Concert

with special guest Cledus T. Judd

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MONTGOMERY GENTRY

The best and most memorable country music happens when life and art come together. With Haggard, Jones, Cash, and both Hanks, to cite the classic examples, pain and joy, struggle and release, are believable because these were artists who all but erased the line between life and music.

If there is anyone in modern-day country wearing their mantle, it is Montgomery Gentry. With their fourth CD, You Do Your Thing, Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry show themselves to be heirs to that legacy, singing songs that strip life to the marrow, that make passion and loss, pride and heartache into palpable entities. They are singers at the peak of their form, making music that is as raw and powerful as it is compelling.

"If this new album was part of NASCAR, it would definitely have a #3 on it, 'cause its running wide open," laughs Montgomery, and the analogy is fitting. Theirs is a world where muscle cars, honky-tonks and hell-raising are the hard-earned rewards for the toil and struggle that make up the working-class landscape. It is a world they know well.

"We still look at life the same way we did when we were working two jobs and playing music at night in the clubs to make ends meet," says Gentry. "I don't think we've changed."

The upshot is that they maintain a seamless connection with their legions of fans, voicing their triumphs and frustrations, sharing their love of family, community and country, spending time with them after concerts on their "honky-tonk on wheels." It is a camaraderie that grows out of their fans' perceptions that these are not guys chasing trends or singing songs that are more craft than substance, but two men who sing the truth and let the chips fall where they may.

On You Do Your Thing, that truth includes straight-up heartache in "Gone" and "All I Know About Mexico," the redemptive power of love in "If You Ever Stop Loving Me" and "Talking To My Angel," pride and tradition in "Something To Be Proud Of," and pull-out-the-stops escapism in "I Got Drunk." The even had the opportunity to hook up with one of their all-time heroes, Hank, Jr. on “I Ain’t Got It All That Bad.” “We opened for Hank one time, and he said from stage, ‘I’ve only got two rowdy friends left – Kid Rock and Montgomery Gentry.’ That’s pretty cool,” said Troy.

For You Do Your Thing, Montgomery Gentry expanded their growing relationship with two of modern country's songwriting titans, Jeffrey Steele ("Cowboy In Me," “These Days,” "My Town") and Rivers Rutherford ("Real Good Man," "For The Money"), who wrote and produced several of the CD's tracks.

"Once you get to click with somebody," says Montgomery of the pair, "it just works. You hang out and you pick up each other's vibes and get in a zone. We consider ourselves fortunate because these are two unbelievable writers."

In addition, they worked with producers Joe Scaife, who produced Montgomery Gentry's "Carrying On," and Blake Chancey, noted for his work with the Dixie Chicks and for his production of Montgomery Gentry's "My Town." Executive producer was Mark Wright, the man behind some of Nashville's rootsiest music over the past two decades. The extensive collaboration gives the project a sense of community that hearkens back to an earlier time.

"If you go back and look," says Montgomery, "you had Waylon and Willie, Johnny, Kris Kristofferson, all these guys hanging out. They played music in barrooms, they'd sit around in a living room and pick all the time. There was no 'You've gotta be a certain way or play with this group or do this or that.' We're the same way."

"We grew up in a honky-tonk," adds Gentry, "where musicians would come in all the time and get up and sit in with us. That's the way we believe music should be, with all these people coming together. The bottom line is it's about the song and the music."

Their backgrounds in Kentucky, in fact, provide the keys to their personas. Montgomery grew up in his family's band in a household with musical equipment in the living room and bartenders for babysitters. He and his brother John Michael spent their formative years in honky-tonks, falling in love with the music of Hank Jr., Charlie Daniels, Willie, Waylon, Haggard, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Gentry and his mother sang along at home with the music of Elvis and Bruce Springsteen, and he picked up a love for George Jones, Haggard, and Hank Jr. By high school, he was in his first talent contest, and the music of Randy Travis was inspiring him to try to make a career of music.

The Montgomery brothers and Gentry joined forces in a band called Young Country until John Michael landed a record deal. His brother joined his band and Gentry went solo, winning the national Jim Beam Talent Contest in 1994 and opening for Patty Loveless, Tracy Byrd, and others. When Eddie returned to Kentucky, he and Gentry found themselves on stage together at various charity concerts and they decided to get back together.

"We had worked together so well for so long and knew each other so well that I knew it couldn't be anything but right," says Gentry. Their collaboration led to a long stint wowing them in the Lexington-area clubs.

"It just seemed like the more we were playing together around town, the bigger our following was getting," says Gentry.

