John Montagna: Blog

Checking in to stay current. Because nothing's worse than going to someone's website and realizing that they haven't updated anything for a while. You know what I mean...most recent tour dates are from 2003, with "NEW DATES ADDED SOON!" next to it...most recent blog entry is about George Harrison's death.....that kind of stuff. Bothers me.

So even when the only action is quality time at home with Jill and Francesca, I like to post in here to show that the website is indeed live and active, and not just a repository for spam in the guestbook. And that's been my deal since I got home from Europe on Monday: relaxing and enjoying the natural wonder that is my daughter.

So far we've determined that Francesca loves music; the moment I strum an acoustic guitar or thump a few notes on my upright, she nods right off to sleep. Josh Max and I had a rehearsal for our upcoming "Hay Jude" country/rockabilly Beatles show here in the living room a few weeks ago, and she was in blissed-out slumber heaven from note one.

Her favorite CD's so far are thankfully excellent choices:

-Beatles - Let It Be
-Black Uhuru - The Dub Factor
-Leonard Bernstein & the NY Philharmonic - Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue

I gaze at my child and I see the future. All of the music that the world has known up until now - Mozart, Armstrong, Mingus, Beatles, Stones, Dylan, King Crimson, Jeff Buckley, The Clash, Jay-Z, Coldplay, Rihanna - is in the past tense for Francesca, and millions of New Millennium Babies like her. I can't begin to imagine what it will be like 20 years from now, when she's in college and feeding her voracious appetite for music that she has apparently inherited from her parents. One hopes that she will have discriminating tastes, and not simply submit to aggressive marketing, trend-mongering, and multi-media sensory assault from all sides of the entertainment/distraction industry.

Perhaps the world inhabited by a 20-year-old Francesca and her peers (and a 56-year-old me!) will be one in which music plays a more pivotal role in the development and evolution of society. As an artist and creator of new music, I feel even more responsible now to make wiser and more sophisticated creative choices, and not just fill the kosmos with music to watch girls by.

As I write this, she's in her bouncer, dozing peacefully to the strains of "An American In Paris" coming out of the MacBook. AAwwww yeah...life is grand!

I'm home for the summer, no road trips until September. The calendar is filling up fast, so keep checking in here for updates as they happen. The beat goes on!

Be well
JM

SWEET Tuesday morning, home with wife and baby and a steaming cup of Mud. Euro run with APLP was fun, Viddy O'Blog footage being edited for future presentation. All travel was smooth, all gigs rocked, all hanging fun. Lots of local action in NYC this summer to tell about, so keep on checking in!

Be well
JM

Just posting this viddy yo blog now, of footage from last week's run thru Kansas City, Houston and Canada. Tonite we rock Barcelona, then hop over to Holland tomorrow. Enjoy!

Be well
JM

Checking in from Shawinigan, Canada (half-way between Montreal and Quebec). Just finished soundcheck, going to dinner in a minute, downbeat at 9:15pm for the third outdoor festival in a row. At least tonite we're on after dark, which means Lighting Guy Dustin gets to actually do his job!

Daytime festival shows in Kansas City and Houston shows were fun. Ate some ribs in KC, and got to see Styx, Night Ranger and Boston raise the Goblet of Rock after us in Houston. Yesterday was a day off here in Shawinigan. We took a tour of the local power plant, then enjoyed a lengthy late lunch/dinner before drifting off to catch up on lost sleep. Home tomorrow for 3 days, then back out on Sunday for a quick run thru Europe.

Video highlights are being edited along the way, so expect another Viddy Yo Blog in a few short days. The beat goes on!

Be well
JM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9N7pS7NTYg

HE WAS JUST HERE A MINUTE AGO.
See ya later, George.
Be well
JM

Happy Summer Solstice!

A quick one to stay current. Landed in Kansas City yesterday afternoon, back on the trail with APLP for a quick stateside outing of festival shows. Bringing in the summer with a set at Kansas City's Rib Festival, which everyone I meet in this town seems to know about. Did a Starbucks run, and walked around downtown a bit. Friendly people, and streets that look like they were built yesterday.

We're leaving the hotel at 3pm, onstage at 4pm. If anything exciting happens, you'll be the first to hear about it.

Be well
JM

Sweet Tuesday Morning, home at last with a hot cup of D'Amicos, Francesca and Jilly. Got home yesterday afternoon, half a day late (more on this in a minute).

