Tim Montana (born January 5, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist signed to Music Knox Records/BBR Music Group part of BMG Rights Management.[3]
Tim Montana | |
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 Tim Montana | |
| Background information | |
| Born | January 5, 1985 Kalispell, Montana, U.S. |
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| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | www |
Early life
editTim Montana was born on January 5, 1985, in Kalispell, Montana and raised in Butte, Montana.[4] Tim was given his first guitar at the age of six.[5] Since his family's trailer had no electricity, Tim taught himself to play by candlelight.[6] He later performed in school talent shows. After graduating from Butte High School in 2003, he moved to Los Angeles to study music.[4]
Musical career
editIt was while living in Los Angeles where Tim met guitarist and producer Johnny Hiland and with Hiland's encouragement moved to Nashville and began playing country and southern rock. His debut album, Iron Horse, was produced by Hiland (who also played guitar and sang backup) and released on the CD Baby label on August 21, 2007.[7]
Earlier that same year, late-night talk show host David Letterman met Montana prior to Montana's Independence Day concert in Choteau, Montana.[8] Months later, Letterman personally invited Montana to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman. Montana performed his song "Butte, America" on the October 17, 2008, program broadcast.[9]
In 2013, Montana recruited guitarist Kyle Rife, drummer Brian Wolff, and bassist Bryce Paul to perform as Tim Montana and the Shrednecks. During a studio session on September 11, 2013, Montana was introduced to ZZ Top founder Billy Gibbons.[10] Their meeting resulted in an impromptu songwriting collaboration, during which the two co-wrote and recorded the single "This Beard Came Here to Party." The Boston Red Sox (known at the time for beards they'd grown during the playoffs) adopted the song as their anthem during the lead-up to the 2013 World Series.[11] The Shrednecks and Gibbons recorded a custom version for the post-season (with lyrics referencing Red Sox highlights and Boston landmarks).[12] Montana and the band later returned to sing The Star-Spangled Banner at Fenway Park at a May 28, 2013, ceremony honoring the winning 2004 World Series Red Sox team.[13]
Montana and Gibbons would go on to share credits on three other songs: "Fifty Fifty," "Weed and Whiskey," and "Rust and Red." The last of these received its broadcast debut during the Fox News show The Five during an interview with Navy SEAL Team 6 member Robert J. O'Neill, subject of the Fox News documentary The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden.[14] O’Neill, a fellow native of Butte, had previously become acquainted with Montana through O’Neill's brother Tom, a radio DJ and early supporter of Montana's music.[15] Robert J. O'Neill later featured prominently in the 2017 music video for Montana's single "Hillbilly Rich".[16]
Following the release of "This Beard Came Here to Party," Gibbons invited Tim Montana to open for ZZ Top on tour. Tim Montana and the Shrednecks have continued to appear with ZZ Top and opened for Kid Rock on various tour dates during the summer of 2016.[17]
On February 24, 2016, Tim Montana released the album Tim Montana and the Shrednecks, featuring Gibbons on four tracks.
Tim Montana released the single "Hillbilly Rich" on September 8, 2017. He released a video for the song on September 19 which features friend Robert J. O'Neill and "Streetbike" Tommy Passemante from MTV's Nitro Circus. In their review of the video, Rolling Stone wrote that its "aspirational swagger is perfectly on message for Montana's eclectic musical influences".[15] Actor Charlie Sheen took an interest in the video stating on Twitter "this is a stone-cold masterpiece! my man is flat out Killin the Game" to his millions of followers.[16] Shortly after Tim met Charlie in person, Charlie went on to write and direct Tim's music video "Mostly Stoned" which created a press storm that ultimately led to Tim signing with Music Knox Records/BBR Music Group which is part of the BMG Rights Management family.[18]
As a songwriter Montana co-wrote "Tennessee Mountain Top" and "Greatest Show on Earth" for Kid Rock's 2017 "Sweet Southern Sugar" album. Both of which went on to chart in the top 40. He also co-wrote Travis Tritt's "Smoke in a Bar",[19] Billy F Gibbons "I was a Highway" and Michael Ray's "Higher Education" which featured Montana, Billy F Gibbons, Lee Brice and Kid Rock.[20]
Personal life
editMontana is a vocal supporter of U.S. military veterans. After watching the film American Sniper (which tells the story of the late U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle), Montana became involved in the welfare of veterans suffering from Posttraumatic stress disorder. He approached Gibson guitars to create a custom Chris Kyle guitar, decorated with Kyle's skull-and-crosshairs logo. The guitar was auctioned off, raising $117,500 for the Guardians of Heroes Foundation, helping wounded U.S. soldiers.[21]
Montana and his wife Danielle are the parents of four children and currently reside in Nashville, Tennessee.
