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Monte Montgomery


mdrs

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The guy is a monster player. It's hard to believe you can get that sound out of an acoustic. Monte has been an innovator. I want him to come to my house and play!

Don

 

"There once was a note, Pure and Easy. Playing so free, like a breath rippling by."

 

 

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=574296

 

http://www.myspace.com/imdrs

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Don

 

"There once was a note, Pure and Easy. Playing so free, like a breath rippling by."

 

 

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=574296

 

http://www.myspace.com/imdrs

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Originally posted by mdrs:

The guy is a monster player. It's hard to believe you can get that sound out of an acoustic. Monte has been an innovator. I want him to come to my house and play!

Doc, if he doesn't start to get better promotion he just might be doing a gig at your house!! too bad he needs to get on the road!
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Originally posted by mdrs:

The guy is a monster player.

Yes, he is. Very virtuosic in his left hand. Very good rhythm playing/chording for the style. Great sense of melody even when shredding, and he CAN shred like a madman, w/ the best of them.

 

It's hard to believe you can get that sound out of an acoustic.
Not really. He uses magnetic pickups and tube screamers, compression pedals, etc. Not that different from just plugging an archtop, a 335 or solidbody electric. He also plugs in a Parker Fly every once in a while.

 

I love his melodic sense and his tightness. Can't say the same thing about his way of playing fingerstyle... I'm not that crazy about the 2-3 songs of his I've heard, I found them very inane. I think that's why he hasn't found a wider audience... pop music has hundred of inane hit songs, but those are catchy. The ones I heard from Monte aren't very "good" and/or catchy.

 

Don't get me wrong--he obviously kicks my ass BIG TIME at what he does, of course. His versions of classic songs like Little Wing are excellent. Kicks SRV's ass at this big time, too.

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

--from 'Beyond Good and Evil', by Friedrich Nietzsche

 

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Originally posted by MILLO:

...His versions of classic songs like Little Wing are excellent. Kicks SRV's ass at this big time, too.

LOL! :D That's a joke, right?

 

He's a pale shadow of SRV on Little Wing, although I find him very good. He's far to mechanical. Little Wing is one of the most soulful songs in R&R, and he just doesn't carry that most important element near as well as SRV or Jimi. Not even close.

It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman

 

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Monte Montgomery's got it all...chops, technique, soul, his own sound, etc. etc.. He has many good songs. If you are interested, I'd check out the CD I left a link for above.

 

Elwood is right. The guy plays in Texas, where he's from. I rarely see him venture elsewhere. I don't know if it's his PR, or if he has a phobia about traveling. I just don't know. But, he's another monster talent that just doesn't seem to become widely popular.

 

My brother saw him in San Francisco a couple of years ago, and was blown away by him. I really would love to see him.

Don

 

"There once was a note, Pure and Easy. Playing so free, like a breath rippling by."

 

 

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=574296

 

http://www.myspace.com/imdrs

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Thanks for the video Ric

 

Here's a video of one of my favorite Monte Montgomery songs;

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8RCgWBQD80&mode=related&search=

Don

 

"There once was a note, Pure and Easy. Playing so free, like a breath rippling by."

 

 

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=574296

 

http://www.myspace.com/imdrs

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I've known Monte for a long time, I used to live in Austin. He's a freaking monster! I've jammed with him a few times, and the scary thing is that he's even more amazing when your playing with him, than when you're watching from the audience. I told him that once and his bass player totally agreed with me.

 

BTW, he doesn't use magnetic pickups, it's all piezo's.

www.myspace.com/christondre
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Originally posted by fantasticsound:

Originally posted by MILLO:

...His versions of classic songs like Little Wing are excellent. Kicks SRV's ass at this big time, too.

LOL! :D That's a joke, right?

 

He's a pale shadow of SRV on Little Wing, although I find him very good. He's far to mechanical. Little Wing is one of the most soulful songs in R&R, and he just doesn't carry that most important element near as well as SRV or Jimi. Not even close.

No, it's not a joke. I saw Monte playing it live, and he squeezed out (and applied to it) more soul AND MELODY from (and to) that song than in the SRV versions I've heard.

 

I've never heard Monte play Voodoo Child, for example. I love SRV's take on that song, though.

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

--from 'Beyond Good and Evil', by Friedrich Nietzsche

 

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Millo...being from Austin, you get a fairly regular chance to catch Monte live, don't you? Watching his web site, it appears that he plays 95% of his shows near Austin.

Don

 

"There once was a note, Pure and Easy. Playing so free, like a breath rippling by."

 

 

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=574296

 

http://www.myspace.com/imdrs

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Originally posted by GtrWiz:

BTW, he doesn't use magnetic pickups, it's all piezo's.

You're totally right, my bad.

 

He's a great player, acoustic or electric guitar, magnetics or piezos, effects or not.

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

--from 'Beyond Good and Evil', by Friedrich Nietzsche

 

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Originally posted by mdrs:

Millo...being from Austin, you get a fairly regular chance to catch Monte live, don't you? Watching his web site, it appears that he plays 95% of his shows near Austin.

