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"Pat LaMountain Shows It's Never Too Late"

PAT LaMOUNTAIN

A Few Miles Later

Garden Gate Recordings 1006

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Two things to consider upfront: First, if you know Pat LaMountain’s music solely through her country/folk collaborations with husband Tex, this album will surprise you as it’s cut from different cloth entirely. Second, if the music sounds vaguely retro, it is; A Few Miles Later is stitched together from songs written in the 1980s that were supposed to be recorded in the early 1990s until that thing called life intervened. This release feels, for lack of a better word, trippy—the sort of acid folk that Grace Slick used to dust off in more contemplative moments. LaMountain matches her light voice to ambient instrumentation in evocative ways. On “Summer Rain” her vocals drift in the air and she deftly uses high-end catches as if the drizzle briefly became a downpour. In like fashion, “Boys in the Summer” has a gauzy feel. By way of contrast, “Oh Papa” is honky tonk blues the likes of which Patsy Cline would have tackled, “Good Thing” is infused with pop hooks, and “Bricks” feels like it was plucked from the Depression era.

LaMountain is on the road promoting this album’s release. Can you hold album release parties twenty years after the fact? Why not? This release has an old feel, but it doesn’t come off as dated. To my ear A Few Miles Later arrived just in time.—Rob Weir - Rob Weir (blog) Off Center Views

"Pat LaMountain's first solo CD well worth the wait."

It can take a long time to make a record, but for Pat LaMountain, who just released her first solo CD, it took a really long time. The Greenfield-based singer-songwriter started writing songs for the appropriately titled "A Few Miles Later" as far back as 1983 and started recording them in the early 1990s. However, she eventually shelved the project and focused on other endeavors.

LaMountain, who was raised in New Jersey and later moved to western Massachusetts, is best known for her work with her husband, Tex. The two have long been a popular staple on the Pioneer Valley music scene, recording and performing as Pat and Tex.

The couple first teamed up in 1974, when she was singing with the Sawmill River Band and he was a member of popular Pioneer Valley-based rock band Clean Living. They joined forces and were founding members of the folk rock group Bright Morning Star and later branched out on their own. The duo's most recent recording is "A Few Good Hits to the Heart" from a few years ago. The couple is also active as founding members of the Franklin County Musicians Cooperative and regularly perform at its COOP concerts at the Greenfield Energy Park.

LaMountain also holds down a part-time job as the finance director for the Connecticut River Watershed Council and she is the driving force behind the "Living Along the River Songwriting Contest," which just wrapped up its second year.

And now, after all this time, LaMountain can add "solo recording artist" to her impressive resume. LaMountain will hold a CD release party for "A Few Miles Later" on Sunday, December 6, at 7 p.m. at the Rendezvous, 78 Third St., Turners Falls. The evening will start off with a party at 6 p.m. and the music is slated to begin at 7 p.m. Jennie McAvoy of Deerfield, another Coop member, will open. There is no cover charge.

I asked LaMountain how it feels to finally have this project see the light of day.

"It's very interesting," she said. "But, I have been so busy with the songwriting contest that I kind of forgot about it for three months. And then it was like, "Wow! I have to focus on this!"

LaMountain started writing the 12 songs on the disc in the early 1980s in North Leverett and then, after 1983, in Greenfield. She started recording the songs in the early 1990s at Garden Gate Recordings, the studio she and her husband had in their home. Joe Podlesny was engineering the disc and a host of (then) local musicians played on it, including Podlesny on multiple instruments, Doug Plavin on drums, Steve Sienkiewicz on keyboards, Jonathan McClellan on bass, Lin Boehmer on drum machine and vocals, and Craig Manning on guitar.

The album was almost completed when LaMountain halted work on it.

"I can really remember the whole feeling at that time," recalled LaMountain. "I was just discouraged about my music. I felt like I couldn't play well enough and then Joe moved to Shelburne and started his studio and Steve moved to Florida, so the performing was switching gears and I just let it go."

As the years went on, LaMountain more or less forgot about the tapes as she moved forward with her life.

The couple were cleaning out Garden Gate studios in 2006 and came across the old tapes. Her husband convinced LaMountain that in order to safely preserve these old analog recordings, they needed to be transferred to digital format. So they rang up their old friend Podlesny, who was now well-established with his Avocet Studios in Shelburne Falls, and handed the tapes over to him.

After they were transferred to digital, the tapes ultimately ended up in the hands of engineer Barry Higgins. The LaMountains had recorded "A Few Good Hits to the Heart" with Higgins. It was a working relationship they wanted to continue, so when that album was near completion, LaMountain said, "Hey, I have those digital tapes from Joe -- maybe we could do something with those?"

Higgins went on to remix and master the tapes while Tex LaMountain, who was not involved with the initial recording at all, was brought in to provide some work on harmonies and guitar.

LaMountain admits it was a bit odd immersing herself in material that was written so many years ago.

"I couldn't play any of the songs and I had to relearn them," she said. We kept pretty good records when we were originally recording and I knew what tracks were there and who played on them. But I didn't really know the songs anymore."

