Tony Savarino

A supremely talented guitarist, Tony Savarino made his bones playing in every band in Boston. Okay, maybe not every band, but far too many to mention here. His all-encompassing style has been compared to that of the late, great Danny Gatton, but in truth, so varied are the different styles Savarino employs on “Guitaring” it would be unfair to compare him to any one single player.

So, speed, dexterity, variety, tone and great taste, Savarino has got the lot, and the good news; he’s happy to share. Wholly instrumental, the lack of words detract in no way from this exceptional collection, and standout tracks come thick and fast. Opener “Barrelhaus Gutbucket Chickin' Pickin'” is a country rocker which is as good as its name suggests. “Take One” is a Grant Green-style jazz number that’s over all too quickly, and “Blues For Bb” is wonderfully loungy and thanks to some quixotic Hammond and rolling bass would’ve sounded magnificent on one of Tom Waits early Island recordings.

Perhaps “Deep Blue Day” best represents Savarino’s all-round approach to his music, it noirish, ambient quality sounds quite unlike anything else on the record, yet it quintessentially captures his sound. It’s quite brilliant, and the same can be said for the album as a whole. - Leicester Bangs

June 16th 2011
TONY SAVARINO
Guitaring
(Naked Ear Records)

By Robert Silverstein for mwe.com

Guitarist Tony Savarino has guitar playing down to a science on his 2010 CD appropriately entitled Guitaring. Having been a mainstay on the Boston area music scene over the past 25+ years, Tony’s experience backing up various artists translates to his first instrumental guitar extravaganza that blends all manners of instrumental guitar-based music with rock, rock ‘n’ roll and jazzy, bluesy and sometimes funky guitar instrumentals. After hearing Guitaring, you’d be right if you think that Savarino sounds like a modern Les Paul. Although most guitarists never quite attain that level of sophistication of merging pop and jazz into that quite heady a stew, you really have to give Tony credit for making such a bold instrumental album. Not only does Tony write his own music but he also has a thing for covering his musical heroes—here tackling music by George Gershwin (a highly unusual track called “Rialto Ripples”), Brian Eno (a hypnotic piece that sounds like Eno with guitarist Dan Lanois or even Jerry Garcia) and David Rose (a track called “Holiday For Strings” from the same guy who wrote “The Stripper”). Elsewhere on the CD, Savarino also gives a tip of the musical hat to Nashville guitar hero Joe Maphis, while also serving up a rousing surf-rock jewel called “Russian Roulette” and, there's much more including a CD closing cover of the Flying Burrito Brothers favorite, “Christine’s Song”—the lone vocal here—that spotlights nifty vocals from Ajda Snyder. Throughout the 11 cut Guitaring CD, Savarino gets solid backing from his band with other fine players lending their talents. Calling Savarino an eclectic guitar connoisseur would be an understatement. Just for the sheer amount of instrumental guitar based intelligence unearthed and brought to life here, Savarino deserves a standing ovation. - MWE.com

Tony Savarino proves himself in many styles and shows a fine sense of humor on an album guitarists will certainly appreciate.
His “Barrelhaus Gutbucket Chick- en Pickin” starts things off, with chromatic licks, killer bends, and percussive guitar sounds that glide over a loping country beat. Phil Baugh’s “Take One” feels like a
long-lost Hank Garland track, with its jazz-country feel and Savarino working chords. He proves more than capable of playing a blues that isn’t cliche´ with “Blues for Bb,” a smooth after-hours jam with jazzy
soloing and changes. At first glance, Brian Eno’s “Deep
Blue Day” – an atmospheric piece with notes soaring in and out – doesn’t seem to fit. But it works. “Freight Train” is an acoustic tour de force with fingerpicking, flatpicking, and everything else you can think of on acoustic. And how can you not love an instrumental guitar record that finds room for “Holiday for Strings.” The classic melody is a muted-string workout that’ll put a smile on your face.
Savarino also sneaks in a rocking rendition of Motorhead’s “Dancing on Your Grave” that hints at Savarino’s inspirations, pre-Telemasters!
Guitaring is a collection of great songs, deployed with great execution – and the occasional wink. – John Heidt - Vintage Guitar Magazine

