Letter Published in Chattanooga Times Free Press	Posted: Jun 9, 2008
An editorial that I sent to the Chattanooga TFP was published in their Editorial Section today (June 9th). In that editorial, I let it be known that I will send a free mp3 of my song "When Your Soldier Comes Back Home" to any nonprofit that assists veterans, their families and friends. All it takes is an email to me at this address: mab@MarthaAnnBrooks.com . I appreciate the support given to our veterans. Please continue to honor our soldiers for their service, present and past, in any way that you can. Thank you!
I'll Be In Dalton, GA Oct. 12th and 13th, 2007	Posted: Sep 30, 2007
Hi Folks! I am so fortunate to be opening for Spatial Effects ("slightly bent Bluegrass") at the Dalton Little Theater in Dalton, GA, the evenings of October 12th and 13th. These guys play a terrific mix of original songs that range from serious to seriously funny. When I'm at a Spatial Effects concert, I feel like I did when I was a kid watching Ed Sullivan. I never knew what the acts would be, but I knew that it was going to be a great show! Don't bring any expectations about Spatial Effects except the expectation that they will give you one big ol' good time. I will perform about thirty minutes to kick things off, playing some of my new songs and a few of the older ones. It's an honor that DLT wants all original music. Gotta love them for that! Please let me know if you're going to make it to the show so I can be looking for you. We're planning on heading to Pentz Street Coffee Station right across the street from DLT afterwards, so you make plans to join us! The coffee is great and the scones, cookies and other goodies are far, far above average. The coffeehouse looks like an old train depot. This will be a great way to get together and kick off the Fall season. Looking forward to seeing you there. Happy trails, Martha Ann
My Space Page	Posted: Jun 14, 2006
Please swing by to take a look at my page on MySpace. I've got videos, a blog, and links to some other fine artists. www.MySpace.com/marthaannbrooks Thanks for visiting HERE.....and please SIGN MY GUESTBOOK before you leave.
FREE DOWNLOAD	Posted: Jan 5, 2007
Update June 2008: Due to changes made by MySpace, this song cannot be downloaded by anyone but a MySpace member. I believe they can only download it to be used on their own MySpace page. Original Post: I have made "When Your Soldier Comes Back Home" available as a free download from my page on MySpace. (www.MySpace.com/MarthaAnnBrooks) Please pass this information on to anyone that you think might benefit from hearing "...Soldier...", especially the families and friends of combat veterans AND please remember to support our active duty military and veterans for the sacrifices they are/have made for our country.
My song on Neil Young's webpage	Posted: May 14, 2007
A very special thank you to Neil Young for putting a link on his webpage to my song "When Your Soldier Comes Back Home". Since mid-June 2006, it has been bouncing around the top of his list of over 2000 songs which he has featured on his website. (It was #1 for 10 weeks and is in the company songs from such notables as Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle, Todd Snider, James McMurtry, Son Volt, Ben Harper, Nils Lofgren, JJ Cale/Eric Clapton, and even David Crosby/Graham Nash). Please visit his website (www.NeilYoung.com) and listen to my song.
Some Fun	Posted: Mar 26, 2007
Spring is here, at last!! We don't have rough and tough winters here but the lack of color and especially the shorter days take their toll on my spirit. I need sunshine and lots of it! Frivolity has a hold on me right at the moment so I'm going to share some quotes with you. Don't forget to read some of the other entries here if you want to find out more about my music and where to hear and see me. Doing nothing is very hard to do - you never know when you're finished. - Leslie Nielsen Humanity is a parade of fools, and I am at the front of it, twirling a baton. -Dean Kootz (I visualized myself when I read this. Did you?) My mom always said normal is a cycle on the washing machine. -Wynonna The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense. - Tom Clancy (As a songwriter, I appreciate this sentiment!)
