The final night in the mansion.  The night before the finale.  Tomorrow is to be the most definitive day of my life.  No matter what happens, the trajectory of my life will be altered forever.  My focus is on showcasing all that I am to INXS.  I have grown so much musically & vocally over the past 12 weeks and I want to be the best performer I can possibly be.  MiG, J.D. and I have gotten to take this incredible journey all the way to the finish.  INXS has a tough decision and I am going to go out swinging.  I respect whatever decision they make but I need everyone to know that I'm going into this finale with my guns blazing and putting it all out on the line.  I have never had such an important day.  Excitement runs through my finger tips as I write this.  I know I am truly alive and will remember this day for the rest of my life.  I believe I have gotten this far based on the strength of my family and friends.  I am a mere reflection of my amazing family and incredible friendships defined throughout my life.  I want to say that I have not changed because of this experience, I have grown I have grown closer to all of those people that I have been away from for 12 weeks.  What a lucky break I got being picked for this show.  I have always felt like the underdog and it fuels me to get stronger with each performance.  My reprise performance of  “Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd is for all those close to me that are not at here with me in LA at the moment.  I owe all of this to the support of my band "Lovehammers" my brothers in music and friends for life.  I owe all this to my family that I love and respect so much.  I understand that this final entry is really deep and maybe overly potent, but at this juncture in my life I mean my words.  Whatever happens is exactly what is supposed to happen.  I respect my fate.    

For the last clinic, we received an instrumental track of a new INXS song. Later I received a big surprise. I was directed outside to my new car. It was really cool to hop in and cruise around town. I sped over to the Gibson Showroom and met up with Andrew Farriss to song-write together. We worked for two hours and made good progress. We had a lot of fun.

 

We had song selection and I wanted to do "Wish You Were Here" again. I want to dedicate this song this week for my band "Love Hammers" and all my friends and family that got me to where I am right now.

We also had our final dinner at the mansion - there were filet Mignon steaks and other gourmet food set up for us poolside overlooking the City of Los Angeles skyline.  I am going to miss a lot of things about this mansion. 1. The amazing 360 degree view of the city from Downtown to the Hollywood sign. 2. Watching Sunset with a glass of wine by the basketball court.  3. Living, Breathing & Writing music each and every  day with such creative people surrounding me.  After we finished dinner MiG, J.D. & I found a photo album of pictures from the beginning of the show all the way through to the final 4.  It was so fun to see these pictures and remember all the crazy nights we have had here.  I have made some friends for life and can't wait to see everyone again. 

 

Last Friday we woke up early around 6:00 a.m. and were driven to KLOS radio station for a live jam session with Mark & Brian, the morning radio personalities. They were both so cool to us and we had an absolute blast.  The house band was there and we went full on acoustic.  J.D. sang first and then I stepped in and sang "Trees" and closed out with "Suicide Blond." There was a huge crowd of lovely ladies watching the show and I had them sing the last chorus of "Trees" with me.  MiG ended the set with "What You Need" and sang it really well. 

 

After the morning radio show we went straight into rehearsal for the finale.  I realize that this is one of the last times I will get to jam with the house band and try to enjoy every minute of their talents. After rehearsal it was time to pack up our belongings and move out of the mansion.  It was really sad to be leaving but on the other hand it felt like closure to the house and I set my sights on kicking butt at the finale.  I have so many great memories from this summer spent in the mansion on the hill.  This is definitely one of the highlights of my life. 

 

I am excited for Tuesday and want the final show to be spectacular.  I can't wait to jam with INXS.  This is definitely going to be a night to remember!

 

When the elimination show started Suzie, MiG, J.D. & I huddled together and wished each other the best of luck. I could not believe I received the encore. I was psyched to do "Trees." I busted up my guitar and played the song. When they rolled in the new Honda Civic (2006) and announced that three of us in the final would get a new car, I was blown away.  I never thought I would have received a car in this audition process for INXS. It's almost too much to think about. I was so glad to not end up on the bottom three and knew I was going to the finale. I really appreciate all the support from around the globe. I want to sincerely thank every one for voting and choosing “Trees" for the encore.

