Troy Gentry of the legendary duo Montgomery Gentry has been around the world and back. Smash singles ‘My Town,’ ‘Something To Be Proud Of,’ ‘One In Every Crowd,’ and ‘What Do You Think About That,’ are anthems among millions of southern rockers. After 10 years straight of nominations from both prestigious organizations, the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association for ‘Top Vocal Duo’ and ‘Vocal Duo of the Year,’ 13 top 5 singles including 5 chart topping songs, and touring along side the biggest names in country/southern rock music, we were honored when we were presented the opportunity to chat with Troy about new music, touring and the future.
Last June, Montgomery Gentry released their first new music in practically four years, ‘Folks Like Us,’ under new label Blaster Records, which Troy said was great due in a large part to the fans. “It went over really positive. We had gone four years without any new music, and we have such a dedicated and loyal fanbase that was ready to hear some new music out of the band.” The long break between albums came with both advantages and disadvantages however. “One of the advantages of taking a long break between albums is having the time to find the best songs, more time to search for the best possible music. One disadvantage however, was the lack of new music on the radio, we hadn’t had new music on the radio in some time.”
Being the first record under a new label, one might expect some difficulty, but along with help from producer Michael Knox, who is known for his work with Jason Aldean, Trace Adkins, and Kelly Clarkson, Troy told us that it couldn’t have gone smoother. “It was a great experience with Blaster records. The majority of the folks that made up the new label we already had relationships with in the industry throughout our careers, most of them came from other record labels that we were familiar with so it made the transition easy coming into a new label, as well as them allowing the opportunity to take on Michael Knox who produced their album prior, ‘Rebels On The Run,’ and pretty much gave us the reins to go into the studio and cut the songs that we wanted to. It was nice to go into a new label and be granted the musical freedom that they did.”
With such a long list of achievements, world wide tours, and five No. 1 songs, one might wonder how much pressure that adds on an album, especially a decade after most of the success, to which Troy admitted a little difficult. “The time between the last record and this record, it was more of a pressure to find songs that Eddie and I truly believed in, but yet were still relevant to radio these days, music has changed tremendously in the last 6-7 years. We were fortunate enough to have a hit in ‘Where I Come From,’ off of ‘Rebels on the Run’ but music was still changing on radio and our biggest challenge was finding something that fit Montgomery Gentry and didn’t compromise the music, but still able to get the attention of radio.”
Known for such high-energy performances, it came as little surprise when asking Troy what his favorite songs to perform live were. “We’re grateful for all of our songs, but the uptempo songs are my favorite to sing. Songs like ‘Gone,’ ‘Hell Yeah,’ ‘Something To Be Proud Of,’ ‘My Town,’ those are big anthems for us, and songs that everybody will sing back to us night after night.” That didn’t stop the duo from testing out some new music on millions of fans, to which Troy admitted went over better than expected. “Last year along with title track ‘Folks Like Us,’ we also played ‘Hillbilly Hippies,’ and it surprisingly went over very well. it was kind of a test song for us so we’re hoping that something can come from that in the future.”
Troy was quick to say that they especially enjoy playing outdoor venues, but as long as there’s a wild crowd it doesn’t matter much where it’s at. “Eddie and I love playing and we love the road so we’re going to get out there as much as we can, whatever they bring our way we’ll take. We play a lot of casinos and a lot of big fairs these days, so we’ll continue to keep doing that as well as some big clubs. We don’t shy away from anywhere that wants us.” It isn’t all touring however, as Troy enjoys the time he does have off with his family. “During the summer time my family and I love to hit the lake, we love being on the water. In the fall we’re running around to watch my little girl cheer, and we’re certainly a Disney family.”
The down time is great, but work isn’t too bad itself. “Well for us, our passion is the music. We love to make music and to travel,” Troy told us. “For us we look forward to the longevity of Montgomery Gentry. We’ve had a boatload of hits throughout our career, and we want to be like our mentors Charlie Daniels, Waylon Jennings, The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, all those folks that we looked up to, we want to be able to tour as long as we want to. As long as the fans continue to come out and support us, we’ll continue to hit the road.” We here at New England Country Music hope that like those icons they look up to, Montgomery Gentry will continue to entertain fans for decades to come.