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MJM+Holiday Related Links:
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Michael J. Martin
and Tim Holiday are singer-songwriter-guitar players from
Texas... "tried and true ol' troubadours"... who are also
veterans of the Vietnam War. Their songs became anthems
for their fellow vets as the duo performed concerts through
out the United States. Since the early eighties, Martin
and Tim "Doc" Holiday have performed all across the country.
Their music also helped to communicate the experience to
those who weren't there, fostering understanding and appreciation
in areas where it didn't exist before.
Martin and Holiday
music defies categorization. It is as diverse as the audience
to which it appeals. Elements of Folk, Country, Blues, Gospel,
Rock and Roll, and even a touch of "Nam-style Rappin' ",
all blend together to create a unique and compelling sound.
Each is an excellent entertainer and they usually included
solo sets in their concerts to demonstrate their individuality
and to do songs of a more personal nature. But when these
two talented individuals come together, something magical
happens. They challenge each other, kid each other, and
bring out the best in each other. They epitomize the camaraderie
that is at the core of the Vietnam experience.
They were featured
on the ABC News program, NIGHTLINE, on Memorial Day of 1986,
talking about their songs and experiences. That night there
may have been millions of people who heard the poignant
message of the song, "I Ain't Here Alone";
"And they ain't gonna
bury me while I'm still livin'... Ain't gonna shut me up
'til my story's been told... I don't need no parades...I
don't need no forgivin'... I just need to know ...I ain't
here alone." [(c)1-82, M.J.Martin]
 This
song and "Who Are the Names on the Wall?", from their first
record, "TWO WEARY WARRIORS", and several songs from their
albums, "JOHNNY COMES MARCHIN' HOME" and "TIME TO LAY IT
DOWN", have become anthems that have helped galvanize the
veteran movement. Their musical skills and inspiring leadership
have made them prominent figures for this cause.
Fellow Texan, Tim
Holiday, also recorded an M.J. Martin song. That's how the
two met, according to legend. In 1979, Holiday was a singer
with United Artists. On his way back from the Nashville
recording session, he called Martin from a honky-tonk in
Dallas to come out and listen to the cut. Martin remembers
their first encounter. "Holiday told me right off that he'd
heard that I was a Crazed Vietnam Vet and that I was touchy
about people changing my lyrics and that he was also a Crazed
Vietnam Vet and that he had, indeed, changed my lyrics.
Fortunately, I liked the changes and I was very impressed
with his voice and style and we hit it off. He also told
me that, besides being a vet and a singer, he was a professional
drinker, that he had just lost another band, and was on
the brink of losing another wife. I said we should get together
and write some songs."
That they did. They
wrote and recorded powerful and uplifting songs that made
a difference in peoples' lives, including their own. "From
the beginning, we said we weren't going to write a bunch
of self-pitying, cry-in-your-beer songs. We didn't dodge
the cold, hard reality of the war or it's aftermath, but
our focus was on the camaraderie, our pride, our honor,
the warrior's commitment to his people. Also, we laughed
at ourselves, joked about the booze and drugs and divorces,
etc... in a way that those who weren't there could never
get by with," says Martin. Story
continues on next page...
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