Reno gigs with APLP were splendid. Goblet of Rock was raised on high for two nights in a row, and we had some good times with friends old and new. The Boss also re-shuffled the set list order and brought some older songs back into rotation, which kept things interesting for the band and our devoted repeat customers. AND I sold a bunch of copies of SENZA! (Thanx as always to The Boss for sharing his merch table space with us.) Good times.

Flew out of Reno on Sunday morning 2 hours late, thanx to "weather" at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. When we arrived at O'Hare, our connection to NYC was cancelled. Dustin (the new lighting master) dialed a 1-800 number, and 5 minutes later we were booked on a flight to NYC the following morning, but connecting in Nashville. Later that nite though, after we'd checked into the Comfort Suites, Dustin got on the web and re-rebooked direct flights for all of us! Go, Dustin. Bottom line for musicians: always travel with a crew member.

Airline? Helpful. Airport? Not so much. The ill-mannered people who work at Chicago's O'Hare seem more concerned with "security regulations" than "getting paying customers to their flights." Godfrey was rudely hassled for trying to backtrack off of an escalator that evidently was "outside security;" a female officer RAN to the scene with her hand on her walkie-talkie as if there was an actual "threat." The next morning, the xray technicians hassled me about my desktop speakers and my effects pedal. When I mentioned that these items had already passed clean through 2 different xrays in New York and Reno, a uniformed goon dared me to disobey, sarcastically barking "SO ARE YOU SAYING THAT I DON'T NEED TO EXAMINE THESE SIR?" I replied that I wasn't saying anything, and to do whatever he felt was right.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics routinely lists O'Hare as the WORST AIRPORT IN THE UNITED STATES for delayed departures and arrivals. And being a major transit hub, flight delays at O'Hare tend to expand nation-wide. Extreme Chicago weather is often blamed, but it's O'Hare's congested runway configuration and high flight volume that brought on a $6 billion, FAA-mandated "modernization plan." This would explain the dangerous, abandoned construction sites we navigated thru on that cold, rainy Sunday nite. It would also explain why the folks who work there are so edgy; it's bad enough to be underpaid AND on the brink of being laid off at any time, without having to show up for work at a place that looks like the set of "Blade Runner." Still, I have no respect for false authority and simple-minded attempts at heroism; I'll comply with instructions so I'm not declared an "enemy combatant," but some of these folks should realize that their ill-fitting uniforms don't make them any more important than me.

Point is, I couldn't have been happier to land at LaGuardia yesterday, and the thick Brooklyn accent of the cab driver was music to my ears as he drove me home to my family. It's hot here in NYC, up in the 90's. We hit the road again for a bit with APLP later this month, both stateside and overseas; until then I'll be home with the family, soaking up another fine NYC summer. Many thanx to all of you who bought SENZA in Reno!

The beat goes on!
Be well
JM

Friday morning in Reno, Nevada. Playing tonite and tomorrow at the Nugget with the Alan Parsons Live Project. I'm not a big casino guy; I don't gamble, so I've never understood the attraction to casinos or the hoopla that surrounds them. This place is alright though; friendly staff, etc. And I am definitely looking forward to rocking out with my APLP comrades again. Also catching up on sleep that I've so proudly lost since Francesca's arrival. Jilly will catch up on hers when I return to NYC. Not much else new to report, just passing time until the downbeat.

Be well
JM

Sweet Tuesday Morning, sunny and warm in Brooklyn. Cup of Mud by my side, and Francesca is enjoying a warm beverage of her own. I'm on no sleep, and loving every minute.

Last nite's solo bass set at the MUDSpot went down real smooth. The acoustics in the Secret Garden are very live and warm, thanx to the concrete floor, wood walls and glass ceiling. (It's an actual glass ceiling, not a metaphoric one.) Perfect for singing out with no mic. Voice got warmed up after 3 songs or so, felt good. Fellow Brooklynite Shira followed me (check out http://myspace.com/shira ), also kicked much arse. Good times.

Baby stuff today, and we hit Reno later this week with the mighty APLP. Life is grand.

Be well
JM

Friday afternoon, sunny and warm in Brooklyn. Francesca and Momma are napping in the other room, and I'm busying myself with a little bit of this, that and the other: practicing, writing, catching up on emails and phone calls, etc. Fatherhood agrees with me.

