Interview: Montgomery Gentry Change Labels But Stay Consistent for ‘Folks Like Us’

Montgomery Gentry's new album, Folks Like Us, will be their eighth studio album, but their first on their new record label, Blaster Records. Despite that change, the duo insists that everything else about them and their music remains the same.

"Lyrically, we’re consistent with our message of singing to the blue-collar folks out there, and about our military, and singing about family and faith and all of the things that we grew up with in our life, and singing the songs like our mentors did," Gentry tells The Boot. "You go back to Charlie Daniels, the Waylon [Jennings], the Willie [Nelson]s, the Allman Brothers and folks like that, they sang about the working-class people. That’s kind of what rubbed off on us to help create our sound. And lyrically, that’s what we’ve always tried to sing about on all of our records."

And while country music changes around them, Montgomery Gentry's new record deal, which they signed back in February of 2014, helped instill in the guys a new confidence about their music and their vision.

"So far, it’s been incredible," Gentry says. "The great thing about stepping into Blaster Records [is] all of the guys that we have met throughout our careers here in Nashville. Whether they were working with Sony or at other record labels, we’ve known all these guys for a while, so there’s a comfort going into the deal right out of the box, knowing everybody. It’s been fun to work with everyone at the new label."

For Folks Like Us, Montgomery Gentry returned to producer Michael Knox, who also produced their 2011 Rebels on the Run record. The result is a classic Montgomery Gentry sound.

"Michael Knox has been able to, with the sound and the change of country music over the last four to six years, take our sound and our music and our songs and stay true to Montgomery Gentry," Gentry explains, "but freshen it up and give it a little bit of a new sound and a new feel to compete in the market today."

Neither Montgomery nor Gentry feels the need to try and alter their duo's sound to remain viable in today's country music scene.

"We’ve had a lot of radio guys that come up to us and say, ‘They’re throwing so many people at us, and they’re all sounding the same,'" Montgomery says. "But man, when they send something of yours, when we hear it as soon as it comes on, we know who that is.’"

Adds Gentry, "The sound’s going to continue to change. What it is today, it’s not going to be in another four, five years. It’s continually changing.

"And it’s changed in a positive way. It’s brought so many listeners to our format, which is a great thing," he continues. "Now we have, instead of the typical age demographic being a more older generation listening to country music, we have them anywhere from single digits up to the old folks. We’ve got a whole wide spread of listeners now, which is great for our format."

It's been 16 years since Montgomery Gentry released their debut Tattoos & Scars album in 1999, and four years since their last Top 10 single, "Where I Come From," but Montgomery Gentry say that they didn't feel any extra pressure when making Folks Like Us.

"Obviously we wanted to take the best songs that we could get our hands on, and I think that we did," Montgomery notes. "A lot of the great writers wrote stuff and pitched stuff, so I think we’ve got quality songs. I think this is an awesome project.

"Of course, each time we cut a record, I think we try to do one better than the last one, and I think we’ve done it again," he adds. "For where we’re at in our life, I think we’ve found the best songs to represent not only us but the American people out there."

The 10-track album features songs by Chris Stapleton, Wendell Mobley, David Lee Murphy, Bob DiPiero and others. Although neither Montgomery nor Gentry co-wrote any of the record's songs, they both agreed on each song that's included on the record.

"For the most part, we agree on everything," Montgomery says. "I think, one, because we’ve known each other for so long, [and] we’ve got a lot of similar tastes in music. [Gentry] is a little more traditional and a little more Southern rock-ish, to where I’m a little bit more contemporary, but between my vocal style and his vocal style, we can pull it off, doing what I love to do and what he loves to do."

When asked if they worry about the competitive nature of the music industry today, both men adamantly maintain that they do not, because it isn't album sales or chart positions that indicate success to them.

"We joke about the things that we could be doing or would be doing if we weren’t doing this, but this is what our heart and passion is, playing music," Gentry says. "Even if we didn’t have record deals, or didn’t have another record deal on Blaster Records, Eddie and I would still be out there traveling and making music. It’s just what our heart is and what we love to do."

"We used to play bars, five, six, seven nights a week, four hours, five hours a night," Montgomery chimes in. "So it’s just who we are."

Folks Like Us is set for release on June 9 and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon and iTunes. The duo will spend much of the summer on the road in support of the album; all of their concert dates are listed on their website.

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