James Monte

I am getting ready to (finally) put out some music of my own again.  I'll start by reissuing some of my older material and then (hopefully very soon) I will be putting out some new music too.  I have a few projects working right now and I can't wait to share.

One of the very first tapes I formed a connection with was Nirvana's "Nevermind" album.  I listened to that tape so much I wore it out.  I'm pretty sure that was the album that inspired me to be a drummer too.  Still today when I hear that album it brings me back to when I was a young boy.  I feel like the same kid listening to the tape on my walk-man, drowning out all the crappy stuff happening around me. I had a small collection of cassette tapes.  When things got tough I'd often retreat into my headphones and get absorbed into the music.  I would imagine myself in those tapes playing the music;  being part of the band.  I would daydream about what it was like to be in a band.  I would wonder about how to make music and how to record it.  It became my world. As an 11 or 12 year old boy my favorite tapes were "In Utero" by Nirvana, "Ten" by Pearl Jam, Blind Melon's self titled album and "Get a Grip" by Aerosmith.  There were ...

I vaguely remember a time when I had a fire that burned deeply within my soul.  The embers were hot and seared my flesh spilling flames outward for all to see.  There was nothing that could smother my burning desire to express this passion.  My fire was being a musician. I would sacrifice anything and everything I had or was to be in a band or play on stage.  I made poor life decisions altering my adulthood forever just so I could get the next gig, or to share the stage with one of my idols.  I was all in and nothing stood in my way from reaching the top.  Nothing except of course what happens to the majority of aspiring musicians that never realize their dreams.  I grew up. Life as it seems has it's way of getting people stuck in a rut.  You get that job that is supposed to sustain your creativity, however it becomes the very thing that stifles it.  You make a few small sacrifices at first, but over time making bigger sacrifices becomes ...