In
His Own Words - Mike Martin
I moved to Atlanta in 1992, along with my band,
to try to break into the music scene. There were
a few bands already established around town that
everyone told me to check out. The first group
I went to see was Stuck Mojo
at the Masquerade and through mutual friends I
got to know Sean Delson (Stuck Mojo bassist) and
Doug Busbee who were in the Prog–Metal group
Salem Ash at the time.
In the Early 90’s the music scene was already
changing. Grunge was becoming more popular and
I was having a hard time getting my band established.
Eventually, my band split up and left Atlanta
but I stayed, jumping from job to job and band
auditions.
 I met Rich Ward while working a landscaping job
that Delson had hooked me up with. I was glad
to see his band still playing and doing well and
that they got signed while the rest of the scene
was drying up. So many clubs and bands went away
that I became frustrated with the lack of opportunities
and left for college.
When I got out of school, I came back to Atlanta
to see what was going on. I moved in with Busbee
and considered joining his new group, Agent
Cooper, which also featured Delson on
Bass. It was during this time that Rich started
looking for a new lead guitarist for Fozzy.
Delson had been playing bass with Fozzy
and Rich’s solo project, The Duke,
for more than a year by that timer and he recommended
me to Rich for the lead guitarist slot.
After landing the gig I toured around the world
with Fozzy and participated in
the recording of Rich’s solo record "My
Kung Fu is Good." Eventually, I began to
join Stuck Mojo as a special
guest during live performances playing songs from
the "Declaration of a Headhunter" record
primarily. Since then, Rich’s writing style
has begun to rely more upon multiple guitar parts
that necessitate a second guitarist for all of
the projects.
Since the release of the new album, "Southern
Born Killers," I have come on board full-time
with the Mojo family for all touring second guitar
duties. It’s great to at last be a part
of a real band and not just a “side guy.”
Stuck Mojo continues to roll
on and succeed because, at its core, it remains
a group comprised of real friends willing to do
what it takes to make powerful music without compromise.
- Mike Martin
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