Spotlight ON! Jess Montgomery

This month we shine the Spotlight ON! Jess Montgomery.

Jess Montgomery is well-known in the Kaua‘i music scene as a versatile and talented Hawaiian steel guitarist and musician. However, there are many facets to Jess, and in his own words, "Like most of my generation, it started, and will probably end, in the garage. Chainsaws, dirt bikes, and electric guitars are all WAY more fun when you're the one pulling the trigger, and 'the band' is always a perfect excuse to ignore more pressing matters – that, and a great way while away many a blown-out, surfless, afternoon with your buddies – and toss back a few lagers in the process."

Sit back and enjoy Jess' journey, which he affectionately calls "RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME."

I was born in rural Southern California, about 30 miles north of San Diego, and moved to Kaua‘i in 1973, where I have lived ever since. Tracing my interest in music and instruments played with slides, however, goes back to 1955, when I started playing slide trombone in my elementary school marching band. I played for 6 years and learned much more than I realized at the time; things like reading music, but more importantly, how the different sections of a larger orchestra work together to meld dynamic from separate parts, how music can be broken down mathematically, and how to count rests when laying out! All of these things became focused later when I stared playing in smaller bands with friends. By 8^th grade I had become more interested in athletics, mainly surfing. I quit the school band and didn't think about it much until after I'd graduated from High School, when, like every other kid my age, I took up guitar.

My next experience with an instrument played with a slide happened on Kaua‘i; there I was a cook for 40 years, and the daily grind was "surf all day/cook all night." When the surf was lousy, friends would get together and play music. At that point I didn't have a guitar, but a friend and I ponied up $12.50 each for a flat-top from Larry's music in Kapa‘a. The logo, applied to the headstock on a printed piece of clear tape, said it all – "ALOHA". How could we go wrong? The high action made it pretty unplayable, but the tone was alright, and it ended up working perfectly for bottle-neck style slide blues. I soon bought out my friend's half-share, added a DeArmond sound-hole pickup, found a small Tweed amp, and the screech could peel the paint off a wall 20 feet away.

I really enjoyed the '70's contemporary Hawaiian music - Gabby, Sons of Hawai‘i, Hui ‘Ohana, the Beamers, Peter Moon etc, and I tried to play it, but there was no way I was ever going to sing Hawaiian words with any authenticity. I also failed miserably (and still do) at learning to play anything note-for-note. I loved the sound of "Feet" Rogers' steel guitar, and that seemed like a possible pathway to become more involved in the music. A trip to Honolulu in 1982 yielded my first steel guitar, and after work one night I took it over to the Coconut Palace at Coco Palms. Ernie Palmeira played steel there and I'd gotten to know him when he would eat at the restaurant where I worked. Ernie grabbed it, muttered, and started twisting the tuning knobs. When I asked what tuning he had put it in he grinned and ran thru a couple of tunes. "No worry, bro," he said, "Just play it. It's easy!" (It turned out to be C6.) Despite what he'd said, it wasn't easy for me. I went to Honolulu to Jerry Byrd's 1^st Steel Guitar Ho‘olaule‘a at McCoy Pavillion in Ala Moana Park. Seeing Jerry, Billy Hew Len, David Keli‘i, Alan Akaka, and others performing made me more determined to figure the thing out. A few years later the Biennnial HSGA Conventions on O‘ahu began and, while it was very intimidating to play in front all those steel fanatics, it was also plainly the best way to come to terms with one's grasp of the instrument. I was friends with Ken Emerson on Kauai, and we got together a couple of times. The first thing he did was to change my tuning to G6 (GBEGBD), so of course that lesson was lost because I was totally confused. I stuck with that one, but a year later at one of the HSGA events in Kona Jerry Byrd heard me noodling one morning in the hotel lobby, asked what tuning I used, and told me I HAD to get rid of that low G and make the interval (BDEGBD). Who's going to argue? That's the tuning I have stuck with. Besides being versatile, something I like about it is that I can detune the low D to C# and get an A-eleventh interval easily for "Sand" etc.

A lucky break came in 1990 when I was playing my acoustic steel at the beach one day and met Ilima, one of Larry Rivera's daughters. We played a few tunes and she asked me to join her playing at the Sheraton Kaua‘i in Poipu, along with Rick Hanapi. We played there for several months and off & on ever since. Ilima's shows often included her dad, and one afternoon in 2005 he called me on the phone.

