MONTGOMERY DELANEY: MIND DROPS

If you love baseball, you have to appreciate what Bonds has done regardless of whatever chemical compounds may have been coursing through his body. First of all, he was a great hitter and great player before all of the controversy. Secondly, there are so many other players taking steroids who cannot hit the way he does. He simply has the gift of AMAZING hand/eye coordination, roids or no roids!

No one seems to even think about the fact that alot of the pitchers he has faced may or may not have been using performance enhancers as well.

Finally, even though his personality leaves something to be desired, this record has nothing to do with personality, it has only to do with athletic ability. That is something that Barry Bonds has had since he was old enough to catch a ball and swing a wiffle ball bat.

Congratulations Barry on an amazing feat. Hit about 100 more before you hang them up just to put your own "asterisk" on the deal.

Your dad and your uncle Willie must be very proud of you. HOF 1st ballot..NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!

As for the etc.... with several teams going for each pennant, who cares about terrorism, politics, death or taxes. Thank God for baseball!

Don't even get me started on football......
Michael Vick...innocent until proven guilty...more on that if and when that happens....

Pacman Jones...his name is Pacman, doesn't that tell you all you need to know about this imbecile? He should be banned, period.

I am off to write a song about Barry Bonds entitled
"I Got Your Steroids Right Here!"

c ya
Montgomery

It has taken me a while but I am really starting to appreciate this day. As my children have reached the age of majority (24, 22 & 21), it has become increasingly clear that it has taken a tremendous amount of work to get them here. What an incredible feeling of satisfaction to see them starting to stand, really stand, on their own...it is so much different from them grabbing onto the coffee table so long ago! The most important thing that a man can do is raise good children.

To those of you who are present in your children's lives and active in their development, I send my best wishes and congratulations.

To those of you who have abandoned your children and do not support them (and that means more than just sending money every once in a while), I say that there is still time for you to step up to the plate and be a man. Anyone can fertilize an egg. It takes one hell of a lot more to call yourself a father! Show up, grow up and stop depending on the rest of us to take care of your children.

I am so grateful for the constant joy that I get from my children (interspersed with periods of abject aggravation....lol). I have sacrificed much for them, perhaps more than they will ever know. They are works in progress..May it always be so!

I love you Matthew Louis
I love you Jacklyn Marie
I love you Brian Montgomery

Peace & music
M

No sooner did I write this morning's blog when the MOST amazing thing happened.....I thought to myself, I need a sign that all is right with this universe. Please, send me a sign.

In the past few weeks, I have attended several wonderful stage productions both on and off Broadway. I was prompted to contemplate the well being of this very interesting and beautiful artist I had exchanged some emails with about a year ago. She had composed a play and was thinking about some original songs being written for it. I was going to attend one of her voice rehearsals and we were going to discuss the show and see if we could vibe on the idea. Then I hit some speed bumps on the road of life...so the meeting never happened.

Today, I thought, I NEED TO MAKE SOME MUSIC...WRITE SOME SONGS...CO CREATE WITH OTHER ARTISTS.....LET ME EMAIL HER TO SEE IF SHE FOUND SOMEONE TO WRITE FOR HER....TO SEE IF WE CAN STILL CONNECT>>>>
I went to my email and there was a message from her! ! ! !
I can't wait to sit down and write....

Life is SO UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL sometimes....

Reach out to an old friend as soon as you read this!

Peace and magic,

Montgomery

The President of NBC is such a pompous ass! First he paints himself as the epitome of journalistic virtue by condemning the "obscenity" uttered by Don Imus and then....just a few days later...HE makes a decision to publish the UNBELIVABLY OBSCENE rantings of this mass murderer. Family values? What family bore and bred this asshole?

SHAME ON NBC...SHAME ON THE MEDIA...SHAME ON US for our sick, demented, prurient interest that encourages them to present things like Jerry Springer, Dr. Phil and the rambling diatribes of demented killers.

God help us....God bless the souls of these beautiful people who were so senselessly slain...God help us remember this anniversary of those who perished in Oklahoma City and Columbine, Colorado ...God help me to find the poetry in this insanity.

Like:

Who is going to get custody of Dannylynn?

Will Britney grow her hair back?

Will Paris Hilton grow a brain?

If a chicken and a half can lay an egg and a half then how long does it take a grasshopper with a wooden leg to kick the seeds out of a dill pickle?

