Old hits, new horizons for John Michael Montgomery

By: RICK BELL - For the North County Times | Wednesday, June 13, 2007 2:14 PM PDT ∞

There's a sense of excitement in John Michael Montgomery's voice that likely hasn't been audible for a decade or so.

It's an unusual tone for someone who's spent the past 15 years or so building a reputation as a country crooner. In fact, Montgomery, who was tooling around his hometown of Lexington, Ky., while doing a phone interview, has developed his own verb for the lull that sucks in artists who have established his kind of tenure in the music business.

"Groundhog Day-ing," said Montgomery, who plays the San Diego County Fair's Grandstand Stage on Wednesday.

Think Joe Diffie. Think Tracy Lawrence or Mark Chesnutt or Tracy Byrd. They all broke into country music in the early to mid-1990s, and all have managed to maintain a presence in country music. Yet, when you get to this point in your career, Montgomery said, there's more to life than logging 100,000 miles on the road every year or beating the songwriting bushes for the next big hit.

"I've done 200 shows a year," said Montgomery through his thick Kentucky drawl. "And I've had a lot of hit songs in the last 15 years. But I'm down to 40 or 50 shows this year. And I'm adding some songs to the live show that I cut my teeth on."

Stuff like he played as a kid in his family's band with Dad, Mom and brother Eddie ---- of Montgomery Gentry fame ---- on drums. So don't be surprised to hear a little Waylon and Willie, Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and maybe even a little Bob Seger mixed with hits such as his debut single "Life's a Dance" and "Sold (the Grundy County Auction Incident)."

"I grew up playing lead guitar," Montgomery said. "I don't want to wait until the encore anymore. I'm gonna pull out the ax and start playing. I want to jam down on it."

Quite an attitude adjustment from playing 90 minutes of hit songs ---- something all too many performers are more than happy to settle into. Oh, Montgomery's not turning his back on his stable of hit songs. Justifiably, he's quite proud of the records he cut on Atlantic Nashville and Warner Bros.

"People will think of me for songs like 'I Swear,' but then I start playing lead and they're blown away," he said. "I love my hits. I still have fun playing them. But that doesn't mean I can't do a lot of guitar playing."

And that's when he trots out his new verb. We've heard of someone being life-flighted. But Groundhog-Day-ing? Sure it'll make the wonky hosts of "A Way With Words" shudder, but hey, it works.

"Playing lead keeps me from Groundhog Day-ing it," he said in reference to the film where Bill Murray relives the same day over and over.

"The first five years of my career, from 1992 to 1997, it was 'Groundhog Day,' " he said. "All I did was the same set of songs over and over. I wore myself out. I wore out my vocal cords. I know now what my limits are."

Montgomery hasn't had a hit since the sentimental overseas soldier saga "Letters From Home" went top five in 2003 during his last hurrah on Warner Bros.

Yet, there's plenty more to come. Montgomery is writing songs, and he's working on a new album. But most importantly, he's created his own record label. Montgomery co-produced most of his records, and he was instrumental in finding many of his biggest hit songs.

"I don't want to be 60 and be humping up and down the road," said Montgomery, who is 42 years old. "I don't want to be just a singer. I want to find another John Michael Montgomery or Reba McEntire. I want to discover and create. I want to try my hand at producing. I want to give others an opportunity at what I've had."

Having your own label allows you to do that. Ricky Skaggs has been a huge success with Skaggs Family Records. Toby Keith, Tim McGraw and Tracy Lawrence also developed their own labels. What better place to start than with your own record?

"I'm putting together the new album, and that will be the flagship," he said. "I've always turned the knobs until the music was perfect. Once my record is done, I'll look for other artists."

The process didn't merely happen overnight. Two years ago, as Montgomery was noodling his future, he hit upon not only the idea for his new label, but also its name.

"It's called Stringtown Records," he said proudly.

Montgomery got the name from a tiny town just down the road from his house that's not much more than a grocery store, gas station and a welder.

Best of all, he said, it's an independent label. Back in the day, Atlantic had Montgomery "by the you-know-whats," he said.

The label signed him not by the year, but by the record. Montgomery was signed to do eight records. Putting out a record every two years, well, just do the math.

"All the major labels have missed the boat on this Internet thing," he said. "This couldn't have happened 10 years ago. Back then, maybe 1 percent of the independent artists made it to the charts. Now, it's 8 to 10 percent. There's more creative control."

Country missed the boat, Montgomery said, comparing it to an unlikely source.

"If we could've followed rap, we would've been a lot better off," he said. "They turned their back on major labels and said, 'We're going to do our own thing.' Now it's uncool to be on a major label. That's where they're doing Popsicle music."

John Michael Montgomery

When: 7:30 p.m. June 20

Where: Grandstand Stage, San Diego County Fair, Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar

Admission: Free with paid admission to the fair, $6-$12; reserved seating (includes admission to the fair), $20-$31.

Tickets: (619) 220-8497