Coco Montoya
Born Henry Montoya in Santa Monica, California in 1951 right into a worker’s family. He was quickly drawn to the songs he discovered in his mom’s and dads’ unique record compilation. Rock, big band jazz, salsa as well as doo-wop all sharpened his hunger. Also he was quickly picking melodies on guitar prior to gravitating to the drums. Years of lessons as well as the practice followed, and like lots of teens of the ’60s, Montoya was soon playing drums in a collection of local rock bands.
In 1969, nevertheless, the young drummer obtained his first taste of fate. He attended a Creedence Clearwater Revival/Iron Butterfly performance at the Forum in Inglewood. Opening up the show was blues guitar excellent Albert King. This set left Coco Montoya transformed. Mentally drained yet spiritually uplifted by King’s music, Montoya linked immediately to cries. His future path, though not immediate, was for life changed that evening.
Montoya continued playing drums in a number of local rock bands. By the mid-’70s he had gotten on-the-road encounters through the periodic regional trip. Among those bands played weekends at a small club in Culver City, and Montoya would certainly often get his gear the complying with day. One Sunday, bluesman Albert Collins was set up to play a matinee there, and the club proprietor gave Collins consent to make use of Montoya’s drums. When Montoya came down there to grab his devices, he found it had actually been implemented by somebody else, which left him a little bit dismayed with the club proprietor. But after talking to Collins by phone, Montoya wound up remaining around for Collins’s next show, or even sat in on his very own drums. Once again, Montoya found a prompt link to the music.
Call out of the blue
A few months later Montoya got a call out of the blue. It was Collins. He was seriously in need of a drummer for a Northwest excursion. Montoya said yes. Couple hours later the guitar player picked him up. He would spend the following 5 years playing drums with Collins’ band. It was the start of his education in the blues as taught by the guitarist nicknamed the Iceman. Both artists became quite close. Collins described Montoya as his ‘boy’. It had not been long before Montoya again grabbed the guitar. Collins spent many hours in his spare time with Montoya becoming a mentor to a young student. He instilling in him the rule, “Don’t consider it, merely play it.”.
Cocco Montoya solo project
In 1995, Montoya launched his first solo project. Gotta Mind to Travel, at first in Europe on Silvertone Records and after that in the United States on the Blind Pig. In the middle of important acclaim, it right away caught on with blues fans and radio developers, and the following year Coco Montoya was chosen for 4 Blues Music Awards (then called the Handys, offered by the Blues Foundation); he won for Best New Blues Artist.
Born in Santa Monica, Montoya played drums for a neighborhood rock band that explored the area throughout the mid-’70s, playing in location clubs. Although he had recently been turned on to blues at an Albert King show, he was somewhat unprepared to sit in with an additional blues tale– “the Iceman” Albert Collins– when a bar-owner pal of Montoya welcomed the bluesman to play at his bar. Though his lack of experience showed, the young drummer amazed Collins enough to employ him for a Pacific Northwest excursion 3 months later on. The excursion quickly finished. Both are affiliations stayed for greater than 5 years. Montoya learned much regarding the handling of blues guitar from “the Master of the Telecaster.”.
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