The decision to become a professional musician is wrought with overtones of uncertainty. It means depending solely on one’s own talents, skill, endurance, and love for the art. One local blue-collar musician, Patrick Montgomery, made the decision early in life.
“I learned guitar as a kid and started building up a repertoire in high school and playing at parties,” he said. “I started doing music full time in my 20s.”
Montgomery came from a musical background. He grew up in Santa Barbara and had the luck of having not just musical parents, but also musical grandparents who saturated him with music from an early age.
“My grandparents were instrumental in teaching me guitar and playing by ear,” he said.
Playing by ear is the ability to learn a song just by hearing it rather than having to consult sheet music, a skill that is absolutely necessary to be the kind of musician Montgomery is—a self-described multi-genre acoustic solo artist. His song book boasts more than 600 songs spanning country, alternative folk, classic rock, blues, standards, and pop-rock.
“I try not to chase the radio too much, but if something is really popular I will do it,” he said. “The majority of the stuff that I play is the stuff that you have heard your whole life, the kind that has proven itself.”
Montgomery performs with the help of a 12-string acoustic Martin guitar, a beautiful instrument that gives a clear, strong sound.
“It’s a fuller sound and not a lot of people play the 12-string guitar,” he said.
But just because he is an acoustic artist does not mean that he comes without some electronic accoutrement. He brings his own PA system to amplify his guitar and vocal work, but he also has some nifty gadgets that help fill out his sound. A drum machine starts and stops with the press of a pedal, providing a steady beat to the songs. And a small digital effects box will actually duplicate Montgomery’s voice and apply harmony based on the chords he is playing on his guitar. The end result is what sounds like a full band but is just one performer.
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This is just his solo setup, but Montgomery is no stranger to collaboration. His main collaborator is Michael Dougherty who plays dobra, peddle steel guitar, and electric guitar. Dougherty usually joins Montgomery at AJ Spurs in Buellton and Grover Beach. The duo makes up the group What the Hell. Lately though, Montgomery has been going it alone at the Santa Maria Brewing Company as well.
“The role for a musician that is performing in the club venues is that you have to stay relevant … you have to stay current,” he said. “You are blending the new with the old while staying away from the tired.”
Montgomery has been playing for years but he sure isn’t tired. He has done studio guitar work for movies and also spent a few years in Nashville. From 2002 to 2009, Montgomery lived in Nashville to pursue songwriting.
“I met a lot of really good people,” he said. “It seems like it’s a sort of creative vortex there.”
It was at this time, he explained, that music downloads started to really take off and making a living off of songwriting got much harder.
“There were guys who had hits on the radio but were still delivering pizzas,” he said.
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Though he usually performers covers these days Montgomery does have a trove of original tunes that he plays every now and again.
“I do it when the time is right; I will sneak one in there,” he said. “I try [to] read the crowd and that will dictate what I’m going to play.”
An inveterate performer like Montgomery has no problem reading a crowd and he takes requests with ease. He can be found up and down the Central Coast performing at favorite haunts and is always available for private gigs, doing what he loves most.
“Music is a form of communication that is one of those intangible tangibles if that makes any sense,” he said. “It’s really cool when you feel you made a connection with somebody or a whole crowd.”
Contact Calendar Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 26 – Feb 2, 2012.