Sometimes I am just amazed at the media and the frenzies thay create. There are things that are so much more obscene and offensive than the stupid remark made by Don Imus recently. While he was wrong, completely wrong in making this assinine comment, his misdeed is microscopic compared to these other obscenities.

Things like war, genocide, incarceration without due process of law, the almost 400 deaths that occur every day in the United States due to medical malpractice, the destruction of the nuclear family, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS and OBSCENE use of the "N" word as a colloquialism by African Americans in general, and those in the music and entertainment industry, in particular, are much greater obscenities than Imus' stupid comment.

The perpetuation of this ignorance is an obscenity in and of itself. One can only wonder what Doctor King would think of that! We know what Mrs. King thought of it (may she rest in peace). We know what Bill Cosby thinks of it although there are many members of the African American community that hate to hear him say it (God Bless you Mr. Cosby for your leadership and your courage). Can anyone envision Dr. King walking up to Ralph Abernathy, Andrew Young or Jesse Jackson for that matter and saying "Yo Nigga, Wassup!" I DON"T THINK SO! It is appalling to even contemplate and it is almost like spitting in his face every time any such ignorance is uttered today.

On another note, it strikes me as being an IRONY and HYPOCRISY of the highest order that Mr. Imus is being judged by Jesse Jackson (a documented Anti-Semite who admitted spitting in white people's food as a young waiter) and Al Sharpton (progenitor of the Tawana Brawley hoax/fiasco, co-conspirator with disbarred attorneys Mason and Maddox and, an ajudicated defamer of the character of Stepen Pagones, Esq.). Both of these men are racists themselves. There is absolutely no doubt about that. Their attempt to clothe their racism in religious vestments is both transparent and absurd.

No, I don't think Imus should lose his job although he probably will. I hardly ever listen to the guy anyway. The sins of our society and our history are not his alone to bear. Is there any one of us who would like to have his/her entire life judged by one stupid comment?

Do any of you know who Clarence Yearwood is/was or what he did? Where were Reverends Sharpton and Jackson then? .....my point exactly....

Congratulations to the Rutgers Women's Basketball team for all that they accomplished this year and for the grace and dignity they exuded in their press conference yesterday. They are a credit to themselves, their families, their coach, and their school.

"NO justice, NO peace" should not be anyone's mantra in America today.
Peace "despite" injustice is the mark of a truly civilized society. Dr. King clearly understood that. Let us, black folk and white folk, follow his example still. He went to the top of a mountain that was REALLY there.

Today, we create mountains that are not there using a molehill, a couple of racists posing as so called religious leaders who surround themselves with the smoke of legitimacy and a few mirrors in the form of television screens.

As for me, I am looking for the song in all of this. I know it's there, somewhere just below the surface. There is a truth, and it shines so bright, when you are walking in the light....even if the light is emanating from the Bonfire of The Vanities....

Hopefully, we live and learn. Hopefully, Tom Hanks never ruins a great book again. Come to think of it, his portrayal of Sherman McCoy was an insult to Tom Wolfe and vicariously, to all of us in the "human" race...

Later
M

Lots to tell....I just bought a new house here in scenic Westchester. It overlooks a lake and is removed from the beaten path. I was shovelling snow the other day and saw about 5 or six different pairs of cardinals, a huge red tailed hawk (that lives in one of my trees), a few blue jays and an assortment of other birds as well. There are also some rather arrogant deer that trapse through every day between 5 and 6 pm....I am looking forward to finishing the renovations and moving in soon. I think that I will write some beautiful songs in this place and perhaps....a book that I have been thinking about for almost 15 years.

On the musical front, I am SO looking forward to doing a little showette at the WATERCOLOR CAFE with my good friend SLOAN WAINRIGHT on Tuesday March 27th (see the schedule page) and I have just signed on to do the Mainstage at the HALF MOON SOBERFEST, up in Center Barnstead, NH on Labor Day weekend. I will also be doing some radio in New England and going back to THE BIG KAHUNA CAFE in Bridgton, Maine the first weekend in August. Another CD is in the works also....I was in a funk for a while....but I am a resilient man who has overcome many obstacles only to learn that I am my biggest obstacle!

Get out of your own way people!!!!!!!


