Jim Martin (musician)

For other people named Jim Martin, see Jim Martin (disambiguation).

Jim Martin
Birth name	James Blanco Martin
Born	July 21, 1961 (1961-07-21) (age 50) Oakland, California, United States
Genres	Alternative metal, funk metal, heavy metal, thrash metal
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Banjo
Years active	1979–2002
Associated acts	Agents of Misfortune, EZ-Street, Fang, Faith No More, Pigs of Death, Recluse, Spastik Children, The Chickenfuckers, Vicious Hatred, Voodoocult, Metallica
Notable instruments
Gibson Flying V

James Blanco "Jim" Martin (born July 21, 1961, in Oakland, California),^[1] known professionally as Big Jim Martin, is an American guitarist best-known for his membership in the rock band Faith No More from 1983 to late 1993. Martin also played guitar with the groups EZ-Street, Vicious Hatred, Agents of Misfortune, Recluse, and Pigs of Death.

Martin was known for his long hair, bushy beard, and trademark red-rimmed glasses that he wears alone or over another darker pair of glasses.

Early career

In the early '80s Martin was playing guitar in thrash band Vicious Hatred.^[2] During the 80s he was an on-off member of the jamming band "Spastik Children", also featuring schoolmate and close friend Cliff Burton, and other members of Metallica.

Faith No More

Martin joined Faith No More in 1983, two years after the group's formation. He played on their albums We Care a Lot, Introduce Yourself, their breakthrough album The Real Thing with new vocalist Mike Patton replacing Chuck Mosely, and Angel Dust.

Following the release of Angel Dust, Martin left the group for reasons that remain unknown. On his now-defunct website, Martin stated^{[citation needed]} The Real Thing was FNM's ideal album, both in the creative process and the touring afterward. The musical about-face that the band took with Angel Dust, including the change in focus from guitars to vocals, did not sit well with Martin. The extent to which Martin did or did not contribute to song writing and recording on Angel Dust is a subject that the band has never directly addressed, except to recognize his major influence on the track "Jizzlobber." The band fired Martin by fax on November 30, 1993, after the band had not progressed as they would like in rehearsals and song-writing. As an indication of the gulf that had formed between Martin and the rest of the band, they had recorded and released "Another Body Murdered" (with Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. for the Judgment Night soundtrack) without his participation. Similarly, Martin produced and recorded material for the Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey without the participation of other members of the band. Producer Matt Wallace later mentioned in The Real Story (a biographical book about Faith No More) that the death of Martin's father was a factor in the guitarist's departure.^[3] The band's popularity quickly declined with the departure of Martin.

On February 18, 2009 Roadrunner Records^[4] announced that Martin would not be participating in the rumored Faith No More reunion tour. On February 23, 2009, it was announced as part of a press release by Mike Patton that Faith No More would be reuniting for a string of European tour dates.,^[5][6] On February 25, shortly after Patton's press release, Bill Gould announced a Faith No More reunion tour and identified the line-up, which excluded Martin.^[7] On July 16, 2010, Sirius XM metal DJ Mario, reported that while he was backstage at Faith No More's Philadelphia appearance, Patton told him that Jim Martin was offered a chance to play with the band at one of their three San Francisco reunion tour dates in order to play the album Angel Dust in its entirety. Jim Martin declined.

Solo career

Martin's solo project was originally called "The Giant Behemoth" but he changed the moniker after finding out about a Polish death metal band already named "Behemoth". His first and only solo album to date is entitled "Milk And Blood", on which he covers his former band's song "Surprise! You're Dead", from The Real Thing.

Jim toured as lead guitarist with punk band "Fang" between 1998 and 2000. He then recorded a track on the recording titled Conflict with Anand Bhatt under the name Bhatt/Martin.

He now lives in Castro Valley, California, with his wife, son, and daughter. He has gained fame in recent years for his non-musical endeavors in championship pumpkin growing.^[8]

Film career

In 1991 he appeared as "Sir James Martin" in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. Martin played the head of the "Faith No More Spiritual and Theological Center" in the future.

Discography

As a band member

• Faith No More - We Care a Lot (1985)
• Faith No More - Introduce Yourself (1987)
• Faith No More - The Real Thing (1989)
• Faith No More - Angel Dust (1992)
• Voodoocult - Voodoocult (1995)
• The Behemoth - The Behemoth (1996)
• Jim Martin - Milk and Blood (1997)
• Anand Bhatt and Jim Martin - Conflict (1999)
• Fang - Fish and Vegetables (2000)
• Anand Bhatt and Jim Martin - Vivid Casting Call (Digital Remixes) (2007)

As a featured musician

• Die Krupps - The Final Remixes (1994) - "Crossfire (Remixed by Jim Martin)"
• Metallica - ReLoad (1997) - "Low Man's Lyric"
• Metallica - Garage Inc. (1998) - "Tuesday's Gone"
• Primus - Antipop (1999) - "Eclectic Electric"
• Skitzo - Got Sick? (1999) - "Loner"
• Flybanger - Headtrip to Nowhere (2001) - "Cavalry" and "When Are You (Gonna Die)?"
• Echobrain - Echobrain (2002) - "Spoonfed"

Footnotes

1. ^ Godley, Di (1990-09-19). "Amazin' Faith". Smash Hits. http://negele.org/db/index.php3?band=2&year=1990&month=9&day=19&id=1505. Retrieved 2008-08-23. 
2. ^ http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/516032/19990720/faith_no_more.jhtml
3. ^ Chirazi, Steffan (1994). The Real Story. Castle Communications. ISBN 1898141150. 
4. ^ "Guitarist JIM MARTIN Not Taking Part In Rumored FAITH NO MORE Reunion". BlabberMouth. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=114601. 
5. ^ "FAITH NO MORE Reunion 'Confirmed' By MIKE PATTON's Publicist". BlabberMouth. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=115004. 
6. ^ [1]
7. ^ "FAITH NO MORE Officially Confirms Reunion Plans; Band Lineup Revealed". BlabberMouth. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=115122. 
8. ^ Neilstein, Vince. "IF THIS WHOLE "METAL" THING DOESN’T WORK OUT, THERE’S ALWAYS A CAREER IN PUMPKIN FARMING". http://www.metalsucks.net/2007/10/10/if-this-whole-metal-thing-doesnt-work-out-theres-always-a-career-in-pumpkin-farming/. Retrieved 4 June 2011. 

External links

• Anand Bhatt and Jim Martin

Persondata
Name	Martin, Jim
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 21, 1961
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death