Boston-area guitarist Tony Savarino’s new record, Guitaring, is an instrumental tour de force... - Vintage Guitar Magazine

Man, this guy can play. Boston is stacked with ace old-school rock ’n’ roll guitarists - Johnny A., Ronnie Earl, the Dukes (Levine and Robillard) - but Savarino stands shoulder-to-shoulder with them. The instrumental album cuts from classic chicken pickin’ to jump blues to electrified Django-y romps. There’s not a bad note, guitar tone or supporting musician; check out Tom West’s organ on “Blues for Bb.” Download the solo acoustic boxcar blues, “Freight Train.” - The Boston Herald, By Jed Gottlieb

The worry with any rock guitar virtuoso’s recording is that it will quickly devolve into onanisticnoodling. Tony Savarino’s Guitaring, however, adroitly sidesteps the problem with a keen eyefor variety and a welcome selflessness in the studio. The Boston-bred musician is a dabbler, with a finger in everything from rock to funk, from soul to country, from pop to reggae. He’s literally all over the map, which has led to a head-scratchingly diverse series of sideman gigs across his home city. He was a longtime bandmate with Dale Bozzio, who fronted 1980’snew wavers Missing Persons, sat in with Simon Ritt (co-frontman of the award-winning local country-rock outfit the Darlings), and appeared as part of a 1970’s-style R&B band called Alto Reform School, named for the juvenile lockup where James Brown first formed His Famous Flames band. Savarino mixes and matches styles in the same way on Guitaring.



You’ll hear him tearing through “Early American” by 1950’s guitar innovator Joe Maphis, who came to fame by incorporating these fiddle-breakdown freakouts into his act on a double-necked Mos-Rite Special that he helped design. But Savarino also does a delicate dance through “Freight Train” by folk blues legend Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten, a lefty whose unique style of upside-downplaying was so revered that it eventually came to be widely known as “Cotten picking.”Credit Savarino, too, for assembling a crack band. Each member arrives with his ownconsiderable chops, and that keeps the record from becoming overly obsessed with Savarino’soutsized skills. Guitaring features first-call session drummer Mike Levesque (David Bowie,Natalie Imbruglia), as well as pianist Tom West (Susan Tedeschi, Peter Wolf). This record is also helped by bassist Rich Cortese, whose debut album with the Zulus was produced by Bob Mould of Husker Du fame. Guitaring was mixed and co-produced by Brandyn Ryan, who along with Savarino and bassist George Cooke are part of the seven-musician, eighteen-singer stadium-rock extravaganza Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra.



Every time Savarino threatens to steal the show, one of these guys nudges his way into the conversation. That’s perhaps best heard on the opener, the driving country rocker called “BarrelHaus Gutbucket Chicken Pickin” that bears more than a passing resemblance to the roadsidejangle of guitar-man Jerry Reed. Yet pedal steel player Mike Castellana somehow matches Savarino, stride for myth-making stride. That’s why Savarino’s such an in-demand performer.He is just as good at inhabiting the white-hot spotlight as he is at supporting his fellow musicianson the side.



All the while, Savarino never tires of experimenting. “Jericho,” this time with Eric Welsh atthe organ, boasts a greasy groove associated with the legendary Stax rhythm section of Booker T. and the MG’s. Savarino then turns the spacey Brian Eno tune “Deep Blue Day” (first heard on the Trainspotting soundtrack) on its ear, pairing up for a duet with pedal-steel guitarist Tim Obetz. In fact, there’s a cool-rocking backwoods vibe running throughout the proceedings,notably on “Take One,” a hot-country romp originally written by the late Phil Baugh. Savarino also offers a terrific version of “Devil in Disguise (a.k.a. Christine’s Tune)” from Gram Parsons’ Flying Burrito Brothers days, with vocals from fellow Berklee alum Adja Snyder.



