Barrett Martin
A powerhouse drummer from the Seattle grunge scene who expanded his craft into global music exploration, production, and ethnomusicology.
Born 1967 (age 59)·American drummer·Birthday: April 14·Generation X
Biography
Barrett Martin's beat extends far beyond the stage. He first gained attention as the rhythmic engine for the Screaming Trees, helping to define the dense, psychedelic-tinged sound of grunge's less commercial wing. His work with the supergroup Mad Season, alongside members of Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, cemented his reputation for muscular, intuitive playing. But Martin is far more than a rock drummer. He is a musical wanderer. With his band Tuatara, he delved into world music and jazz, and his career as a producer and session musician spans genres. This curiosity evolved into a formal pursuit of ethnomusicology. He has traveled to remote communities, recording and producing albums with Shipibo shamans in the Amazon and Neets'ai Gwich'in singers in the Alaskan Arctic, aiming to preserve endangered musical traditions. This dual identity—as a veteran of rock's loudest era and a dedicated student of the world's quietest, most ancient sounds—defines a unique career built on the profound belief in rhythm as a universal language.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Barrett was born in 1967, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Barrett Was Born
The biggest hits of 1967
#1 Movie
The Jungle Book
Best Picture
In the Heat of the Night
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Barrett's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1967Born
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1972Started school
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1980Became a teenager
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Could drive
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1985Could vote
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Turned 21
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1997Turned 30
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 40
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 50
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 59 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Played drums on Mad Season's acclaimed album 'Above,' a landmark of the Seattle music scene.
- Won a Latin Grammy Award in 2018 for his production work on the album 'Fermento' by Dominican artist Rita Indiana.
- Produced and recorded preservationist music albums with indigenous Shipibo and Gwich'in communities.
- Was a member of the influential proto-grunce band Skin Yard before joining Screaming Trees.
Did You Know?
He holds a Master's degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of New Mexico.
Martin has written several books blending memoir, musicology, and spiritual philosophy.
He played on the soundtrack for the film 'The Basketball Diaries'.
In addition to drums, he is a multi-instrumentalist who often contributes vibraphone and piano.
“Music is the one true shamanic art that we have left in the modern world.”