 

After the elimination show, we arrived back at the mansion and had a lobster dinner. I am extremely bummed that Suzie is gone. She and I have been great friends, and I miss her energy and presence in the Mansion. Five more days till the finale.

 

This is so cool!

We don't have a moment to spare this week I will catch up in my blog entries when I can.  Thanks for understanding - we’re so close to the end.  I'm trying to hold on for dear life! Great times!

Interview Clinic:
We went to the billiards room and got word of the order of the interviews:  JD, MiG, me and Suzie.  We were told that INXS would be firing off questions.  I thought about possible questions they would ask me and also had a couple of questions of my own for INXS.  When I walked in, Garry, Tim, Jon, Kirk and Andrew were seated across from me.  The conversation was very deeply vested in determining our true personalities.  INXS needs to get a feeling of who we are and if we have chemistry with the band.  I am really impressed with how comfortable INXS makes us all feel. They are so honest with us and keep us in tune with how they are feeling.  I was given my songs for the next performance when I left.  Tim handed me the envelope and told me they wanted me to do my original song "Trees" again.  Also in the envelope was the song "Creep" by Radiohead.  This is an amazing honor to get to sing a Radiohead song.  Radiohead is sacred to many people and I want to do the song justice.  I love the songs I get to sing this week.

I woke up around 9:00am and went for a 45 minute jog to clear my head. After my jog I had an hour vocal lesson with Roger Love. Over the past few weeks we have been developing my middle voice and it has strengthened my upper register. I need this part of my voice strong in order to handle some of INXS’s back catalogue of songs. After the voice lesson I rehearsed "Creep" and "Trees" with the house band. We did "Creep" 4 or 5 times and I tweaked the arrangement a bit. It is such a powerful tune and this will be the first time anyone has ever performed it on national television besides Radiohead themselves.

A few nights ago we went to the Greek Theatre to see Red Hot Chili Peppers and Parliament Funkadelic. We had back stage passes and good seats up front. Bootsy Collins was tearing it up on bass and the stage was filled with dancers. George Clinton from P-Funk was closing the night out on vocals. I was dancing with Suzie and MiG and singing along with the band. I was so surprised when Suzie gave me a Parrliment t-shirt she had bought at the concert. She bought one for all of us. She is such a sweetheart.

When we arrived home J.D. was still up. We had put all of the items from his room downstairs into the pink room as a prank. He laughed it off and then MiG went to his room and saw that J.D. put about 6 mattresses on top of his bed and it went all the way to the ceiling, we all laughed our butts off. These pranks are such a great way to shake off the stress. I went to bed at 1:00am and knew I had a big day to come. In the morning I warmed up with Roger Love, the vocal coach, and went to rehearsal. The longer we are here, the more there is to do. Busy- Busy- Busy. I like being busy because you don't overthink anything, you just react!

 

Elimination day
We opened up with the world premiere of "Us" with INXS.  This is the first time the full band of INXS has performed on this stage.  I liked that they played so loud.  The song went over really well and the crowd seemed to enjoy the sentiment.  I am impressed by INXS’ willingness to help out with the Natural Disaster in the south.  The bottom 3 were called out and I was so happy to be in the clear this week. This week Jordis, J.D. & Suzie were singing for survival.  Jordis was told she was not right for INXS and I was bummed.  More than anyone else here, her and I connected the most musically.  I learned a lot from her. Jordis' presence will be really missed around this house.  The dynamic is entirely changed and it always takes a day to settle into the new vibe.  MiG was also bummed to see Jordis leave.  Suzie was surprised and happy to be the last woman standing.  J.D. has been soaking in the attention of being in the final four and hasn’t stopped talking for several hours.  The rest of us can barely get a word in.  I can see how excited he is to make it out of the bottom 3.  In honor of Jordis we watched sunset from her favorite spot, by the basketball court. 

