Rob Martinez (CaptainOT to the truly hip) has been featured in his local paper, and I’m hoping it gets him the attention he deserves and someone finally offers him his own radio show…
Check out the article here:
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071225/FEAT/712250356
And check out Rob’s website for the coolest and most obscure Christmas music around:
http://christmasyuleblog.blogspot.com/
Here’s the complete article (in case the link comes down eventually):
Sounds of the Season:
Resident’s collection boasts thousands of holiday tunes
Published: December 25, 2007 6:00 a.m.
By Emma Downs
The Journal Gazette
Christmas comes only once a year. Unless you’re Rob Martinez.
Drop by the Martinez house during February – heck, even July is a safe bet – and chances are good you’ll find Martinez, a father of three and a self-described “Christmas-obsessed music collector,” rifling through his collection of holiday music.
“For people who collect Christmas music, Christmas lasts at least 10 months out of the year,” he says.
Martinez, 38, has it all – from Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas” to Run DMC’s version of “Christmas in Hollis” – all stacked on custom-built shelves in his basement.
“It’s about 16,000 songs all together,” Martinez says. “My wife just doesn’t get it.”
For the past 21 years, Martinez has bypassed the Christmas form letter in favor of a Christmas mix tape, a collection of rare songs, vintage advertisements and audio clips from holiday specials and movies.
“I’ve had people tell me they can’t put up their Christmas tree until they have my CD,” he says. “That’s nice to hear.”
The list of recipients is long – about 120 family, friends and former co-workers. Even film director John Waters (“Hairspray,” “Pink Flamingos”) is on the list.
“I sent John Waters a copy of ‘Santa Claus Is A Black Man’ by Akim and The Teddy Vann Production Co.,” Martinez says. “And he sent me a postcard. It said: ‘Thank you for the best Christmas present ever.’ ”
This year, Martinez’s holiday mix CD includes 43 tracks, ranging from a radio announcer laughing his way through a seasonal commercial for Preparation H to a French version of “White Christmas” to a mashup of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and The Jackson 5’s “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.”
“You name it, I’ve got it,” Martinez says. “Mae West’s ‘Wild Christmas,’ Zamphir. Herb Alpert. Christmas albums done on kazoo. Christmas songs played on rubber bands. Hawaiian, disco, Swedish and punk rock Christmas albums.”
Martinez traces his Christmas music obsession back to 1985, when seasonal music was hard to come by on the radio. Martinez, a high school student at the time, would cuddle up next to a warm boom box and record Christmas music from the radio into the wee hours, he says.
“It was just basically run-of-the-mill stuff,” he says. “Bing Crosby singing ‘White Christmas.’ Jose Feliciano singing ‘Feliz Navidad.’ But, at that time, you really had to search for it.”
But it was an incident in 1982 that changed Martinez’s view of Christmas – and Christmas music – forever, he says.
“Christmas when I was growing up was not the best time of year,” he says. “In many ways it was a lonely time. My mom was a single mother with five kids, and there were times when there was not enough cheer to go around.”
That Christmas, Martinez’s mother spent her last few dollars on one gift for each of her kids. But with 56 cents left in her checking account, Christmas dinner – and food for the following week – were out of the question.
That is until a friend from church showed up one Christmas Eve with a turkey and two bags of groceries for Martinez and his family.
“That was the most remarkable Christmas of my life,” he says. “It’s my favorite Christmas memory, by far. It was a simple act of charity, but it changed my outlook on Christmas. And from that came the Christmas music. It sealed the deal for me.”
Since 1992, Martinez has sent about 1,900 Christmas mix CDs to friends and family, an average of 120 a year. And during the rest of the year, you’ll find him blogging about his collection (www.christmasyuleblog.blogspot.com) and scouring thrift stores and used record stores for obscure holiday albums.
“It’s much more fun listening to Christmas music that makes you go ‘What?!?’ ” he says. “When you listen to the radio, you’ll hear the same 15 or 20 Christmas songs. And they’re all great songs. No one is knocking Bing Crosby, but there are other songs out there that deserve more play, that slip through the cracks.”
Martinez hopes to land a holiday gig on the radio someday, culling the playlist from his own collection, he says.
“Just for an hour,” he says. “I’d like to get on the radio and say, ‘hey, this is my take on Christmas music. You may not like it, but it’s going to be different than anything else you’re going to hear.’ ”
Until then, Martinez will continue to be the easiest person to shop for around Christmastime. Last year, his children bought him – what else – a Christmas album.
“It was a Peggy Lee album,” Martinez says. “And it was the best gift they could’ve given me.”
edowns@jg.net
Copyright © 2007 The Journal Gazette. All rights reserved.