Fortunately the gig schedule has been busy enough to keep us in diapers and formula, but also light and local enough to keep me at home so I can watch my little girl grow. June and July will bring some quick road trips with APLP, but nothing terribly long. WiFi and Skype will make it all alright!

Oh, one more thing I must mention:
DIAPERS.COM. Like manna from heaven for the sleep-deprived new parent. Brilliant. Looking into an endorsement deal with them as we speak.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.
Be well
JM

Ladies and gentlemen, the announcement of a lifetime: I'M A FATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Francesca Helena Montagna was born unto Jill and I on Wednesday, May 7th at 3am. I'm only posting this news today (late Sunday nite) because this is the first time I've been to the website since Francesca's arrival (3 weeks early); laughter, tears of joy, phone calls, paperwork, diapers, bottles, car seat instruction manuals, and such like has kept me fairly distracted!

Francesca is, in a word, perfect. This little girl has filled our home with more love, tenderness and peace than I ever could have imagined. (Not to mention baby paraphernalia, which interestingly enough really ties the rooms together.) Life and career are completely different now; how different is yet to be seen, but keep checking in to find out. The blog posts may get shorter and a little less frequent, but I'm sure you will understand.

A special shout-out to my gorgeous, divine wife Jill, without whom this never would have happened. Love you, sweet!

Be well
JM (aka Francesca's Daddy)

This isn't me, but still:




Perhaps Fresh Direct and Guitar Center will become partners soon!

Be well
JM

It's official: my SNOCAP store is up and running! You can now come to this very website and download my music directly from me, via SNOCAP. Setting up a consumer account with SNOCAP is easy; once you've done that, you'll be able to download tracks directly from me (and other SNOCAP artists) for use with any digital music player.

The advantage of SNOCAP for me is simple: basically, I can upload individual songs one at a time (as opposed to full-length albums). Naturally I'll still have physical CD's available from my good friends at CDBaby, but I'm hoping that the SNOCAP store embedded directly on this site will help me deliver "single" tracks to you with greater frequency.

As of today (4-28-08), all 5 tracks from the "Senza" EP are available on SNOCAP, along with a brand new song, "Bridge Burner Blues." I will be uploading new content as often as possible, and I'm constantly thinking of new ways to keep it interesting; I might have "SNOCAP-only" content like alternate mixes, live tracks, etc., so stay tuned.

Thanx as always for your support!
See you on the trail
Be well
JM

Easy like Sunday morning. Raised the Goblet of Rock last nite at Christ the King High School in Queens, with the APLP Rhythm Section. Also raised some funds for some good causes: the local Kiwanis Club chapter, and the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council. Good times. Blessed Day Off today, local action waiting for me this week. The beat goes on.

Be well
JM

Saturday morning, chilling at home with Jilly. Turned 36 yesterday. Paul McCartney was 36 when "With A Little Luck" went to #1 in the US. Good age to be! Had an excellent b-day, with some close friends and family over the house for Brooklyn Italian eats and Carvel cake. Good times. Many thanx to all of you who wrote in with warmhearted birthday wishes.

Rocked the Cutting Room on Thursday with the Eren Cannata Band. Loaded in, raised the Goblet of Rock, loaded out, ba-da-boom. Local action keeping me busy until the next Euro dates with APLP in July. Stay tuned.

Happy Passover!
Be well
JM36

Just discovered this clip from the "Concert For Bangladesh" tribute show we on November 28, 2007 at BB King's here in NYC, featuring our comrades from Wondrous Stories. This is a fun song to sing, and with a timeless sentiment as well so you can't lose! Enjoy (and stay tuned for the sequel, later this year).

-Bass: JM
-Guitars: Tommy Williams, John Merjave, Godfrey Townsend, Kenny Forgione, Kevin McCann.
-Keys: Mark Bonder
-Drums: Ricky Martinez & Rich Zukor
-Vox: Tom Bowes, Holly LaRoccaWilliams, Ed Ryan
-Tenor sax solo: Arno Hecht

Be well
JM

Thursday morning, just took delivery of some new home office furniture. Tuesday nite was another solo bass gig; went quite well. The solo shows are always a journey of self-discovery, always evolving right along with me. Stay tuned.