Savarino also tries out sizzling surf music with the Blue Stingrays’ “Russian Roulette,” and handily snakes his way through the straight-forward “Blues for Bb.” Can anyone be surprised when he also tackles “Rialto Ripples,” by George Gershwin? But instead of settling into a perhaps-expected old-school Dixieland vibe, Savarino channels the gut-busting riffs associated with the 1960s-era Blue Note jazz label, all inside the composition’s signature cascading runs .You can, across the breadth of Guitaring hear other whispers of inspiration, from Les Paul to Roy Clark, from Steve Howe to Chet Atkins. And when it’s all said and done, there is thes neaking suspicion that Tony Savarino is just getting started. - Nick DeRiso

Tony Savarino is a renaissance man among guitarists, moving from musical style to style without question or pause. Something of a regional legend, Savarino has played with almost anyone who’s anyone in the Boston music scene. His credits include names such as Dale Bozzio, T.M. Stevens, The Dents, The Rudds, The Montgomerys and Alto Reform School, to name a few. Savarino has been featured in Guitar World, Guitar Player For The Practicing Musician, theBoston Globe, The Noise and Soundcheck. After years of playing with and/or in support ofothers, Savarino steps out on his own with Guitaring, a collection of ten instrumentals and one vocal track that show off Savarino’s range and distinctive talent with an axe in his hand.

Guitaring opens with the eccentrically fabulous honky-tonk guitar work of “Barrelhaus
Gutbucket Chicken Pickin’”, with Savarino exploring the distinctive country sound using jazz
forms. There’s some pretty mean Hammond organ work going on in and behind the scenes here.
Savarino doesn’t waste any time in flooring listeners. You’ll understand early on that you’re in
the presence of a virtuosic talent. “Take One” pairs the guitar and xylophone in a brief duet with
a great jazz feel and a strong rhythm section. “Jericho” is an inspired early rock instrumental
that shows the nascent roots of surf guitar struggling to be born in the wash. Savarino manages
to recreate that moment where one style morphs into something new and wonderful and presents
it here as if it’s first happening before your very ears. “Rialto Ripples” is a frenetic, if brief, side
trip that’s more like an unfinished idea than a completed piece.

In spite of its name,”Blues For Bb (B Flat)” is more of a jazz/blues hybrid than anything else,
and finds Savarino once again counting off paces with a Hammond Organ. Savarino, who seems
to excel in any style he touches, comes particularly alive in this musical marriage, seeming to
feed off the organ sound to create magical moments on the guitar. Savarino picks up an acoustic
guitar for “Freight Train” and digs into a blues/roots style that is initially without form. Savarino
explores the musical territory before settling into a rhythm, showing off some wicked guitar
work in the process. “Deep Blue Day” is a dreamy legato rumination that’s dressed in heavy
reverb, and is probably the most mundane work on the album.

Savarino channels a bit of Les Paul on “Holiday For Strings”, playing in a pizzicato style that’s
entertaining and humorous. There’s almost a mechanical quality to the main theme of the song,
but Savarino fills the spaces in between with some wonderfully jazz-inspired play. “Russian
Roulette” sounds like it comes directly from a 1960’s spy thriller, blending 1960’s surf rock with
a bachelor pad style that’s moody, furtive and full of energy. “Early American” features the sort
of pick work that would make Chet Atkins proud. The Joe Maphis-penned instrumental is made

to look like light work by Savarino, but any of the guitar players out there will tell you this is not
an easy piece to tackle. “Christine’s Tune (AKA Devil In Disguise)” is the only vocal track on
the album, featuring Adja Snyder in a solid vocal turn. The Gram Parsons cover has a classic
country feel to it.

Guitaring is undoubtedly a solo guitar album, but what makes it work so well is that Savarino
has surrounded himself with first class musicians, and Savarino has the sense to make this
an ensemble album rather than a vanity piece. Guitaring is the sort of album you can’t quite
put down, particularly if you’re a guitar player yourself. You’ll find yourself mesmerized by
Savarino’s technical brilliance, but it’s the heart that Savarino brings to each and every song that
seals the deal. Guitaring might just be the best rock instrumental album of 2010. - Wildy Haskell

rowsing bandcamp.com, this track title caught my eye (& why wouldn’t it)? It’s a Danny Gatton-style romp worthy of the name, but the cool thing about Guitaring by Tony Savarino is the impressive variety of styles, everything from the above track to jazz (Take One & Blues for Bb), country (Freight Train), and new age-y Deep Blue Day.

