Jeff Martin

Jeff Martin is an American vocalist, drummer, and member of Racer X. Along with Paul Gilbert and Juan Alderete, Martin has appeared on every Racer X release. Since his work in Racer X, Martin has also lent his drumming and singing talents to Badlands, Blindside Blues Band, Dokken, and others.

Early life
Jeff Martin was born November 9, 1957 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to a musical family. The youngest of several brothers and one sister, he has siblings who played saxophone, drums, and guitar. He was inspired by The Beatles to begin playing drums at an early age. He would later be inspired by Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Ginger Baker of Cream. As a singer, he was inspired mainly by Tom Jones. Growing up, he attended a Catholic school. He began playing in bands at 13.

As the youngest of the family, he was the only one left in the house when his father retired and moved to Phoenix, Arizona. As such, he relocated and would remain there to play in some of his early bands. He was given the opportunity to graduate high school early, but transferred to Moon Valley High School instead. At Moon Valley, the administrators informed him that he did not have enough valid academic credits in that district and that he would have to take an extra year of high school.

Martin learned how to sing by singing on a motorcycle; he recounts that he'd have to sing with extra volume and power in order to combat the sound of wind sheering across his face.

Surgical Steel
In the 1980's, he joined a local band in Phoenix called Surgical Steel, with which he wrote songs such as "Hotter than Fire" and "To the Bitter End" that would later be performed with Racer X. While in Surgical Steel, he befriended Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford during his first show with the band. Martin, along with the rest of the band, appeared in the film Thunder Alley in 1985.

Racer X
After receiving some notoriety with Surgical Steel, Martin was discovered by Gilbert and Mike Varney and recruited to become the vocalist in Racer X. Though he did not relocate to Los Angeles initially, he was an active part of the writing process for Street Lethal; Paul Gilbert would send him tapes of the compositions, and Martin would write lyrics and record vocals before sending them back.

According to Martin, he typically had one day to record all the vocal parts for the Racer X albums.

Martin's friendship with Rob Halford would prove instrumental in both the writing process for Second Heat ("Heart of a Lion" was given to the band by Halford) and the induction of Scott Travis into Judas Priest. Martin also has a guest appearance on Judas Priest's Turbo album, singing backing vocals on "Wild Nights, Hot & Crazy Days". He also contributed to the song "Private Property", recording backing vocals and helping with the writing of the second verse and bridge.

Martin continued with Racer X for the Second Heat  album. Within a year of the album's release, the band's members began to grow wary of Racer X's prospects for success due to the lack of major label attention. Gilbert left to form Mr. Big and a short time later Bouillet, Alderete, and Travis went to The Scream.

After Racer X
Martin worked with GIT alumnus Russ Parrish twice following the breakup of Racer X. The first time was in a heavy metal band called Bad Dog, which performed some Racer X covers including "Gone Too Far" and "Poison Eyes". After Bad Dog didn't take off, they worked together again in The Electric Fence, a comedy trio which performed classic rock covers with Paul Gilbert.

Badlands
In 1991, he played drums in Badlands, which also featured former Black Sabbath and Blue Murder singer Ray Gillen and former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee.

While in Badlands, he, along with bandmate Ray Gillen, sang backing vocals on The Scream's debut album Let It Scream.

He has continued his working relationship with Paul Gilbert, performing on his first 3 solo albums.

Racer X reunion
Martin appeared on every Racer X album following their 1999 reunion for Technical Difficulties.

Solo
In 2006, Jeff Martin recorded his first solo album, The Fool. According to Martin, the album did not sell well and he incurred a significant amount of debt from the recording costs.

Dokken
In 2008, Jeff Martin played drums in Dokken but was let go in the middle of the tour despite a positive reception from fans.

Trivia

 * Martin expressed in 2014 that both he and Scott Travis are ready to record with Racer X, but that Paul Gilbert is too busy with his solo efforts to commit to a reunion. He has also expressed frustration that a Racer X reunion is unlikely.
 * Of the first four members of Racer X, Jeff Martin is the only one who did not attend the Musician's Institute. However, he performed there alongside Gilbert and Russ Parrish in The Electric Fence after Racer X's first breakup.
 * Martin is an avid ATV rider.

With Surgical Steel

 * 1984 demo

With Racer X

 * Street Lethal (1986)
 * Second Heat (1987)
 * Extreme Volume Live (1988)
 * Extreme Volume II Live (1992)
 * Technical Difficulties (1999)
 * Superheroes (2000/2001)
 * Live At The Whisky: Snowball Of Doom (2002)
 * Getting Heavier (2002)
 * Official Bootleg: Snowball Of Doom 2 (2002)

With Badlands

 * Voodoo Highway (1991)
 * Dusk

Guest Appearances

 * Judas Priest - Turbo (1986)

With Racer X

 * Live at the Whisky: Snowball of Doom (video)