A Conversation with Randy Montana – HuffPost 7.8.11

Mike Ragogna: Thanks for the interview, Randy.

Randy Montana: Thanks for having me.

MR: First of all, how did you get signed?

RM: Well, you know, I’d been playing in a band in college and we were going around doing a lot of fraternity parties in the Southeast. That’s kind of where the bug really bit me to start writing my own songs. I wound up signing a publishing deal a couple years after that, and that led to getting introduced to some of the A&R folks over at Universal — Joe Fisher and Brian Wright. Shortly after that, I wound up signing a record deal and we were off to the races.

MR: Were you “developed” when you were working with them?

RM: Well, we never really put it as “artist development,” you know? I think that things come at you and you’re put in different situations all the time — I would consider that “development.” It’s who’s able to kind of “roll with the punches,” per se — who puts you out there. But I’ve been doing live shows and stuff like that, and if you’re doing that, you’re always getting better. That’s development to me. I always try to beat my vocal performance from one night to the next, you know? It’s kind of my own little game I play. But, yeah, you just kind of roll with the punches, I guess.

MR: Were you hooked up with your producer Jay Joyce for your self-titled debut album, or did you already know him?

RM: You know, we were throwing around ideas about who should produce the record, and Jay’s name came up. We had never met before, but I went and hung out with him at his house one day. He kind of asked me what I’d want an album to sound like. I said that sonically — the way an album sounds — I’m a huge fan of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and that sound. But then I also brought up that I’m a huge fan of The Wallflowers, too. I like the sound of that album. He looked at me and laughed and said, “Oh, cool. I played guitars on that album.” So, it was like — bam! — you’re the guy. We hit off, man. Jay’s a great guy, and I consider him a good friend.

MR: And, of course, his Cage the Elephant and Emmylou Harris productions are terrific, too.

RM: Isn’t that cool, man? That’s the thing about him — he really latches on to who you are as an artist. So, he can make those rock records, but then he can also come back and make an Emmylou Harris album and do my album and Eric Church’s. He’s a very, very creative guy, and that’s what makes it so much fun working with him.

MR: Let’s talk about that — Emmylou Harris is on one of the tracks on this project, “Last Horse.”

RM: Yes, she is, and she is amazing, first and foremost. Her vocals and the list of people she’s worked with and performed with is unbelievable. We had finished that track, it was completely done, and Jay and I were on the phone, and I was like, “Man, I wonder if we can get a female to come in and do a duet on this one. It’s kind of got that duet feel to it, in a way.” Jay thought that was a really cool idea, and we started throwing around names. The first one that he brought up was Emmylou Harris, and I kind of laughed. I was just like, “Sure, man, I’ll believe that when I see it.” But he emailed the song and she listened to it, and three days later, she was in the studio laying down her vocal. That was one of the coolest moments for me in my career so far.

MR: Did you have a conversation with her?

RM: Yeah, and that’s just it — she’s so cool and so laid back. She and Jay are friends, so they sat around talking and hanging out, and I was there hanging out and talking with them, and then it was like, “Alright. Let’s do this!” She complimented the song before she got started, and then after she was done, I remember she looked over at me and she goes, “Our vowels sound really good together.” I took that as a big compliment from Emmylou.

MR: Now, you’ve toured with some great acts, as well. Taylor Swift had you on one of her major tours, right?

RM: Yeah, I actually just wrapped that up. That was a great, great two weeks. Her crowd is a really good, welcoming crowd. Playing in front of that many people was great exposure for me. Her whole crew is awesome, and she’s great — one of the sweetest people alive. They did an awesome job and made me feel welcome. I can’t say enough about her fans and how great they were, showing up early. It’s kind of intimidating going out there because I was just playing acoustic. It was definitely intimidating going out there with just a couple of players and trying to play to a stadium with two acoustic guitars. But it was great.

MR: You also went on tour with Lady Antebellum and Sugarland.

RM: They’re all wonderful. Last fall, I was out with Sugarland for, I think, six weeks. That was incredible — I got to play with a full band opening up those shows. Their crew was awesome, and their crowd was awesome, too. It’s fun to tour with these different acts and see the different crowds that they attract. It’s just good to get out there in front of people, you know what I’m saying? It was another great experience and a learning experience.

MR: What’s great is that already, with your debut album, you’re already being praised.People magazine says that you are a must-hear artist; USA Today‘s Brian Mansfield tweeted about you. How do you react to stuff like this?

