11-year-old musician Tori Martin inspired by Guns N' Roses and other vintage arena rock bands

'Sweet child'

Guns N' Roses. Fighter jets. Brazilian jujitsu. Turkey hunting.

These may not sound like the interests of a typical 11-year-old girl, but Tori Martin isn't typical, not by a long shot.

Other young singers may look to pop superstars such as Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus, but Tori, who began singing competitively at age 6, said her idols are some of the pillars of the hard-rock pantheon.

"That is what I was born and raised with," she said, rattling off artists such as AC/DC, Pat Benatar and Triumph. "I've heard those songs all my life.

Tori credits her love of rock artists to her parents, CC and Tim Martin, who have been playing their music around her so long she jokingly considers some of the artists part of the family.

"Ted Nugent I think of as Uncle Ted," she said, laughing. "He's awesome."

Tori's interest in the arena rock of earlier generations has paid dividends.

She first took the stage at age 6 at the Riverbend Festival, where she has since made numerous appearances to perform songs such as Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" and Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine."

In June 2009, Tori's performance of The Beatles' "Yesterday" beat out 38 other entrants, most of them adults, to take the $500 first prize in Vaudeville Cafe's inaugural Chattanooga's Got Talent contest.

Tori's interest in older music sometimes clashes with that of her peers, who thrive on the sugary pop of mainstream radio - not that they could dissuade her, she said.

"I'll be talking to people and be like, 'Hey, did you hear that song by Mötley Crüe?' and they're like, 'Who?'" she said. "I'm like, 'Oh my god, how could you not know this?'"

This year, Tori entered the sixth grade at Center for Creative Arts, where she is majoring in musical theater. In September, she won the middle-school level of CCA's annual talent contest, CCA Idol, with performances of Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home" and Sarah McLachlan's poignant ballad "Angel."

When Tori took the stage, she owned it, said CCA principal Debbie Smith.

"She knows how to present herself in a way that appeals to an audience," Smith said. "She's very comfortable with herself onstage, and that's very important for an artist."

CLAIM TO FAMEIn June 2009, Tori Martin won the inaugural Chattanooga's Got Talent contest at the Vaudeville Cafe. Last September, she won the middle-school level of the Center for Creative Arts Idol talent contest. She has published and copyrighted a song, "Ben," and has made appearances on TV and at the Riverbend Festival.ABOUT HER• Name: Tori Martin.• Age: 11.• School: Sixth-grader at Center for Creative Arts.• Favorite songs: Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home," Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine" and Travie McCoy's "Billionaire."• Singing idol: Ted Nugent.TALENT SHOWDo you know a child 12 or younger with a precocious talent in academics, athletics or the arts? The Times Free Press is searching for children to feature in "Talent Show," a regular feature of the Life section. To nominate a child as a possible subject of a future feature article, e-mail staff writer Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or call him at 423-757-6205.

Tori said stage fright has never been a problem for her. She first began performing for an audience when she organized elaborate living-room concerts for her parents at age three.

CC Martin said her daughter's enthusiasm for the arts was apparent early on, even if she delivered her lines in a childish gibberish that made following along all but impossible.

"We didn't understand what she was saying, but she certainly knew, and she'd be singing and dancing," Martin said, laughing.

Tori doesn't just perform other artists' music. Almost since she learned to write, she has been composing her own songs, her mother said.

In 2009, she brought her vocal coach Philip Hare a short story she wrote called "Ben" about a runaway slave during the Civil War. Hare, who has worked with Tori for about three years, said he was impressed by the maturity of the piece, which she wrote for a class assignment in fourth grade.

Together, Hare and Tori began working to adapt the story as a song, which has since been copyrighted.

"When you hear a song that's that deep, you think, 'Wow, this is coming from an - at the time - 9- or 10-year-old," Hare said. "It was an honor to bring it all together and make it what it is today.

"Our hopes are that other people will believe in it as much as we believe in it."

Music is just one of Tori's many divergent interests.

At age three, Tori suddenly told her mother she wanted to take up the Korean martial art of tae kwan do. After eight years, she has earned a second degree black belt and is on the way up the ranks as a student of Brazilian jujitsu as well.

Tori is also an avid equestrian, and recently decided she wants to enlist in the Air Force to fly F-22 Raptor jets. She starts flying lessons - on prop planes - in February.

As long as she's content, Tori can follow whatever path she wants, her mother said.

"She's not like most kids. She marches to her own drummer," Martin said. "I want her to be successful in whatever she chooses."

Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205.

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