Maartes

Well, whats to say about me. I've been playing an instrument since 1997. Started off on guitar playing with my bro and a couple of friends Kazim and Ryan back in 1998. We had a little cover band doing songs like "Santeria" from Sublime and "Rock you like a Hurricane" by the Scorpions. When my bro left the band a guy called Nicholas came in on bass and he left soon after to study. That opening set me up to start playing bass and I haven't stopped since. Picked up bass in 1999 playing with my old friends and even started writing for the 1st time. Eventually that band fell apart but I'm still close to Ryan and Kazim today.

Soon after I joined an "Indian Fusion" band. Combining traditional Indian rhythms and melodies with rock and reggae. In 2001 this project played its 1st and only show at the Divali festival at the University of the West Indies. This was my 1st live performance.

Soon after in 2002 I was approached by one of the former singers of that cover project, Richard Butts and was told he was forming a band with Dion Howe and Adam Fortune of "Stillborn" and he wanted me to play bass. It was the first time I played with musicians who had more experience than me and was playing music that I loved.

Taken from Solid State's web bio:

"Formed in 2002, Solid State comprised of members of "Stilborn" (Dion Howe and Adam Fortune) along with musicians Maarten Manmohan, David Jackson and Richard Butts. The band embraked on a journey to write heavy yet catchy material and came up with 7 songs in 4 months. After 3 very sucessful shows drummer Adam Fortune decided to leave the band. Solid State then recorded a rough demo of one of their 7 tracks entitled "Broken Circles" which was presented to A&R representatives at the Decibel conference in 2003. With very positive reviews the band decided they would record better quality material along with the help of Orange Sky super drummer Obasi Springer. Working with Obasi was a dream and he assisted in re-structuring and writing of the material which would eventually be called "Out of Sight, Out of Mind". After a month in the studio with no sign of finishing and with guitarist and founder Dion Howe being recurited to join Trinidad giants "Incert Coin" the band was left at a stand still.

In 2005 after Richard and Maarten joined the band Kryl'ja, the two decided to finish the studio project of Solid State and with the assistance of Jason Bodden (formerly of "Stilborn") regrouped the band and completed 2 of the 8 studio tracks. Still in search of a drummer, the band turned to "Kryl'ja" drummer Avery Herralal. Because of a hectic schedule, Avery was replaced by Chaos Room drummer Zack Carpenter."

Kryl'ja was the project that was formed in 2004 by Syam Nath, Avery Herralal and Mark Rattan (All ex-Splinter) They recruited Richard Butts as the singer on the recommendation of James Amow (Incert Coin) and Richard recommended me as the Bassist. Kryl'ja was one of the most dynamic and passionate bands to come out of Trinidad. Playing with Syam and Avery was a real eye opener. These guys are the best songwriters I've know and it still is my favorite band to play in today. After the tragic death of guitarist Mark Rattan, Alan Bachan(Pumpkin Patch Terrorist) came in as the second guitarist. The band recorded material but all sorts of obstacles have prevented this material from being finished, from members falling into other projects, to people getting married and having kids.

Incert Coin recruited me in 2005 to fill in for one of the most legendary Bass players in Trinidad, Orlando Pyle. This fill in was supposed to be for a handful of gigs until Orlando was to return to the band, but this never happened. For the majority of 2005 Incert Coin played 20-30 shows in Trinidad. Sharing the stage with acts like Hatebreed, Six Feet Under, Orange Sky, Kees the Band and Tripped and Falling. During this time the band took part in Ryan Agostini's 868 project and recorded 2 songs at Eclipse. The band had wrote an album's worth of material in 2005 and planned a release in 2006. In December 2005, with my failing health due to my Chronic Renal Failure, Incert decided to record with my studio which was opened just months before (Random Design Studios). And decided on a location recording at a beach house in Toco. This proved disastrous as we were robbed at gun point at the beach house, squashing any plans of recording. I played once more for the band in early 2006 as part of a tribute show that was put on for one of my close friends and fellow musician Mark Rattan. That show would proved to be my swan song from Incert Coin and from music, but only for a while...

In January 2006 I underwent a Kidney Transplant with a kidney given to me by my brother and was in and out of the hospital for the 1st half of 2006. My final surgery was May 2006 and I was performing again by August with Kryl'ja.

During one of the many Hiatuses of Kryl'ja (Sept 2005) I formed Modulus Eigenvalue with Avery and Alan and Blinky and Randy of Anti-Everything as well as with my sister Amanda playing Violin. This was the 1st time I had picked up a guitar since 2000. The 5 years playing bass alone molded me into a very percussive and rhythmic guitar player, and I gravitated towards the 7 string guitar. My 1st guitar I owned was a Washburn WG587 which I purchased in 2005 and I haven't stopped playing guitar since. Modulus Eignevalue was a very raw and experimental project involving all sorts of influences, from Avant-Garde metal to Surf pop and free form jazz. I was still by all means an amateur at guitar but with the experience of playing with people like Scott Johnstone (Incert Coin), Syam and Dion I was able to develop my own sound. Soon after my Kidney Transplant in 2006, Modulus Eigenvalue amalgamated with a host of other musicians to form the POP Rock band "Ernald Davis", an even more extreme fusion of styles. Combining the arrangements of Modulus Eignevalue and incorporating Saxophone, Trumpet, Live Keys and Custom Percussion, The band played to a clueless crowd at the competition. Those who got it, enjoyed it, and those who didn't... oh well.

Growing Despondent with the state of the music scene in Trinidad and dealing with established artists and musicians who had their own pre-conceptions of a band, I decided to start a new project with young, in-experienced musicians in hopes to mold them into a band that I could realize my creative vision. This was the band Liberty Vandals. Formed in late 2006 by Omar, Amanda and myself, the project saw me take a much more composer type role in terms of songs. Moving away from the riff writing, I started to focus on arrangement and composition. With the addition of Rodell Warner and Alex Benjamin the band was complete. In 2007 the band made its debut with 5 songs to rave reviews. Eventually the band made the decision to replace Alex with a young drummer by the name of Richard Solis. As I fell further and further into the role of arranger and composer the riff writing started going further from my original vision. With a name change in early 2008 to Newthread and a slightly more mature sound the band released a demo called "Under the Sun's Memorial". Again to rave reviews and high expectations. During the band's recording sessions for what was to be the album, "On things standing slanted", tensions mounted between various members of the group which lead to the current Hiatus.

With no signs of a resolution anytime soon, I am back to writing material on my own and this site is the outlet of my creative endeavors. Look out for material soon...

Used to play with all my former bands but haven't performed live in a while

Melody, Arrangement, and Rhythmic satisfaction are the keys to which I compose my music

Custom Baritone 7 String (Jonathan Krogh) tuned (GDGCFAD) or (GCGCFAD)

Washburn WG587 tuned (BEADGBE) (AbEbAbDbGbBbEb)

Yamaha Pacifica 712 tuned (DADGBE) or (EADGBE)

Epiphone AJ-100ce Acoutic tuned (EADGBE) or (DGCFAD)

Yamaha BBG5 5 string Bass

Dean Acoustic 4 String Bass

Traynor YSC100H Custom Special 100 watt Guitar Amp head

Custom Eminence Man O War 2x12 240 watt Cab

Line 6 POD X3 Live

Shure and AKG mics

PreSonus, Behringer and Aphex Mic Pre's

Yamaha and Alesis Mixing Boards

M-Audio Midi/Audio Interfaces

Alesis and Behringer Compressors

Yamaha Studio Monitors

Apple PowerMac G5

Logic Studio