Peace
Montgomery

There is so much going on in this world. Every day it gets a little wierder. I was watching a little bit of the Oscars last week and it occured to me just how easily our minds are manipulated by Hollywood and Madison Avenue. On a very real and deep level we are bombarded with "suggestions" about what to think and how to think it. As I listened to some of the "acceptance" speeches, I wondered "does anyone really care about these self involved egomaniacs blathering about how wonderful they are?" Apparently millions do. Apparently millions more care about Anna Nicole Smith's corpse. Apparently millions more care about every single word that is uttered by a guy named "Dr. Phil."

I am so glad that I am not one of those people...so much so that I am going to write a song about them entiled "Get A Life You Tabloid Reading Moron."

Lest I be totally misconstrued, none of this should be interpreted in any way, shape or form to give the impression that I thought that Forrest Whitaker's performance in The Last King Of Scotland was anything less than brilliant! I just don't give a crap about what he thinks about global warming. terrorism or the price of tea in China.

Spring is coming and I am hoping it will bring love, renewal, laughter and less television, reality or otherwise. American's could do with a litle less "Idol" worship....don't you think?

You live, you love, you lose and if you are lucky, really lucky, life goes on. I was lamenting a relationship while a few of my friends were dying of cancer. Tommy Kelleher was a very handsome man. We spent a lot of time together when we were teenagers, hanging out in the park, going to high school dances, and playing sports. He was an artistic, elegant and articulate man. I am so glad that I got to see him again a few months ago. I was so impressed with the dignity and grace with which he was facing his illness. Too soon. Too soon.

Bob Landi was a great guy and a great drummer. Many times over the years I had a chance to listen to him play and sit in with one group of friends or another with Bob on the kit holding it all together. Like Tommy, he fought the good fight over a period of a couple of years. I am so glad that I have music in my life because it brought folks like Bob into it at various points in the journey.

It strikes me that yestreday we were going to each other's weddings and now, the time has come when we are attending more wakes than any of us care to.

And there are other deaths as well. Like the death that occurs when you say goodbye for the last time; when you move on and take another lover; when you delete the number from your phone and make your best effort not to think about them; when you just can't cry anymore. You try.

Life goes on. We live, we love we lose and if we are really lucky, we go on living, loving, losing and learning. If I leave this world tomorrow, some will know that I loved them. Others will wonder. I say don't wonder. I love you all.

I have a song to write.......

So many people have emailed me (at least 75 emails on the subject)asking why the show in Irvington was cancelled...the short answer is...it just wasn't meant to be right now...in the future, a show like that requires that you generate more substantial advanced sales than we did this time..I tried to explain that it was the Holidays and that my audience would come out and judging from the emails you would have (God Bless you one and all)...maybe next time we can do better with this....all that being said....I just have not felt like singing lately...I can't even believe I just wrote that! Perhaps it's time to write now...just think and write...I have had quite a few major disappointments lately but they are only bumps in the road. Getting better all the time...better, better,better, getting so much better all the time!

Thanks for the love

Montgomery

I just want to wish anyone and everyone who may pass this way a very Happy Holiday Season. Personally, I am having a little trouble getting into the mood this year but I am resilient and I will snap out of it soon I am sure. Life is really short. I have always understood that and so I have tried to do a lot of living in a very short time. I have been a human "doing." I am just hoping that some of the things I have done will last a while although I suspect that all of us are merely footprints by the shore, gently and imperceptably erased by the tides of time. Nothing really lasts a long time except for certain buildings, works of art, great literature, a good song and love, true love. I hope the ones that I love know that. Jingle Bells to all.

Semper Fidelis
M

So many folks have visited the site this month (thousands)...I am so happy about that...and people are buying the CD's and I am happy about that also....with the Holidays upon us I would like to suggest giving the gift of music to your friends and loved ones...

Thanks for stopping by and for supporting this part of who I am and what I do...