Don't get the wrong idea. I've only seen one of his shows and a snippet of another.

 

I've heard at least 3 of his songs on the radio, since he's a local hero. It's not like they play his songs often, it's just that somtimes thay promote local music.

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

--from 'Beyond Good and Evil', by Friedrich Nietzsche

 

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Originally posted by mdrs:

GtrWiz....Thanks for the post!

 

Tell us more about Monte.....and yourself???

 

Why doesn't Monte tour more?

Let's just say that, like a lot of musicians, Monte has been plauged by a string of bad business decisions and substance abuse problems. This is not a judgement. I like Monte, he's a good guy and a big influence on me musically, but these things happen...

 

I used to play with Chris Maresh and Lonnie Trevino when I live in Austin, and my wife worked at a department store with Monte's wife. Lonnie is the bass player in the Little Wing vid. When I first moved to Austin, Monte was playing to about 5 people every Sunday at the Saxon Pub, I was one of the 5 every week.

 

Back then Monte was more of a singer/songwriter than guitar god. Eventually word got out. His big break was when he played Austin City Limits. For a couple of years after that, he was touring nationally, he would go out for like two weeks every few months, and from what Phil Bass (Monte's drummer) told me, they played to packed houses everywhere.

 

Eventually as his substance abuse problems got worse, he started having trouble keeping his band members due to severe, sometimes violent, mood swings. Around this time Monte's music also changed, he stopped focusing on songwriting and started relying more on his guitar abilities.

 

the next thing that I heard, Monte had hooked up with a manager that was robbing him blind, was very controlling. This was the time that Lonnie left the band.

 

After a while, I guess, the initial impact wore off. People forget quickly.

 

I am really thankful to have known him. I would put Monte in the leagues of Hendrix and Van Halen, the only difference being that he's not famous.

www.myspace.com/christondre
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GtrWiz....thanks for the insightful post! That explains a lot. I did notice that Monte seemed to gain a bunch of weight, just by going thru the videos on youtube.

 

Did they ever market that Live at Austin City Limits show as a DVD??

Don

 

"There once was a note, Pure and Easy. Playing so free, like a breath rippling by."

 

 

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=574296

 

http://www.myspace.com/imdrs

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Originally posted by mdrs:

GtrWiz....thanks for the insightful post! That explains a lot. I did notice that Monte seemed to gain a bunch of weight, just by going thru the videos on youtube.

 

Did they ever market that Live at Austin City Limits show as a DVD??

not that I know of, would be a good one though!
www.myspace.com/christondre
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I have a VHS copy of the old Austin City Limits performance. I keep it for one reason. Monte's guitar playing is super hot! I was truly impressed. I'm lukewarm about his singing, but he is a monster on guitar no doubt. And an acoustic with the occasional distortion pedal for solos. His playing kinda struck me as Gatton meets Van Halen, on acoustic.
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I absolutely loved "Wishing Well". The guy is a major singer/songwrighter. I'm sorry to hear he's kinda lost his way. The guy just has it. I hope he finds a way to straighten his career out. He has too much to offer to fall by the wayside.

Don

 

"There once was a note, Pure and Easy. Playing so free, like a breath rippling by."

 

 

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=574296

 

http://www.myspace.com/imdrs

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I like the music..and the guy has the chops. He can play and he can write. He does really need a new singer though, IMHO. That's not a bad thing, really...it's just that some folks should realize that vocals aren't their strong suit (such as Dylan) and stick to what they do best. With a really strong vocalist, that music would be top-selling stuff.

"And so I definitely, when I have a daughter, I have a lot of good advice for her."

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Originally posted by Sasquatch51:

I like the music..and the guy has the chops. He can play and he can write. He does really need a new singer though, IMHO. That's not a bad thing, really...it's just that some folks should realize that vocals aren't their strong suit (such as Dylan) and stick to what they do best. With a really strong vocalist, that music would be top-selling stuff.

The one time I saw him he had a very, very strong vocalist with him. Plus, the first part of the show was featuring a former mentor of his, an older lady who was a schoolteacher (who had to leave as soon as she was done, since she had to be in school the next day early in the morning). She is a songwriter and they were doing her songs. He was an excellent accompanist/rhythm player.

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

--from 'Beyond Good and Evil', by Friedrich Nietzsche

 

My MySpace Space

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Originally posted by MILLO:

Originally posted by Sasquatch51:

I like the music..and the guy has the chops. He can play and he can write. He does really need a new singer though, IMHO. That's not a bad thing, really...it's just that some folks should realize that vocals aren't their strong suit (such as Dylan) and stick to what they do best. With a really strong vocalist, that music would be top-selling stuff.

The one time I saw him he had a very, very strong vocalist with him. Plus, the first part of the show was featuring a former mentor of his, an older lady who was a schoolteacher (who had to leave as soon as she was done, since she had to be in school the next day early in the morning). She is a songwriter and they were doing her songs. He was an excellent accompanist/rhythm player.
Who's doing the vocals on his albums?

"And so I definitely, when I have a daughter, I have a lot of good advice for her."

~Paris Hilton

 

BWAAAHAAAHAAHAAA!!!

 

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