LaMountain said she has always viewed herself more as a singer than a musician, having never been very confident in her ability to play guitar. "I could sing the melody and play the chords, but to actually play the song so that anybody would want to listen to it -- I really couldn't do that." It was a long process, but she is moving forward with her playing and will play guitar at the CD release show.

She didn't play guitar on any of the songs on the album. Instead, the 12 folk-based tracks showcase her sweet, crystalline vocals and her ear for a strong melody. From the opening track "Summer Rain," to the sassy blues of "Oh Papa" and the highly hummable "Good Thing," the disc will appeal to old Pat and Tex fans, but should win over some new listeners as well.

"These songs were edgy back then, but not now," she said. "Besides, everyone does 'edgy' now," she added with a laugh.

The CD release show will feature, for the first and possibly only time, musicians who recorded the music performing it together live. The band will include Tex LaMountain on guitar, Plavin on drums, John White on bass (who wasn't on the album) and Podlesny on guitar.

While LaMountain is happy to have the album out, she doesn't have any plans to launch even a part-time solo career.

"I don't really think I am that interested in that," she said without hesitation. "Tex and I have two or three more albums worth of songs and we have been waiting for a break. Now that he is retired, we are ready to get going on that." - Sheryl Hunter, "Sounds Local," The Recorder, Greenfield, MA December 3, 2009.

"The Recorder’s Record Rack"

“A Few Miles Later” Pat LaMountain (with Tex LaMountain and the Pat and Tex band) ARTIST'S STATEMENT: These songs were all written while I was living in North Leverett in the 1970s and early 1980s, or in Santa Cruz, Calif., (1980-82) or Greenfield from 1983 to 1990. They are recorded with bass, drums and electric guitars — a full band sound — very different from the way Tex and I usually perform these days. Now we are usually a two guitar folk duo. They are pop (not very hard) rock. They are about relationships, being a mother, growing older, wanting to express a personal view. They are mostly light-hearted, but some consider feelings and bad dreams that are starker and not so light — like feeling like a bag lady or having a nightmare. On my Web site, the special thanks and comments section describes the process of re-discovering these old recordings from 1990 to 1993 and deciding to finish them and release them.

The other part of this process includes the fact that I am 64. I was going to call my CD release party (held in early December) a “Hey I’m 64 party' but Tex says people would think it’s about The Beatles. You make different decisions when you’re not young and innocent and you don’t have endless time looming in the future. PERFORMERS: Pat LaMountain, Greenfield, vocals; Tex LaMountain, Greenfield, acoustic guitars and harmony vocals; Joe Podlesny, Greenfield native, owner of Avocet Studios, Shelburne, lives in Bernardston, bass, keyboard, guitars; Doug Plavin of New Salem, drums. PRODUCTION CREDITS AND SPECIAL GUESTS: Tex’s first cousin, Jim Matheson from San Francisco, played oboe (he is retired first oboist with the San Francisco Opera) on one cut, “Situation: You and Me.” Mixing and mastering production by Pat and Tex LaMountain and Barry Higgins, White Crow Music, Greenfield. Recording producer, Joe Podlesny, on the analogue tape, 1990-93, that was transferred to digital in 2006 Producer on “Boys in the Summer,” Craig Manning, Shelburne, and Atlanta, Ga. Cover design, Joan Terry of Shelburne, an instructor in design at Hallmark Institute of Photography. SHOWS COMING UP: ■ BridgeSide Grille, 9 Amherst Road.(Route 116), Sunderland, Thursday, Jan. 7. Pat and Tex LaMountain perform there the first Thursday of each month. ■ Sunday, Jan. 10, Hope & Olive Restaurant, 44 Hope St., Greenfield.Brunch, noon to 2 p.m. (413) 774-3150.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW? Tex is almost 90 percent retired from sales and he is aiming at music with a new blast of energy. He is recording this winter. Look for more Pat and Tex releases in the spring. We have a lot of unrecorded original material! HOW TO HEAR MORE, BUY THE CD: World Eye Bookshop, Main Street, Greenfield. Also available online at CD Baby. www.patandtex.com

ONE PERSON'S OPINION: You cannot separate Pat LaMountain the person from Pat LaMountain the musician, and why would you want to? One of the founding members of the Franklin County Musicians Cooperative and an originator of the Connecticut River Watershed Council’s River Songwriting Contest, LaMountain is typically joined at the hip with her husband, Tex, both on stage and off. There’s not a lot of frantic hustle-bustle with these two — their Web site welcomes you with the words, “Have a seat, relax, how about a cup of tea?” — yet they create a lot of great music. This lovely CD, which casts a rare and delightful spotlight on Pat LaMountain’s skills as a singer and songwriter, is just one example. Beautifully crafted and thoughtprovoking, it’s perfect for those mellow moments, the kind that typically involve a both a cup of tea and a comfy chair. — Adam Orth, features editor