Peace & music

Montgomery

Just a note to express my deepest gratitude to all of the amazing songwriters who stopped by the room to make this 10th anniversary special. I decided to do Monty's Room when I realized that at every Convention there were many very talented writers and performers who either did not have any formal showcases or could not get one because of the politics of the whole thing and their position on the lower end of the folk food chain...I wanted the Room to be an oasis of sorts where poets and musicians could just enjoy each others company and share each others passion for the craft of songwriting...it has become exactly that and over the years, hundreds of songwriters from the obscure and unknown, to the top of this "poet game" as Gregg Brown calls it, have come and sat and shared and hopefully left feeling a little better about themselves, their art and their individual places in the grand scheme of such things... special thanks to my good buddies Greg Greenway, David Massengill, Eric Schwartz and Terence Martin for popping in and hanging out .....To my dear friend Stuart Kabak, who is an amazing songwriter I want to express my gratitude for many years of kindred friendship and 10 years of sharing the Monty's Room expereience...luvyalikeabrother.....see you all at our 11th gathering...God willing.


Peace
M

Recently, a crowd of over 100,000 religious fanatics gathered in a major Middle Eastern city to shout "Death To America"...In other cities in that part of the world thousands of children, some as young as the age of five (5) are being taught that they can glorify themselves by strapping explosives to their bodies and detonating themselves in the name of a God that only their mentors can understand.

I can only imagine that all of these people are absolutely THRILLED with the outcome of the mid term elections. I pray that folks in this country will get past the politics and the personalities and see this struggle for what it is, which is, a battle against a type of fascism that we have not seen on the planet since 1945.

When I was a young Marine, I stood in front of the Berlin Wall and was struck cold by its meaning and the thought that perhaps hundreds of thousands of young men like myself would have to die in order to tear that horrible edifice down. When it came down in 1986, without a shot being fired, it reaffirmed my faith in humanity. When I see hundreds of thousands of religious fascists seeking not only the destruction of our country, but of all people of all other religions, it frightens me for the future of my children and my children's children and all of our children.

This threat is REAL! These people are DIABOLICAL! We have all but forgotten what they did on that fateful day in September, 2001. Our anger has become misdirected at ourselves and our government

I listen to the songs that my fellow songwriters are writing. They are full of this misdirected anger and self loathing in the form of poetry. Perhaps I need to write the song about the 5 year old being taught to blow himself up...or the innocent young mother that is killed while walking down the street when the bomb explodes...or about the American mother that is proud of the sacrifice her son made in this fight against religious fascism....or about the brave firemen that knew they were going to die and went about saving other people anyway...YES...that is exactly what I need to do....these songs won't get much radio play...but they need to be written....

Pray for peace but be prepared to defend yourselves from future attacks which will make 9/11 look like a small event...PLEASE GOD LET ME BE COMPLETELY WRONG ABOUT ALL OF THIS!

The tide shifts...and we are all just so much flotsam and jetsam....

What a great gig at the Towne Crier the other night! Thanks again to our host Phil Ciganer for the opportunity to play that famous stage again and for all that he has done for so many musicians and the Adult Contemporary genre, over the past 30 years in business.

Thanks also to my stagemates in the round, Jessie Meade and Elza. I was so impressed with both of these incredibly gifted songwriters and I encourage you all to give them a listen.

Most importantly, thanks to the beautiful crowd of folks who came out to support this Sunday night gig. I hope that you enjoyed the show and as always, it was a pleasure to sing for you all! Especially my crazy sister (she knows who she is!)lol.

Peace
Montgomery

THE GOLDEN APPLE
We have had a few great gigs of late. The grand opening of the Golden Apple Coffeehouse in Mount Kisco was a blast. I was honored to be the first performer to take that stage and share it with the likes of Mark Von Em, Todd Guidice, Susan Kane and Hope Machine...Some great old friends showed up, namely Mitch Katz and Kathleen Vojack, founders of the TREESTAR Coffeehouse, formerly of Mt. Kisco, which was the first of its type in Westchester County. Mitch and Kathleen were also the first folks to give me a featured gig in a coffeehouse....that was about 16 years and a thousand gigs ago....I was so happy to sing for them and the rest of the great inaugural crowd at the GACH...go check it out on the 3rd Saturday of @ month at the St. Marks Episcopal Parish Hall at the c/o Main and 117 in Mt. Kisco...tell the Lisas that the big guy sent you...