RM: It’s very cool. You know, it’s a great start, to get compliments from folks like that, when that’s their job — to go through music and listen to music. It’s nothing but a compliment. All I can do is really all I can I do, if that makes sense. I can just make music, music that I love. You’ve always got your fingers crossed that people will latch onto it. At the end of the day, I can just write songs I love and sing songs I love, and it’s cool when other people agree with you. When you like something and you created it and other people agree with you and say it’s good, that’s the biggest compliment in the world.

MR: I have to ask, since you’re the writer on this project, too — what’s the most revealing song about Randy Montana?

RM: I would have to say “Back of My Heart.” I always preface this because people ask all the time if these songs are biographical — if they’re down to the “T” of exactly what happened. They’re not exactly that way, but I definitely take from life’s feelings. Everybody remembers the first time they lost somebody they loved and those relationships. You remember the sting of that. I’ve always taken that feeling and tried to mold it into something else — to broaden it so it’s not just about me specifically. “Back of My Heart” is that way, because it’s a guy who’s seeing a girl that he had been with for a while and she’s got a new guy. He’s saying to her, “You broke my heart, but the world kept spinning and I forgive you. Now you’re living in the back of my heart.” It’s like putting something in the back of your head, but we used it as the back of your heart. I really latched onto that because there are all those “love lost” things. I don’t know, I always tend to go that way and write that way.

MR: Let’s go to “1,000 Faces.” Can you talk about the topic?

RM: It’s about when you’re over it, you’re past it, and you remember exactly how it felt to be with that person, but you’re OK now. You’re fine. It doesn’t kill you every time you think about it. It’s as vivid as can be when you want to think about it, but you’ve moved on from that person and are looking forward.

MR: Good advice. Gotta remember that the next time my heart gets trashed.

RM: [Laughs.] I don’t know if I’m the right one for advice, man. I think I can screw up anything.

MR: You’re not the only one, pal. [Laughs.] OK, let’s talk about “Burn These Matches.”

RM: I wrote that song with two of my favorite people to write with — Casey Beathard and Dale Dodson. One of my favorite things about this song is the way you get into it. I love how it starts out — all it says is “Call me sometime, 595-1768.” It’s a number on a book of matches from a girl that you met while out one night. The person in the song has somebody at home, someone they go home to every night. The hook of the song is, “I better burn these matches in my pocket before they burn the hell out of me.” It’s that realization that “if I let these things hang around, they’re gonna come back and bite me at some point in time.” It’s that struggle in your head, like, “What do I do? What’s the next step?” I love the way that song turned out because it’s back to the whole relationship thing, it’s something that happens every day, all over. That’s why it’s one of my favorite songs on this album.

MR: OK, it’s that time when we namedrop your dad and how you got into music.

RM: I grew up around music. My dad, Billy Montana, has been in the music industry since before I was born. He was in a band where he lived in upstate New York. He signed a record deal back in ’86, I think, and we moved to Nashville when I was just a little kid. So, I’ve always been next to a stage watching my dad perform. I’ve always loved it, but it wasn’t always my main focus. I started playing guitar when I was 10 years old — I learned a few chords and just kind of went from there. But I can honestly say that I didn’t really get serious about the writing side or the singing side until I was probably 16 or 17 years old. I remember being 16 years old, sitting down and writing the first song from front to back that I was actually proud of. I can still play it to this day. I remember that night, and it just went on from there.

I met my guitar player, Trae Gunter, when I was 17 and he was 16. We started playing guitars in his mom and dad’s living room. A year later, he kind of said, “Hey, man, let’s put together a band.” We put together a little four-piece band and learned a bunch of covers. He was still in high school and playing college fraternity parties. I’m sure his mom and dad were happy about that — that his buddy was already in college toting him around to go play fraternity parties and stuff like that. But, yeah, we would do it in the Southeast, and it wasn’t insanely busy, but we got that show down — how to play 3½ or 4 hours. We learned what songs worked, what songs didn’t, and how to slide originals in there at some point in time — how to play our own songs. And that’s really where I started to take it seriously and realized, “I want to do this for the rest of my life.” And I’ve been doing it ever since. I feel very fortunate.

MR: Since we’re talking about how you started in music, what advice do you have for new artists?

RM: Just keep after it. The best advice I ever got — and this was a long time ago — was “put your blinders on.” Have that tunnel vision. It’s like I was saying earlier, you can only do what you can do. You can only be yourself. Stay true to that and do what you do with your blinders on. Keep going forward, because that’s all you can do, you know?

MR: Randy, it’s been a joy talking with you today. I wish you all the best. Have a really great career.

RM: Thanks for having me today, Mike. I appreciate it.

MR: Any time.

Transcribed by Claire Wellin’