Coco's
Biography:
"Blistering contemporary blues...piercing
attack, funky, shivery guitar tones and aggressive,
soulful vocals" -Blues Revue
"In a world of blues guitar pretenders,
Coco Montoya is the real McCoy. Be prepared to get scorched."-Billboard
Over the course of his 30-year career,
guitarist and vocalist Coco Montoya's explosive guitar
playing and soul-driven voice have propelled him to
the upper reaches of the blues-rock world. From his
early days as a drummer to his current status as one
of the top-drawing guitarists and vocalists on the blues-rock
scene, Montoya has forged his reputation through years
of hard work and constant touring. And it all started
with a chance meeting in the mid-1970s with legendary
bluesman Albert Collins, who offered Montoya a gig as
his drummer. Albert took an immediate liking to Montoya,
becoming his mentor and teaching his new protégé
secrets of the Collins "icy hot" style of
blues guitar. Five years later, John Mayall happened
to catch Montoya at a jam session and was blown away.
This led to Montoya's touring the world for ten years
with the legendary Bluesbreakers. Since stepping out
as a bandleader in 1993, Montoya has released four solo
albums and has performed non-stop at clubs, concert
halls and major festivals all over the world. At every
show, fans' jaws dropped, and critics raved about Montoya's
mind-bending guitar licks and impassioned vocals. "The
fiery blues that issue forth from Coco Montoya's guitar
are awe-inspiring and boogie requiring," shouted
The Village Voice. "Blistering, pure blues,"
cheered Blues Revue. Now, with Can't Look Back (AL 4885),
Montoya turns up the intensity with another dose of
his feral, soul-stirring music.
On Can't Look Back, Montoya once again
uses blues as a blasting off point for his rock solid,
groove-laden music. With his icy hot guitar playing
and his soulful, unaffected vocals, Montoya attacks
each of the 13 songs with deep feeling and ferocious
energy. Produced by Jim Gaines (Luther Allison, Santana,
Stevie Ray Vaughan), every song on Can't Look Back (including
five Montoya originals) burns from start to finish.
From the scorching Wish I Could Be That Strong to the
grooves and passion of Trip, Stumble And Fall to the
ear-catching Can't Look Back to the reinvention of Albert
Collins' Same Old Thing, Montoya brings all the unbridled
force of his acclaimed live shows into the studio for
a foot-stomping, guitar-fueled ride.
Coco Montoya was born in Santa Monica,
California in 1951 and raised by working class parents
with a large record collection. As a youngster, he enjoyed
picking out notes on the guitar, but he grew up playing
drums in local rock bands. In 1969, Montoya saw Albert
King opening up a Creedence Clearwater Revival/Iron
Butterfly concert and was transformed. "After Albert
got done playing," says Montoya, "my life
was changed. When he played, the music went right into
my soul. It grabbed me so emotionally that I had tears
welling up in my eyes. Nothing had ever affected me
to this level. He showed me what music and guitar playing
were all about. I knew that was what I wanted to do."
By the mid-1970s, Montoya was playing
drums in several local rock bands, one of which played
a small Culver City, California bar on weekends. One
Sunday, Albert Collins was booked to play a matinee
there and the club owner gave Collins permission to
use Montoya's drums. Montoya continues the story: "I
show up to pick up my equipment and I see that someone
had been playing my drums and I got a little angry with
the club owner. So Albert called me up at the club and
was real nice and apologetic. I went down to see his
show and it really just tore my head off. The thing
that I had seen and felt with Albert King came pouring
back on me when I saw Albert Collins."
A few months later, Albert desperately
needed a drummer for a tour of the Northwest and he
called Coco. "When he called," recalls Coco,
"I figured we'd rehearse for a few weeks before
the tour. Instead, he told me he'd pick me up in three
hours." During the tour, Albert took Montoya under
his wing, teaching him about the blues. After the tour
ended, Montoya remained in Collins' band for five more
years. It was during this time that Coco began doubling
on guitar. And Collins went out of his way to teach
the youngster. "We'd sit in hotel rooms for hours
and play guitar," remembers Montoya. "He'd
play that beautiful rhythm of his and just have me play
along. He was always saying, 'Don't think about it,
just feel it.' He taught me to tap into an inner strength.