 

This performance day was different than any previous.  We all got to sing 2 songs, one fans choice and one original tune.  I was more excited this week because we got to showcase our songwriting.  My brothers and sisters were all at the show and they could not have chosen a better week to come to L.A. I really needed to feel at home.  I felt good about my performance but know that there is a pretty good chance I will be in the bottom 3.  It is time to start singing INXS songs every week & showcasing what we can do for this phenomenal band.  I have got a lot of work to do.  If given the chance to sing INXS this week I want to tear the roof off the place.  Bottom 3 is not necessarily a bad thing anymore.  It is getting close to the end. 

 

I want to send a special message out to all of the people affected by hurricane Katrina.  I am sending my thoughts and prayers out to those dealing with this natural disaster and all the amazing people lending a hand. 

We found out that the five of us are going to be in a national ad campaign for Levi's Jeans. We had the opportunity to do a photo shoot with Nathaniel Welch. He has shot tons of big time musicians and definitely shot some great stuff. Someone mentioned that this could wind up on billboards and in magazines. Life just keeps getting crazier.

J.D.'s birthday -- I didn't know this would be one of my favorite nights at the mansion. 

It started like this, MiG and I carried the cake to the dining room and prepared for the madness.  I knew that a 5-foot cake for 5 people was going to end in destruction. It felt so good to release all our tension and fly off the handle.  We had a cake fight, jumped in the pool, showered together, hung out in the hot tub, drank wine and laughed our asses off. Only J.D. could throw such a phenomenal birthday party.

Three more weeks left, and I'm doing the best I can. I appreciate all of the support and want you to know how much it is helping me keep my head on straight and focused on going the distance.

 

We got our fan selected songs, and I'm psyched to have Foo Fighters "Everlong.”  We also get to do an original, and I choose my song called "Trees." I wrote the song in New York City after a stressful relationship took a turn for the worse.  It was a direct plea for a second chance to renew our love.

 

Went in with the band and worked on the fans choice song "Everlong." At first I tried it full-on with the band, and I felt like I was getting lost in the chaos of the slamming drums and wailing guitars. I suggested that we try the song with two acoustic guitars (Jim and Rafael) and do some harmony vocals. Then we moved on to working on my original song "Trees"! We tried four or five subtly different versions. Nate and Jim actually came up with some ideas for the arrangement. I was not 100% sold on the final arrangement, and I felt a bit insecure about leaving not completely satisfied.

 

I worked on the songs for a few hours and felt better about it.

 

Gabrielle, a tattoo artist, showed up at the Mansion to give us some tattoos. Suzie went first and got a band around her arm. We had come up with the theme of all getting rings somewhere on our body. Jordis and I thought about our tattoo for weeks. Finally Jordis got the idea of getting it on our neck behind our ear, a semi private location on the body. I thought that it would be cool to have my first tattoo on my head. Felt like a bold move for a bold portion of my life. I definitely wanted to document this once in a life experience. I was swimming with Jordis one evening and decided that a circle/ring would be a powerful statement and reminder of our experience here. We are all forever bound together by this experience. I feel so lucky.

 

I laid down overlooking the LA skyline and the tattoo artist got to work. I was anticipating extreme, mind tingling pain, but it wasn't so terrible. It took 15 minutes, and I was marked for life.

I was prepared to be in the bottom 3 this week.  After being in the bottom 3 last week I knew that I had to be prepared for anything.  I never expected to get the encore this week. Suzie had the performance of a lifetime singing “Bohemian Rhapsody” and it had to go to her.  I was so surprised that we both got to share the Encore Moment. I'm psyched that I didn’t end up at the bottom 3.  I felt a sincere sadness when Ty got eliminated.  He was the foundation of the house and I wonder what chaos will ensue because of his departure.  I felt lucky to get to spend so much time with Ty.  I was fortunate to be his roommate. 

