Martyn Wylde: BARD

Founding member of popular renaissance faire act Wyldefyre, Martyn Wylde has been a professional musician and actor for almost 40 years. His smooth tenor and astonishing 3 1/2 octave vocal range had him headed for a career in music from an early age. Rock music, particularly the “British Invasion” of the mid-1960s radically changed the direction that career was to take. Although encouraged to pursue a path toward the Broadway stage, when he first picked up a bass guitar at age fourteen the die was cast.

Martyn's driving, yet melodic basslines and soaring upper register vocal harmonies kept him in demand as a studio and touring musician for over three decades. In 2000 he ended a nearly ten year long stint with southern rockers Bandit, after recording three CDs and touring extensively with the group, to try his hand at yet another musical genre; the folk music of the British Isles. Influenced by stellar British guitarists including Martin Carthy, Nic Jones, Martin Simpson and John Renbourn, Martyn plunged headlong into the world of Celtic folk music.

While immersing himself in the world of Celtic folk song, Martyn began to realise that he had undertaken not just a musical journey, but a spiritual one, as well. His studies began to include not just the music of his Celtic forebears, but also their lifestyle and belief systems. He had considered himself a neo-pagan since the early 1970's, but now began to study druidry and bardry in earnest, becoming a member of OBOD (Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids) and completing it's Bardic Grade training and initiation. He is also a member of Ár nDraíocht Féin and The Druid Network.

Martyn's signature fingerstyle guitar and pure tenor voice have been featured on three Wyldefyre CDs, Wyldefyre (2004), All's Faire (2006) and Have Another (2008). His first solo CD, Minstrel's Lament, was released in February 2009. Featuring traditional, contemporary and original material, it is a true solo CD, in that Martyn plays all the instruments (six and twelve-string guitars, fretted and fretless basses, octave mandolin/bouzouki, percussion) and sings multiple harmony and counterpoint vocals throughout. Martyn's second solo album is in production and, although it will include some of the traditional songs which helped mold his style, will focus more on his own songwriting.

At the urging of his friend Craig Merlin Broers, Martyn joined Ty Billing's Celtic Mayhem in the spring of 2007. Celtic Mayhem's 2009 self-titled debut CD, with it's emphasis primarily on staples of the Celtic repertoire ("Tom O'Bedlam", "Morgan Magan", "Spancil Hill" and more), spotlighted each band members' musical versatility. Martyn played bass, bouzouki and sang the lead vocal on "Spancil Hill" and harmony vocals throughout. Martyn and Celtic Mayhem maintain a busy live performance schedule with plans for a live CD and DVD in the works.

With an extensive repertoire culled from the rich folk traditions of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales along with his own original songs, Martyn Wylde strives to continue the legacy of the bards of olde. You can see and hear him perform live - on his own, with Wyldefyre, or with Celtic Mayhem.