God And A Girl by Joy Whitlock

What is “the cost of being free?” New Ardent Records artist Joy Whitlock gives her personal response to that query in her debut, GOD AND A GIRL. Her lyrical response is simple and to the point, “I may fall but it won’t be long until he rescues me”.

With a debut that encourages people encountering rough patches in life to draw closer to God instead of running away from Him, Miss Whitlock admits, “the subject matter of most of my songs tends to gravitate towards struggle because I still have many struggles in my life…”

I found great comparison to her voice with that of a Barlow Girl or an early ‘90’s Joan Osbourne. In other words LOVE HER. This was ever apparent in the pick-yourself-up by your bootstraps and fly right anthem, “DON”T LOOK DOWN”. As if speaking from a manual that gives 1,2,3 points, we are given clear instruction, “straighten up, straighten up, eyes ahead, look for me, straighten up, straighten up, don’t be scared, don’t look down…” all reiterated by a glorious chorus.

In a recent interview Joy gave to TitleTrakk, she told the story of her musical journey started a little over ten years ago when as a teenager she moved from the home of the blues to the birthplace of rock and roll. Joy’s brand of gut-wrenching honesty in her life and in her music has endeared her to so many, because after all, as she states, “people want to know that they are not alone, they want to know that they are not the only one with hurts.”

Boasting an impressive list of co-writers such as Ian Eskelin, Barry Weeks and Tony Wood, this 14-track debut is full of songs that came out of her struggles and questions that she has dealt with and continues to deal with. The heart of the songs from GOD AND A GIRL are based on Joy’s desire to let people know that pain is not working against us. “It brings us closer to the one who knows pain better than anyone else . . . Jesus Christ”, her definition for sanctity of suffering.

"People want to know that they are not alone, they want to know that they are not the only one with hurts.” On GOD AND A GIRL, we are given a chance to read some very personal letters to God and get a chance to see how the Lord would respond. With a goal that shows her listeners that not only is God real but also a relationship with God is very real, Joy Whitlock writes with the voice of a prophet. As she herself stated, “I want people to know that God will go to the very depths to pull a person from sin. After all, that’s where He found me.” It is through this gift of song, that she evokes so many of these feelings.

Adrian B. Martinez: "Music and Movies, Movies and Music, always the twain shall meet" is Adrian B. Martinez's motto; a displaced New Yorker living in Connecticut. A complete Movie nut, Adrian was responsible for writing movie synopsis' for Loews Movie Theater's for over 5 years. At any given time that would be a synopsis for over 25 movies in one week. Whew! Nowadays, she is a regular in the Press area for the Creation Festival and Purple Door Festival. To keep her in the lifestyle she has become accustomed, she does web-design for DelMonico Hatter in New Haven, Ct. and serves as a Supervisor for the Hartford Civic Center, also in Ct. An avid traveler, Adrian has been to Europe numerous times and can be seen criss-crossing the United States in her re-furbished 1974 Orange Volkswagen Vanagon which has allowed her to participate in her favorite past-time, meeting new people….When she does take the time to stop, she spends her time with a very handsome man that goes by the name of Zorro. He can be seen sleeping on the couch, bed, bathing in the sunlight on a window ledge or anywhere else that he deems comfortable. Zorro of course, is her cat.