Album Available	Posted: 2006
My debut CD, "Simply...Martha Ann Brooks", is available. The cost is $12.50 (shipping included - slightly more if shipped outside USA)and it can be purchased "online" from.....www.MySpace.com/MarthaAnnBrooks or by sending a check/money order made payable to Martha Ann Brooks at the following address: Martha Ann Brooks, P.O. Box 965, Trion, GA 30753 You can also purchase it "online" through CDBaby. Don't forget to leave a review on their website if you like it. (www.cdbaby.com/cd/MarthaAnnBrooks) Locally, it is available at: Barnes & Noble Bookstore (Rome, GA), Humbucker Music (Ft. Oglethorpe, GA), Music on the Square (La Fayette, GA), Pete's Music (Calhoun. GA) or venues where Martha Ann is performing.
Videos	Posted: 2006
"Home videos" of Martha Ann performing her songs (1) "Poor Little Rich Girl" and (2) Sylvie Marie can be viewed on either MySpace or YouTube. For the MySpace connection, simply go to the "Links" section and click on the 1st link..."Martha Ann's MySpace Page". (Scroll down to find the videos on MySpace.)
Diagnosis	Posted: Summer 2006
Eagles' Syndrome. My doctor was concerned that I was still having problems with pain and hoarseness so he x-rayed my head. There it was. A bone called a styloid growing from just under the "eye socket" part of my skull down into my neck. This is a very rare condition so I am grateful that my doc thought to look for it. Doctors are taught in med school not to look for "zebras". Thank goodness Dr. Jack Greer realized that he was indeed looking at a zebra, not an everyday horse :) Surgery took place May 4th and went very well. I didn't feel great for several days afterward but now I'm feeling pretty spiffy. The scar on my neck isn't too bad and Doc says it will fade to almost nothing in time. My voice feels really good and I find myself feeling grateful and humble right in the middle of singing something. I won't forget how it felt before and I will always appreciate what I have now. I thank God for that and for the doctors, nurses and other staff that gave me some more years of singing my heart out. Thank you for reading this and for listening to my songs. Everything you are hearing here was recorded before the operation. I hope to put some new songs up Fall 2006. Maybe you will hear the difference that I feel!
After the Barking Legs Show	Posted: Apr 28, 2006
What a great show!! It was more than a pleasure to share the stage with some outstanding artists. Davey Smith kicked the show off with one of his songs that just happens to be a favorite of mine and the music just got better and better with each round. Shelia Q turned in an awesome performance; the crowd loved her and it showed. Jimmy Smith was formidable, playing songs that ranged from captivating and complex instrumentals to songs that would either have you dancing in your seat to the groove or almost misty just because of the beautiful interplay of words and music. I had a blast. My newest song, "Sylvie Marie" went over well and that warmed my heart. That song took a long, long time to write! Hope to have it added to my "Songs" list soon. Bruce Bennett did an awesome job running the sound for us and many thanks to Mike Q. for handling the door!!! Thanks to everyone for coming out. It was wonderful to see so many friends and lots of new faces, too. Here's to great music. I'm looking forward to doing this again soon and seeing you all again.
Lots of News	Posted: Apr 20, 2006
Hi Friends, I've been pretty busy and not very good about updating my site so I'm just going to give you the news in bullets: * I was accepted to "indiegrrls", an organization for women in the independent music industry. I am very, very excited about opportunities that "indiegrrls" presents and look forward to becoming active with the group. *Had a good interview Monday, May 17th, with Richard Winham on WUTC 88.1FM in Chattanooga. It was my first radio interview regarding songwriting and I enjoyed the experience a lot. How could anyone not enjoy talking with Richard? He is a great radio host. Richard asked me to play "When Your Soldier Comes Back Home" (a song I wrote about combat veterans and PTSD) but everybody could hear in my voice how choked up I was by the subject. It was okay, though, and I look forward to doing more interviews in the future. * I will have surgery on my neck the first week of May. My doctor finally figured out that my throat problems were being caused by a condition known as "Eagles Syndrome". It is a rare condition caused by a bone (which rarely ever grows in anyone) protruding from my skull into the tissue of my neck. Dr. Jack Greer will remove that bone in an outpatient operation which should finally take care of the problems I've been experiencing. *Barking Legs Theater concert is this Sunday, April 23rd. Now I am really looking forward to that! Hope to see everybody there.