Take care!
Marty

Studio time with INXS:
Andrew Farriss is a genius and his songwriting is so mature and vested in the future. The new INXS stuff… my jaw dropped when I heard it. Made me realize how driven I am to win this thing and get to sing these amazing songs on a new record and tour the world. Whomever wins this is the luckiest person on the earth for all I'm concerned. Wait till you hear the new INXS. It will blow away all your expectations - brilliant beyond anything else on the radio. Madly genius.
 
Performance Day:
Each show is getting more and more intense. We started the show yesterday with some drama and then Ty kicked the night off with a blistering performance of "You Can't Always Get What You Want." That set the bar really high for the rest of us. When it was my turn to perform, I was unusually calm. My focus was dead-on and the band was so tight. I felt humbled by the magnitude of the song and all the musicians backing me. As the song progressed I started getting more and more emotionally involved with the lyrics. It took everything I had to hold it all together and be a professional. I saw snapshots of my life flash before my eyes like a hologram and I had to stop them before they tore me up. It was a deeply personal moment for me that happened to be viewed by millions of people. This is truly one of the greatest moments of my life.

The highlight of the other performers was Suzie doing the EPIC “Bohemian Rhapsody.” I think she deserves the encore once again.

The last 8 weeks I have been flying by the seat of my pants. Life has never been better!

Six songs on the board this week - there were two songs that I really wanted to do.
1. "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd because of the sentiment.
2. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Stones because it is an absolute classic and with the backing choir, it would have been phenomenal.
I would have had an extremely tough time doing "Bohemian Rhapsody" because Freddy Mercury had such a feminine voice. I felt really lucky to get to do a Pink Floyd song. I feel honored to get to sing this song with a choir, the full band, a string section and an orchestra, crazy!
After song selection, Jordis & I hung out and listened to our songs. She is doing "Imagine" by John Lennon and we figured out the chord progression on guitar cause she wants to play acoustic guitar and sing. I'm amazed at her courage at taking the risk of playing and singing.
I woke up the next morning and memorized lyrics to "Wish You Were Here" and went in for rehearsal. The band and I have worked up such an incredible arrangement of the song. I have a lot of preparation work to do vocally but I don't want to overdo it. Keep it natural and simple. What an amazing honor to still be here after all these weeks and get the opportunity to sing these classic songs I have grown up with.
We all jumped in a van and headed to the Universal City Walk for a radio gig. When we arrived there were a few hundred fans there taking pictures and wanting autographs. It was totally surreal to have all these kids screaming out our names and wanting autographs. Really energized fans. We had a blast. I sang "What I Like About You" and did a high energy show. At the end of Suzie's performance we all ran onstage and took a bow. Lots of cameras flashing. Fun,Fun,Fun.
We got home and I worked on my song. Suzie, Ty, Jordis and I hung out in Jordis' room and we eventually passed out.
The next morning was more rehearsals for the performance show. I need to have a great show because all of the songs are so great this week. It is really intense. Everyone here is phenomenal and you have to shine every week in order to stay alive.

After the elimination show we had a party/banquet around the pool and got some cell phones from Verizon. We saw v-cast videos of our performances this week. Dave Navarro showed up and told us we all needed to have an original song ready for noon the following day. I had a few songs ready so I wasn't stressed. Deanna came in and asked us to help her with her song. Later, Jordis came in and needed help developing her song so we went and sat around the hot tub and figured out a pre-chorus, chorus, and bridge. I really dig all the songs we created this evening. It was a successful creative day. I passed out early from pure exhaustion.

 

The following morning I rearranged my original song “Trees,” and then helped Suzie with some guitar parts on her song. Then we found out the song list was up for the next show. Seven total songs. Five covers and two originals. Suzie decided we should choose out of a hat to see who does the originals because we all wanted to. Deanna and MiG got their names picked. I was kinda bummed I didn't get to do mine. I chose the song "I Alone" by Live and really would have been happy with any of the songs this week.

