acclaimed performances of the band was a solo tour in 1983 held at
Honolulu, Hawaii. But despite continuing to land high-profile gigs as support for some of the most popular acts at the time, the band decided to split up in 1985 after returning from the ZZ Top tour. During this period, Eric was considered for the position of lead singer for the band Toto on two occasions (replacing Bobby Kimball following his vocal issues) and then to replace David Lee Roth following his departure from Van Halen. Eric had an audition with Toto but following a "liquid lunch", the session didn't result in all members agreeing to him joining, though Steve Lukather was a strong advocate. In 1985, Eddie Van Halen heard a tape of Eric and invited him to audition. At San Francisco airport on the way to Los Angeles to meet with Van Halen, Eric met Sammy Hagar in the departure lounge who told him that he was on his way down to LA as he had already been told he was the new vocalist, so Eric did not take the flight so did not have the audition. Hagar indeed did become the new lead singer.
Mr. Big (1988–2002, 2009–present) In 1988, Martin teamed up with
Billy Sheehan,
Pat Torpey, and
Paul Gilbert to form Los Angeles supergroup Mr. Big. The band combined
"shredding" musicianship with melodic vocal harmonies. The album was followed by a British tour in April and May of the same year, supported by bands The Throbs and Heartland. After another British tour, the band released the
Mr. Big Live album in 1992. Mr. Big continued work on a third album as they headlined shows across the U.K. in 1993. In December, the band broke away from this run to play as support act for
Aerosmith's three-night, sold-out stand at London's
Wembley Arena. In 1993, another ballad from Mr. Big's new album
Bump Ahead rose to the top 10 of the charts – a cover of
Cat Stevens' "
Wild World". Although the band was unable to sustain commercial success in the US, their popularity in Japan continued to soar, leading to several Japan-only live albums as
Raw Like Sushi I,
Raw Like Sushi II,
Japandemonium, and
Mr. Big in Japan In 1996, Mr. Big released
Hey Man, which sold strongly in the Far East. In 1997, the band released the album
Live At Budokan before taking a break from recording and touring. While recording their fifth studio album,
Paul Gilbert announced his decision to leave the band, and new guitarist
Richie Kotzen was added to the lineup. The new line-up of Mr. Big released
Get Over It in September 1999 in Japan.
Get Over It yielded "Superfantastic", a number one hit in Japan that went multi-platinum. Mr. Big put in a 20-date tour of Japan followed by a New Year's Eve 1999 show with Aerosmith at the
Osaka Dome in
Osaka.
Get Over It was released in the U.S. on March 21, 2000, followed by a short club stint at The Roxy Theater in West Hollywood. In the summer of 2001, Martin and the rest of Mr. Big released
Actual Size in Japan and the rest of Asia. The CD stayed on the charts in the number three spot and "Shine" the first single off the album was number one. The song was also used as the ending theme for the animation series,
Hellsing. Though headed for a breakup, the members of Mr. Big performed a farewell tour of Japan and Asia in 2002 as part of a contract they were obliged to comply with. A near Mr. Big "one-off" reunion took place on May 13, 2008, in Los Angeles, at the House of Blues, when
Paul Gilbert was joined onstage by
Pat Torpey,
Richie Kotzen and
Billy Sheehan for renditions of
Humble Pie's "
30 Days in the Hole" and original Mr. Big composition "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy". Reportedly, the three had such an amazing time that they decided to contact Eric Martin a few days later, and a reunion of the four original members (Paul, Eric, Pat, and Billy) was put into motion. The reunion was first officially announced on February 1, 2009, in a Japanese radio program called "Heavy Metal Syndicate by Koh Sakai". The interviews and press conferences that followed shortly within the first two weeks of February revealed plans of the band to tour Japan in June 2009 and to release new albums. A world tour followed suit, with dates all across Europe, and several gigs in South East Asia, particularly in India, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, and South Korea. In 2010, Mr. Big recorded a new album titled
What If... produced by
Kevin Shirley and released in December 2010 first in Japan. On May 10, 2011, after almost two decades, Mr. Big played the Araneta Coliseum in Manila, the Philippines. The band performed most of the songs from "Lean into It", and also introduced new songs from