"Jess - this is Larry. Do you want to play a luau with me?"
"Sure Larry," I said. "When is it?"
"In half an hour!" …

Jess Montgomery with Larry Rivera & Richard Beach at Smith's Tropical Gardens Luau

That turned into 10 years (2005-2015) of shows with Larry, 3 or 4 a month, taking place at Smith's Tropical Gardens. These luaus, for cruise ship passengers, lasted from noon 'til 2, so I could play and still get to my cooking job. Playing with Larry brought back to mind something else I had learned, but not understood, back in my school band days. At first I would get plenty "side-eye" on stage for playing too much, especially over Larry's vocal lines. I also had to to pay close attention in the moment, never assuming that the key or chords he was strumming while talking between songs have anything to do with the next tune he was going to play. He also loved to change keys unexpectedly in the middle of the songs, or sing them differently and in different keys depending whether he was singing the English or Hawaiian lyrics. He might even start a show with a song we'd never tried before.

A big turning point in my steel playing came in '91 or '92. I know it was before Hurricane Iniki because Coco Palms was still open. Alan Akaka and his group were going to perform there, so I called him up on Oahu and arranged a lesson. This made a huge difference because, rather than just going over a few tunes with me or talking tunings, he really looked at my picking and bar techniques, and made suggestions that, while sending me back to square one and a whole lot of boot camp, drastically changed the way I played. I also can't express enough gratitude to all the local musicians on Kaua‘i who have put up with me wanting to sit in over the years when I had no business getting up with them. Lady Ipo Kahaunaele, Rick Hanapi, Troy Waialeale, Howard Toki, the Riveras, Pat Cockett, Norman Ka‘awa Soloman, Daryl Gonsalves, and many more. There's nothing like performing, especially with players better than yourself, to sharpen your focus and let you know exactly what you don't know.

In 2013 I hung up my cooking tongs and a year later I met and started playing steadily with Dennis Chun. He teaches Hawaiian Studies at the local college and as such knows the meanings and back stories of all the songs we play. We do 90% old-school Hawaiian, and he plays guitars in standard and several slack-key tunings. We do a lot of Sons Of Hawaii-type stuff, which is probably my favorite. Except for a short pandemic shutdown, we have been fortunate to have a steady Thursday night slot at the Hukilau Lanai Restaurant in Kapa‘a for the past 7 years or so. A few months ago we also picked up Monday nights at Shutters Lounge at Kaua‘i Beach Resort between Kapa‘a and Lihue.

Jess Montgomery and Dennis Chun

For most of these Hawaiian gigs I use a post-war Rickenbacher Bakelite 6-string played thru a small Fender tube amp. I also have an old koa "Hilo" acoustic, similar to a Weissenborn. Besides that there's also my purple pearloid Magnatone that I got for $10 in Oregon. It sounds great, and is what I take to play at parties or other situations where I might have to "run," if you know what I mean.

I have also written songs since about 1966, mostly country, blues, and Hapa-haole style Hawaiian, and have been fortunate to be included in final selection for the Kaua‘i Song Writer's Competition several times. I also flew to Honolulu once in the mid-90's when I was chosen in the top 3 for the Honolulu Parks & Recreation Songwriting Contest. One of my favorite moments at these sorts of events was after I'd given a presentation at Garden Island Art Council's E Kanikapila Kakou here on Kaua‘i. A regular attendant was Arthur K. Trask, and afterward he pulled me aside to comment on one of my songs called "Hokulani O Hanalei."

"Jess," he said in his old-time courtroom-style oratorical cadence, "I enjoyed your music, but, you know,…it sounds to me…like Hokulani…comes from…Tennessee!" I could have told him that!

In addition to the steel gigs and occasional solo and duo performances with my wife, I have also played bass for 30 years with Vic & The Victimz, a 6 piece Rhythm & Blues band that performs out locally once or twice a month. I have quite a few videos of all these endeavors posted under my name on YouTube, and have recorded all of my original tunes, tho never really released anything commercially.

It's been an absolute joy to explore Hawaiian music through the steel guitar, and it's always exciting to know that if you are open and pay attention, when you least expect it, you might find yourself in the Right Place at the Right Time. And – don't ever invite me to sit in if you don't mean it…I will show up!

This video is of Jess Montgomery on the acoustic steel with Lady Ipo Kahaunaele-Ferriera doing "Hanalei Moon".

The video can also be seen on YouTube.