BAR SCOTT
It was so great to hear my beautiful friend sing at the 2nd installment of the Golden Apple on Oct. 21st. If you have never heard this woman sing you are simply cheating yourself out of an inspiring experience....she left me and a big bunch of other people breatheless....what an amazing gift she shares with us all. pick up her new CD "Parachute" at her website www.barscott.com you will not be disappointed

THE ITCHY NIPPLE BAND
A small but enthusiastic group of folks turned up last Wednesday night for the debut of Montgomery Delanney & The Itchy Nipple Band at Vintage...Stu Kabak came down from Sullivan County to do the sound and by doing so has become an honorary ITCHY NIPPLE....also achieveing honorary ITCHY NIPPLE status were Todd Guidice on lead acoustic guitar and Eddie Denise on Bass...look for our next event at VINTAGE in White Plains

THE COT & CRACKERS HOUSE CONCERT SERIES

I just can't begin to express my gratitude to my friends Bruce and Sue Andrews for their support of not only my music, but this entire genre and for their extremely gracious hospitality in having me come to their home to entertain their friends and neighbors. I also want to thank those good folks for coming out on a rainy/windy night to give us a listen. I had a great time and it was a pleasure to sing for them...We made some new friends and enjoyed a marvelous drive home down through the Catskills...all in all....a great weekend

DON'T FORGET

Sunday, NOVEMBER 5, 2006 at 7PM

I will be at the TOWNE CRIER in Pawling, NY

in the round with Jessie Meade and Elza....should be a great show


Peace and love...but mainly peace because love can only thrive in a tranquil place

Montgomery

WE had an absolutely great time on Monday 9/11 at the Lazy Lounge in downtown White Plains. The joint was jumping. There were some absolutely incredible musicians there including Gil Parris, KJ Denhert, Curtis Winchester and Nicole Hart and the NRG Band...Quite a few folks came out to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the day that changed all of our lives. We celebrated the memory of our lost loved ones with music and friendship. Gil and the house band chimed in on a few of my tunes which was a huge thrill for me. My good friend Stuart Kabak finished out my set with his amazing song "Towers of Love"...you couldn't hear a pin drop...so many highlights that night..the top one for me was listening to KJ Denhert and Gil Parris go lickety for lickety on the lead guitar during KJ's amazing set...the other was listening to Nicole Hart..what an amazing vocalist!..soulful/doleful/and mojoful.......and then there was Curtis...a man on a MOTOWN and R&B mission reaching DEEPDOWN on every tune with marvelous accompaniment from the Lazy Lounge House Band...What A NIGHT!!!!! Do not miss this one next year! But you can catch great music at the LL all year round...check them out at www.lazyloungeny.com

I was absolutely blown away by the death of this fine, passionate man. What an incredibly gifted human he was. His unwavering comittment to his talent and the legacy he left can be cited as examples for generations to come. His impact on teaching the concept of conservationism to countless millions of people, young and old alike, will be remembered in perpetuity. I salute you Steve. As sad as I am about the irony of your death and they way you left us, I am even more overjoyed to think of the quality and sincerity of the life you lived. Godspeed our friend and please look down upon all of us creatures from the heralded place that I am certain you have gone to always encouraging us to learn more about ourselves and the tiny place we inhabit.
Humbly and with profound gratitude,

Montgomery Delaney

Just got back from 3 great gigs...834 miles...first stop...THE BIG KAHUNA CAFE in beautiful downtown Bridgton, Maine. Our host, Tom McCarthy, who is henceforth and hitherto known as the tride and true, one and only, "TOM OF MAINE." He is a gracious, kind and exceedingly interesting man. Big Tom has made a great life for himself and created a wonderful venue. He is a true patron of the songwriting art and I absolutely loved singing in his room! On Friday we had a small but very enthusiastic crowd as my buddy Keith Kelly accompanied me on mandolin, guitar, melodica and penny whistle (not all at the same time). I sang my ass of and slept like a baby.

On Saturday we had a huge country breakfast which included the BIGGEST friggin pancake that I eversaw! It was a match even for me. McCarthy, upon hearing tha Kelly had never caught a fish in his whole life, invited Delaney and Kelly up to his place, which is set on a beautiful parcel fronting one of Maine's many stunning lakes. After a brief casting lesson, the three Irish boys masquerading as men, set out in the canoe to pluck some bass from the briny deep. Kelly landed a smallmouth about a pound and a half or so....a large satisfied (shit-eating) grin captured by Kodak...soon to be published on this website...McCarthy is going to heaven for this deed alone! Delaney is hoping for some vicarious credit to be applied against past indiscretions. Kelly, by all accounts, is certain to gain entry...unless of course he henceforth lies constantly about the actual size of the fish ( in fishing, size matters).