 

Woke- up and ran around the basketball courts for an hour and tried to work out the kinks in my delivery of “I Alone.”  I rehearsed with the band and it felt ok.  I need to figure out a way to make my song stand out in the midst of all these great songs like "Start Me Up" by the Stones and "Dream On" by Aerosmith .  I really love the Live tune because I grew-up with that song and it defined a whole summer of my life in the mid 90's.  I wanna get the crowd moshing.

 

I had a vocal lesson with Roger Love, a vocal coach, and he gave me some good pointers about singing this song.  Sometimes I incorporate advice and sometimes I don't.  Everything changes when you hit the stage, you forget everything and operate on autopilot.  You just do your thing and hope it works out.

The producers of Rock Star:INXS want to hear from you. Click on the comments link below to tell us why you chose the song you did for Marty. Your name and response may even be mentioned on the upcoming encore performance show.

Big Day. Everyone, I actually have to go out and sing a Britney Spears' song on international television. Is this really happening? I know my friends are never gonna let me live this down. I know I've got to perform this well or it's all over for me.

When we got back home after the elimination show we ate dinner and Ty's mentor, Joan Kilcommons, surprised him with a visit. She was really cool and it's amazing to see that Ty still keeps in touch with her. Ty is such a great human being inside and out and I feel so lucky to get to spend this much time with his creative soul.

Later, Dave Navarro showed up at the mansion and BOOM! Clinic… This week’s clinic was songwriting and here is how it played out. Ty was chosen as leader because he got the encore. Ty chose me as his first partner. Navarro was clever and switched it so that Ty's choice became the leader of the other team. When our side was realized it was me, Jordis, J.D. & Jessica, I definitely thought we were the bad seed group. A solid core as well. Andrew Farriss wrote the instrumental and I was moved. It was a simple grove with a few nice guitar hooks. We all started working and developing ideas. About an hour and a half into the writing process J.D. didn't like the flow because he wasn't able to control us as a group. He flew off the handle a bit and decided to leave and not take part of the song. I was bummed that we lost his potential for creativity and all of the drama had cost the group over 2 hours of time. Jordis, Jessica & I were set-back but not out of the picture yet. We worked for about 2 hours more on writing the tune and in the last 17 minutes we tracked the song with no time to spare. When it was over it was a relief and I went and hung-out in Brandon's old room with Ty, MiG, Suzie, Deanna & Jordis. Once again felt the loss of Brandon.

In the next part of the clinic with Navarro and Andrew Farriss we found out we were going to perform the song for Andrew and Navarro so Jordis, Jessica and I worked it out. Group one did their song and nailed their poppy ditty, it was a really fun tune. Our team performed our version and I loved it for the simplicity and rawness of the tune. Jordis has a killer voice and turned it on in the difficult stress of the situation at hand. J.D. then sang his version of the song and included pieces that we all as a group collaborated on. That made me feel good to hear that he kept those melodies and lyrics in his vision. I respected that.

We ended up losing the clinic challenge but I didn't care. I learned a lot from the experience and am happy with the way I handled myself through all the stress. Not the best song I ever helped to write but proud we persevered and continued the song through complications. 

 

The winning songwriting team took a limo ride over to a posh restaurant to have a 5-course dinner.  Jordis, Jessica and I hung out with our feet in the hot tub and just talked for over an hour.  It was really nice to have the house to ourselves. J.D. made peanut butter & banana sandwiches for us.