Tony is based in Boston and, based on his website, does session work and teaches. He also has a pretty impressive collection of axes. - 22frets.com/Rich Morey

Tony Savarino’s Guitaring is a guitar lover’s dream CD, on which Savarino gives listeners a tour of many (mostly) American guitar styles throughout the ages. While this disc is all over the map stylistically, Savarino never sounds like he’s showing off. He doesn’t seem to be saying, ‘Hey everybody! Look at me!’ Instead, he tastefully displays a mastery of too many different guitar techniques to count.

You want country picking? You’ve got it with “Barrelhaus Gutbucket Chicken Picken”. You prefer jazz, instead? Well, look no further than “Take One”. Okay, how about something obscure, like a spy movie theme? If that’s you’re taste, “Russian Roulette” conjures up vividmental pictures of old 007 chasing after Eastern European bad guys. Savarino doesn’t just hint at generalized styles, either. For instance, the country of “Barrelhaus Gutbucket Chicken Picken” has a chugging train, country vibe one would mainly associate with Johnny Cash. And “Take One” is not merely jazzy; it’s jazzy in a Modern Jazz Quartet way because of its swinging vibe part. Just as Savarino plays off the vibraphonist on “Take One,” he spars with an organist during “Blues for Bb (B flat)”. “Holiday for Strings” has one of those corny song titles you might expect to see in a guitar instruction book, but this is no rudimentary practice exercise. Rather, it finds Savarino playing clipped notes that resemble a popcorn popper, and in a Les/Ford style.

This musician appears to be most comfortable with an electric instrument in his hands. Yet he unplugs briefly during “Freight Train” where he shows off his equally developed folk/bluegrass picking skills. Then on “Deep Blue Day,” he stretches out with a quiet, atmospheric track. Savarino really reveals his interpretative skills on “Jericho”, which uses on old spiritual as its jumping off point. There is a female vocal during “Christine’s Tune,” which is also known as “Devil in Disguise”. This is an old Gram Parsons/The Flying Burrito Brothers song, and while Savarino’s version is credible, it won’t soon make you forget the original.

Savarino also earns bonus points for giving his CD such a great title. Any time an artist has the guts to make up a brand new word, that artist deserves extra kudos. Savarino is not just picking at a guitar; he’s guitaring it, the way a driver drives his car. In other words, he sounds to be incomplete control throughout.

Chances are that genuine guitar geeks love to hear all Savarino can do. But Guitaring is not just a series of technique exercises masquerading as songs. This album is extremely entertaining,too. When Savarino gets down on the farm for “Early American,” he never strays far from the central melody. So while he’s an amazing picker, he’s not just showing off how many notes he can squeeze into each measure. In that sense, he’s a lot like Chet Atkins. Savarino’s style is distinctly different from the flashy heavy metal axmen that have tragically turned guitar playing into the musical equivalent to skateboard tricks. Most of the time, listeners want a song they can hum along with and tap their toes to, which is uniquely difficulty when a soloist is shredding like a speed freak. Shredders can make you a little nervous; great musicians, like Savarino, amaze you while they make you feel good.However you choose to look at it, Tony Savarino’s Guitaring is an instrumental musical treat. You can play this for your mom, and your teen boy, and both will likely end up entertained. Yes, Tony Savarino’s Guitaring has a very rare wide appeal going for it.? - Ariel

Wait. What? What the hell is this. I mean seriously. I am not sure what to say but damn, I like it. As the title suggests, this is a instrumental album featuring the guitar. It ranges in style from jazz, to blues to country. This is exactly the type of album I want in my car on a cross country trip, or playing loud at my outside BBQ, or when I'm making sweet love to... well maybe not then, I would be paying too much attention to the music.

