Jeff Martini started the One Two Soul Revue with childhood friend, fellow musician and producer Mike New in Brooklyn, New York, where they relocated after years in the Virginia mountains. Jeff and Mike played in bands The Thrift Unit, The Middleweight Contenders and The Prime Ministers together. Combining elements of indie rock, experimental sound design and New Orleans Funk, The Prime Ministers, including members Dave Dilks and Timothy “LOPEZ” Reily, moved to Brooklyn in 1998 at the start of the storm of "cool". They played renowned clubs such as Brownies, CBGBs and North Six (now Music Hall of Williamsburg), opening for bands such as The Shipping News and groups with members of June of '44. After The Prime Ministers’ demise, Jeff started a solo 'thang and played bass and sang in The Meters cover band Kings Crescent. He also backed the Fiery Furnaces for a legendary fundraiser for President Obama.
Jeff moved to Washington, DC in 2010 and was invited by Avy Mallik and Alexandra Wood to play music. They established a rapport at a rehearsal space on George Washington University’s campus, later moving to a garage on H street Northeast to further cut their teeth in the swamps of the "Mighty Diamond". The band worked on songs written by Jeff and produced by Mike, later adding songs written by Avy and honed with the help of Alex on drums. The band picked up Scott Firestone on trumpet in early 2011 and the DC version of the One Two Soul Revue was born: Jeff on vocals, bass and saxophone; Avy on guitar; Alex on drums and percussion; and Scott on trumpet. The band has continued to play shows throughout Washington DC, including rocking out the 2012 H Street Fest to an elated crowd.
The song ‘One for Me’ was written in late 2008 as a demo with acoustic bass and vocals by Jeff as a yearning soul number. Mike and Jeff met ¬ frequently at their Bushwick practice space to continue to hammer out the song, with Mike on drums while Jeff played bass and sang. Mike loved the hook but pushed Jeff to replace the “stock” bass line with something more interesting and unique. During their rehearsal the modal bass line in the song was created. This would drive Jeff to complete the demo rather quickly, but he was only able to perform it solo. Mike and Jeff recorded the basics for the track in Mike’s studio in Cold Spring, NY in 2009. Mike played drums while Jeff played bass. Mike would later add percussion overdubs and Jeff would add organ, Wurlitzer, backing vocal and horn parts, but the song would sit for several years.
The full track was not completed until Jeff introduced it to the DC band in 2010, where Avy added his unmistakable guitar line and Alex locked it down with a solid beat. Later Scott would add some choice horn lines to those Jeff had written and the band would add audience interaction in their live performances of the song. Jeff recorded Avy’s guitar parts, Alex’s cajon and Scott and himself playing their horns together in December 2012 in his home studio in Washington DC to finalize the track. Mike mixed and mastered the track in Cold Spring, NY in January 2013. All tracks were played to analog 8 track tape machines to preserve the grit in the search.
Jeff Martini would like to dedicate the song to RMM, the ONE!