By: Sadie Christine
For decades, country music has seen duos and romantic couples who share their love of music on stage and off. We recently had the honor of sitting down with acclaimed singer-songwriter duo Joe and Martina to discuss music, their recent single, “Ghost On Your Radio,” life in Nashville, and their love story as a couple for over 15 years.
This interview was so inspiring and impactful, and we could definitely see the love and appreciation they have for each other through the screen of our Zoom room.
Joe and Martina first met on MySpace. “We’re both from the central valley of California, and we had some mutual friends that thought we should meet because Joe had his own band and was doing his own thing in a town 45 minutes from where I was singing karaoke songs in the bar,” Martina explains. When they met, they immediately connected and bonded over their love for Mexican food, horses, and country music, which shaped their sound and relationship. The pair got married in 2012 and moved to Nashville the following year to pursue their music dreams. Adds Martina, “We’re back and forth from the West coast and the South coast, but Tennessee is our home, and we’ve just been living the dream together!”
Western living and Western culture are extremely important to the musical pair. Their Instagram bio reads “songs, life, dogs and horses,” so we wanted to ask what Western living means to them. Martina shares: “Joe’s family has been farming the central valley for over a hundred years, and I grew up around cattle ranchers and showhorses my entire life. We believe in agriculture, and that the Western way of life is so much about tradition and values, but also having an open mind of what the future holds, and that is keeping true to the agricultural values and the Western way of life. Not only music, and thankfully we found that together, but it’s in fashion, sports, it’s everywhere. I know some people like to call it a niche or trend that comes and goes, but it’s been around forever, and we’re just grateful to be a part of it.” Joe adds that they are grateful to be born into it as well, and it is something that bonded them from the get-go.
Their values of Western life are a reason for their hard-working attitude. “No one is going to work harder than you, and that is what we learned on the farm and the ranches,” says Martina. “You just have to put in the work and never quit.”
As musical partners and partners in life, music has played a significant role in their love story. When asked which songs or albums they associate with each other, both give very heartfelt responses. Joe shares that the album “Rubberband” by Charlie Worsham, plays a part in their journey, taking them back to their 36-hour drive from California to Nashville, where they “listened to it 100 times in those three days—it brings back so many memories.”
For Martina, “There are so many songs, and I didn’t realize God, the universe, the stars were aligning to bring me this man that made this all come true. I go back to the Judds, Waylon [Jennings] singing ‘I’ve always been crazy, but it’s kept me from going insane,’ and that’s my husband! And anything from my favourite Kenny Chesney songs to Eric Church when he sings ‘Springsteen,’ it means a lot to us as artists, but I get chills because it represents my love for him and takes me back to when we sang around our friends’ campfires.”
Joe adds more to the list— their first duet song, “You’re The Reason God Made Oklahoma,” and their wedding song, “Without You” by Keith Urban. Martina responds, “Aw, stop! I didn’t put waterproof mascara on, and I’m a crier!”
“Ghost On Your Radio” is Joe and Martina’s latest single, originally written for a Bayker Blankenship project. Joe explains that the song is about being on the road and missing someone you love back home, with the message: “I don’t want this relationship to end, and the only connection to you now is you hear me on the radio.”
Bayker didn’t end up cutting the track because he wrote something with a similar sentiment, so Joe and Martina asked if they could cut it themselves, and the rest is history! The pair had a personal connection to the song, which was produced and cut at their home studio with Martina’s backup harmonies, so it meant a lot to them.
“Ghost On Your Radio” is just the beginning of what’s in store for this year. The duo has upcoming releases and plans to record songs from the archives, as well as having several other songs they’ve recorded in recent weeks. Martina says, “The great thing about being an independent artist is that it gives you creative freedom. You can make your own decisions without running them by a team or other opinions; you can do what you want. When you’re truly 100% independent, you have full access to social media, what you post, how many times you post, so having that creative freedom is really fun right now, especially on the foundation we built all these years.”
Joe and Martina have played bills alongside some of country music’s heavy hitters and have a few artists they’d love to work and tour with. “My favourite artist out in the world right now is Chris Stapleton,” says Joe. “Just undeniable talent. I think it would be so cool to be in his presence and write a song with him.” Martina shares that they moved to Nashville around the same time as Luke Combs and Lainey Wilson, so “it would be great to hang out with our friends and go out on the road.” Megan Moroney is another artist they believe would be a great fit to work with, given her creativity and passionate fan base. Martina explains, “I think her fans would get us, and yeah, they’re hating on some guy who did them wrong, but they’re also trying to fall in love and find Mr. Right and to share that with the world, that if you wait patiently, the right person is out there for you.”
Ella Langley and Kenny Chesney are other artists they’d love to work with, and Kenny Chesney would be on both of their bucket lists for opening slots—Martina adding, “Chesney is my Springsteen!”
To close out the interview, we asked the duo our signature question: What is your era?—Which song from their discography resonates with them most today? Both Joe and Martina give the same answer: “I’ve Been Around.”
Martina shares, “Long story short, we came out with that song in 2019, and it was going to be our next single. We started to tease it, but we jumped to something else, and it was shelved. It is my most favourite lyrically: “I’ve swam in the ocean, climbed a mountain, helped folks believe what they were doubting, made my mark in more than one small town, I’ve been around.”
“I’ve been around means I’ve seen the world, but the thing that brings me back is you.”
Thank you, Joe and Martina, for such a wonderful interview. We are so excited to see what Nashville’s IT couple has next in store!
Make sure to stream “Ghost On Your Radio” available now on all streaming platforms.
Stay Wild, Stay Creating, Stay Country.
