Montgomery Gentry
(Q)-Eddie, you wear NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt’s number three on your stages costume on your sleeve. How long will you do that? Will there be a day when you no longer wear the number three on your stage clothes? Or, is that like a tattoo for you?
Eddie- Ms. Teresa (The wife of the late NASCAR Driver, Dale Earnhardt.) and also Richard Childress are making a museum to Mr. Earnhardt. So, when they talked to us about the (Eddie’s stage clothes) they asked me for the coats I wear on-stage (embossed with the number three). Whenever they want them, then they’re gone and they’ve got em.
(Q)- So they personally requested your (stage) coats that you wear when performing, to be placed in an upcoming museum?
Eddie- Yes they did. Last year they asked me and I told them they could have then. So, they said that I could wear them as long as I wanted to, but when I take them off, they would like to have the coats one day for the museum they’re making. And for me, what an honor. I asked Ms. Teresa in the first place if I could wear the number three on my (stage) coats anyway, so whenever they want the coats they can have then. All I have to say is what an honor.
(Q)- Has the microphone stand ever come apart while you’re twirling it on-stage?
Eddie- Yes it has quite a few times and I’ve been very lucky so far. Nobody has said they’ve got hurt anyway. If they (fan) want the rest of the microphone stand just let me know and they can have it.
(Q)- What do you two do prior to your show to get going?
Troy- We get everyone cleared out of the (tour) bus, pump the music up loud to just get pumped up and get ready for the show. The energy gets us pumped up to go outside.
Eddie- I drink a good drink of Jim Beam. (laughs) hey, we’ve got a honky-tonk on wheels 24/7 (the tour bus they travel in) and it even needs to stop and take a little break and then it even needs a little drink every now and then. (He laughs)
(Q)- What about your next album? What can the fans expect from your next album?
Troy- We have a new single called “My Town”. An album on August 26th called “My Town” following it up with thirteen songs. The new songs are what represents us and what all of the people who we call, “our friends”, now we don’t call them, “our fans”, we call them, “our friends”, have lived through. It’s called, “life”. You know? All the great points in life and all of the everyday stuff that you’ve got to live life with. You know?
Troy- Lyrically, the songs are pretty much true to what it has been over the last two albums. We’ve taken a new direction though with the music. We went through a different set of pickers on this album, we didn’t use the Nashville set of pickers on this album.
(Q)- Why?
Troy- We wanted to do something different, we wanted to get away from the Nashville sound that we’ve used on our previous albums. And, we want to be unique and to do something different that nobody has heard before. We want to grow and diversify with our music and go in our own direction and not just Nashville’s direction.
(Q)- Are you two concerned that you’ll possibly become with another “hillbilly country” album type cast as “rubes” by the folks who are fans as well as the critics?
Troy- No. We were permitted for this (recording) session to hand pick our own pickers and there is a bunch of (guitar) pickers who are not the norm for Nashville sessions who are used most of the time. Now, the music is still very radio-friendly and you’ll still hear stuff that you can identify with as far as the other (country) music that’s on the radio right now.
Eddie- I mean a great player is a great player.
(Q)- So, you two are just refining what you two did with your first album as far as the sound. Correct?
Eddie- Exactly. If you want to be the best then that’s what you do to get it.
Troy- We’re taking little steps and hopefully, were growing as entertainers also. We’re always trying to get better.
(Q)- Is there an overall myth about you two as far as being party guys in a honky-tonk country duo?
Troy- Yes. We’re not just these big party guys and we know that’s what everybody assumes. Yeah that was in our past but we’re wanting to grow and we want our music to grow along with everything else. We want to take these steps to get up onto the next level (of success) to be right there along with the other Big Dogs, in country music. We don’t want to stay on the same level with our careers for the rest of our career. We’re wanting to grow with our music and with our (live) show along with everything else.
Eddie- I believe the new album is the most exciting thing we’ve done to date.
(Q)- Eddie do you see John Michael often on the road?
Eddie- He has had a little down time because he basically broke his ankle twice. So I’ve been telling him, a thousand dollar (hunting) dog is a lot cheaper then all them doctor bills. If you are chasing after a duck (hunting) then go and get a dog to get it for you.