Nashville heard the buzz, and producer Blake Chancey traveled to Lexington to see them.

"We got up there playing and after we got done with our first number, the music stopped and everyone turned to see what his thoughts might have been," says Gentry. The visit led to a label deal, two platinum albums and a gold one, and a string of hits, including "Hillbilly Shoes," "Lonely And Gone," "Daddy Won't Sell The Farm," "She Couldn't Change Me," "Cold One Comin' On," "My Town," "Speed," and "Hell Yeah."

They have performed for well over a million fans, opening on Kenny Chesney's "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" tours in 2002 and 2003, and the Brooks & Dunn Neon Circus & Wild West Show in 2001.

For 2004, the guys are embarking on an ambitious headline tour with a new set and new attitude. “There’s no place we’d rather be than playin’ for our friends,” said Eddie. “People work 50, 60, 70 hours a week, and they want to come out and have a good time. We want to give it to ‘em.” “We have an amazing band,” brags Troy. “Most of these guys have been with us since the beginning of MG, and headlining gives us a chance to let them show off a little.” The San Antonio Express-News summed up a recent Montgomery Gentry show perfectly: “…Montgomery Gentry charged out of the chute like a pair of 1,800-pound bulls, twisting and turning through a rip-snorting blend of working man’s country and Southern rock.”

On the accolade front, they were named the CMA's Duo of the Year in 2000, and received that year's American Music Award for Favorite New Artist--Country, the Academy of Country Music Award for Top New Vocal Group or Duo," and the 2000 and 2001 Radio & Records Readers' Poll award for Top Country Duo.

They have done it all being true to themselves. Montgomery's quote at the time of their first CD--"There's not a song on the CD that we haven't lived"--is as true today as it was then.

"We admire the way it used to be done," says Montgomery, "with songs that say, 'This is the way people live. This is the way I live my life. Here it is, and you can take it or leave it. Good or bad, our approach and our music are real."

"Hopefully," adds Gentry, "we're bringing a little bit of that back."

www.montgomerygentry.com

Trace Adkins has rarely approached anything -- in his life or career -- conventionally. At 6’ 6”, he dominates a room. He has one of those truth-telling country voices that just grabs you, whether it’s coming through a car speaker or over an arena sound system. Although a string of hits made him a superstar, he truly sings about the joys and challenges of everyday people. That knack for authenticity has created a huge base of devoted fans, sold millions of records and made him the most-recent inductee into the prestigious Grand Ole Opry.

With his new album, Comin’ On Strong, the straight-shooting Adkins is shaking up the rules -- again.

Released just five months after his “Greatest Hits Collection, Volume 1” shot up Billboard’s pop chart and debuted at #1 on the country album charts, Comin' On Strong is perhaps Trace Adkins’ best work yet. Reunited with longtime producer, Scott Hendricks, along with co-producer, Trey Bruce, Adkins offers 11 tunes that are the essence of country music – lyrics about adult themes that feel absolutely real, melodies that stick in the mind, and just plain great interpretive singing.

The first single, "Hot Mama," has already become an out-of-the-box anthem for steaming up suburban bedrooms.

Adkins' mega-selling “Greatest Hits” was clearly a prelude to a new, highly seasoned point in this hitmaker's career. Rarely has an artist in any genre accomplished a top-selling Greatest Hits followed so soon by an album of equally strong material.

“I’ve always kind of had a kind of ‘I’ll show ‘em’ attitude, and I’m just feeling really confident right now,” Trace says in his thick, Louisiana baritone. “When we went in to make this album, I got lucky and found a lot of songs that spoke to a lot of experiences I’ve had – life experiences that I’ve been through that make me who I am. What I care about most is finding material that’s real – something I can sing with conviction and sink myself into.”

With this new album, he most certainly did.

You’re doin’ all you can
To get in them ol’ jeans
You want your body back
That you had at seventeen
Well baby don’t get down
Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing
‘Cause the way you fill ‘em out
Hey, that’s all right with me
I don’t want the girl you used to be


And if you ain’t noticed
The kids are fast asleep….
You wanna?

 

Warning: This CD comes out of the gate like a Peterbilt with the sizzling opening anthem, “Hot Mama.” The Casey Beathard/Tom Shapiro tune is one of the most clever man-wants-woman songs to come out of Nashville in years. With its raunchy guitars and lusty beat, the first single was an obvious out-of-the-box hit as Adkins’ voice conjures up a perfectly-understated sexual tension. Lyrically, it doesn’t get any catchier than this:
 


By the time Adkins growls that question (in a low-key delivery that conjures up the libidinous spirit of Conway Twitty), he has pulled back the permanent-pressed sheets of suburban bedrooms to say ‘wake up, love each other and enjoy life.’ It’s working.