Tony is the front man but he is not selfish, he leaves room for the other musicians to shine. Unlike most guitarists that record an album of music, this record is not just a "hey listen to me play the guitar for an entire album over and over cause I am awesome." (I'm looking at you Santana!). Tony's technical prowess on his guitar is awe-inspiring but he does not let that get in the way of making great music; he uses his talent to serve the song and not show off (again, looking at you Carlos). The song "Freight Train" leaves no question that Tony has the chops not only on the side of his face but on the guitar too. - Your Band

Tony Savarino has been a guitar-slinging gun for hire for so many years in this city, it is hard to think of a band he hasn’t played in or sat in with. This solo record is a joyful mélange of diverse styles: blues, jazz, rockabilly, lounge, country, rock… this is nothing less than a loving tribute and salute to guitar picking that would make lovers of Chet Atkins, Steve Howe, Les Paul, Grant Green, and Roy Clark squeal with glee. It’s rare that a guitar album makes so many stylistic statements within one album and yet still remains fresh and interesting to so many sets of ears. Listen for a cameo by Ajda the Turkish Queen serving up her best Emmylou Harris in a classic Gram Parsons tune, followed by a secret track that will blow your speakers off the table! Rock on! (Joel Simches) - The Noise Rock Around Boston

By Jonathan Perry, Globe Correspondent

November 17, 2006 ARLINGTON

From the pink hair to the platform boots, the glam face paint to the slinky evening gowns, and the people dancing everywhere, the spectacle on the Regent Theatre stage seems more a party than an opera.

In some respects, the production -- billed as "A Night at the Rock Opera" and hosted by a group that calls itself the Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra -- feels precisely like that: one big party with live music, courtesy of a killer band made up of no fewer than 18 singers and eight musicians.

"Hey, you guys know what time it is?" teases MC Sal Clemente, strikingly bald and black-clad, standing center stage. "It's rock o'clock. So, you wanna hear some Beatles?"

The question is, of course, rhetorical. Whoops and hollers of approval go up from the nearly 500-strong audience -- and a few from the stage, too. That eruption is quickly drowned out by the harmonies, bass line, and fuzz guitars that kick into "Paperback Writer," one of a handful of Beatles tunes performed during a 90- minute show packed with vivid covers of Queen, Bowie, the Who, and -- perhaps most significantly -- selections from the rock musical "Jesus Christ Superstar."

For Ultrasonic cofounders Clemente and Alan Ware, whose orchestra makes its Boston debut at the Berklee Performance Center tonight, Tim Rice's and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1970 album of the same name has been both an inspiration and an albatross.

Five years ago, Clemente and Ware, who've been playing in rock bands together for 15 years and run a Somerville-based film and music production company also called Ultrasonic, began recording their own version of "Jesus Christ Superstar." ( That CD and a concert recording of "A Night at the Rock Opera" performed in March at the Regent, are available at ultrasonicproductions.com.) They intended their "Superstar" as a tribute to the album that had shaped their musical lives, and had wanted to chronicle the process of making their album with an accompanying documentary film.

As its climax, the film was to feature a live performance of "Superstar" in its entirety, with more than two dozen singers and musicians hand-picked by Clemente and Ware. Or so they thought.

"We knew we'd have to get [Lloyd] Webber's permission for the rights to use the music in the film," said Clemente before last Friday's performance here. "We had been in contact with the Regent, which had agreed to let us use the space for the performance, and we were ready." But Lloyd Webber balked at having a new production of "Superstar" recorded for the as-yet unfinished film. "Alan and I literally had a good cry over it," Clemente said. Instead of canceling that 2004 performance, Clemente (who also sings) and Ware (who also plays drums) hit upon Plan B: The URO would perform a few "Superstar" selections for the film (Lloyd Webber consented to allow up to five numbers), but would round out the rest of the concert with covers of such classics as "Pinball Wizard," "Ziggy Stardust," and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."