What If.... The band embarked on a very successful South American tour that ended with two dates in Brazil, at the last of which in the city of Porto Alegre on July 10, according to Eric Martin, Mr. Big had an "end of the tour party" live in front of over 2,000 fans at the local rock venue Bar Opinião. In October 2014, Mr. Big released
...The Stories We Could Tell with 13 new songs and a bonus live track of "Addicted to That Rush." They embarked on a world tour to support the record and an unofficial fifth member of the band joined them on the tour:
Matt Starr (from Ace Frehley's band,) is a drummer and singer, and Mr. Big recruited him to sit in for
Pat Torpey, who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. While Torpey did tour with the band, he played drums on only a few songs, and typically sat on a stool and sang with the band while Starr handled the rest of the drum duties. Additional dates were planned for rock cruises and West coast dates in early 2016. On July 7, 2017, Mr. Big released
Defying Gravity, its ninth studio album. The record was recorded in six days to accommodate the schedules of the band members and the producer, and was released on the Frontiers Music SRL label. It featured 11 new songs and was produced by Kevin Elson, who also produced Mr. Big's debut record in 1989. They embarked on a tour of the United States, followed by tours of Europe and southeast Asia, including a return to the Philippines on October 12, 2017. On February 7, 2018, drummer Pat Torpey died from complications of Parkinson's disease at the age of 64. His last show was at the
Wulfrun Hall in
Wolverhampton on November 23, 2017. A memorial show took place on May 23, 2018, at The Canyon in
Agoura Hills, California, with former member
Richie Kotzen as a special guest. The all-star finale of "
To Be With You" included, among others,
Matt Sorum,
Dave Amato,
Ricky Phillips,
Keith St John,
Prescott Niles,
Kelly Keagy,
Jeff Scott Soto,
Ace Von Johnson and
Gregg Bissonette. In October 2018, Eric Martin said in interview with Friday NI Rocks that the band is in the process of planning their next album. According to him, once the band is done with its 2019 touring commitments, they will subsequently disband: "Yeah, that's the last hurrah – that's it. It feels a little uncomfortable to keep going without Pat Torpey."
Solo projects (1998–present) Solo albums While in Mr. Big, Martin was also involved in other projects on the side. In 1995, Martin was the vocalist in The
Power Rangers Orchestra, which also featured
Guns N' Roses member
Matt Sorum. Their version of "Go Go Power Rangers" was featured in
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. Martin's third solo album,
Somewhere in the Middle, was written during the two-year hiatus from Mr. Big. The CD was completed in 1998 and released in Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Strong Japanese sales prompted a 1998 tour. In between promoting and preparing for Mr. Big's 2002 "Farewell Tour", Martin continued to record songs for his fourth solo album. He promised a return to his "rawk roots" and he definitely did so with "I'm Goin' Sane" which was released in Asia, Europe, and the US in late 2002. After the success of a Japan tour, an appearance at the European "Gods Festival", and a 23-city US tour, Martin decided to go back to the studio to record
Pure, an EP that covers his hits in an unplugged and stripped-down acoustic form. In 2003, Martin contributed his version of "Cheer Up" to the Japanese release
Sincerely 2 – Mariya Takeuchi Song Book album. He also came to attention outside of his priority solo activities, portraying the character "Mr. Niko" for a 2004 "Genius" outing
In Search of The Little Prince. Martin later recorded another album entitled
Destroy All Monsters, which would then be released in Japan, Europe, the US, and South America in 2004. The album's sound is something Eric calls "distorted pop" with a focus on his rock roots.
Tak Matsumoto Group Later in 2002, Martin was contacted by
Tak Matsumoto. During the same year TMG was in the works, Eric and Denise were also expecting twin boys by December. In light of this, Martin decided to lie low for the next couple of years. On March 8, 2024, the band announced its reformation, with a second album and a nationwide tour across Japan in the works. This ultimately led to the album
TMG II, released on September 18, 2024, and the tour TMG Live 2024: Still Dodging the Bullet, which started September 19.
