Marc Martel performing with Brian & Roger at the Freddie for a Day benefit

You guys have to forgive me (or not!) for the many posts in this thread. I am like a stupid teenager over this one and will be anxious to see how it plays out.

I agree pipijolk, but then there will certainly be criticism no matter what. I do think Marc will rise to it and be great no matter what. Like you stated, it's the tonality, along with range that he brings to Queen legacy. If he relaxes and has a ton of fun with it, it will be infectious and the crowd will go nuts! He certainly has the talent.

[QUOTE] [b]BelfastQueenFan wrote:[/b]
WHy would he stop acting like Freddie Mercury when he was in a Queen TRIBUTE band? That makes, like no sense. Secondly, he naturally sounds like Freddie that's the point. He cant alter his vocal chords.[/QUOTE]

I was talking about Marc acting like Freddie while singing with Roger and Brian, perhaps I should have written my prev post in a better way, sorry!

Let me try again:

I know QE is basically a tribute band, and I know Marc "have" to sing like Freddie, but I also know that the guy have his own style and while his voice may sound like Freddie's, he (Marc) have his own personality... His voice may sound like Freddie's but his style is different and that style does change the whole picture.
The fact that his voice is similar to Freddie doesnt means that he have to sing like Freddie. In the same way, somebody using Brian's gear will never sound like Brian unless you are an imitator.

With that in mind, I hope that if the Queen gig becomes reality, it could be "Queen + Marc Martel" (or whetever they call it) instead of "Queen + Marc Martel, the guy from QE who basically imitates Freddie"

I saw Marc Martel on the Extravaganza tour. There are some natural similarities, but Marc is NOT an imitator. Also, the crowd loved him. He is even better live than you would expect.

Just to add to my last thingy..
This would be the best way to finish off a career. We know it can't be much longer than a few more years

[QUOTE] [b]the dude 1366 wrote:[/b]
Just to add to my last thingy..
This would be the best way to finish off a career. We know it can't be much longer than a few more years[/QUOTE]

True, if they have any unfinished business with regard to the "sound" of music (of Freddie) they have gathered over the years this might be the opportunity to explore by sitting down in a recording studio for a week or two to see what transpires, if anything.

[QUOTE] [b]kosimodo wrote:[/b]
i bet the crowd goes nuts.. and Brian and Roger do get it afterwards... I see a tour coming;)[/QUOTE]


We'll see about that. You can't predict how the crowd reacts, maybe some would demand AL instead of MM, because Marc is too much of a "badly genetically engineered fake clone" in their eyes or something like that. I've seen a few die hard Queen fans really pissed off by Martel's performance. One of them even said that "he bastardized Freddie's legacy", lol. I couldn't agree with that, at least the dude sings the damn song properly, how it should be sung in concert, unlike... ehm... nevermind.

Well that's pretty cool - much better than Lambert or Jessie J..

Went to my first Downhere concert tonight. Marc acts pretty much the same on stage with his band as he does with QE (even using some of the same lines when addressing the audience LOL) so I don't think he's intentionally acting like Freddie. However, he does have a guitar on him the whole time with Downhere, so if he is sliding into Freddie-isms during QE, I'm guessing it's during those songs when he just has a mic and no instruments to hide behind? There was an interview during the QE rehearsal period where he said one of his biggest challenges was learning to front a band with just a mic, and he did catch himself drifting into Freddie-isms but he was trying not to do that.

AM! Lucky you! When I met Mark at QE I felt him to be very genuine. He plays bass too? I just can't help but feel that Rog and Bri will be very happy to have found him and hopefully will consider recording something new.

Bha Marc is Jebus friend no chance for him in Queen.

Adam you went to the Downhere concert in Cambridge Ontario? Small world I live in Cambridge. Was thinking of going but it was sold out. I'm not that religious, but I hear they are very good musically.

Yep, I was there! I live in Toronto. I never listened to contemporary Christian music before (at least not on purpose LOL) but found myself liking a lot of Downhere's stuff, musically speaking. Enough to get past the sometimes trite lyrics anyway!

[QUOTE] [b]Missreclusive wrote:[/b]
AM! Lucky you! When I met Mark at QE I felt him to be very genuine.
[/QUOTE]

My $0.02 impression based on chatting with Marc for a couple minutes in the autograph line (which was a lot less rushed than the QE autograph lines since there were fewer people)...

He is shy but not in the stereotypical stammer/mumble way. He just gets passive with strangers. As long as the other person initiates and leads the conversation, he's very open and friendly and articulate. But if the other person expects Marc to make the first move, they might get a "hi" out of him and then... awkward silence.

I think that's why I've seen some people say he's stuck-up or standoffish. Imagine a shy fan seeing Marc chatting away animatedly with other people then when it's their turn to meet him, he suddenly has little to say. Oops.

I remember a comment on his FB page around the time the STL video went viral from (I think) a friend of the family. They said it was great to see him coming out of his shell because they remember a party a few years previous where Marc managed not to talk to anyone the entire time. When they asked him why he wasn't mingling more, his reply was something like, I've been quiet for 30 years and I don't plan to change now. The irony! :D

Shy too :-)

Is this it a beggining of another Queen +??

Great news! Jeff Scott Soto also deserves his spot and I hope for that. IMHO Jeff is THE one for this spot. In fact, during the 2 QE gigs I saw, he was the only capable of rocking. And, boy, did he rock.

Cheers,

Ogre-