Charleston native and former Eastern graduate Charlotte Martin

will return to her alma mater today where she will give a

performance and also speak of her experiences within the music

business.

The discussion/performance will be held at 11 a.m. in the

alumni lounge in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The audience will have the opportunity to ask Martin questions

following the event.

Martin, a 1998 graduate who majored in opera, said every person

who gets signed has a different story.

“I got started playing for record companies immediately,” she

said.

In February, Martin signed a record deal with RCA. She had

performed at only a couple of shows before she was spotted by

the record company. Before then, she had done showcases for

Electra, Island, Epic and RCA.

Martin, who has been writing songs for two and a half years

now, moved to Chicago after graduating from Eastern. She lived

in Chicago for a brief period of time before realizing it was

not the place to start a career in music.

“The place to be is L.A. or New York,” she said.

Martin moved to Los Angeles where she has been living for a

year and a half now.

“L.A. seemed much scarier than New York,” Martin said. “L.A. is

very entertaining.”

After moving to an apartment in Los Angeles, Martin said she

rented a piano and spent most of her time writing songs and

playing her piano day in and day out. She started formally

studying piano and classic voice when she was seven years old.

Her parents also have a background in music. Her mother, Becky

Martin, graduated from Southern Illinois University with a

degree in music education. Her father, Joseph Martin, is a

professor of oboe at Eastern and the assistant chair of the

music department.

Martin said she hopes her record with RCA will be out by early

spring 2003. She currently has a deal with the Indy label,

Bongload. She will work with producer Tom Rothrock when she

returns to the studio.

This summer she will tour with the music band Beck, sponsored

by the House of Blues. Martin said she plans on taking her time

while making her record for RCA.

Martin said her favorite band is The Curve.

She said although she has a long way to go, her life is her

inspiration.

“My music doesn’t inspire me; my life inspires my music. Music

and writing is an expression of what I do day to day,” Martin

said.