Indie singer-songwriter Monty - in his own words...
Music, sweet music. I've been involved in music most of my life. From thumping on potato chip cans and air-guitaring with a tennis racket up to a nine-piece Premier drumkit and a Martin twelve-string acoustic guitar, music has always seen me through. I relish the freedom of expression music allows, whether it's playing in front of a crowd or jamming alone in the mountains by a stream.
Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My main focus in music is playing my twelve-string acoustic guitar, composing songs, writing lyrics, and singing. I have always been interested in singer-songwriter recording projects.
The singer-songwriter music scene is alive and well, and I'm excited to put my new songs out there for people to hear.
My foundation & transformation into a singer-songwriter
My musical beginning started with piano, recorder, and clarinet during elementary school. When I entered the eighth grade I got into drums. That's when music stopped as a hobby and began as a lifestyle. I played drums for about ten years, and was a very good drummer. I feel it really helped my singer-songwriter pursuits. My influences were - and still are - Keith Moon, John Bonham, Neil Peart, Ginger Baker, and Mitch Mitchell.
I started plucking around on the guitar during my last year in high school. I found my place in the world of the guitar as a rhythm guitarist. Lots of chords. My favorite musician and biggest influence on me as a songwriter was, is, and will always be Pete Townshend. I think his influence is evident in my singer-songwriter music.
When I entered college I started to write original songs. Being exposed to poetry in college helped me make the leap from just a guitarist to a singer-songwriter. Poetry to me then was just words and thoughts put to pen. But I soon found that marrying my poems to chords and singing them rather than reciting them produced - songs! It's no wonder I term my music Acoustic Rock with a Poetic Twist. Many of my songs include spoken word, or have a short poetic stanza as a prelude to the song. Pretty cool.
During the 1990's I started to gig around Philadelphia and the tri-state area and be part of the singer-songwriter scene. That was a good period - getting out and playing original music in front of crowds. I was never a huge draw, but I usually received kudos from those who were in the audience. Some gigs were fantastic, and some gigs went south. That's the way it goes performing live.
Electric Montgomery rising: my first singer-songwriter project
My first real singer-songwriter recording project was Electric Montgomery - a CD that I released in 2002. I achieved a lifelong goal with the release of Electric Montgomery - getting radio airplay. That was - and still is - a great thrill and accomplishment.
Several of my songs - such as America Rocks, UFO, Butterflies In Heaven, and Richard Shouldn't Play With Dead Things were heard (and still are) on stations in the United States, England, Germany, and Switzerland. The European market for music has always been good to singer-songwriters like myself.
Acoustic Resurrection: the singer-songwriter project that gave birth to "Acoustic Rock with a Poetic Twist"
Acoustic Resurrection is a singer-songwriter project I began in the Fall of 2004. As I stated in the previously, I term my brand of music Acoustic Rock with a Poetic Twist. This project is truly the acoustic rock I've always envisioned creating.
Butterflies In Heaven was the song that really got this project rolling. I wrote the song after losing a friend in the summer of 2004. Then came the quirky song Richard Shouldn't Play With Dead Things. Then old songs from my past were revisited, revived, and revised. Everything was sounding good to me. It was time to record.
In February 2005 I enter Tasty Jam Studios in Media, PA and began working with the enigmatic engineer Jeremy Pflug.
My goal when entering the studio was to capture a "live" sound - a "warts and all" approach as John Lennon might have said. In short, I just wanted to open up the mic and play and see what happened. Jeremy understood my goal. On some occasions I wasn't sure how to approach a percussion part or wasn't sure how a vocal idea might sound. So I followed Jeremy's words of wisdom: Just go for it.
It was kind of like wandering into a jam session. You just grab an instrument and have a go at it. The first percussion tracks - like on The Ballad of God and Satan - weren't rehearsed at all. I sorta "winged it." That's how I like it best.
Also, there is very little studio trickery going on in Acoustic Resurrection. I didn't want that for this singer-songwriter project. If I have the term right, the mics were mostly dry. The vocal tracks are what they are. I didn't run them through an auto-tuner. We didn't use lots of effects on the guitars, or the other instruments. There were a few spots where I forgot to double a vocal track and we had to use a vocal spot from a different area of the song, but that's about it. I like the purity of this singer-songwriter project, and plan to keep going in this direction.
From the summer of 2005 until February 2006 Jeremy and I worked on and finished recording the sings for Acoustic Resurrection. The release of the EP was a lot of fun and very rewarding. The songs made their way onto various traditional and Internet radio stations as soon as I sent them out. This encouraged me to lay the groundwork for my next recording project Rock Stars Don't Eat Cookies.
Rock Stars Don't Eat Cookies: a pivotal moment in my singer-songwriter career - the birth of a wild, new breed of crossover indie rock music
Rock Stars Don't Eat Cookies is a 5-song EP that was released in April 2009.
Rock Stars Don't Eat Cookies is a singer-songwriter project that is composed of a unique blend of the classic rock, punk, and acoustic genres creates a sound that is completely original and absolutely modern.
This project allowed me to merge my "bombastic" drumming style with my unique guitar style - loaded with power chords and searing guitar solos - and an in-your-face vocal attack.
Rock Stars Don't Eat Cookies has received airplay in the United States, Canada, Australia, and many countries throughout Europe, just to name some of the attention it has received. I have gotten many nice reviews and kudos from Internet radio stations, music BLOGS, and various reviewers of music for this unique singer-songwriter project.
With songs like Butterflies In Heaven celebrating life, a quirky number titled Richard Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, the earthshaking UFO, the patriotic American rock anthem America Rocks, and the bright, acoustic Spirit, this is an EP for the ages!
The Lion: present day - plans for February 2012 and beyond
It's current February 2012 and I am working on a new set of songs for my next singer-songwriter recording project tentatively titled The Lion.
The songs are certainly not "more of the same," if you will. They represent a growth as a singer-songwriter, and as a musician. I am presently doing nothing more than composing songs, and practicing and honing them for my next venture into the studio.
I hope you will continue to follow me on my next music adventure.
;->)
- Monty
