The votes arrived at the 2010 Texas Music Awards in Marshall, Texas. The winner of the TMA Record of The Year 2010 Award was ohn Arthur Martinez. I had the honor of interviewing him when he was nominated for the award in the beginning of the year.

It is a pleasure to interview him again since it was an honor to interview him the first time. I also wanted to gauge how things have changed for this multifacetic singer who combines all of the music that exists in the Lone Star State to form a music that is pure and has stood the tes of time

1. I would like to congratulate you on being awarded «Record of The Year» in the 2010 TMAs for «Utopia» on «Purgatory Road». What were your initial feelings when you heard that you won Record Of The Year for 2010?

[john Arthur martinez]  When I first learned that I had the Record of the Year for 2010 at the Texas Music Awards I was happy not only for myself, but for the songwriters, John Greenberg of the Mystiqueros, and Bill Murray of New York. Bill actually lived the words of the song “Utopia.”

2. What do you think were the reasons for being selected Record Of The Year for 2010?

[john Arthur martinez]  I believe that “Utopia” was selected because of a combination of  positive factors:

a.       First of all, the sonic quality of the recording itself, a credit to producer Lew Curatolo, engineer Pete Greene and the studio team, which by the way included my friend and long-time collaborator, Mike Blakely on harmonies. I am pleased with the way Curatolo and Greene captured my vocals.

b.      The story within the song and John Greenberg’s artful composition and melody.

c.       Finally, I believe the team at Apache Ranch Records did a great job to make sure radio folks, journalists, and the music fans were aware of the record. On the Texas Chart and the Texas Regional Radio Report Utopia garnered approximately 10,000 spins and we received positive reviews from San Francisco to Austin to Nashville to London.

 3. What will be your future plans after winning the award? Will you be going on tour or record more albums?

[john Arthur martinez]  My label and I are discussing  a follow-up CD to Purgatory Road, sparser, more acoustic, featuring my touring musicians. We’ll keep you posted on when it becomes available.

I would like to thank john Arthur Martinez for the taking the time to do the interview after receiving the TMA Record of the Year 2010 Award. I would like to wish him the best in his future as a singer/songwriter.