New York, NY (Top40 Charts) ARMAND ST. MARTIN, a 10th generation New Orleanian, is a popular seasoned-pro piano professor who follows in the legendary footsteps of piano greats Professor Longhair,
James Booker, Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino, Huey Piano Smith, and Dr. John, along with Louisiana's famous cousins Mickey Gilley and Jerry Lee Lewis. He has been a professional musician since age 16, nearly half-century of playing New Orleans music in public.
A frequent pianoman and singer-songwriting special guest on WWL-TV's Morning News Show and WYES-TV's Stepping Out with Peggy Laborde, and on other television talk shows in the Big Easy, St.
Martin also performs 200 shows a year locally in New Orleans. If you are attending galas, special events, Balls, fundraisers, art exhibits, private parties in mansions or in public, festivals, patron parties, anywhere, anytime, the chances are you have enjoyed, or you will be enjoying, Armand St. Martin's wide variety of Louisiana musical genres that he melds into his own unique and freshly original "St.
Martin Sound."
As a BMI Artist, St. Martin's original CDs on Patty Lee Records can be found at the Louisiana
Music Factory and
Peaches Records in NOLA, as well as on iTunes, CdBaby, and Amazon on the worldwide web. His full CDs are:
Alligator Ball, Sizzlin', Katrina Anthem. His single-song CDs are: Last Time in Texas, Potholes and Politicians, Samson of the Sidelines. His original song, "Storyville Blues" was featured on both TV series: Treme and K-Ville, and in the indie film Brawler. St.
Martin is represented by Varese Sarabande Records and Patty Lee Records.
In a nutshell, St. Martin, with his illustrious music career just since Katrina, has graced the piano keys in his hometown, playing venues as diverse as ranging from the Superdome to the former Ernie K-Doe's Mother In Law Lounge. A "Musician's Musician," St.
Martin is well-known for "having had his own room", The Library Lounge, at the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans. He's entertained at all of the most important venues in the Crescent City including Generation's Hall, House of Blues, Rock n Bowl, the Ritz Carlton New Orleans, the Old US Mint, the Howling Wolf, the Eiffel Society, Southport Hall, the Fountain Lounge, the Cabildo, the Blue Room at the Roosevelt Hotel, the New Orleans Convention Center, the Louis Armstrong Airport, and the Southern Yacht Club, to list only a few. He's performed at the French Quarter Fest, the New Orleans Blues Festival, the Summer Wine Fest, the Beaujolais Fest, and Jazz Fest, plus more.
Andy Warhol was in attendance at a NYC concert at the Bottom Line in the 1980's where pianoman St.
Martin was on tour with Epic Records as the synth player and back-up singer on stage. Warhol approached St.
Martin in he packed club, right after the concert, and seriously encouraged St.
Martin "to go solo!" Warhol shook St. Martin's hand, looked St.
Martin right in the eye, and announced: "You must be the hired gun for the night! You should be the frontman. You should go solo." Back-stage, Warhol again approached St.
Martin with his same encouragement. Taking-in Warhol's serious advice, along with his wife/manager Patty Lee's encouragement to also "go solo," St.
Martin began writing original songs to eventually front his own West Coast band with his own original music and "he went solo with his signature 'St.
Martin Sound'!"
St. Martin's first series of concerts were performed in Los Angeles with his "two-man band" which he and Patty Lee promoted as: The Creole Liberation Front - - St.
Martin on lead vocals and piano, and a drummer, John Mauceri, who sang back-ups. They eventually became the #1 Top Draw in the history of the legendary nightclub featuring 6 bands a night, 7 days a week:
Madame Wong's. He's been his own frontman ever since. He then expanded in Hollywood from his two-man band to his 7-piece band, Armand St.
Martin and his Bayou Bohemians, with name players for more of his live SRO concerts which included over the years Kirk Bruner (drummer from
Melissa Manchester and Mac Davis), Stanley Behrens (harmonica, sax from Willie Dixon, Canned Heat), Marabina Jaimes (back-up singer, who won an Emmy for hosting "
Storytime"), Hedy Mayer (back-up singer/Mark
Lindsay from Paul Revere and the Raiders).
St. Martin's recordings began to expand further to also include other musician superstar friends who lent their talents to his original song CDs. These players included
Danny Federici on accordion (organist with
Bruce Springsteen and original E-Street founder), Paul DeVilliers on acoustic guitar (producer of YES, Mr. Mister), Kenny Gradney on bass (with
Little Feat), Lon Price on sax (Elvis, Rod Stewart), Dony Wynn on drums (Robert Palmer), Lee Thornburg on trumpet (Tower of Power, Chicago, Supertramp), Samantha Newark on back-ups (voice of Jem and Jerrica of Jem and the Holograms, Leonard Cohen), Steve Allen on sax (Rita Coolige), to list a few.
Annually, Armand St.
Martin and Patty Lee, produce their "Katrina Artistically Revisited" special commemorative event, always free to the public, now moving towards their 10th year in 2015 at the Theatres at Canal Place where they've staged their Katrina Anniversary Eve events since August 28, 2006. Their Katrina Exhibit, of Katrina-damaged ephemera and music instruments, has been on display at The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles ever since the museum opened. Their acquired-artifact "Katrina Door" will be displayed in an important Smithsonian exhibit in Washington, D.C. in 2015. Ever since Katrina, St.
Martin has entertained every Monday at the United Way program called the ARC for Challenged Adults, and for the ACE Program for Alzheimer's at New Orleans' uptown JCC. The St. Martins' ongoing mission to heal with Armand's music is extraordinarily successful, as proven since Katrina by his over 1,000 pro-bono shows for adults with neurological illnesses who fall into these forgotten populations. Their domain name is MusiCures.
Occasionally -like seasoned pros who perform in subways or in flash mobs around the country - - Armand St.
Martin enjoys trying out new material at the Louis Armstrong Airport as he musically greets travelers either arriving or departing New Orleans. "It gives me a chance to try out new material and see how my songs go over with strangers," St.
Martin remarks. "If strangers enjoy my songs, then I feel pretty certain my fans probably will too!" - PL