“Fans have started showing up at shows wearing T-shirts with big question marks on ‘em saying, ‘You wanna?”, Adkins laughs. “And what’s great is it’s a song that guys like too. It’s perfect for a guy who wants to call up a radio station and dedicate something to his wife.”

The tune is much more than a female novelty song. It sets the mood for the entire album.

The title track, “Comin’ On Strong,” is a breezy, banjo-driven cowboy love song that captures what it’s like for a man “cool as Colorado” to fall hard for a woman – so hard that “she’s touchin’ my hat, and I don’t even care.” Trace says the song -- layered over fiddles, pedal steel and banjo -- left a strong impression on him when he heard the demo, because “this is a guy who has zero defense against this woman. He’s completely at her mercy. She can break his heart.”

Fans who loved the sass of “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing” will love the revved up, sheet-rumpling “One of Those Nights,” a celebration of “one of those smiles you wear all day/’cause you can taste the kiss of passion waitin’ back home.” Adkins didn’t need a marketing department to figure out that people over 30 still like to have a little fun.

Quite often, Trace is also the guy on the other side of love. “I’d Sure Hate To Break Down Here” is a backbeat tale of a man, a truck (which happens to be at mile marker 203), a gas gauge on “E”, and everything he owns in a Hefty bag. Trace says, “I’m a sucker for double entendre, and this is one of the best I’ve heard. It’s as good as his 1997 hit “I Left Something Turned On At Home”.

Perhaps the most compelling tune on the album is “Then Came The Night,” a pedal-steel hymn about lost love. Trace says it’s “the most lyrically-beautiful piece of music I’ve ever recorded.” Penned by John Kilzer and Chuck Jones, the song really does come close to pure country poetry. “I can see those cotton sheets dancin’, on her mama’s clothesline in my head/From my lips a Lucky Strike was danglin’/The day was dyin’ in a sea of red.” Adkins delivery is alternately plaintive and lusty as the wheels in his memory think of a girl from long ago. Throw in a breathy recitation, and the tune is Trace at his best – Barry White with a roadhouse accent.

A sweet fiddle and memories of “the fragrance of your hair” open the gut-wrenching song whose title says it all: “Then I Wake Up.” In that tune, Trace offers a harsh reality check when he sings about “waking up on the floor next to our bed, where I sleep ever since the night you left me.” His voice is so lonely you can almost hear her pulling out of the driveway.

This is only a warm up to the heartbreak and regret of “One Night Stand,” a bare-light bulb ballad written by co-producer Trey Bruce. “There’s your PhD in songwriting, right there,” Trace says, referring to lyrics that paint a bleak picture of fold-down beds, a little TV and two windows looking out over a parking lot – all because of a regretful encounter with Angie at an airport hotel in Denver. If country music is about story songs, this one should be bound in leather.

Long before he was a country hit maker and television talk show pundit, Trace spent six years working on oil rigs, which is why he was attracted to the poignant ballad "Missing You." It’s a haunting tale of an offshore oil driller who dreams of his lover through hurricanes and waterspouts, and falls asleep with her letter in his hand. “That song really takes me back to a time when I was heartbroken from loneliness,” he says. “I think there are a lot of people in situations where they are cut off from the world.”

Though truth telling and introspection distinguish Comin’ On Strong, fans shouldn’t worry that Trace’s wild streak has disappeared entirely. On “Untamed,” he redefines the recklessness of youth into new, midlife verve when he ensures us that “even when I’m bent and broken, I pray my spirit always stays untamed.” He closes the CD with a big grin and some “straight pipe roar” with a teasing wordplay tune by Craig Wiseman, Blair Mackichan and Brian White called “Rough and Ready.” The hard-driving, fun-loving song sounds like a peel-out at a NASCAR race, fueled by references to the stereotypical costumes and customs of country fans -- “hot wings/Skoal ring/gun rack/ball cap/scarred up knuckles/Mack belt buckle.”

Get it? Adkins knows that millions of people do. And that’s exactly who Comin’ On Strong is for.

“This is who I am. This is what I am, for better or worse,” Trace says about his latest work. “But you know what? I feel good about it. I feel okay. I’m alright with who I am, and this just feels to me like a lot of good decisions made with a clear head for all the right reasons.”

www.traceadkins.com