Running out the door in a few hot minutes for some recording in The City. Local action good. Spring has finally arrived in NYC, looking forward to some power-walking in the streets today.

Be well
JM

Sweet Tuesday morning, got my steaming cup of D’Amico’s and my granola, and the DubSession podcast is on the iTunes. All is good. Enjoying the comforts of home today, after a globe-trotting week with the Alan Parsons Live Project. It went something like this:

-Tuesday, 4-1-08: Morning train w/band from NYC down to Maryland. Convene with AP and the crew at the Ram’s Head, a 200-seat venue in downtown Annapolis. US history factoid: Annapolis was temporarily the US capital, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris there in 1783. Our hotel, the Maryland Inn, was next door to the building where the treaty was signed (now a pub called “Treaty Of Paris”). Anyways. We play 2 sets at the Ram’s Head that nite, on the Tiniest Stage Ever. Goblet of Rock is raised, and we chill post-gig with some acoustic jamming in the dressing room. (Raising the Martini Glass of Sensitivity?)

-Wednesday, 4-2-08: Morning bus ride back to NYC. I hop off bus on 42nd & 8th, and duck into subway back home to Brooklyn for additional gear and some luggage re-arrangement, plus a home shower (band and crew continue on to Ameritania Hotel on 54th and B’way). Jump back into subway, straight to The Fillmore at Irving Plaza. Meet up w/Nathaniel Nunziante & Jessica; 3 of us shoot some video stuff for an Eden Electronics promo spot (stay tuned). Venue staff is extremely cool and cooperative with video clearance stuff, and excellent to us in general. Band arrives, we soundcheck with guest Richie Cannata on sax (who got the call during the bus ride up from Maryland). We hit our 8pm downbeat after an introduction by NYC rock radio legend Ken Dashow, and mightily raise the Goblet of Rock for a full hometown house that includes much of our core NYC constituency. Richie blows his mighty horn on “Don’t Answer Me” and “Old And Wise,” and the place explodes. Good times, and good hanging afterwards, as worlds collide via road comrades mingling with our NYC peeps. Jilly and I cab it uptown, and call it a nite at the Ameritania.

-Thursday, 4-3-08: I enjoy a midtown breakfast with Jilly, then accompany her downtown to the office. I then kick it solo in the sunny morning streets of NYC for a hot minute, enjoying some downtown shopping and a visit in the East Village with Cousin Joe Shane. We grab lattes at Mud on East 9th St, and watch Brutus (Joe’s Boston Terrier) mingle at the Tompkins Square Dog Run. At 11:20am I start power-walking back to the N train, and I’m back at the Ameritania by 11:40am. By 12:15pm I’m showered, packed, checked out and cold chilling in the lobby. (Tip from the trade: my own lobby call is always 30 to 45 minutes earlier than the officially scheduled one. Better to chill in the lobby for a half hour, than to keep everyone waiting for your last-minute ass.)

Eventually we all pile into a pair of vans, and cognitive dissonance ensues on the ride to JFK Airport: am I home, or on the road? “Home” is going to JFK by myself; “road” is checking out of a hotel w/band and crew and riding to some airport in a van. Now I’m doing both…whaaaa???? I stop thinking about it to avoid mental meltdown, and eventually we all board our 4:30pm flight to Istanbul, Turkey.

-Friday, 4-4-08: 9am. Arrival in Istanbul. We pay the $20 visa fee/cover charge, get our passports stamped and whisk away to the hotel. I sleep off some jet lag, and then hit the streets of Istanbul with Godfrey, Deb, and Mr. & Mrs. Parsons. We do some afternoon shopping at the Grand Bazaar, and chill at a nearby café for drinks and melon-flavored tobacco from a giant hookah pipe. The jet-lagged pace continues at the Band Dinner, and many of us call it an early night.

-Saturday, 4-5-08: I spend most of the day sleeping and/or watching Turkish music videos, until we split for venue at 4pm. Turkish promoter has provided a sweet-sounding Eden rig for my bass. We hit our 9pm downbeat and raise the Goblet once again for a very enthusiastic crowd. After getting your ass kicked by international air travel, it’s always a payoff to have a big loud audience show some love, and the Turks did just that. Good times.

