Danny Martinez's Bio (part 2)
I left off last time when I joined the band Caught in the Act. It was November of 1988 and I was a freshman in college. Now, you have to understand, I was going through what I call my 'ugly-duckling' phase. Man, I was ugly too. See, I was trying to grow out my hair, I was really skinny and I was just not attractive. But, in the immortal words of Dr. Martin Luther King, I had a dream. As I said before, I thought I would join the band as a vocalist under an interim basis. I felt like I was obligated to Anthony, the music we wrote and the dreams he and I shared. So, I began rehearsing with Caught in the Act. We rehearsed in the basement of the keyboardists grandmother's house. Now the keyboardist, Matt Karras, was the guitarist/lead vocalist of the Marone brothers' last band PTO (Power Take Off). So I felt like I was under the always watchful eye of Matt. As it turns out, he really respected what I brought to the band and that made me feel comfortable. Well, you know, until they found a permanent guy. We wrote probably 3 or 4 songs, the other songs the band already had.
Now, here's where I'm going to clear up some confusion once and for all. There was a band called Caught in the Act that played around here in 1987-1988. The guitar players name was Casey and he started the band. Our guitar player Paul and bassist Joe joined Caught in the Act in 1988. Soon after, Casey decided to move to Los Angeles to further his music career. Casey was an amazing songwriter and wrote some songs while he was with Caught in the Act. When he decided to leave, he left the name and a few songs with the remaining members. He felt he didn't need them where he was going. So, Paul and Joe recruited drummer Rob Marone, and keyboardist Matt and had the original singer, named Sean. Sean decided to bail after a few rehearsals. So, that's when they contacted me. Not many people remember these circumstances or even knew that there were 'other' members of a Caught in the Act. Once in a blue moon, I will get someone who will say, 'Hey, you're not the original singer'. Technically, no. But for all intents and purposes, yes.
Back to my story. We wrote enough material, with the songs the band already had, to perform a live show. At this point I thought we would play in a few months. Wrong, Joe and Paul booked an opening gig with a band called Risque the following month (Jan. 1989). I can still remember going to the house where Risque rehearsed. I really hadn't seen any local bands at all. I remember sitting there thinking, 'God, these guys have no show!' Believe me, Caught in the Act was all show at the time. I overlooked the fact that they sounded really good. But I was starting to feel a sense of comradery and competitiveness that I had never felt before and it gave me an edge at our next rehearsal. It's an edge that I still have today. I guess I feel that, when I go on stage, that I have to be the best singer or guitar player or entertainer that anyone has ever seen. At the time, I felt like it was a competition with the other bands on the bill. We had to be the best. That there would be no doubt in anyone's mind that we were the best. The only problem is, I wasn't a very good singer. I knew it too. I wasn't horrible, like I couldn't carry a tune, but I wasn't great. So, I relied on putting on a good show. The whole band did. We were so influenced by the big bands of the day like Poison, Warrant and Skid Row. We decided our band 'colors' would be Hot Pink and Neon Green. We bought paint in those colors and painted everything; our amps, clothes, guitars. Rob even bought a pink drum set. We were hell bent on putting on a complete 'show'. So, we were booked at The Mission. This was a small 'bar' in the student union on the Metro State campus in downtown Denver. We would be opening for Risque. We played. The show went great. From the reaction of the crowd, we had something. Something special. I mean, wow, I was playing in front of a real crowd and they were loving it. People were asking me questions, shaking my hand, buying me drinks. I wasn't even of age. But, nothing could prepare me or any of us for the one part of the rock-n-roll equation that would change things for all of us. Women!
To be continued...
