‘ Whether you’ve caught one of his songs on the radio or saw him last month on Saturday Night Live, Ray LaMontagne is leaving a permanent impression on music lovers, despite his timid demeanor.
Like most singer-songwriters, his sound is distinctive, raw, and exposed, yet he manages to separate himself by emotionally linking themes of rebirth and destruction into his work.
Often noted as an extremely shy performer, regularly singing in almost total darkness to separate himself from the audience, his music more then makes up for his relaxed visual presentation.
After his father, also a musician, left his mother when he was a young boy, LaMontagne stood clear of music and discovered his thriving imagination from fantasy novels.
Spending hours reading, he channeled his attention into a fictitious world away from reality. Consequently, he barely received passing grades in school.
Writing stories and trying to suppress his feelings, he decided after graduation to move away from his New Hampshire home and travel to Maine. There he worked sixty-five hours a week and unknowingly
found his true love of music.
While working early one morning in the factory, the song Treetowp Flyer by Stephen Stills came on the radio. It was in that moment that LaMontagne quit his job and began to focus on his music career.
In 1999 he began touring and, within a few years, found himself with a collection of almost a dozen tracks which he played as he toured.
While still in the early stages of his career, LaMontagne compiled and produced a demo record which he sent to various people in the music industry.
To his luck, his work drew the liking of several music executives and he was promptly signed to RCA Records.
In a matter of two weeks, LaMontagne re-recorded those tracks and released his first album, Trouble, in September 2004.
Primarily using his guitar and background percussion, the simplicity of Trouble is what primed his success and denoted his signature sound.
The album’s title track made it to no. 5 in the UK and the album sold over 400,000 copies to date world-wide.
‘Trouble; been doggin’ my soul since the day I was born. Worry; just will not seem to leave my mind alone. Well I’ve been saved by a woman, I’ve been saved by a woman.’
In 2006, he released his sophomore album, Till the Sun Turns Black. Continuing to develop as an artist, he added horns and strings in the background of the tracks to achieve a more layered appeal.
A great example of this can be heard on one of my favorite tracks, Be Here Now. ‘Don’t let your soul get lonely child it’s only time, it will go by.
Don’t look for love in faces, places it’s in you, that’s where you’ll find kindness. Be here now, here now.’ By using his guitar as his pallet, his voice paints a piece of originality for your ears and soul to enjoy.
His latest album, Gossip in the Grain, was released in October 2008, landing him at the no. 3 spot on the Billboard Charts.
One of his most successful songs off the album, You Are the Best Thing, was featured in the movie, I Love You, Man, staring Paul Rudd.
‘Baby, we’ve come a long way, baby; you know, I hope and I pray that you believe me when I say this love will never fade away oh, because you are the best thing.’
Over the course of his music journey, LaMontagne has received 14 nominations for his work, winning five awards in total.
He is currently on tour promoting his latest album, making stops along the way in Florida, playing this past Wednesday, April 29 to a sold out audience at the Tampa Theatre.
LaMontagne will head to Dublin in September to embark on his international tour.
To find more of Ray LaMontagne, visit raylamontagne.com or myspace.com/raylamontagne.