MONTROSE BAND PAGE
 MONTROSE
|
CURRENT NAME
|
Montrose |
|
FORMER NAMES
|
- |
|
ORIGIN
|
USA |
|
STATUS
|
Active |
|
FORMED IN
|
- |
|
LABEL
|
Currently unsigned |
|
GENRE
|
Hard rock |
|
STYLE
|
- |
|
LYRICAL THEME
|
- |
|
BAND ADDED
|
2004-04-05, 00:00 |
|
LAST UPDATE
|
2004-04-05, 00:00 |
One of the first American-bred hard rock groups to challenge
British supremacy in the early '70s, Montrose is still remembered as,
if not the most successful, certainly one of the most influential bands
of the era. In fact, many of the personalities responsible for the
group's legendary, self-titled debut (producer Ted Templeman, engineer Don
Landee, vocalist Sammy Hagar) would later become instrumental players
in the formative and later-day career of the mighty Van Halen. And to
his credit, though he ultimately lacked the focus and leadership skills
to consistently guide his band's career, guitarist Ronnie Montrose was a
true original of the instrument. His superlative playing aside, the
avid big game hunter lived the double-entendre guitar-playing gunslinger
lifestyle long before Ted Nugent made the combination famous.
After cutting his teeth as a session musician with the likes of Van
Morrison and the Edgar Winter Group, guitarist Ronnie Montrose decided to
form his own, self-named band in 1973. Enlisting the help of fellow
session pros Bill Church (bass), Denny Carmassi (drums), and a talented,
up-and-coming Californian singer named Sammy Hagar, Montrose soon
released their eponymous first album in November of that year. Although it
never broke the Billboard Top 100, Montrose eventually went platinum and
was arguably the first full-fledged heavy metal album by an American
band (early proto-metal efforts by Blue Cheer and Steppenwolf
notwithstanding). With classics like "Space Station No. 5" and "Bad Motor Scooter"
leading the charge to the nation's airwaves, it is still considered one
of the finest, most influential releases of the decade, to boot. But
trouble was already looming, as Church quit the group soon after and was
replaced by bassist/keyboard player Alan Fitzgerald for the ensuing tour. Released less than a year after their debut, the erratic
Paper Money proved to be a surprisingly diverse but unfocused follow-up
that failed to match its predecessor's consistency or popularity. Making
things worse, escalating tensions between Montrose and Hagar soon led to
the latter's departure following the Paper Money tour. He went on to an
increasingly successful solo career, and, of course, eventually Van
Halen.
