How She Landed A Record Deal
Ever wonder how a person goes about getting a record deal? Well, it's a lot harder then it seems. But for Martina, with the help of hubby, John, it was quite easy. Here's how it went:

Martina heard through a friend that RCA was looking to add another female artist to their roster. Neither Martina nor John had any contacts at RCA and they knew that record labels don't accept unsolicited material. So they got a big purple envelope and wrote "Requested Material" on it, enclosed a bio, some photos and two demo tapes* that John had produced, and dropped it off at RCA. The "bogus requested-material trick" doesn't usually work, but about three weeks later RCA called and asked her to come in for an interview. Naturally, they were impressed and asked her to do a showcase at a local club to see her perform live. The result was a record deal with RCA-Nashville. Her first album, "The Time Has Come", was released on May 15, 1992 (the McBrides' fourth wedding anniversary). On June 2, 1992 -- in Denver, Co. -- Martina started her first gig as a recording artist opening Garth's concerts.

* (The songs on the demo tapes were: "I Can't Sleep", "Regular As Clockwork", "I Put You Behind Me", "Wild Side Of Life", "When You Leave Me" and "You Win Again.")