When Ty, Deanna, MiG & Suzie got home from dinner it was time for song selection. We walked in and saw envelopes with our names on them.  When I finally got a peek inside I saw I was given "…Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. I just about dropped dead right there on the floor.  What the heck am I going to do with that song.  I heard a band called Travis did an acoustic version. I just didn’t want this to feel like a gimmick tune.  I usually start to work on the song immediately but with this one I took a walk around the Mansion grounds and collected my head.  Safe to say I was freaking out about having to do this.  I sat down in the backyard and listened to the song and started working.  Most of us singers were not thrilled with the songs we were given.  But, this was a test of will so I figured I'd give it my best shot.  Jordis, Suzie, Ty and I chilled out in Brandon’s old room for a while and eventually passed out.  Next morning was rehearsal day and I started memorizing lyrics and melodies to my song.  I went running by the basketball courts for an hour.  Jordis walked down and we talked overlooking the Hollywood sign for an hour. 

After dinner everyone went to Rokbar.  Rokbar is a club owned by Dave Navarro and Tommy Lee.  I had too much work to do on my song so I stayed back and got working.  It was nice to have the house to myself.  The rehearsal of "…Baby One More Time" went better than expected.  Happy that I stayed in and worked on the song. We will see how my version goes over.

 

Went to the chopping block portion of the show. Lots of nerves running through all the singers. First things first, I took a nap for half an hour on the floor.

When the elimination show started I was prepared to be in the bottom three. I was comfortable because I was happy with my decision to do “Mr. Brightside” acoustic. Nothin' is gonna change that. Ty and I got a special nod for taking a risk and pulling it through. I was psyched that Ty got the encore. His version of "No Woman, No Cry" was the best I have heard outside of Bob Marley himself. After the encore, I was really surprised to see Suzie into the bottom three. Brandon and Jessica were also on the block. Brandon unfortunately got the song "Don't Lose Your Head," and he knew going in that he would struggle with lyrics. INXS decided he was not right for the band and called him out this week. I am really bummed that he is not around. He has such a large personality, and he is greatly missed around the house.

I am so flippin’ backlogged with songs and crazy stuff going on that I don't have time to write right now. Please know that everything is good, and I will divulge everything next time.

It's been a few days of insanity, so let's have at it. We went to the premiere of “Red Eye,” a new Wes Craven movie. We did the red carpet thing with lots of photos and paparazzi. After doing a few radio interviews we were ready to get some popcorn and coke and find our seats. When we found our seats I sat next to Jordis and Suzie. “Red Eye” is a thriller and Suzie was freaking out scared for parts of the movie and made the flick more dramatic with her freight. I even screamed at one part of the movie.

Later in the wee hours Brandon, Jessica, J.D., Jordis and I had an impromptu Jam Session in the ballroom. At the end of the session J.D. stripped down buck naked and went running through the lawn sprinklers. Jessica was a little tipsy and was being funny as hell. Jessica is hanging out more and more with the group and really opening up. It is fun to see her opening up. It is fun to see her let her guard down and release some stress. At one point Jessica went looking for Suzie and couldn't find her. We set out on a 30-minute search party looking for Suzie and were freaking out a bit when she wasn't turning up. We eventually found her in the gold room talking to TY. We thought that TY was sleeping and we never really checked the gold room. After that I was totally beat and hit the sack.

For Jordis’s birthday I bought her a card and had everyone sign it. Her cake was the hugest birthday cake ever. I picked it up and walked it over to Jordis and we all sang. I asked her to make a wish. A few seconds later her boyfriend appeared and we were all blown away. He is a really cool guy and we are lucky to have met him. When we finished dinner we headed over to House of Blues for the Camp Freddy (a cover band Dave Navarro plays with ) gig. Let me tell you who we were hanging out with--so crazy. Slash, Scott Weiland, Steve Jones from Sex Pistols, Billy Duffy from The Cult, Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains, Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray, Cypress Hill, Stephen Perkins from Jane's Addiction, David Draiman and Dan Donegan from Disturbed, Rachel Hunter and Ione Sky. Freak that some of these people have seen the show and we talked about what this experience is like. It was one of the most surreal nights of my life and I will leave it at that. Life is good and I feel blessed to have this opportunity.

Song selection I selected The Killers tune “Mr. Brightside” cause it's new and edgy. I could visualize the performance and when we all sat around the piano and sang it felt right.