On Saturday night we had a much larger crowd and played a great show. It was so much fun and as I said, the room was so "live" that it was a pleasure to sing in. Quite a few folks took the CD's home with them. Afterwards, Tom had us sign the wall in the green room and I was happy to put my little note up there alongside of some of my very, very talented colleagues who have played the room before including our mutual buddy, the inimitable and amazing songwriter emeritus, Mr. Jack Hardy. Tom invited me back, gave us bear hugs all around and tucked us into our subterranean homesick digs, which were quite comfortable. You absolutely could not meet a more straightforward, decent and nicer guy than Tom McCarthy of Maine (I look forward to seeing you again my friend...thanks for the gig and the hospitality and please convey my warm wishes to Nicole and Kelly)

On Sunday morning we were off to the Sober In The Sun Festival in Spencer (not Rutland) Mass. I drove through the remnants os Ernesto for 4 hours....Made this really great stop to see my nephew Raymond and his wife Debbie and my two adoreable grand-nieces in Chelmsford, Mass. It was great to see them. albeit for only 20 minutes...I was struck by how strange and sad it is when family members live so far apart from each other and how busy we all get so as to preclude us from being realy, really present in each other's lives. These thoughts consumed me as I drove headlong through the heavy rain. I think that my driving scared Keith (I still drive like a cop...what can I say)..

We arrived at a wet and soggy Festival grounds but the dispositon of the thousands of folks who were present was sunny and bright. We played the indoor stage at 7 PM to a packed house (the rain helped). We were joined by Gina Gorman a wonderful percussionist. I heard Gina play at another festival earlier this year and was excited to ask her to join Keith and I when I saw her walking around the grounds. I was more excited when she said yes! Well, let me tell you...the crowd was full of energy and I think that Delaney, Kelly and Gorman got plugged right into that because...we gave them one HELL of na hour if I don't say so myself...and they, God bless them and may they be in heaven a half of an hour before the devil knows they're dead...gave us a standing O.

I am so blessed to have met and played with so many terrific musicians in my life and it is always great to get up on the stage and have fun with other musicians. Some nights are MAGICAL. It also makes you a better musician!

Thanks to Tony Marossie and the folks at SITS for another shot at this gig. I am sorry that we could not hang to hear Selfish Steam and Tommy Holmes but we decided to beat the comehomeweekend/roadragetraffic...so we let out early. I made it back from Massachusetts in just under 2 hours. Kelly was petrified but happy to be home....snugasabuginarug!

Thanks to all of you folks who came out and listened and especially to all of you who took the CD's home. If folks do that, then I can keep making music...that's the key...take the music home and rather than burn someone a copy...send them to the website to buy one...it makes the world go round....

Peace to all


Montgomery

PS... you can still burn a copy for shut ins, invalids, convicts, people in rehab, Tony Marossie and any homeless folks who have access to a CD player......

Big hugs

M<

So many of you have dropped me notes about Tom Staudter's Article in the July 13-19th issue of the HVG....I am so grateful for Tom's time and attention to the things I have been trying to do musically here in the Valley for the last 20 years...it has been a great ride and has allowed me to stand in the midlle of a huge circle of friends and get to know some people who I believe to be some of the greatest songwriters of our time.....the article came to me at a very special time, a time when a good review was the best medicine....I will see what I can do about posting it on the MUSIC page....I make this music because I have to...I am compelled by something that I cannot explain....I make it in the hope that it can touch someone...heal someone...help someone in some small way...in making this music I get touch parts of me, heal parts of me, help parts of me.....thank you all for listening and reading and chiming in...I am feeling the love as I prepare for an extremely important personal event....know that I am grateful for all of the support, love and friendship that so many of you have given me over the years .....more than you can ever know....someday I will be gone...but my songs will remain and in each one of them, a tiny bit of who I was will be reborn every time they are played...not a bad thing...not a bad thing at all......

