Mailbag

From: James Montgomery
Subject: Thank you

Bob, Thank you so much for writing about me and Tom Rush. I've heard from people all over the globe responding to the article. Since the stuff on Wikipedia I was in The Johnny Winter Band for 6 years and one of the people responsible for getting him off prescription drugs during that time. I also was featured in a movie about Delta Blues with Morgan Freeman, Willie Nelson, Charlie Musslewhite and others. I currently have 2 documentaries I Co-Produced, one about James Cotton that was one of 5 finalists in The Library of Congress Ken Burns Prize for Film, and another about my brother Jeffrey, an LGBTQ warrior who fought so diligently for Gay Rights that he ended up on the Aryan Nation hit-list (they actually tried to kill him a few times). Anyway, I continue to play out, have never stopped and never will. Thanks again for your kind words. Means a lot to me!

James Montgomery
www.jamesmontgomerybluesband.com
mail@jamesmontgomery.com

Grammy Nominated with Johnny Winter
Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame
New England Music Hall of Fame
Co-Producer: Bonnie Blue – James Cotton's Life in the Blues
Co-Producer: America You Kill Me – Jeffrey Montgomery LGBTQ Warrior

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Subject: James montgomery/Duke and The Drivers

Bob,

I could not have been happier to Read what you had to say about James Montgomery. Early in my career I was given the wonderful opportunity to help James Montgomery first as a booking agent, and then as a manager. I felt exactly as you did about him.

I spent five years trying to convince the music industry and the world in general about the authenticity and incredible performances James Montgomery consistently delivered. It was an uphill battle.

Much like being the skipper of a classic sailing yacht — authentic, soulful, and original — in the era of MTV and the other converging forces of disco, rap, etc., James Montgomery got lost in the shuffle.

But James never lost his originality, and he never stopped playing. As a manager, it was tough to pull James away from playing benefits and giving back to his community at a time when it really wasn't affordable for him. He didn't care. James is the real deal.

Your mention of Duke and the Drivers, though, saddened me greatly. A lot of us worked diligently for "The Drivers" as they personified everything you could want in a hardworking band. I worked for their manager Peter Casperson and was eventually privileged to handle their first reunion tour in my own company.

Without Duke and The Drivers and James Montgomery, I don't think there would have been an Aerosmith reunion. I got to learn the ropes from those guys and actually met Joe Perry through The Drivers' drummer Danny "Doc" McGrath. The ties that bind Bostonian musicians and music industry folks run deep.

Perhaps it was an off night for them - or for a college aged Bob. I hope you know I have always maintained my respect for you even during times when I felt you were "off the mark".
I do think they deserve more respect than the all too current easily thrown out label "loser" ...

Tim Collins

(Note: As evidenced by Tim Swift's e-mail in the "Re-James Montgomery" mailbag, Duke and the Drivers were a developing band when they played at Middlebury, sans even an album release. Winter Carnival is the biggest event at Middlebury, however small that may be, and to have an unknown, developing band be the talent...wouldn't you be disappointed, especially with a history of shows by name/recognizable talent at prior Carnivals? Duke and the Drivers were not bad, they were okay, but they had the smallest attendance of any show at Middlebury while I was there. Maybe a great band at the advent of its development, but wouldn't you expect more? I certainly did. Ultimately, this is about the infrequent and lame shows we got at Middlebury, not Duke and the Drivers. Sure, Duke and the Drivers might have been hot on the club scene in Boston...but we didn't even have a club scene!)

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From: Peter Van Ness
Subject: RE: James Montgomery?!

Well...I'm catching up on your letters (that's right I binge them) and come across this one about my friend James Montgomery. Thanks for giving him some ink. He deserves it. My wife and I hosted his "70th Birthday Bash" concert in May, 2019 at our little club north of Boston, called 9 Wallis (it didn't survive the lockdown).

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Subject: Re: Re-James Montgomery


Bob,

Thanks for the shout out about one of my oldest friends...James Montgomery..in 1967 my parents dropped me off at the Boston University dorms...after they left I decided to go down to the street and light up a joint...on the way down the elevator opened and this guy wearing a tweed jacket with leather patches on the elbows, like some professor, got in and it was James Montgomery... the first person I ever met at school !!! We shared that joint and over the years became best friends, housemates and really like family...He is an amazing survivor!!! he has been doing this for over 50 years... and one hell of a harp player.....