Discography
editStudio albums
edit- Iron Horse (2008)
- Tim Montana and the Shrednecks (2016)
- American Thread (2020)
- Reno (2022)
- Long Shots (2022)
- Savage (2024)
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hard Rock |
US Main. [22] |
US Hot Rock & Alt. | |||
| "Butte, America" | 2008 | — | — | — | Iron Horse |
| "Rust and Red" (featuring Billy Gibbons) | 2014 | — | — | — | Tim Montana and the Shrednecks |
| "This Beard Came Here to Party" (with Billy Gibbons) | 2016 | — | — | — | |
| "Weed and Whiskey" | — | — | — | ||
| "Amarula Sun" (with Mac McAnally) | 2017 | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "Mostly Stoned" | 2019 | — | — | — | American Thread |
| "Hillbilly Rich" | 2020 | — | — | — | |
| "American Thread" | — | — | — | ||
| "Bury Me By the Bonfire" | — | — | — | ||
| "Quarantine" (with Mat Best) | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Be A Cowboy" | 2021 | — | — | — | Long Shots |
| "Devil You Know" | 2023 | 16 | 5 | 12 | Savage |
| "Savage" | 2024 | — | 7 | 17 | |
| "Die Today" | — | — | — | ||
| "Shut Me Out" | — | — | — | ||
Music videos
edit| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "Butte, America" | 2008 | Unknown |
| "Too Far Gone" | 2012 | |
| "This Beard Came Here to Party" | 2013 | |
| "Glass and Chicken Wire" | 2017 | |
| "Hillbilly Rich" | Brad Rea | |
| "American Thread" | 2019 | Spidey Smith |
| "Mostly Stoned" | Charlie Sheen | |
| "Bury Me By the Bonfire" | 2020 | Michael Monaco |
| "Do It Fast" | Unknown | |
| "Be a Cowboy" | 2021 | |
| "American Dream" | 2022 | |
| "Devil You Know" | 2023 | |
| "Savage" | 2024 | |
| "Get You Some" | ||
| "Death Row" |
References
edit- ^ Hudak, Joseph (October 29, 2019). "Tim Montana's 'Mostly Stoned' Video Is Weird AF". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
Charlie Sheen directed the clip, which finds the country-rocker being chauffeured in a ghost convertible
- ^ Hudak, Joseph (February 3, 2019). "Country-Rocker Tim Montana Salutes the Worker in 'American Thread' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
Southern rock and country artist Tim Montana has released a new video for his single "American Thread."
- ^ "Music Knox Records/BBR Music Group Sign Tim Montana". bbrmusicgroup.com. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ a b McCartney, Leslie. "Song about Butte gets radio play". The Billings Gazette. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ Leslie McCartney. "On stage tonight: Butte native performing his way through Nashville". Montana Standard. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Tim Montana – The Rustic | Kitchen. Backyard. Bar. Live Music. | Dallas, TX". The Rustic | Kitchen. Backyard. Bar. Live Music. | Dallas, TX. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Tim Montana – Iron Horse CD Album". cduniverse.com. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Butte native on 'Late Show' Oct. 17". Montana Standard. September 25, 2008. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Butte native to appear on Letterman today". Helena Independent Record. October 17, 2008. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Hear ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons' Weed Anthem With Tim Montana". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Butte Native Reaches New Heights with New Single Release". Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ "Tim Montana Remakes 'These Beards Came Here to Party' Featuring Lyrics About Boston, Red Sox Highlights (Video)". NESN.com. October 24, 2013. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Tim Montana and the Shrednecks Sing National Anthem at Fenway Park, Then on Flight Home". Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Rob O'Neill and Tim Montana on The Five". November 18, 2014. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
- ^ "Tim Montana and the Shrednecks Sign Deal With RED Music | RoughStock". RoughStock. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Must-See Music Video: Country Artist Tim Montana is Joined by Robert O'Neill – the Navy SEAL Who Shot Osama bin Laden". Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- ^ "10 New Country Artists You Need to Know: July 2016". Rolling Stone. July 2016. Archived from the original on March 12, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ "Tim Montana Mostly Stoned". Rolling Stone. October 29, 2019.
- ^ Churilla, Ken (March 4, 2021). "Travis Tritt Releases Single "Smoke in A Bar"; First New Music in 13 Years". American Songwriter. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ Holthouse, Jerry (November 3, 2021). "Watch: Michael Ray's "Higher Education"". Nashville.com. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ "Tim Montana Talks Chris Kyle Legacy, American Sniper Guitar". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ Peaks on the Mainstream Rock chart:
- "Devil You Know": "Mainstream Rock Songs: Week of February 10, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- "Savage": "Mainstream Rock Songs: Week of September 28, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2024.