Big hugs
Montgomery

So great to hear from so many folks via the guest book. Shout outs to all. Wayne, it was so great to meet you and visit your gorgeous house..I look forward to seeing you again...Chip Sleeper!...What a blast...look for my email soon buddy would love to catch up!...I have been really busy getting my law practice going and am happy to report some very successful results for my clients to date....Recently, I have been approached by the Westchester Arts Council to do a show in their beautiful building on Main Street in White Plains (look for that date in the schedule soon) as well as some old friends who have asked me to do a house concert or two (details to follow)...Also in the works is the recording of a tune I wrote recently called "With This Water" (see music page for lyrics) with the amazing producer Peter Darmi (Lou Rawls and many other great R&B artists...give him a Google)...Life is good and getting better all of the time....I have had so many blessings from all of you who have visited and sat in the audience and bought the CD's and told other folks about the music...you are sooooo important to me and I send a big hug out through the cyberspace to each one of you. I make this music about you, for you and because of you. I remain fervent in my hope that whatever I have already done and whatever is yet to come has meaning to someone who has a need. Remember February 3, 2007 at the Irvington Theatre....I look forward to doing my best show ever on that night and I hope you will all come out to share that evening with me.....

Remember our troops...MARINES DIE SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO! Semper Fidelis!

Yes, there have been mistakes, but the arrests made in London today are a clear indication that we must continue to make every effort to deal with those who would threaten us in the name of ANY God....unfortunately, the possibility of sitting at a table and negotiating peace does not exist and probably never will with an enemy of this kind. We need to stop blaming ourselves for the homicidal acts that others would perpetrate against us. We are becoming a self hating nation that gets its opinions from talking heads on a TV screen. After 9/11, several organizations contacted me to write a song about the disaster. I declined....I told them all, "someday I will write that song...but only when the song is ready"...five years later I am feeling the labor pains ...

Peace and blessings to all and God Bless America

Montgomery

WE HAD A NICE LITTLE GIG AT THE 2ND ANNUAL PLEASANTVILLE FOLK FESTIVAL ON SATURDAY...I DID A SHORT SET TO OPEN UP THE MAINSTAGE...JOINED BY MY BUDDIES FROM TRIBES HILL FOR A ROUSING, RAUCOUS, CACAPHONIC RENDITION OF "WALKING IN THE LIGHT"...........

APOLOGIES TO THOSE OF YOU WHO GOT THE NOTICE A LITTLE LATE...IT'S A ONE MAN SHOW BABY!...THANKS TO THOSE OF YOU WHO DID SHOW UP...IT WAS GREAT TO SEE YOU ALL AND A PLEASURE, AS ALWAYS, TO SING FOR YOU...ABOUT THE ADVANCE PRESS AND THE POSTERS....SOME OF YOU FOLKS TOLD ME YOU SAW MY NAME ON SOME OF THE POSTERS AND OTHERS SAID THEY WOULD HAVE COME IF THEY HAD SEEN MY NAME (BUT THEY DIDN'T)...APPARENTLY THERE WERE TWO RUNS OF POSTERS, ONE WITH AND ONE WITHOUT....THIS WAS THE PROMOTER'S STUFF, I AM THEREFORE, HENCEFORTH AND HITHERTO ABSOLVED FROM ALL RESPONSIBILITY FROM NOW UNTIL THE END OF TIME.....

IT WAS SO GREAT TO SEE MY GOOD BUD GREG GREENWAY AGAIN AND TO SPEND A FEW MINUTES WITH DAR WILLIAMS....IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL TO GET TO CROSS PATHS WITH FOLKS AT SUCH INTERMITTENT TIMES AS WE GO ABOUT THIS POET GAME. I HAD GREG ON THE STAGE AT THE SOUTHSOUND ABOUT 12 YEARS AGO AND SPENT A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT IN HIS HOME WHILE DOING SOME SHOWS WITH WITH MARTIN SEXTON ON CAPE COD SEVERAL YEARS BACK.GREG AND I HAVE RUBBED NOSES ON A COUPLE OF STAGES AND A FEW CONFERENCES OVER THE YEARS...HE IS A SWEET AND SPIRITUAL MAN WHO IS DEEPLY COMMITTED
TO HIS ART AND HIS BELIEFS....BOTH OF US HOLD DR. MLK JR. IN EXTREMELY HIGH ESTEEM AND GREG'S TUNE "HE MADE A WAY OUT OF NO WAY' IS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS....I ADMIRE HIM GREATLY...

