Vicci Martinez ROCKS our World in 2012

Vicci Martinez ended 2012 on an amazingly high note with her New Years Eve show at her “home club” Jazzbones in Tacoma. Her single “Come Along” from her self-titled album ‘Vicci’ is currently sitting at #33 on the Hot AC chart as well as playing at numerous radio stations around the US! But not everyone knows how much work Vicci and her amazing manager Beth, put in to get to where they are today. Over the past year there have been many ups and downs. With a positive attitude, ambitious mind, and a huge heart anything can be done!

Rewind to this time last year.  Vicci showcases her new music at the Viper Room in CA. We get to hear new tunes like “I Can Love”, “Run Run Run”, and the updated version of a fan favorite, “Hold Me Darlin”. All of us fans are like “can we please buy this now?!” What amazing new tracks these were. They were new, but still had that classic “Vicci” touch on them. If you know any of Vicci’s amazing music you know what I exactly what I’m talking about.

Next up.. February. Album promo is in full gear and our girl Vicci is headed for Jay Leno! Who can forget the energy charged performance we got from CeeLo and our little warrior. Following that appearance, we all get to buy this single so we can keep it on repeat right? WRONG. All good things come in time. Vicci took some time the following month to perform for a cause near and dear to her heart. Her very close friend and former manager, Reed Riley, was in need of heart surgery so Vicci took to the stage at the Heart of Gold Benefit, helping raise more than $10000.00

Lets not forget The Key Club. Its April, and Vicci finally gets to showcase some new music in West Hollywood. Vicci blew the roof off this venue. The performances were AMAZING and she even gave some descriptions of where these songs came from. This is when I fell in love. I Can Love.. memorizing this song was probably the easiest thing I’ve ever done.

Roll around to May and Vicci has come full circle. Back to the stage that started this whole thing back on Season one of “The Voice”.  Its time to perform “Come Along” again for “The Voice” audience and everyone at home. Now we’re all really stoked! Can we please.. pretty please buy these tunes yet?! Yes- Midnight. The 4 song EP is set to release. But wait! Christmas comes early to all of us Vicci fanatics.. the EP releases about an hour early!   Later that month Vicci took to the road and Boise, ID was waiting with open arms. They must’ve seen the fire that we all talk about so much. They quickly began picking up the single into their radio play along with having her visit radio stations.

This has got to be a good sign.. doors are opening. Fans eagerly await the album release, but are growing tiresome. Some even reach out to Universal Republic directly to find out exactly what is going on. Why the delay? Why aren’t we hearing the single in our towns? It just didn’t make any sense. It seems like fans didn’t get much of a response, but Vicci knew exactly what her fans wanted, her.  Vicci and Beth take to the road for a mini promo tour to help get the music out there. This stint is dubbed “The Ren & Stimpy Radio Tour”. This radio promo tour consisted of hitting up places like Portland, Seattle, San Jose, Sacramento, Vancouver and Salt Lake City. All still in hopes that some of these stations would add the single to their play lists. The month of May finishes up with a performance at the 37th Annual Gracie Awards. An award program that both acknowledges and rewards programming created for women, by women, and about women in all facets of media.

Up next. June. The month we’ve all been waiting for. In just a few short weeks we will all have the long anticipated album in our greasy little fingers. We can just head on over to the local Best Buy, Wal-mart, or Target and see our girl right next to Beiber himself. Hold up! What do you mean the album wont be sold in stores? Yeah, that’s right. Digital download or purchase through the official Vicci Martinez website only. That’s OK, we’re loyal fans. To the website is exactly where we headed. Surprise! Lots of Vicci swag is now available as well. Shirts, bandanna’s, autographed photos and even bumper stickers! Maybe, just maybe, this makes up for not seeing our girl in the big stores. YET.

The album has plenty of early success, despite only being available digitally for the most part. I know that all of the hardcore fans like myself, already ordered the physical CD, but we were all right there downloading the digital copy as soon as it was available.The fact that iTunes was offering us 2 BONUS songs made our eyes light up even more! The album peaked at #10 on the iTunes Pop Album chart and #60 on the overall iTunes Albums Charts. Good work team.. good work.

By this time Vicci has played several small shows including a few with Jamar Rogers. He came on to fill in for CeeLo after they realized how well they clicked. During these performances Jamar also opened up for Vicci. Which fans loved! It was an experience that couldn’t be captured, other than in person. A few of the places they stopped were Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, San Diego, San Francisco, Hollywood, and Spokane.

The Summer consisted of a few HUGE festival performances and plenty of the “Ren & Stimpy Radio Tour”. Beth and Vicci  were on the road again. They WERE making this happen, no questions asked. Vicci told told me that she always had a suitcase packed at her house and ready to go at the drop of a dime.

September, the temperatures are beginning to drop, but Vicci is still very hot. Labor Day weekend was a weekend to remember for many east coast fans. A last minute addition to Vicci’s very busy schedule. This low key event was just what the fans wanted. They had been waiting and waiting for the Little Warrior to make her way back to the east coast, and here she was! Singing some of the golden oldies, Vicci was in the zone. Later on this month she kept on trucking. Filling in for Beverly McClellan on the Steve Vai tour seemed to be a perfect fit for Vicci. The performing, the traveling, the tour bus, the fans, the tour bus. We’re not quite sure which part she liked the most, but we’re betting it was the tour bus. The last day of September, who can forget the chilling National Anthem performance Vicci gave at the Houston Texans football game? I still get goose bumps watching that performance.

Ok after a short break…. back to the grind. Ren and Stimpy hit the road again. Its time to tackle the Mid West and get these stations to play “Come Along”. The stops included Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota. As she was visiting these places, we received word that the single was getting more adds by the week across the country. All of the hard work from the Army members was finally paying off!  Phone calls, tweets, and even online requests, it was working. Keep up the good work Army!

Christmas gifts for Vicci!! In December Vicci was nominated for and won, an award for Best Rock Song at the 8th Annual Out Music Awards in Las Vegas. She ended the year at a respectable #33 on the Hot AC charts, along with a New Years Eve performance at Jazzbones. Imagine that.. the same place where she “started” with her music and the same place that she ended 2012.

So what does 2013 hold for Vicci Martinez? Well if you ask any of her fans, including myself, we will tell you that 2013 is THE YEAR OF VICCI MARTINEZ! I believe in this artist with all my heart and soul. I think if people got the chance to know not only her music, but “Vicci” the person, they will absolutely fall in love with everything she is and stands for. She is truly one of a kind. When you watch her perform its like watching a story unfold before your eyes. I can feel her joy, her pain, her love, her loss, and everything in between. The world needs Vicci Martinez. The world needs REAL. There is a huge market for “Realness” right now. That “Realness” is Vicci! Let’s showcase a new side of music on radio stations. We need positive people who do positive things. Only then will people start to love one another.

If you guys want to help this be the year of Vicci, you must help us! Please use our station list to keep requesting “Come Along” on your local radio stations. You can find request line phone numbers and twitter handles there. If it doesn’t play near you, pick a city you like that does play it and request it there! Every little bit helps!! Introduce new people to Vicci’s music. Even if one person buys her CD, that’s one step closer to making 2013 THE YEAR OF VICCI!