Work on different projects From 2004 to 2007, Martin was involved in numerous projects while remaining near home. A more comprehensive collection of his works are available on Eric Martin's Official Site. His projects included singing tracks on albums of different composers/artists, singing for karaoke games, video games, and TV commercials, and joining benefit concerts all year round. Martin wrote and recorded the theme song for the
Pride Fighting Championships, which was a major
mixed martial arts organization. The song "The Last Man Standing" debuted
New Year's Eve 2006 on pay-per-view to millions of viewers. Martin also wrote and recorded a song for guitar legend
Ronnie Montrose's CD,
10x10. He sings along with nine other singers including
Sammy Hagar,
Edgar Winter,
Davey Pattison, and
Mark Farner. The
10x10 album sparked interest in Eric's vocal performance and he was asked to sing the classic song "Guitar Man" with Ronnie Montrose, Denny Carmasi, and Ricky Phillips to take to the Sundance Film Festival. On February 3, 2007, Eric Martin, together with Matthew and Gunnar Nelson of "Nelson",
Mark Slaughter of "Slaughter",
Jani Lane of "Warrant", and Kelly Keagy of "
Night Ranger", performed under the "Scrap Metal" banner for an MTV filmed concert at the Mohegan Sun Hotel & Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. They would compose the core of the band. A few months later, he made an appearance as a Guest Vocalist of Japanese Jazz Fusion Band
T-Square on their album, 33. The song he was featured in is called "Tell the Truth", which is based on T-Square's hit from 1987, "Truth". Scrap Metal would tour around the US all year round. In 2010, Martin participated in a tribute album titled ''Mister Bolin's Late Night Revival'', a compilation of 17 previously unreleased tracks written by guitar legend
Tommy Bolin, prior to his death in 1976. The CD includes other artists such as
HiFi Superstar,
Doogie White,
Troy Luccketta,
Jeff Pilson,
Randy Jackson,
Rachel Barton,
Rex Carroll,
Derek St. Holmes,
Kimberley Dahme, and
The 77's. A percentage of the proceeds from this project will benefit the Jackson Recovery Centers. In 2013, Martin was invited to be part of the metal opera project
Avantasia, by
Tobias Sammet. Martin played the role of a beggar on the album
The Mystery of Time, performing ''What's Left of Me,
with Sammet. Martin was also part of their 2013 world tour in support of the album as one of the guest vocalists. He was also part of their 2016 world tour in support of the album Ghostlights'', notably performing the guest vocal role in the songs "Dying for an Angel", "The Wicked Symphony" and "Twisted Mind".
Mr. Vocalist 1 and 2, solo touring In early 2008, Martin was approached, again, by
Sony Japan to do a project wherein he would cover (translated) famous Japanese Ballads sung by women. The album, entitled
Mr. Vocalist, was released in November 2008. The album included ballads such as "
I Believe" by
Ayaka, "
Yuki no Hana" by
Mika Nakashima, and "M" by
Princess Princess. Seeing the success of
Mr. Vocalist, Sony Japan opted to follow it up with another one.
Mr. Vocalist 2 was unique from the first because all the songs included in it were famous international ballads, and were voted in by fans either through the Internet or through mobile phone. Martin and Sony Japan lined up about 30 international ballads sung by women, such as "
Hero" by
Mariah Carey, "
My Heart Will Go On" by
Celine Dion and "
Eternal Flame" by
The Bangles. The top 12 songs were taken from the list and were covered by Eric and Sony Japan's team of top musicians. The resulting album was released on March 4, 2009, and topped the charts in Japan at its debut. For months, it continued to move along the top five albums in Japan. From 2007 to 2009, Martin toured Europe, South America, and India, with different local bands backing him at each stop along the tour. It started as an idea a few years before; Eric and Denise were figuring out how to make tours overseas cost effective and fresh per performance. They would call promoters all around the world and book shows 5 months in advance, find the best rock musicians or the most popular bands in the big cities and have them learn 18 to 20 of Eric's tunes, send mp3's back and forth (and pray for the best). Martin performed across the world with bands such as The Road Vultures from Argentina, Hayseed from Norway, Raw Like Sushi (a Mr. Big tribute band) from Italy, and John McNamara's band from Australia. Martin was invited by the King of Tripura,
Kirit Pradyot Deb Burman, to perform Mr. Big songs during the Rock Festival at Shillong. Shillong is well known in India as a place for avid music-lovers, especially rock. Martin and the band members (the Road Vultures) were graciously treated as state guests and were escorted upon arrival in India and during the concert.
Amit Paul, a singer from the show "Indian Idol", together with other Indian celebrities, joined the show and sang part of "To Be With You" with Eric. The gig in India was meant to be only a seven-to-ten thousand seat show; but, as people started to break into the barricades, the crowd got larger (to about 20,800 people). Martin also toured with
Richie Kotzen in South America, a former bandmate from Mr. Big. On October 10, 2012, Martin released the cover album
Mr. Rock Vocalist. It features covers of Japanese songs such as "
Alone" by
B'z, "
Honey" by
L'Arc-en-Ciel and "
Forever Love" by
X Japan, and guest musicians such as
Steve Stevens,
Marty Friedman and
John 5. ==Discography==