The latest edition of the Nightly Noodle Monthly, available now!

I just finished the latest edition of the Nightly Noodle Monthly (which you can order now!) which features Martin Stamper a.k.a. Fast Heart Mart! Fast Heart Mart, a longtime favorite playing the streets and venues of Albuquerque and the general Southwest region and beyond, is out with a new book, European Music Tour with Fast Heart Mart. The book documents Martin’s tour through Germany last year and dispels the unglamorous realities of touring in a foreign land.

As long as I’ve been a fan, Martin has said the same thing: “If you choose a path to fall back on, you will.” Martin is balls to the wall. From the intro:

Everyone has dreams. Not everyone attempts to make those dreams a reality. Whether or not we do, is up to each of us. Maybe this book will make some money. Maybe it won’t…. Some would say I should’ve given up the dream of being a professional musician long ago. I like to answer them with a quote by a woman named Pam Flowers. “You’ve never too young to have a dream, and you’re never too old to make it come true.” Besides, there really isn’t much else I want to do with my life.

In his book, istead of hyping himself to his American constituents as a big musician ’cause he’s touring another country, Martin instead chooses to give his readers truths such as:

• a breakdown of his expenses (does he break even, lose money or make a profit? Find out!)
• his inner thoughts while driving on the autobahn from gig to gig
• the identity of the super-famous rockstar who had the same 9th grade math teacher as Martin
• his audience interactions each night
• fellow performers and fans he met along the circuit, and
• his biggest temptations while on the road away from home.

To get his book out to more people — a book that was inspired by reading Mr. E’s book (Mr E. from The Eels!) — he is on a music tour doubling as a book tour (see tour dates below).

Photo courtesy of Martin Stamper.

More from Martin:

It has been said that good music is essentially tension and release. What would that chorus mean without the verse? How interesting could the song be without a minor chord thrown in at just the right moment to help us celebrate the victory over the pain? And so is life. This is why I’ve chosen to write these journal entries as honestly as I can. It is our duty as artists to be radically honest now, and face the consequences that may come from that. Consequences make for the tension and release, and within that tension and release exists the consequential beauty.

If you can’t check out Martin on tour, get his book and/or the Nightly Noodle!