I FIRST MET DAR WILLIAMS YEARS AGO AT A SONG CIRCLE WHICH WAS HELD REGULARLY IN THE LIVING ROOM OF DR. DAVID SEITZ. DR. DAVE WAS THE FOUNDER OF 1 800 PRIME CD LABEL (HE PRODUCED A GREAT LIVE AZTEC TWO STEP RETROSPECTIVE CD CALLED "HIGHWAY SIGNS/ I OPENED UP MOST OF THE LIVE SHOWS FOR THAT RECORD)...DAR WAS JUST BEGINNING HER CAREER THEN AND I CAN REMEMBER HOW SPECIAL IT WAS TO SIT IN A SMALL ROOM PACKED WITH SOME GREAT SONGWRITERS (LIKE DAR, RICHARD MEYER, STUART KABAK, ROD MACDONALD AND THE FIVE CHINESE BROTHERS) AND LISTEN TO HER PLAY HER TIMELESS "WHEN I WAS A BOY" AND "THE BABY SITTER'S HERE"...NOTHING HAS CHANGED..THE YEARS HAVE BEEN KIND TO HER, SHE IS A MOM NOW AND SHE IS WRITING SOME AMAZING SONGS THESE DAYS...HER SET WAS BEAUTIFUL AND ELECTRIC...SHE IS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT IS ABSOLUTELY AS SWEET AS SHE APPEARS TO BE...SHE IS ALSO EXTREMELY FUNNY AND SHARES HER KEEN, HUMOROUS SIDE ON STAGE...

I ALSO GOT TO MEET THE INCREDIBLE GUITARIST/PRODUCER, BILLY MASTERS...MY GOOD FRIEND KATHLEEN PEMBLE (an unbelievably great writer) MADE THE INTRODUCTION....WE HAD BOTH HEARD ALOT OF GREAT THINGS ABOUT EACH OTHER AND IT IS MY PLEASURE TO ANNOUNCE THAT I HAVE ASKED HIM TO PLAY ON MY NEXT RECORD AND THAT HE HAS AGREED TO SHARE HIS MAGIC WITH ME....HIS WORK WITH MY DEAR FRIENDS TERENCE MARTIN AND SLOANE WAINRIGHT WAS EXCEPTIONAL!......

2/3/07...SAVE THE DATE...THE IRVINGTON THEATRE...TELL YOUR FRIENDS...BRING THEM ALONG

PEACE
M.

I have joined the legions of my fellow artists on the Myspace.com site...in afew weeks the songs have had almost 900 plays!!!!..I have reconnected with some old friends and made some new friends.....you can visit my page at...
http://www.myspace.com/montgomerysongs I am off to Florida to lay on a beach....Happy Fourth of July!!!!God Bless America.

Last weekend I got to play another great Half Moon Soberfest up in Rochester, NH. It is a new location for the festival and the attendance seemed to be slightly less than in past years but this is a great new facility with plenty of room to grow....the drive up was spectacular as I crossed the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston....the Berkshires were gorgeous and green. I met a couple of the finest State Police in America who gave me some professional courtesy and directions. I played a late afternoon set on the mainstage to a very warm crowd (they were sitting in the sun)...Then I played a late night set in the coffeehouse....before my set I got to listen to the amazing Jeff Martel who is quite simply one of the best flatpickers around and a helluva nice guy....after my set Tommy Holmes closed the evening with one of the most engaging, musical, provocative and great sounding sets I have heard in a long time...if you have not ever heard of this California native I suggest you check him out at www.tommyholmes.com...
you will not be dissapointed...much love to the Steamers and the men from MKP who made me feel right at home once again.....

Until next time

M

I sooooo needed to make music last night and I got to do that with Anthony Da Costa at the quaint little Dragonfly Cafe, in Pleasantville, NY. It was amazing to sit on the side and accompany this amazing young musician as he played his fabulous songs. He is writing songs at the age of 15 which lead one to the conclusion that he is truly a prodigy at the craft. Aside from his lyrical sensibility, he is an absolutely masterful musician with exceptional timing, technique and feel. His accompaniment on a few of my songs was simply outstanding! The small but enthusiastic audience was treated to more than a few really fine musical moments. Thank you Anthony for this opportunity to make music with you. You renew my sense of wonder. If my music has inspired you in any way, then I am truly grateful for every song I have ever sung. Rock On Big Tony!

You folks need to get out of your houses and give this young man a listen....www.anthonydacosta.com...and if you are in Pleasantville, stop by the Dragonfly for coffee and crumpets.......