moment that I’m singing it,
because people can see that you’re really feeling it, and they know that it’s real and it means
something to you, but if you feel it too much sometimes you lose control of what you’re doing
and then it gets in the way.” Martin describes something “very cathartic” about sharing an
original song with an audience, for both the singer and the listener. “It’s so deeply personal and
so emotional, and that kind of connection is something that we all crave,” he says, but goes on
to explain that you don’t have to make a living at performing for it to be worth something. For
those wanting to make a living, Martin advises that taking every opportunity to perform live is
key, and shares that, “the art of performing – the art of connecting with an audience – is actually more important than the art of playing the guitar or the art of writing a song, in terms of making a living, because it’s about that connection.”
Where does Martin find his muse? Travel. “Someone said, the real journey is not in seeing new
places but in having new eyes,” he explains, “and I feel that when I travel and I leave behind the
things that I’m accustomed to, my eyes are renewed and I notice things I didn’t notice back
home.
An important bit of world travel for Martin Kerr, was his time spent in China as a young man, working in Beijing as a kindergarten teacher…a job for which he felt hugely under qualified…but
his time there had a significant impact on him. Martin describes the setting, “we were surrounded by a 10 foot concrete wall, and it had shards of glass cemented into the top of it, and it was just a really stark illustration of the chasm between rich and poor, because on the other side of the wall there was this wasteland that had been settled by migrant farmers from all the regions of china, that come from these poor rural areas to the big city of Beijing to try and make a better living, just growing cucumbers and cabbages and stuff off the land, and selling them at local market.”
It was in exploring outside this compound, and in seeking out opportunities to learn from
another culture, that Martin came
to meet Mr. Liao, the subject of a song that has become a fan
favourite. Despite language barriers, Mr. Liao taught Martin a little about agriculture and
welcomed him into his home. “He had such delight in showing hospitality and in giving what he
had, even though it was very, very humble, and he had almost nothing,” Martin remembers, “I
felt so at home there with this person I could hardly talk to and was so different from me, but
because of his kindness and his openness to meeting someone totally different from him, I felt
a connection…a human kindred spirit and that has never left me.” His last knowledge of Mr.
Liao was that he had come upon particularly difficult times, including his wife breaking both her legs in an accident, and having no access to healthcare due to strict rules for migrants.
Wondering, years on, what became of Mr. Liao, Martin soon discovered that his fans, moved by the song, wondered this as well, and got the idea of going to China to see if he was still there.
Working with Emmy award winning documentary maker, Michael Jorgenson, there are plans to make a feature length documentary, with the working title, Finding Mr. Liao. “We’re not just looking for Mr. Liao,” Martin reveals, “we’re also going to be looking for that spirit of kindness
and wisdom in ordinary, humble people in other places as well.” The project will require some
fundraising, so stay tuned for details this fall, including a show at St. Albert’s Arden Theatre on
December 9 th, tickets available soon.
Also stay tuned for Martin’s new music video, due out this week, for his song, A Little Longer.
“It’s not a very normal topic for a pop song, which maybe is why it’s connected with people,
because it’s about my kids growing up too fast,” Martin explains, “I’ve had people come up to me in tears and say I don’t have any kids but that song just got me.” He had put the word out
on social media, inviting parents and families to be part of the video, which he decribes as “an
exercise in nostalgia and good wholesome family warm fuzzies.”
A final word from Martin Kerr: “A big thank you to everyone who has supported me thus far,
listened to my new album that is called Better than Brand New, and I hope that people will
continue sharing it around the world and finding songs that touch their hearts.”
You can catch Martin Kerr this weekend at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, including his main
performance at noon Sunday, on Stage 7. You don’t want to miss it!
-Shauna Specht & Tania Ribeiro
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