I recently had the opportunity to ask Marc Martel of the Canadian Juno Award winning Christian Rock band "DOWNHERE" about his recently viral sensation and new found celebrity, including being on the popular talk show "Ellen." Queen's drummer Roger Taylor launched a North American talent search for both singers and musicians the unique opportunity to star in the Queen Extravaganza! When I saw Marc Martel's audition video of "Somebody To Love" I almost fell of my chair! It's that brilliant! Here are a couple links for you to get better acquainted with Marc and the contest - www.queenextravaganza.com/
Marc's band - www.downhere.com
Marc's personal site - http://marcmartelmusic.com/
Here is that audition video approaching 5 million views YOU need to see! -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dREKkAk628I
Here is my personal favourite of Marc Martel and the band doing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" - This will leave you breathless! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGcDpnxtqsc&feature=related

Here were my questions to Marc...

Punk Globe; With your new found celebrity and proposed role of being "Freddie Mercury" in the "Queen Extravaganza" do you feel that even with all your new found exposure and success; can you foresee any negative effects for you in the future with your Multi award winning band"DOWNHERE"and it's current audience?

Marc : Not really. We have been looking for "something different" recently. And this is definitely different, to say the least. The guys (Jason, Glenn, and Jeremy) have been so incredibly supportive in all of this. On top of this, I know for a fact that tons more people have been exposed to our music through this whole thing. The positive completely overshadows any negative stuff that has come about.

Punk Globe: Alot like any popular television,Stage and/or musical performance, or movie acting role that's character has been engraved in pop culture. Do you feel you there is a fear of you being remembered always as being the guy who sounded like Freddie? Which is Quite a complement as it is!

Marc : I'm not terribly concerned about that at this point. The Freddie comparisons have been around for many years. Of course now it's on a much more intense level. I know I'll probably always be compared to him on some level, no matter what, since even when I try not to sound like him, I still do. But I don't think that will prevent me from finding my own artistic identity. I know this Queen thing is for a season. A fun, new season nonetheless. I'll always be writing and recording my own music. I hope to have some new stuff out next year, actually. Anyway, there are much worse singers out there to be compared to!

Punk Globe: How is all this attention affecting you? Even though your are a success with your band, this will make you a house hold name and propel you to a whole new level of stardom?

Marc : That definitely remains to be seen. So far nothing has materialized. At this point, the Queen Extravaganza contest is still going on. Nothing has been decided. I still have the same amount in my bank account as I did before this whole thing started! I think I've seen enough people have their 15 minutes of fame, where I know how to sort of manage my expectations. It's true, this could be a game changer for me and the rest of my life. But there's also a good possibility that this will fizzle and it will have been a cool novelty thing for a period of time. I was pretty content before all this attention, and I really believe I'll remain content no matter what comes of it.

Well Good luck Marc - Shoot for the stars! I am a believer! Thanks,