Album Notes

Adam Marshall... Breaking country artist and recent sensation as a top winner at Country Thunder USA's "Young Guns" national finals competition, ADAM MARSHALL had more than the usual challenges facing a young artist writing songs for his debut CD, The Last Marshall.. All of the nine songs that are today launching the 25 year old Oregon born singer towards his dreams of superstardom started life in a dug-out hole in the sands of Iraq-random words and hopeful hooks scrawled on a tattered notebook a young Marine kept strapped to his leg. Adam Marshall just a few short months ago was that young Marine who volunteered to be one of the first members of the U.S. military to hit ground in America's most recent conflict to free Iraq. Along with 55 of his fellow Marines, Adam, assigned to a heavy equipment operations unit, left the U.S. on January 3, 2003 to land twenty-eight miles south of the border of Iraq with a mission of building a base camp "Operation Snakepit" in the shifting sands of a desolate war torn landscape that surrounded them on all sides. "I had a front seat that I will always remember-even if I wanted to forget," he said in a recent interview. "I told myself over there 'God, if I make it out of here, I'll never ask you for another thing!' I wanted to get back home and live my dream of being a country singer, and I realized in Iraq that life is too short not to go for the dreams you really want." Now a little over a year since arriving back on U.S. soil, Adam Marshall is beginning to live that hard fought dream. This spring, thousands of online voters in the nationwide talent search, "Young Guns," sponsored by one of country music's top live annual events, Country Thunder USA in Phoenix, unanimously named Adam a winner among the thousand of entries submitted. The win put him onstage to open for artists of the caliber of Reba McEntire and Neal McCoy, and brought his original music to the attention of scores of news fans. More importantly, the national spotlight fell on a new bred of young American hero. Being proud to be a Marine is part of legacy Adam Marshall rightfully inherited. His paternal grandfather had served proudly and filled his young grandson with the dedication and pride of service to his country that became guideposts to Adam's growth as a young man determined to follow those footsteps. He enlisted at 20, determined to temporary set aside his dreams of a career in country music to serve his country. Shortly before being sent off to war, Adam had the opportunity of meeting one of his country idols, Brad Paisley. During the long, sleepless nights at his post in Iraq, Adam reflected on the kindness and the encouragement to pursue his music that Paisley had imparted to him during their brief encounter. Between Adam and his music now stood only the stress of staying alive and dodging enemies that were too often unseen. "We were always watching our backs. Muzzle flashes, Iraqis with hidden weapons-there wasn't a second you could drop your guard during the day." "At night I'd close my eyes-often just one eye-and imagine myself back home doing simple things that I'd taken for granted, like washing my truck. I'd feel the cool water splash against my face, feel the sponge in my hand. There was no place to hide physically, so you just learn to hide for a minute or two mentality to get through the night. I did a lot of my songwriting at night-just little fragments of thoughts here and there that I hoped I'd one day get back home to record." "Incoming gas attacks were one of the biggest threats. It was a lot of stress as every 15 minutes or so the shout, "Gas!" would be heard and we'd have to get down and clear-or take the risk of being dead within 30 seconds. For the first 26 days we were in camp we were in plastic suits in 128 degree temperatures in the desert so mentality it really freaked a lot of guys out." After close to six months of active duty, Adam came home on M