Today's Country

When you walk into the concert venue on any given night and see the Jim Beam barrels set up around the stage for the first time, you know that you are in for a party the minute that the first notes of Montgomery Gentry’s opening song ring out loud and clear through the PA speakers.

For the next hour and half you are treated to a rowdy and fun performance, that sees Eddie twirling his microphone around and doing his part to get the crowd revved up throughout the performance, while Troy commands center stage with his guitar strapped around him as he sings into a microphone who’s stand is made up to resemble a huge silver chain.

What have now become anthems like “Hell Yeah,” “My Town,” “Gone,” and so forth and so on, all have the crowd screaming the lyrics as loud as they can signaling to the guys on stage, including the band members, that the crowd gets what Montgomery Gentry is all about. But do they really know who the guys are?

We have had the amazing opportunity to chat with Eddie Kilgallon (known to many as Eddie K), Montgomery Gentry’s keyboardist for the past 7 ½ years and get a view of what it takes to be Montgomery Gentry from the inside out. Eddie K has allowed us the opportunity to live the backstage experience through him, as well as shed some light on whom he and Eddie and Troy are off stage, and we are honored to be able to share that with our readers here and now!

Where your day begins in the late afternoon/early evening when the venue doors open and you pile into your seats, for Montgomery Gentry and their crew, they have already put in a solid day and haven’t even hit the stage yet.

“Mornings are the strangest times, because you literally open the bus door to a whole new world every day,” states Eddie K as he continues to spell out the daily morning tour routine, “First things first, we find the coffee pot and the dressing rooms.”

As the day roles on the routine seemingly takes on a similar feeling of the day before of “checking email, setting up gear, lunch, soundcheck, hit the gym, dinner, pre-show meet and greets, then the big bang!”

That big bang is what you get to experience. The lights, the sounds, the quick instrument changes between songs, but even that all takes precise timing and efforts from the crew to make it go off without a hitch. Eddie K chimed in from the band perspective on how to make their performances night in and night out click just right. “Probably the most important element to making the show go off without a hitch is sticking to the set list,” but he also describes those other kind of nights, “Once in awhile something goes off course, and then it’s every man for himself!”

When it is all said and done there is no doubt that Montgomery Gentry leaves their hard work and tons of sweat scattered around the stage and leaves the crowd walking out and calling all their friends who couldn’t be there from the parking lots to tell them what a great show they just saw.

But who is Montgomery Gentry offstage? There are rumors about them being a rowdy band off stage and there seems to be a bit of truth to the rumors. Although Eddie K couldn’t state the pre-show rituals he did say this about those rumors.

“Montgomery Gentry has always had a “rowdy, loud, hell-raising” image from the very first single. I think the most important thing that Eddie & Troy do is stick to the formula that brought them success. They sing songs about real life, real struggles and having a good time. Of course, as we all get a little older, the late nights aren’t as late, but the music is still LOUD!”

As for that partying rumor Eddie K says with a chuckle, “Well, we have a tradition that dates back to the early years; If it’s your birthday while on the road...well, you may have to celebrate more than normal.”

But there is a softer side to the boys. Offstage, their charity work is deeply important to not just Eddie and Troy, but to the band members like Eddie K as well.

“Eddie & Troy are very generous with their time when it comes to the fans and our Heroes in the Armed Services. They don’t just talk the talk they walk the walk. Our whole organization is dedicated to help children through our various charitable work. Examples are St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Camp Horsin’ Around, The Miracle League, and Make-A-Wish to name a few,” says Eddie K who asks us to check out http://www.songsoflove.org/ where he is a songwriter for the organization, that is headed by John Beltzer out of NYC.

“Following Eddie & Troy’s example I found a charity that struck me at the heart called “Songs Of Love”. Basically, a collection of songwriters write personalized songs for chronically/terminally ill children to help get them through their ongoing treatments. Think of it as the “Medicine Of Music,” he says. 

“To help with their fundraising efforts, I’ve donated 100% of the proceeds of a Mothers Day song I’ve written. I encourage everyone to go to www.songsoflove.org/MothersDay and donate.99 cents to download the song and then, share it with your mom or someone special on Mothers Day!”

This summer the boys in Montgomery Gentry are packing their bus and playing alongside Kenny Chesney at his sold out stadium shows. For the guys, “it will be like a reunion” states Eddie K, “We toured with Kenny during his 2002-2003 Margaritas & Senioritas Tour, and it was a complete blast! Through the years, Kenny and his whole crew have treated us like family out on the road.”

“Being part of this team is a very special part of our lives, and we look forward to a long, rockin’, loud road ahead!” states Eddie K enthusiastically about being a part of Montgomery Gentry both on and off the stage.

Wanna come back stage with us?  Each week we will be adding new videos featuring backstage/off stage video footage from the band members themselves!

Or you can also see the entire collection of Montgomery Gentry Behind The Scenes Videos right now at www.montgomerygentry.com

For more information on items in the article above please visit:

http://www.montgomerygentry.com/
www.myspace.com/montgomerygentry
http://www.songsoflove.org/

And make sure to sign up for the Montgomery Gentry newsletter at:  www.montgomerygentry.com/newsletter