“Boys in the Summer” words and music by Pat LaMountain Boys in the summer can really get to you, you’re home again and you miss him too You’re wrong now, no matter what you do, your summer love is far away And you don't know what to do You look so broken crying on your pillow, I didn’t tell him anything, he already knew He's mad because he waited here for you, your winter love is jealous And you don’t know what to do Winter loves are hard sometimes, it’s work to warm the cold You’re fourteen, it was summer, and he was there to hold I am only watching remembering a few Summer loves I left behind because I didn't know what to do Boys in the summer can really get to you, you’re home again and you miss him too You’re wrong now, no matter what you do, your summer love is far away And you don’t know what to do Summer loves are postcard memories They keep you company your whole life through You never get a chance to break up, before the summer's through. “My daughter, Jaka (now in her late 30s and a mother of a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old), says this is definitely not a true story. I was watching her go through young teenage turmoils and made the story fit my memories of my own young teenage turmoils. But the gist of it is true.” — Pat LaMountain

Editor’s Note: Do you have a new CD coming out? We want to tell our readers about it, especially if it has a Franklin County connection. Send an e-mail to features@recorder.com and we’ll send you the Record Rack questionnaire. Adam Orth isn't trained in music, however he did attempt to play cello and then banjo in elementary school. He'll listen with interest to just about anything once, especially if it was created in Franklin County. You can reach him at (413) 773-7169 or at features@recorder.com. - The Recorder, Greenfield, MA

"Pat and Tex LaMountain celebrate new CD May 12" (2007)

Another event that is on the horizon at the Pushkin Gallery is the CD release party for folk singers Pat and Tex LaMountain. They have a new disc out called “A Few Good Hits to the Heart” and the couple will perform on Saturday, May 12, at 8 p.m.

Pat and Tex have been making music for three decades now and are a popular fixture on the local music scene. While they have played many shows over the years, their recording career has been limited. The duo has only released three albums and those are currently out of print. Their last project however, a children’s album released in 1998 called “16 Songs Kids Love to Sing” is still available. (This disc was a fundraiser for the Northeast Foundation for Children in Turners Falls).

To say that Pat & Tex are overdue for a new album is a bit of an understatement. The couple cite “life, family and career” as the reasons for the delay in recording. Now that they are older, they have reached a point in their lives where they can devote more time and energy to their music.

“A Few Good Hits to the Heart” features 15 country-flavored folk tunes that showcase the couple’s warm harmonies and Tex’s striking guitar work. Most of the songs on the new record are original compositions. One of the few cover tunes tossed in is “Skylark” by Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Charmichael.

The album was recorded at White Crow Music in Greenfield and also features appearances by Jeff Potter on harmonica and drums, Bill Reveley on fiddle and mandolin, & Barry Higgins, who also engineered the recording, on native American flute.

Listening to Pat and Tex is like listening to a couple of old friends -- there is a warmth and intimacy to their songs that shines through on the disc into your player, you feel like the pair is in your living room, singing just for you. “A Few Good Hits to the Heart” is chockfull of sweet melodies, lovely harmonies and touching lyrics that reflect the joys and sorrows of daily life.

These songs reflect myriad moods. One minute Tex is singing about his enjoyment of hearing Emmy Lou Harris on the radio on lighthearted “EmmyLou.” The next, he is lamenting the loss of a dear friend on the touching ballad “Dance On.”

“C’mon Joanie” is a swing-influenced toe-tapper that provides some friendly advice to a friend who is having love problems.”Seabrook Song (Our Mother the Earth)” is an environmental-themed song (and the only song the couple wrote together), featuring Higgins’ soothing flute sounds.

Pat and Tex first met in Montague in 1974. He was a member of the seminal local band Clean Living and she was singing with the Sawmill River Band. They started singing together and won the “New Talent” award at the New England Folk Festival at Vermont’s Mount Snow. That was the beginning of a long career that has seen the couple performing at festivals, clubs and coffeehouses as well as in television documentaries and films. They are also active members of the Franklin County Musician’s Cooperative, which teaches classes for working musicians and puts on weekly concerts at the Greenfield Energy Park.

Joining Pat and Tex for the CD release show are fiddler Bill Reveley (Grass Routes), drummer Tim Griffin (Clean Living), and the Celtic vocals and acoustic guitar of Jennie McAvoy. In addition, Pat and Tex will be joined by Higgins and other surprise guest artists.

Pat and Tex encourage all to come out and help them celebrate!

A sliding scale entrance fee of $6 to 10 will be charged at the door. CDs will be available at a discount at the party and celebratory food will be included.

- The Recorder, Greenfield, MA

"CD Review: Pat & Tex LaMountain A Few Good Hits to the Heart (Garden Gate)"

Pat and Tex LaMountain are the Valley’s answer to Robin and Linda Williams. Like them, the LaMountains serve an Americana gumbo that draws from too many genres to allow pigeonholing. They sample country blues, old-time music, acoustic swing, folk, new compositions, and even a Hoagy Carmichael/Johnny Mercer standard like “Skylark” when the mood strikes. All is rendered with simplicity rather than Nashville-style slickness, a boon for those who prefer a fine piece of homespun over store-bought goods. They won me over with “Emmy Lou,” a Tex original about falling in love while listening to Emmy Lou Harris on the radio. Yeah, that could happen! —Rob Weir

- Valley Advocate, Northampton, MA