KEVIN MONTGOMERY & THE ROAD TRIPPERS
The
band features Robert Reynolds and Paul Deakin (Mavericks) Al
Perkins (Emmylou
Harris) and Mike McAdam (Steve Earle).
Wednesday
January 11th 2006
Tickets £12 in advance £14 OTD
Kevin
Montgomery grew up on Nashville's Music Row, as a child of
parents whose careers crossed over from country music to the
early, seminal days of American rock 'n' roll. While the
contemporary yet timeless feel of Kevin's own music is
strongly influenced by the 'California Country-Rock' of
artists like Gram Parsons, The Eagles, and Roger McGuinn,
his deeply resonant songwriting recalls the
Americana-flavored storytelling of Bruce Springsteen and
Jackson Browne.
Having spent the last four years of a decade-long career
touring relentlessly and building an almost cult-like
following in England and Europe, Kevin Montgomery offers up
thirteen engaging stories of life, love, laughter and loss
on his third album, 2:30am.
Kevin's father, Bob Montgomery was an early songwriting and
collaborative partner of Buddy Holly. By the time Kevin was
born, his dad was producing records by Bobby Goldsboro and
writing songs like the often-covered 'Misty Blue' and 'Back
in Baby's Arms', made famous by Patsy Cline.
Meanwhile, Kevin's mother, Carol had a thriving career as a
Nashville session vocalist, singing back up on pop classics
like Elvis Presley's 'Suspicious Minds' and Robert Knight's
'Everlasting Love'. "Many evenings, my dad would come
home with records he was in the midst of producing,"
Kevin remembers. "He'd put our big stereo on full blast
and we'd listen to what he'd done that day. From a very
young age, I was picking records apart, trying to identify
the different instruments. My parents never pushed me to
become a musician, it just happened naturally".
A&M released Kevin's debut, Fear Nothing, in 1994 to
critical acclaim, and after a year and a half of touring
with Peter Himmelman, Sheryl Crow and David Crosby, he ended
up back in Nashville. Kevin stayed on the radar by working
on the 1996 Buddy Holly tribute album, Not FadeAway:
Remembering Buddy Holly. He recorded the song
"Wishing" (written by his dad) as a duet with Mary
Chapin Carpenter (Bob Montgomery also co-produced the
track).
Kevin was increasing his profile as a songwriter, Martina
McBride recorded, 'I Won't Close My Eyes', (from Fear
Nothing) for her 1997 double-platinum selling album,
Evolution. Later, Juice Newton covered Kevin's song 'Red
Blooded American Boy' (changing the gender reference to
'girl') for her 1999 release, American Girl. Kevin also sang
backing vocals on Lee Ann Womack's 'I Know Why The River
Runs' for her platinum selling album, I Hope You
Dance.
When Kevin recorded 2:30am, co-produced with Robert Reynolds
of The Mavericks, he knew the sound he was going for.
"Over the past few years," he explains,
"we've developed The Road Trippers with hardcore
touring. We know the reaction certain songs get from the
audience. I wanted that live energy to come across in the
recording, but I also wanted to capture the subtleties of
the music."
To get the balance right, top shelf studio musicians such as
pianist Matt Rollings, bassist Glenn Worf and drummer Chad
Cromwell joined Perkins and Britt to approach some of the
more subtle songs, while Reynolds and Deakin joined their
fellow Road Trippers to put their vibe on half a dozen
songs. Adding to the staggering collection of guest talent
on 2:30am, Trisha Yearwood contributes impeccable backing
vocals to the album's rousing ead track, 'Tennessee
Girl', and Lee Ann Womack lends her voice to 'I Can't
Drive You From My Mind', a track co-produced by
Kevin's father.
To support 2:30am's release, Kevin plans to continue
his extensive touring schedule, both acoustically
and with The Road Trippers. "We'll be going all
over the US and all over the world, really," he says.
Currently, the video for Another Long Story is in regular
rotation at VH1 Country and the Great American Country video
channel as well.
"This all happened because I have some wonderful
friends that believe in the music, and i never stopped
persevering," says Kevin. "Even when I was
delivering papers and pushing carts in the parking lot of
Sam's, my one goal was to release my own records, tour and
make a living doing music. Now, that's what I'm doing. I try
to apply the life lessons i've learned to what I do now in
music. I went from being the new kid in town to Sam's, and
that was a good lesson."
When an artist's music is honest, authentic and heart-felt,
you don't really need anyone else to tell you it's the real
thing, because you can feel it. Kevin Montgomery's 2:30am is
that kind of an album.