What a great gift he gave me." As Montoya's guitar
playing improved, his relationship with Collins kept
growing. "He was like a father to me," says
Coco, who often crashed at Collins' house. When Collins
declared Montoya his "son," it was the highest
praise and affection he could offer. In return, Montoya
learned everything he could from the legendary Master
of the Telecaster.
As disco began to take over and gigs
began to dry up, Montoya left Collins' band, but the
two stayed very close friends. Montoya worked as a bartender,
figuring his career as a musician was over. But luck
was still on his side. He kept playing guitar ("I
had plenty of time on my hands," Montoya recalls)
and eventually others took note of his prowess. One
night in the early 1980s, Montoya was jamming in a Los
Angeles bar when John Mayall walked in. As a quick tribute,
Montoya launched into All Your Love I Miss Loving. Impressed,
Mayall left the club with a soundboard tape. When Mayall
needed a guitarist for the newly reformed Bluesbreakers,
he called Coco Montoya. Filling the shoes of previous
Bluesbreaker guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green and
Mick Taylor would not be easy, but Montoya knew he could
not pass up the opportunity to play with another blues
legend. He joined the band, determined to become an
even greater guitarist. For the next ten years he toured
the world and recorded with Mayall, soaking up everything
he could. Along with fellow Bluesbreaker guitarist Walter
Trout, Montoya was a featured member of the band, and
often opened shows with his own blistering blues. And
like the great guitarists who came before him in the
Bluesbreakers, Montoya's emergence as a scalding hot
player with chops to burn suggested big things to come.
By the early 1990s, Montoya was at another
crossroads. He had been with the Bluesbreakers for ten
years and felt ready for a change. His friend Albert
Collins had been diagnosed with cancer, and during one
visit, Collins told Coco to move on and do his own thing.
Montoya talked to Mayall, who understood the time was
right. "Both Albert and John pushed me out of the
nest nice and easy," says Coco. Although he was
nervous about the move, Montoya put a band together
and hit the road, proving himself night after night.
His debut as a leader, 1995's Gotta Mind To Travel (originally
on Silvertone Records in England and later issued in
the USA on Blind Pig Records), became an instant favorite
with blues fans, radio programmers and critics. The
album introduced Montoya as a bandleader who immediately
ranked among the best players on the contemporary blues
scene. In 1996, he was nominated for four W.C. Handy
Awards and walked away with the award for Best New Blues
Artist.
Montoya's follow-up, 1996's Ya Think
I'd Know Better (Blind Pig), showcased a feral blues
rocker with vocal skills matched only by his ferocious
guitar playing. The album stayed on the Billboard Blues
Chart for 14 weeks, reaching the number 10 position.
The Washington Post called the CD, "One of the
year's strongest blues-rock albums." 1997's Just
Let Go (Blind Pig) continued to highlight Montoya's
steely guitar licks and intense vocals, earning him
legions of new fans everywhere he played. "He sings
and plays with passionate abandon," shouted the
Boston Globe.
In 2000, Coco's Alligator debut, Suspicion,
quickly became the best-selling album of his career.
"Powerhouse blues," exclaimed Guitar Player,
"searing tone, emotional soloing, and energetic,
unforced vocals…stunning." With regular
radio airplay on over 120 stations nationwide, Montoya's
fan base exploded. The record held the number one position
on the Living Blues radio chart for three straight months.
And it landed on the Billboard Blues Chart for 11 weeks
in a row, peaking at number 11. Features and reviews
ran in Billboard, Guitar Player, The New York Times,
Blues Revue, JazzTimes, The Chicago Tribune, and countless
other national and regional publications.
Averaging over 200 tour dates a year,
Montoya packs clubs and theaters around the world. He
has played major festivals, including the New Orleans
Jazz & Heritage Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival,
The San Francisco Blues Festival and Canada's Inter-national
Jazz Festival. It's no coincidence that publications
from The Philadelphia Daily News to Blues Revue to Living
Blues to The Village Voice all rank Coco among the best
guitarists and singers on the blues scene. "Montoya
is at the forefront of the contemporary blues world,"
declared Guitar World. "He is one of the truly
gifted blues artists of his generation," said Living
Blues. With Can't Look Back and continued non-stop touring,
Coco Montoya is blasting head first into the future,
and he's bringing everyone along for the fiery, blues-rocking
ride. |