-Sunday, 4-6-08: Raining in Istanbul. Checking out of hotel, promoter rep informs us that it’s a “police holiday” (whatever that is) and that “all the roads are closed.” We wonder aloud what effect this will have on our trip to the airport, as we have a show in Holland that very night. Promoter rep assures us that he has “figured it out.” Hmm. Sure enough, we pile into the van, and our driver seemingly finds the only roads in Istanbul that are still open. The rain and curbside construction at the airport makes loading out a little tricky, but we make it to check in unscathed and easily make the flight to Amsterdam. Arrive at squeaky-clean Schipol Airport, change some dollars over to euros, and load into another van. The weather in Holland is picture-perfect; cool, crisp and sunny as we motor down a smooth highway, past grassy fields and windmills, directly to the venue: Boederij, in the lovely town of Zoetermeer.

This was our third visit to Boederij (pronounced BO-derrrrr-EYE), and the familiarity was a good thing this day: travel schedule precluded the opportunity for a soundcheck! This would be a commando mission, line-check only: plug in, listen for signal, and run off as doors are opened and crowd files in. When we hit our 9pm downbeat there were some sonic challenges to be sure, but we overcame these as only this group can and raised the now-heavier Goblet on high. Dutch audiences listen to the music with harder concentration than most, which can often be mistaken for indifference: not much dancing, hollering or “WHOOO!!”-ing after solos, etc. But this capacity crowd was definitely into it and showed us much love, and their thunderous reception was a fitting payoff for a rough few travel days, and the perfect way to end our mini-tour. Band and crew celebrated with post-gig amenities, including some Amaretto on ice and coffee.

-Monday. 4-7-08: Picture-perfect, sunny morning in Zoetermeer. Smooth ride back to sqeaky-clean Schipol. Effortless check-in. Cappuccino and pane au chocolat, and duty-free shopping. Friendly security checkpoint located at actual departure gate, reducing human traffic and making the x-ray process almost seem fun. I love Amsterdam. Settled into my aisle seat, slept for nearly the duration of the flight, woke up at JFK. Home by 6pm for dinner with Jilly, and a nice early bedtime. Life is good.

Tonite I’m solo bass-ing at the Parkside Lounge again, and my gig action is all local until the summer. Keep on checking in for updates and new stuff as the beat goes on.

Be well
JM

Coming to you live from Istanbul, Turkey, where we will raise the Goblet of Rock tomorrow nite with the Alan Parsons Live Project. We're in the middle of a quick mini-tour which has already brought us through Maryland and New York. Many, many stories to tell from those 2 days alone, but I'm on PJ Olsson's computer at the moment so time is scarce for blogging.

After tomorrow's Turkey hit we fly into Holland and play there the same day. Expect a full recap of the mini-tour when I get back home to NYC on Monday. The beat goes on.

Happy Spring!
Be well
JM

Monday morning, slow start. Easter weekend was quiet, following a full Friday: raised the Goblet of Rock at BB King's with Godfrey Townsend and the boyz for the 7th annual Clapton is God-frey tribute show. This year we played two shows back to back, and we re-vamped the setlist with some Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominoes stuff that kicked much arse.

Even though playing at BB's is a long day (load-in at 3pm, downbeat at 8pm and out the door by 11pm or later), and it's located in the heart of Times Square where traffic and parking are virtually impossible to contend with, it's becoming one of the easier local gigs for me logistically. Simple reason: they've got house bass cabinets. Not my beloved Edens, but useful nonetheless. All I need to bring is my bass, Eden head and a tuner pedal; no big stuff to move means I don't need the car! This time I rode the subway in all the way from Brooklyn. It was refreshing to not be isloated behind the wheel, and to walk the streets a bit before heading into the gig. Too much time driving keeps you disconnected from this city; you have to cover the territory on foot and bump into people a little bit to really feel alive like a native New Yorker.

My portability came in especially handy after we were done; I was the first one to slip out the door and find that it was blocked by a crowd of people 5 deep, waiting to get into the hip-hop-themed event that BB's was hosting at midnight. But after a few tight squeezes and "S'cuse me's" I was power-walking down 42nd Street to 9th Avenue, where I easily caught a taxi back to Brooklyn. (It was late and I was Rock Fatigued, so I splurged.)

This week I'm home doing home-type stuff, and preparing for next week's tour of Maryland, NYC, Turkey and Holland with the Alan Parsons Live Project. The beat goes on, and it's never dull.

RIP Cachao
RIP Neil Aspinall
Be well
JM