Meet Jules Martinez

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jules Martinez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jules, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?

There’s something very important to understand in the artistic journey: Somehow, you’re the only one on board. You can take criticism and put it in a back pocket, sometimes as a reminder, but never as something you should identify with.

If you fail, do it on your terms, and do not over listen to people that want to tell you how you should do it And if you succeed (because you will), do it on your terms as well.

Haters are people that would die to be in your spot, they just never had the courage to step in.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m a session musician living in Orange County, working all over Southern California (Zack King, Gary Thomas Entertainment, Zak Rusk…) . I also work as an instructor, and band director for students that want to perform live here in OC.

Aside from this, I’m also a songwriter that produces songs and is currently working on a new album. My music fits in the Indie or Alternative genre, and I just released a new song called “Fit in a Room Too Small” last month. I expect to release my new album before 2026.

All of these activities have a creative aspect that I love, mostly when working on original music.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three Qualities: Patience, Education, Hard-Work. Things that actually were barely taught back at my music school in France.

The music aspect of this business is 10%. Everything else is egos you have to deal with, ability to negotiate, ability to receive denial and negative answers and mental health care. Surround yourself with family and real friends.

Don’t listen, don’t judge, work hard and be grateful. There is a time to say “yes” to a lot of things, and later in your career, there’s a time to say “No” as well.

Get out of your rehearsal room. Go on stage. Fail hard. Get back on stage. Fail less. Then go back again, and succeed.

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?

Starting to value more my original music and pushing myself in the songwriters zone. Super grateful to work with talented folks like Zack King, who create a genre of music I’ve been growing up with.

Very grateful to have met people that gave me a chance to step on stage for the first time playing my own stuff. Big shout out to Raphael Anthony and The Wicked Wolf, and of course Zack and Saint Rocke.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

(Peter Iwasiwka and Cameron Baldon)

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