As far as "Duke and The Drivers"...I was their road manager right around their first record produced by Eddie Kramer at Electric Ladyland in NYC...Although they were not the kind of name like James in Northern New England... in the Boston area they were a big draw...WBCN took them under their wing and played their great cover of Eddie Bo's "Check Your Bucket" as a tape...their shows were raucous and great energy... the covers they did were some real R&B gems.by bands like "Dyke and the Blazers"...crowds loved them... they recently released new mixes some of their old tunes and Joe Lilly know as "Sam Deluxe" has a great roots band called "The Mystics"...man did you bring back some memories of my days in Boston.....

Peter Wassyng

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From: Holly Knight
Subject: Re: Re-My Hometown

Hi Bob

I loved your story about Fairfield .After growing up in NYC- Manhattan to be exact, I moved to LA for my career and lived here for fifteen years before deciding I didn't want to raise my kids in LA. It was the year of the Rodney King beatings, THE EARTHQUAKE, and the Malibu mud slides. I think I told you that I did the unthinkable- Iike totally backasswards - I packed up all my things, and moved back east thinking how lovely it would be to experience the four seasons again- and be closer to my (dysfunctional family) cause after all NYC is in my DNA.

I moved to Fairfield- specifically the Greenfield Hill area which is affluent and waspy but very beautiful. Three and a half years later and I wanted to slit my throat…especially after I went back to LA and saw kids in shorts playing in the school yard in January - and I said- why did I leave here? So I put my house on the market and moved back - 25 years ago. In the beginning all of my east coast diehard New Yorker friends said LA was lame, plastic and phony. And gee, they all live here now. When I need a dose of grit and film noir I go back east to visit, but honestly after a week I'm so ready to come home and take my bike on the beach path. And yeah, I wouldn't want to have grown up anywhere else. Now my favorite people are native east coasters that have moved out here and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

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From: James Spencer
Subject: Re: Re-My Hometown

Imagine our shock and disbelief, when family friends told us that they saw our beloved family home in the local (rural Arkansas) newspaper..

It was busted for being a METH LAB..

I drove those tiny streets a few years ago, in town for a funeral..Once proud houses were condemned..Yet people were still living in them..

The farming business had gone belly-up, and religion and meth had become the mainstays.

This isn't that idyllic quaint small town you'll hear about on country radio..That's pure fantasy..

Of course (The Boss's) "My Father's House" can't be touched for its poignancy..

But Miranda Lambert's "The House That Built Me" comes in a close second..

She's the real deal..An outlaw/rock star..She does HER..Suits be damned..Her work is anything but cookie cutter..Her Vegas show is fantastic, too..She rocks hard, sans the artificial sweetener so prevalent in Nashville pop..

Why can't we have more country acts like her?

No one has her BALLS..

"The House That Built Me": https://youtu.be/DQYNM6SjD_o

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From: Cob Carlson
Subject: Re: Re-My Hometown

"Bridgeport is Listed as One of Top 5 Booming Cities, According to Today Show": https://tinyurl.com/yexs4xj2

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Subject: Re: Re-My Hometown

Bob: Long time reader. A friend once said to me, "You can always go home, but you can't stay."

Marty Hecker
Denver, CO (originally from Green Bay)

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Subject: Re: Definition Of A Rock Star

Politicians are described as "Rock stars."

Athletes are described as "Rock stars."

A child learning how to ride a bicycle is a "rock star."

You name it. I'll give up there.

In other words, three chord velvet glory has gone into the mists of time.

Jumping Jack flashes no more.

No lemon juice is squeezed down anybody's leg.

We still have the vinyl to prove our allegiance to rock 'n' roll & our glorious memories.

Michael Des Barres.

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From: Tony Dimitriades
Subject: Re: Definition Of A Rock Star

"Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - For Real"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy_1FHjnI40

"Tom Petty | What If You Had A Dream Documentary - Songwriting, MTV videos, Success, Longevity"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v38g_qdckMU

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Roberto, my newfound friend.

I loved every minute/hour of our conversation.

Absolutely one of my favorite interviews of all time. I love the way you conduct an interview. Your knowledge of the industry and your obvious intelligence make a person like myself just uncomfortable enough to stay focused, dig deep, stay honest, & be respectful.

I sincerely thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell my story knowing it will be presented the way I would want it to be presented.

Let me know if I can ever do something for you Bob

Sammy

PS: Finished the whole podcast. I love the second half of this podcast as much as any interview I've ever done. It's my book written in shorthand. And not that short by the way! You certainly know how to get a lot of information in a short amount of time.

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In response to e-mail from listeners loving the podcast:

Well who coulda thunk that those four hours would be that entertaining for anyone else to listen to as opposed to being as boring as watching a truck rust… which is what my fear was about all my ramblings after we finished that night! Thanks again for having me on Bob and let me know if you want to finish as Paul Harvey would say "the rest of the story." Thanks also for passing along that email.

Best,

Dwight


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