Montgomery Gentry and the fun-loving attendees of the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International are a match made in honky tonk heaven. The headliners of the 2009 Expo Saturday Evening Jam in Louisville and environmental services professionals are both undaunted at the prospect of rolling up their sleeves and putting in a good day of work on the job.
One of Nashville’s top duos over the past decade, Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry pride themselves on producing song after song recognizing the blue collar work ethic and small-town values that give flight to the American Dream … be it selling millions of CDs and touring the country playing music or running a successful business in the liquid waste industry.
Montgomery Gentry stops at the Pumper & Cleaner Expo stage Feb. 28 in support of the 2008 CD release, Back When I Knew It All, and the megahit, Roll With Me. The popular Saturday Evening Jam will kick off with a hard-charging show by Southern rock legends 38 Special, whose memorable 1980s anthems including Hold on Loosely and Rockin’ Into The Night will provide the perfect jumpstart to a night of hits.
The Jam starts at 5 p.m. at the Broadbent Arena, which is conveniently connected to the Kentucky Exposition Center, site of the Expo. The event is free to registered Expo attendees.
COUNTRY ROCK
According to Steve Huey of All Music Guide, Montgomery Gentry “evokes the sound and spirit of Southern rockers like Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Marshall Tucker Band and Charlie Daniels, painting themselves as rowdy redneck rebels who still hold small-town values.’’
Both Kentucky natives, Montgomery and Gentry first played together as teens in a band called Early Tymz in Lexington. That band was led by John Michael Montgomery, Eddie’s younger brother, who left and became a solo sensation in his own right. The duo went their separate ways, but got back together and recorded a debut album, Tattoos and Scars, which spawned a No. 5 single, Lonely and Gone, and resulted in them winning the Country Music Association Vocal Duo Award in 2000.
The accolades kept coming. They won similar awards from the Academy of Country Music for Top New Vocal Group or Duo, the 2000 and 2001 Radio & Records Readers’ Poll award for Top Country Duo and the American Music Award for Favorite New Artist — Country in 2000.
In 2001, they reached No. 2 on the country charts with the single She Couldn't Change Me, from their album, Carrying On. In 2002, they kept going with the release of My Town, with three more Top 5 hits, the title track Speed, and perhaps their most well known tribute to the honky tonk life, Hell Yeah. They hit No. 1 twice in 2004 with If You Ever Stop Loving Me and Something to Be Proud Of from the release, You Do Your Thing.
The flurry of hits led to bigger and bigger crowds on the road. Montgomery Gentry built their stage presence while performing for more than a million fans, both headlining and as part of feel-good extravaganza shows, Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems tours in 2002 and 2003, and the Brooks & Dunn Neon Circus & Wild West Show in 2001.
CELEBRATE WORKERS
At their Web site, http://montgomerygentry.musiccitynetworks.com, the duo say they share a rapport with their country music fans, rooted in sunup-to-sundown work ethics, God, country and family, and the ability to celebrate life and endure hardship.
“We’ve never sold out to anybody,” says Montgomery, “What you see with us is what you get.
“We’ve always been consistent about choosing songs that deal with the working class, songs people can identify with,’’ adds Gentry. “We’ve stayed true to that.’’
While Montgomery Gentry still likes hard-edged honky tonk themes in their music, Billboard recently noted that the melodic Roll With Me off their most recent release shows more mature artistry.
“Like their audience, the two are a little older and a lot wiser than they were a decade ago,’’ Billboard observes. “And their new set reflects hard-earned maturity balanced with the desire (and ability) to get into a little trouble on occasion. That mix is perhaps best represented by I Pick My Parties, which features summer tour mate Toby Keith. All three singers, it seems, are a little more selective than they were in their wilder days.’’
Their wide-ranging charitable efforts in recent years also speak to maturity. Montgomery explains that they both want to do good and enjoy life, and bring that attitude to the stage.
“Life is very short and you’d better live every second of it, because you never know when your name’s going to be called. That’s the way I’ve always lived my life. My parents taught me to live that way,’’ Montgomery says.
“We keep to our roots. We’ll always talk about the good, the bad, the ugly and the party on the weekend. We’ll always include the Man Upstairs and our American heroes.’’
A ROCKIN’ OPENER
The Saturday Evening Jam’s first act, 38 Special, might seem like a departure from the country roots of headliner Montgomery Gentry and other recent entertainers to display their chops at the Pumper & Cleaner Expo. But in reality, the artistic chasm between the catchy guitar riffs from popular ’80s rock bands and today’s hottest country acts is often bridged … with smash hit success.
Country acts like Montgomery Gentry, Toby Keith and Expo alum Trace Atkins frequently pay homage to the best rock bands of a generation ago, and 38 Special is on that short list. In fact, Atkins performed with 38 Special in a popular Country Music Television Crossroads episode, during which Atkins said his band was giddy to work with the band led by a member of a Southern rock royal family, Donnie Van Zant. The 38 Special founder is the brother of the late Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd fame.
The group named for a hot pistol was formed in Jacksonville, Fla., in 1975 at a time when Southern swamp rock — led by groups including Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet and Blackfoot — was extremely popular. But 38 Special cultivated a slightly more refined sound, with tight, pop-friendly guitar hooks on a series of rock classics from the early 1980s.
In its heyday beginning before the 1981 release Wild-Eyed Southern Boys, 38 Special recorded seven Top 40 singles, including songs that have endured, including the group’s biggest hit, an uncharacteristic ballad, Second Chance. According to the Web site www.digitaldreamdoor.com, the group produced three of the all-time best Southern Rock songs, with Hold On Loosely at No. 17, Second Chance at No. 49 and Rockin’ Into The Night at the No. 59 position. Other songs from 38 Special to make top ’80s hit lists include Fantasy Girl, If I’d Been The One, Back Where You Belong, Somebody Like You and Like No Other Night.
