Northwest and Beyond! The Love Muscles Summer Tour 2024

Hello! My name is Megan Martinez and as long as I can remember I have always loved performing and making music. Singing songs that make people dance, laugh, or forget about their worries, even for a moment, is my greatest joy.

I have the honor of fronting and managing an incredible dancable, femmetastic, and soulful funk band in New Orleans called The Love Muscles. This summer we will be spreading our music throughout the northwest! Our collective mission as a band is to help foster a musical community where all people feel safe and free to dance, laugh, shake their booties, and join in our rebel cry of “Empower the Clit!” And “Hell Yea Brother!”

My goal is to obtain financial aid for traveling, recording, and merchandise through this go-fund me campaign.

Here’s what summer 2024 has on the horizon for the Love Muscles:

Release of their summer banger “Hell Yea Brother”

17 shows in three states June 27- July 26

Recording session at National Freedom Studio in Cottage Grove, OR

My Goal: To obtain up to $4,500 in financial aid to help offset costs for recording, traveling, promotion, and merchandise.

Recording/Promo part 1 (Send Nudes, Too Careful, Pull Up Your Pants etc. ):

1 Day at National Freedom studio $500

Photo shoot $80

Music Video shoot $600

Recording/promo pt. 1: $1180

Travel costs:

West coast tour estimated gas $1,200

Oil Chang/fluids etc.: $77

Engine air filter: 15

Emergency auto fund $750

Guitarist flight home $80

Travel stipend for tenor sax $300

Keyboardist round trip flight $260

Travel costs: $2,682

3) Equipment/Merchandise

Mic stand $ 50

temporary tattoos $200

key chains $160

Stickers $145

Pins/earrings $125

Total: $630

Oregon Country Fair:

Vehicle Sticker: $20

Guitarist SO Pass: $125

Drummer SO Pass: $125

Total: $270

Grand Total: $4,862

A bit more about my background:

Many times when people ask me how I learned to sing I say it's because my momma never told me to shut up. There’s more to it than that but I do attribute my continued exploration for expression and joy to my mother, born Michelle Louise Bernard, and her loving, playful, and encouraging nature. She raised me on a healthy dose of musical theater, blues, gospel, spontaneous early morning birdwatching trips, and bluegrass jams. In 2002 after a long battle with hepatitis C she left this mortal plane and at 12 years old I became an orphan. During our short time together her teachings and exposure to art, music and nature paved the way for me to cultivate a more beautiful life than I ever could have dreamed of. Though I experienced much trauma and many sorrows early on, I have found my way to a life filled with loving friends, family, and dreams that through hard work and dedication have made their way from my mind, into my reality.

I started strumming a guitar and putting words to music at 16. Out of high school my interests led me north to Oregon where I became involved in community theater, explored organic farming and supported myself by caring for children. One fateful festival night in 2016 while dancing and singing along to the most funkiest booty bumpin music, I was unexpectedly welcomed on stage by the band’s guitarist, Jimmy Russell. He could hear me singing along and ushered me to join in. That moment my life was forever changed. A harmonious familial relationship was forged and I began singing Tuesday nights with Boys 2 Gentlemen at the Goodfoot, Portland’s funky basement venue. By the end of the summer I became one of the principal members of B2G and was absolutely hooked on the thrill, freedom and empowerment I felt when singing with a big band. It nourished my soul.

After cutting my teeth many a late Tuesday nights diving deep into psychedelic jams, orchestrating on stage antics, writing bangers, and developing my voice, I formed my own band, Maygaintic, in 2019. It was building momentum, then the pandemic happened and everything came to a halt. Without my music community the Northwest winters became unbearable. In my isolation New Orleans called out to me and in November 2021 I made the big move. I loaded up my car with my dog and whatever possessions would fit and started a new chapter. There I found another expansive, supportive musical community and I felt wholeheartedly embraced by the vibrant and wild city of New Orleans. Shortly after moving there I began to form my current band, The Love Muscles. We recently celebrated our two year anniversary and are now embarking on a tour of the Northwest, playing over 17 shows in three states.

Music has saved my spirit time after time after time. The connection between the listener and the artist is a special phenomenon we all can relate to. As a teen, maybe 14, I recorded the song “For Once In My Life” by Stevie Wonder from the radio onto a cassette tape. I was really beginning to explore my voice, and was completely enamored by every element of the song. I played it over and over memorizing the words, singing them as a mantra.

“For once in my life I have someone who needs me

Someone I’ve needed so long

For once unafraid I can go where life leads me

Somehow I know I’ll be strong”

It filled me with hope and joy. It spoke to a desire that no one in my personal life had acknowledged. Stevie’s voice was soothing and uplifting, his words clear and pure and they opened my mind and heart to the delightful notion of possibility. Many times the job of a musician is largely thankless and each year the industry pays less and less. A large portion of the job is writing emails, loading gear, promoting a show, and driving many miles to do your craft. The real payoff is the ways in which you are able to touch people on a real personal level, to share a moment, and to speak to the unique experience that is life in all its many moods, colors and seasons. That is what is keeping me going, I have found myself in a role that has pulled me out of despair while lifting others up. It’s hard work full of purpose. I couldn’t be more grateful to have a growing audience and team of stellar musicians who believe in me and my art. My bassist, drummer, and keyboardist, Blue Carl, Becca Doughty, and Miles Butler traveled all the way from New Orleans to share our music with a larger audience. Brooke Kafka is traveling all the way from Kansas City Missouri to Portland Oregon to join us for two weeks on tenor sax and Simone Tucker is lending us her talents our entire time in the Northwest, then coming back with us all the way to New Orleans. The cumulative miles that all of these bright, kind, and extremely talented individuals are willing to travel to create music with me and share in my vision blows my mind and, as my mom would say, “makes my heart pump purple peanut butter”. It overwhelms my heart.

After some unexpected car costs I had to dip into my personal savings to make this tour happen and I’m hoping that with this go fund me campaign I can fund the rest of our tour and creative endeavors without compromising the wages of myself and my musicians that we earn from shows.

You, the listener, contributor, supporter of the arts, and supporter of a woman owned business can help propel us forward, build this creative vision, and make a collective dream come true. With your help, we can foster a community of love and expression, celebrating who we are; women, brothers, individuals, artists, lovers, and dreamers.

We know many folks don’t have it in their budget to donate to creative endeavors, so if you would still like to help our cause but can’t in the form of currency, sharing, liking, commenting and continuing to follow our journey is very much appreciated.

A message from the band:

Thank you to everyone who has continued to come to our shows, encouraged us, hosted us, fed us, sang along, danced with us, and encouraged us from afar. Thank you reader for taking the time to read about our passion project and Megan’s story. We plan to continue this musical journey for a long time so keep watching! Keep dancing! And keep dreaming!

Thank you again, sincerely,

Megan Martinez & The Love Muscles