Kory Montgomery- Guitar/Vocals, Anthony Ball- Drums, Drew Packard- Guitar/Vox, Eric Watts- Bass, Mike Officer
By Terrah Baker
At the age of 13, Kory Montgomery got his first taste of music success — a solo on the stage of George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville. It wasn’t long after, before the age of 18, that he was invited to tour with B.B. King and open up for Fayetteville locals that had already made a name for themselves on the NWA scene.
It takes a certain amount of natural talent, practice and a love of music, Montgomery said, but what really gave him his opportunity was other local musicians who saw his talent, took him under his wing and fostered a creativity that has led to a successful music career, before the age of 25.
“It’s a lot to do with just really amazing opportunities that got put in my lap along with practicing all the time and being persistent as a musician,” Montgomery said. “I’ve been doing it ever since I realized it was fun. I’ve just always set my heart to it.”
After his first tour with B.B. King he decided to come back to NWA for a few years and tour with the Kory Montgomery Band, the headlining show at George’s last weekend. He attended college at the Music Institute in Los Angeles and developed his own sound. Since then, he’s been on the road working with top name acts and creating his own albums and demos.
“I just got done recording a demo and we’ve got the Blues Brothers horns on it, while recording out of hotel rooms on tour,” he explained. “What’s amazing now is you can do most things with a Mac interphase and good microphone. It’s amazing what we can do now.”
The music he performs lies in a range of genres, but his base will always be blues, he said. From the beginning that’s what he played, and it’s what he goes back to.
“I grew up with blues and then once I went to school I learned to play funk and groove music,” he said.
Montgomery is back on tour and working on projects with Bryan Burkhart of Groovement, Shawn Eckles of Speakeasy and Jeremy Ervin. Look for more from the Kory Montgomery Band on www.reverbnation.com/thekorymontgomeryband