Why Is It	Posted: Oct 4, 2005
That some songs practically write themselves and others just have to be nursed along a little here, a little there, tweak, rewrite, put it aside, come back, rewrite again...and so on? I can't tell you why but that is the way it is with me. I have had entire songs pop into my head - words, music, everything - but that rarely happens. I am SO GRATEFUL when it does. Tonight, I am working on two different songs that are both requiring lots of thought and lots of rewriting. I enjoy the work but I wonder sometimes is it just me? Probably not because there are so many songwriters out there who talk about rewriting! Rewrites are taking me longer these days. I hope that is a good sign...
Stars In My Eyes	Posted: Sep 30, 2005
Hi, Y'All! I don't have any stars in my eyes. I bring this up because of a conversation I was having with a friend not too long ago. He was concerned that I might be thinking of success in Nashville terms - getting the big hit song on the radio - and possibly setting myself up for disappointment as a result. No, that's not where I am at. What I am doing is getting my music out to people the best way I know how, which is live performance whenever possible and via the internet. Hopefully, a CD will be available in 2006. Performing live is just the icing on the cake AND a great way to see which songs are hitting home with most of the people in the audience. Something fun that happens from time to time when I perform is someone will come up to me and tell me how much one of my songs meant to them and to hear their interpretation of the song. It amazes me how often people put a whole new take on a song that I had never even considered, and their view makes perfect sense! Those are pretty neat moments. This whole music thing is a just one big ol' good time for me and I plan on keeping it that way. Now, if a national artist ever wants to record one of my songs, I will certainly be one happy camper, but I just don't want y'all thinking that I am living and breathing for that one moment. All these moments are great. In spite of anything else that may be going on, Music is always good.
Songwriting and Rejection	Posted: Sep 28, 2005
People always tell you when you start putting your music out there not to get discouraged by rejection; that doesn't even begin to tell the story. You have to be willing to have people reject your music over and over and over again; often without even knowing about their rejection. Sometimes it's almost like working in a vacuum unless you are able to get the feedback which helps you improve as a songwriter. In fact, I relish opportunities to hone my skills through the use of constructive criticism and master the art of putting my thoughts and emotions into song. What I am not willing to do is compromise the stories that I wish to tell. Mary Gauthier told me "IF YOU love it, it's great" and that is advice which I have taken to heart. I hope I never get to the point that I think I am as a good a writer as I will ever be. Writing for me is definitely about the journey and maintaining the integrity of the story, which to me is more critical to the song itself than any other component.
Mary Gauthier's Concert and Why I Write	Posted: September 24, 2005
September 24, 2005 I was so fortunate to get to see Mary Gauthier perform at the RedLight Café in Atlanta last night and again at a record store in Decatur this afternoon. Her music takes me on wonderful journeys, even the gut-wrenchingly sad songs. To see her live is a cathartic experience and more than inspirational. She has helped me explore new dimensions in my own writing. Often ( very often) people ask me why I am writing songs. I guess they wonder because I am no spring chicken and, to many folks, songwriting belongs to those who are a bit more fresh from the hand of God than I am. I write because I cannot ignore the songs that play in my head and fill my heart. I write to leave my son a journal of my thoughts and feelings translated into song. I write to try to reach out to people. I love people. People are cool. And everybody has a story to tell. If I can tell the stories that I live or that come to me through others sharing their lives with me, how blessed I am and how grateful. Music is meant to be shared and I want to share my songs just like I love to share food from my kitchen, just like I love to share hugs. Thanks for stopping in. I appreciate your time. Consider yourself hugged, especially the great folks I met at the concert last night. You all touched my heart.