Muncie band makes moves across the U.S.

MUNCIE — When he was 25 years old, Muncie native Michael Martin made his way to Charleston, S.C., and took his love for music with him.

And soon after, Michael Martin & The Beautiful Mess was formed.

Formally called the Michael Martin band, Martin and his group were focused on performing and sharing music.

If you plan on visiting Charleston in the near future, you can usually find the rock, folk and bluegrass band performing at venues like Chico Feo.

That is, of course, when Michael Martin & The Beautiful Mess aren't on tour.

The band's year-long tour kicked off Saturday, March 5 in Charleston.

The tour will make several stops including performances at Chicago and New Jersey venues and a May 7 stop in Eaton.

One of the songs 37-year-old Martin and his band, comprised of Martin, Caryn Egan on fiddle, Ripley Owermohle on banjo, James Reynen on bass and CJ Barrow on drums, will perform is "Take Your Pills."

It's a song that started as a personal written piece for Martin, as one of his younger family members ran into some difficulties with prescription medication.

But the song eventually gave the band a big break.

"People just really connected to it if they had been through it with a family member or a child," Martin said. "My goal with its impact has always been to use the power of music for community."

One person in particular connected to "Take Your Pills."

Martin said he was playing music outside in Charleston when a man came up to him.

"He wanted to use 'Take Your Pills' in an upcoming film documentary, 'Crystal Meth, Prison or Death,'" Martin said. "He gave me $2,500 to make a CD and I let him have the song."

Martin and the band were flown to Washington, D.C., to receive the money.

Sadly, a month later the man died of a heart attack during the filming process.

Martin moved back to Muncie at the age of 27 and became manager of music venues, Doc's Music Hall and Folly Moon.

But after closing Doc's in 2012 and Folly in 2013, Martin moved back to Charleston to continue performing with The Beautiful Mess.

"We (Martin, Egan and Owemohle) moved to Charleston with the latest and greatest version of the band we had," Martin said. "The tourist economy does really well for the music scene," Martin said.

Martin said Barrow and Reynen soon joined after meeting Martin and the band at Chico Feo.

This decision to move back would pay off and so would continuing to perform at Charleston venues and beaches.

"We were performing  on a little beach in Charleston called Folly Beach, when Marc Regan (Main Man Records) saw us and heard the pills song," Martin said. "I never thought the song would be anything but it's doing well now because of the nature of it and how it addresses prescription drugs."

Regan was in town from New Jersey to see his daughter graduate from College of Charleston when he and his daughter saw The Beautiful Mess perform.

"Regan said 'that song would be perfect for this fundraiser I'm doing; we help people get clean and stay clean,'" Martin said.

Regan invited the band out to the "Rock The Farm Festival" to perform during a fundraiser for CFC Loud N Clear Foundation, a nonprofit committed to helping people and their family members struggling with addiction and into the recovery process.

"One hundred fifty to 200 people told their stories that night and David Bryan from Bon Jovi was the headliner," Martin said.

And thanks to a recent record deal with Regan and Main Man Records, a new album, and years of performing experience, A Beautiful Mess is now headlining their own tour.

During the band's upcoming May show in Eaton, Martin will share some exciting news.

"We will promote an event called 'Make Music, Not Mess' and hopefully this event will be in June in Muncie," Martin said. "The City of Muncie and parks department are going to be putting on the 'Make Music, Not Mess' concert which will be a free community event in the summer where kids can learn about music and learn about rhythm."

Martin said there will be a different band or performer teaching and performing each day during a one-hour hands-on instruction period, followed by a concert at night.

Making a positive impact in the local music community is what Martin aims to do in the near future.

"I want to see the left and right side of the political ideologically move to the center and work more to bring about the kind of community we want to see," Martin said. "Musically we are just hoping to get out and make an impact in a positive direction."

One last thing?

"We need to use music to empower one another," Martin said.

For more information, visit mainmanrecords.com and michaelmartinband.com.

Contact Star Press trends and social scene reporter Rebecca Bream at rbream@muncie.gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @RebeccaBreamTSP.