It all started with a TV interview in ’06 when Kix Brooks was discussing his passion for nostalgic performance cars. Brooks stated that the very first modification he made was to install a set of Cherry Bomb® mufflers on his project car. Randal Martin, co-owner of Martin & Company Advertising, worked in the music industry for years designing album covers and knew how to reach Brooks, and since Cherry Bomb is a M&C client, contact was made. Cherry Bomb gave both Kix and Ronnie one of their custom designed leather Cherry Bomb jackets since they gave them such a good plug on national TV.

During the pre-race Brooks & Dunn concert at the 2008 Daytona 500, Kix Brooks performed wearing the Cherry Bomb jacket. Afterward Cherry Bomb owner, Kenneth Banks, sent a note of thanks to the mega-star. Brooks responded by saying, “Just thought in a hot car environment like Daytona, this was the ONLY jacket to wear.”

“Now that a Cherry Bomb/Kix Brooks rapport had been developed, it just seemed like a natural progression to see if we could leverage that to perpetuate our industry as a whole”, said Zan Martin, president of Martin & Company. “My husband Randal, co owner of the agency, is an award winning artist both within and outside the automotive industry. He has created realistic graphite illustrations of many country icons, so we know the enthusiasm they create. With Brooks’ approval to create one of him in the Cherry Bomb jacket, we are excited to donate this one-of-a-kind original illustration to the 2008 SEMA Silent Auction. With proceeds going to college students interested in entering the automotive aftermarket, this helps keep our industry alive.”

The artwork is now complete, and has been signed by both the artist, and Kix Brooks.

About Martin & Company
Martin & Company is currently celebrating its 15th year of operation. As a full service agency that specializes in the automotive aftermarket, the company has represented clients that serve as a who’s who of manufacturers known to have shaped the landscape of the industry. Regardless of the company or its size, Martin & Company finds a way to meet their needs and budgets, and put them on the map in both consumer and trade affiliations.

About Randal Martin
Nationally acclaimed artist Randal Martin has received awards for every carving entered in competitions. His greatest honor was being selected to carve a bluebird ornament for the White House Christmas tree. Other notable achievements include an album cover painting for The Charlie Daniels Band “Road Dogs” album, and the cover illustration for a Merle Haggard Christmas album. He was commissioned to carve a red-tailed hawk for country music artist/TV actor Billy Ray Cyrus, and to create an original illustration of country music great Earl Scruggs’ likeness on a series of “The Earl” banjos for Gibson Bluegrass Guitars. Randal was chosen as a carving associate for The Cliff Dwellers Art Gallery in Gatlinburg, TN and in 2006, he was commissioned by the Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, TN, to carve a male Ivory Billed Woodpecker as the focal point for a new interactive Visitor Center habitat.