Archive for the 'Music' Category

Is Monte Montgomery The Best Guitar Player Ever?

Don’t fret! Before you dig your claws into me for writing that title, allow me to posit that my statement is obviously subjective. Hey. He’s amazing, and I thought it was certainly warranted based on what I’ve seen (about a hundred times since 1995 by the way). I’m what they call a “Montiac”.

mon·ti·ac (mā’ntÄ“-āk’) - noun
any intemperate or overly zealous or enthusiastic person…when pertaining to Monte Montgomery.

It sounds like a bad thing? Give me a sec. I’m not nearly as devoted as most Montiacs, many of which have seen him about a hundred times this year alone. What makes him so special? Well, he sports a battered Alvarez acoustic, and an ability to confuse even the most avid guitar players with his finger and pick style of play. Oh, and he’s not a bad songwriter either. Unfortunately, he hasn’t attained the commercial notoriety of the greats like Clapton, Hendrix, Beck, Van Halen, Satriani, SRV, Page…the list goes on. While I don’t consider myself a guru or qualify myself as worthy of ranking him up there with those names, I definitely believe he’s deserving of such respect. Have a look at this video. It’s old and poor quality, but in my humble opinion, the best version of Monte’s rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing that I could find (my favorite includes his former bass player, Lonnie Trevino, Jr., who actually sang the song and did it absolute justice). While it might be considered taboo for me to say that Monte rips the best version of the song I’ve ever heard period, you can certainly understand why the thought crosses my mind after watching this.

Here’s one more version just for comparison’s sake: Monte Montgomery Little Wing

Read more about Monte on his Official Website and on his fan website, The Full Monte. I’d highly suggest seeing Monte live. You won’t be disappointed.

• Thursday, December 28, 2006 - Mucky Duck, Houston, TX
• Sunday, December 31, 2006 - Granada Theater, Dallas, TX
• Friday, January 12, 2007 - Cactus Cafe, Austin, TX
• Thursday, January 18, 2007 - The Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA

For more dates, click here. By the way, a good starter CD would be Mirror.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Robert Earl Keen: Songrwriter…Storyteller

This weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing one of Texas’ best artists, Robert Earl Keen (REK), at Floore’s Country Store in Helotes, TX. If you’ve never listened to Americana (aka, Texas Country), you’re missing out. Don’t let the word “Country” scare you, especially if you’re not a fan of Country Music. Robert Earl Keen’s music is best described as Jimmy Buffett meets Tom Petty meets Lyle Lovett. The last one comes of no surprise since REK and Lovett were neighbors in College Station, TX while attending Texas A&M University. According to REK’s bio on Wikipedia.org, the two became friends and performed together on the front porch. This eventually grew into inspiration for a song entitled “The Front Porch Song”, which both would add to their repertoire.

Some of REK’s most well-known songs include The Road Goes On Forever (And The Party Never Ends), Gringo Honeymoon; and fittingly enough for the season, Merry Christmas From The Family. There are several others worth mentioning. If I had to recommend one album that offers a good sample, I’d suggest No. 2 Live Dinner.

If you ever have a chance to see him live, do it. You won’t be disappointed. According to his website, he will be appearing in the following cities:

• Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - Wormy Dog Saloon, Oklahoma City, OK
• Saturday, September 30, 2006 - Bass Performance Hall, Ft. Worth, TX
• Sunday, December 31, 2006 - Austin Music Hall, Austin, TX
• Monday, January 8, 2007 - Music Fest ‘07, Steamboat Springs, CO
• Thursday, January 11, 2007 - Grizzly Rose, Denver, CO
• Friday, January 12, 2007 - Wheeler Opera House, Aspen, CO

For more dates, click here.

Popularity: 2% [?]

A Musical Prodigy: Amateur By Lasse Gjertsen

When I created a Music Category for my blog, I didn’t anticipate posting nothing but videos…primarily of Weird Al Yankovic-like parodies and some guy that happened to make a really cool video of himself. By editing a bunch of little frames of himself playing the drums and the piano…well, I suppose anyone can become “a musical prodigy”. I’ve also heard Lasse is a pretty good beatboxer …just maybe not as good as Darren Robinson. Silly Norwegian. Bbbbrrrrrr, STICK ‘EM…HA HA HA, STICK ‘EM!!!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Weird Al Yankovic, What Have You Done?

Who said Weird Al Yankovic fell off the face of the earth? He was just mustering up his next big hit. Weird Al’s new album, Straight Outta Lynwood, debuted at #10 on the Billboard charts (currently sits at #29). His hit White & Nerdy, which is a parody of Chamillionaire’s hit, Ridin’ Dirty, is apparently the reason for this success. No doubt you’ve already seen the video already. If you haven’t, you’ve been living under a rock (or you’re my dad); it’s pasted all over the Internet.

However, my personal favorite is his version of James Blunt’s, You’re Beautiful. “You’re Pitiful” does not appear on the new album. But you can download it on his website…or here…or you can hear it on Weird Al’s MySpace page. Although he received Blunt’s blessing to do the song, Atlantic Records (James Blunt’s label) refused to allow Weird Al to release the song. Of course, Yankovic is no stranger to opposition from labels. There was that whole Coolio thing with Gangsta’s Paradise. And if I recall correctly, Coolio was the one that wasn’t happy about it.

Weird Al has countless disciples (see YouTube). One of the more recent and more notable in my opinion is The Grey Kid, who ain’t too bad in non-parody format. Along with his buddy, Daniel Stessen, they’ve nailed a parody for Justin Timberlake’s, Bringin’ Sexy Back, with “PaxilBack”. See for yourself.

Popularity: 3% [?]

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