Country Dick Montana


Country Dick was more than some guy who'd fall off stage and drench you in his beer and sweat. Dick was also a visionary who predicted the current wave of Vegas chic long before Dean Martin became hip again, as well as being a twisted version of a high school cheerleader whose infectious optimism and sincere passion for music made him a continual inspiration of the California and national music scenes. He was a brave and tough mother, not only in how he faced some of the rowdiest audiences to walk in to a bar room, but also how he fought cancer the last few years. Then again, strange as it sounds, Dick was one of the sweetest guys I ever knew. Several years ago, at maybe the lowest point in my life, Dick was one of three people who stopped me from quitting music out of depression and frustration. I will always owe him for that and I will always miss him. Adios compadre.
-Dave Alvin

Country Dick Montana: Entertainer. It's how his passport reads, not "musician" or "artist". Entertainer, as in Tom Jones, Liberace, and of course, Dean Martin. It's what he lived for, to command a room from the edge of the stage, or atop a mahogany bar. To transport the crowd from their work day hassles and worries into his big, scary, beautiful rock and roll dreamland for an hour each night. He did it too. He pulled it off night after night for fifteen years. I know 'cause I was there. This collection of songs tells a story very much like a night on the town with Dick. Fun, adventure, depravity, insanity, and a reassuring deliverance from the depths. We made it! We're alright! Just a little hung over. This is Dick's recording. He made it. He chose the songs and the musicians. He ran the production and the mixing and conceptualized the art work and now it's done.
Nothin' left but for us to be entertained.
-Joey Harris


Nixon on Montana: He was my dementor (demented mentor) * He sold tunes he didn't own to a record company! * He would lay on his back and drink a beer like a bear using only his feet. * Confused his bookie with his bookkeeper. * Never paid for a beer in his life... Rock and roll ain't dead. The great American wild frontier, Davy Crockett, living legend fuck you "up tight blue bellied christians", rantin' and ravin', psycho on the edge of town will never die! You can kill the body, but the spirit just jumps into the next fearless nutt job. Country Dick lost 20 years of this life being that nutt job. He didn't care, he did exactly what he wanted to do. He traded longevity for FREEDOM. He was happy he got to stand at the vortex for a moment...
Now swashbuckle forth with manly comportment and make Dick proud. Let the drinkin' begin!
-Mojo Nixon


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