Edgy acoustic guitar riffs and acoustic rock guitarist Monte Montgomery’s cutting vocals embellished by his laidback southern drawl, stand juxtaposed to one another, as his reworked song, “River,” opens the Austin, Texas based singer / songwriter’s self titled album.

“That song is from my first record, and it is one of the songs that I have held onto in a live setting. Certain songs come and go, but “River,” has been one that has stayed around for all these years, and it has gone through many evolutions. It became meaner, it has more attitude, and it is heavier sounding than the original version. It is a strong song, and I open a lot of shows with that. I wanted to be a little more rocking than I was in the past, so I decided to make some songs a little heavier. (For this album) that’s literally the first song that we did in the studio. It is a first take. There are no overdubs on that track at all. It is just straight up and live in the studio. That’s my sound. If you come and hear me live, that’s what you are going to get right there,” says Montgomery 

One of the first things that catch your ear while listening to Montgomery’s current CD is the freshness in how the tunes are being played and how the production supports that, as it creates a listening environment which puts the listener in the front row at one of his gigs. He says that to achieve that sound, he and the other musicians, which included drummer Phil Bass, percussionist John Billings, cellist Ron de la Vega, and organist Reese Wyans, collaborated with engineers Lee Turner and Rob Clark, to keep the recording to minimal takes.

“The great thing about this record is a lot of these songs have been worked on, while on the road. We have taken them out, polished them and done them in many different ways, until we felt we had them where we wanted them. There wasn’t really a need to change much in the studio, because we had everything worked out, ahead of time, and the producer (Monty Hitchcock) didn’t want to change any of that either. We wanted to just get down to what we do, so that’s what we did,” says Montgomery.

Montgomery’s current CD marked the first time that the guitar virtuoso has turned the production reigns over to someone else. “I produced all of my records for years, up until this last one, but I wanted to do something different with this CD. It was a good thing, because it allowed me to focus on what I was doing and the performance aspect of it, instead of me worrying about everything else,” he says.

Montgomery says one of the reasons his current album turned out so well, is, “My producer didn’t try to change me, but if I had been with a producer who did try to change what I was doing, then maybe we would have butted heads. I made sure that I got with someone who was interested in taking what I had, getting the best, refining it, and capturing the best versions of what I was doing. He didn’t change a lot. He was really there to help me select songs, and to be my ears for me, so I didn’t have to scrutinize every little thing. I think that the energy on this record, certainly from a vocal standpoint is my strongest, and that was the benefit of having someone steering the ship for us.”

Whereas Monte Montgomery’s previous CDs were recorded in Austin, he hit the road for this one, and did the studio work in Nashville. “I wanted to get out of Austin, just to mix it up. Usually when I am in Austin, there are always people popping into the studio and it is distracting, so I wanted to sequester myself in a new setting. What I really didn’t foresee is once I got set up in the studio, I was working with new engineers, (one of whom) won a Grammy working with Neil Young on his project. It made me feel that I needed to show these guys, ‘We’re from Austin Texas, and this is how we roll.’ I had this need to prove something,’ kind of attitude, so that brought out a little bit more grit too. That was an element I didn’t really expect, but it made me sing a little bit harder, made me play a little bit better, and it made me focus a little bit more. It was a combination of those things, and being able to do this stuff live in the studio, with the band all in one big room, in a circle facing each other, that created the atmosphere of really strong playing. We played all of these songs live, as we would on stage. When you listen to the CD, “River,” is totally straight up, live, and so is, “Little Wing.” All of the songs in between are also done that way, but you may hear some harmonies, keys, or post production things, but the core of what is on the CD is the band playing live.”

Montgomery’s star has been steadily rising with an appearance on Austin City Limits, and an opportunity to perform with Daryl Hall on his webcast Live From Daryl’s House. Montgomery has also been the cover story for magazines such as, Frets and Acoustic Guitar, as well as drawing accolades in Guitar Player Magazine, but despite his growing notoriety, he has not become complacent about either his playing or his songwriting.

Montgomery describes how many of his songs first see the light of day, and how he continues to develop them, “A lot of the songs that I do, start with just me and the guitar, and I usually take them up on stage to perform them in that way.  Once I am comfortable doing that, I introduce the band to the song and we start doing it. With a trio like mine, it is going to take time for the band to find where their instruments fit in the song, and it is going to take some time for me to figure out what I want to do with the song to make it work. Sometimes that can take a long time. I don’t chart out anything, I am one of those players where everything is an extension of me, and I just play. I start out by noodling around and eventually I hit on something that works.  Then I will build off of that.  I don’t like taking a brand new song that I haven’t worked on, into a studio, because after I have worked a song for a while it is always better, and I can come up with a cool part on the stage. You are using the stage and the audience to find out what works. The energy of the songs, the highs and lows, it is much easier to figure that out in front of an audience than it is in a studio where you don’t have that kind of energy exchange going on.  That’s why I like to do stuff on the road first.”

Originally, from Alabama, and later living in San Antonio Texas, Monte Montgomery seems to have found a home in Austin Texas. “I wouldn’t live anywhere else. There is just an attitude here musically. There are so many great musicians here and all this great talent in this town, but nobody walks around with any kind of an attitude like they are owed something. They are here for the art of it. I don’t think artists come here to make it like they do in other music towns. People come here to be artists. That is true in any form of art that Austin has, whether it poetry, painting, music or filmmaking. This town has a certain vibe to it.  It is very laid back and I love it here. It is very relaxed,” he says.

When Monte Montgomery moved from San Antonio to Austin, the city added to the list of outstanding artists who now call Austin home. 

Interview with Joe Montague, protected by copyright ©