Peter Martin, the current host of 8CCC’s ‘A Little Bit Country’ (since November 2021 after predecessor Laurencia Grant, who founded the show, moved interstate), explains why he loves country music above all else.
Words by Greg Barnes. Photography by Greg Barnes and Sara Maiorino.
“I grew up in the city, you know, so I’m a city boy that moved to Alice Springs and loves country“
Give us a brief introduction to who you are and what you do here at 8CCC.
My name’s Peter. I’ve, been, hosting the show a little bit country, I think since about November 2021. And I’ve been lucky enough to live in Mparntwe, Alice Springs, since, late 2020, moved from Melbourne a few years ago.
What are your musical projects here in Mparntwe?
Well, I’ve got the show every Sunday, which is good fun. I play in a band called the Midnight Rangers. We’re kind of a countryish, band, that sort of has a lot of zany influences. We’ve been playing together for a couple of years now. Got another band called Honky Tonk disco, which is a little bit more folky, kind of countryish as well. I can’t really say I’m full country. I mean, I grew up in the city, you know, so I’m a city boy that moved to Alice Springs and loves country, and we’ve got like, you know, mandolin and banjo and washboard and that sort of thing. So those are the two main bands. And then there’s a bunch of other bands that are just one-off things.
“It’s all in this sort of, ballpark of three chords and the truth, like, it’s simple, it’s not elitist”
So why country music above all else?
I don’t know, Like, I was lucky enough, I won tickets through a competition in Melbourne. I won tickets to an Americana festival, and I’d always liked Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, but was kind of more into punk music and like folk, you know, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkle, all that sort of stuff my parents listen to. I still like that music. But there was something about country. And I think more broadly, you can say it about music like reggae, or the blues, or punk and country. It’s all in this sort of, ballpark of three chords and the truth, like, it’s simple, it’s not elitist. And I’ve always. I found that really appealing that it’s, accessible to everyone, I think. Yeah, it’s not too wordy or like abstract or, you know what I mean?
So, what drew you from Melbourne, out to Mparntwe then, and what keeps you here?
I moved, a couple of years ago, well, I visited my friend Andy in 2019. I did a road trip, which was a lot of fun. And then kind of, thought, hey, this is a pretty cool place, might give it a go. Got a bit tired of the city life and I originally moved here, had an opportunity for youth work, and yeah, that kind of developed my, sort of roots here socially and through work and it just feels like a really great community. The music here, the music scene. It’s hard to describe to people who aren’t from here. I’ve got a lot of friends in Melbourne and, you know, Melbourne has a great live music scene. Like, any night of the week you can go to an awesome gig. But it doesn’t have that same sense of, like, I don’t think it has that same sense of community.
For instance, One Frequency Festival last year, the 8CCC event, with Rhino Milk Productions and all the other people that were involved with that. You had, like, reggae bands, you had Katanga Junior, you had Glennie Rae doing like, folky stuff, you know, Midnight Rangers doing our kooky, weird stuff, Wanted Gems. I’m forgetting the whole lineup, but, you know, what I’m trying to say is you had all these different genres coming together and it was really nice. And, you know, everyone in the community mostly. I’m forgetting, The New Boys. That was probably the highlight. That was really cool.
The Beatles of the bush!
“There’s something special about music here which has kept me here”