"We did the show and it went over huge -- we were amazed," said Clemente. Emboldened by the response, Clemente and Ware have since written their own mini-rock opera that centers on a would-be composer's dream to write the ultimate rock musical and win the admiration of his hero, Andrew Lloyd Webber. One track is even cheekily titled "Andrew Lloyd Webber Said No." If anything, the setback that might have been a crippling blow to the company has instead strengthened its resolve -- and its creative energy. "No matter what we do," observed Ware, "it all seems to work and turns out right."

URO has grown into a 26-member collective culled mostly from in and around Boston. Together, they are an insanely versatile outfit capable of bringing off even the most intricate of rock pieces -- say, Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" -- with effortless ease, lighthearted humor, and an audacious display of vocal prowess. As if to demonstrate the company's limber musical chops, URO even spins a homemade "Wheel of Rock" board and performs whatever tune the wheel's needle hits (unless, that is, it happens to like another song on the wheel better on a given night).

Among its ranks, URO numbers several familiar faces from Boston's rock community, such as lead guitarist Tony Savarino, Collisions singer-guitarist Bo Barringer, and Alto Reform School frontwoman Chantal Ambroise . "I fell in love with the show," said Ambroise, who joined the URO upon the recommendation of Savarino, who'd been playing guitar with her band. "A lot of it is music I grew up with, and it's [opened] up my range. As a singer, I want to be a part of anything that stretches me." Ambroise said she had recently moved to Seattle with her boyfriend, but flew back especially for the shows.

Savarino said when he auditioned for the ill-fated "Superstar" concert two years ago, he had not learned any of the songs on the album. But the original double LP had been a favorite of his father's, who had played it around the house while he was growing up.

Besides, Savarino, who graduated from Berklee College of Music and now teaches guitar, was a quick study. There are key differences, however, between performing with the URO and Savarino's usual experiences in the rock realm. "This is probably a tighter ship, and in clubs there's more reckless abandon because alcohol is being served," said Savarino. "Here, you have kids and families in the audience. But this is just as valid. It's still rock 'n' roll." - The Boston Globe

By Brian Mosher


Lastly, but certainly not least, is The World’s Greatest Sinners, among the forefront of the Northern Soul revival. Start with an honest-to-goodness horn section and a rhythm section featuring the original drummer from the legendary Outlets, add the ultimate guitar player’s guitar player (the one and only Tony Savarino), and then top the whole thing off with the powerhouse vocals of Miss Jordan Valentine, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a dance party. Valentine is part Billie Holiday part Otis Redding part Varla Magazine girl. And did I mention the band is hot? They play forgotten soul classics like they were all born in Memphis, and if you don’t dance when they’re playing, you probably need to get yourself a blood infusion, stat - Razorcake

THE MONTGOMERYS

by Laura Slapikoff
The inside artwork for The Montgomerys’ newly released CD, Unnatural Selection, features a Polaroid shot of the group’s vocalist and songwriter, Pete Montgomery labeled, “Peter Montgomery, the Bad Boy of Boston Bubblegum.� Pete does indeed strike one as a bad boy, a veritable enfant terrible, both on stage and in person. The energy he radiates is intensely manic; it’s impossible to tell whether he’s going to be able to hold it together or careen completely out of control at any given moment.


For instance, a typical e-mail sent to the band’s mailing list reads:

“Hi, This Friday Sept. 17th The Montgomerys will be celebrating over at The Lizard Lounge to commemorate “Mental Illness Day� It's a relatively new holiday that Rocks! I am going to drink many Golden Monkeys before my set! “Hey, your a neat lady Dad� ...did I just say that out loud? Looks like I'm starting early! It's actually The Buckners CD release Party which is another good reason to go Mental. I just ate a piece of “Secret� antiperspirant stick. Oh ya, our new friends "GWML" which stands for I'm the singer who use to be in Army of Jasons is also playing! So get your ass and cocksix in gear and over to this amazingly mental show! Oh Ya... The Montgomerys have a new CD you can purchase at this show its really good, when you play it, it makes the room smell like lemons and Pee! So remember, don’t poop on a bush after Labor Day, and always hit the people you love with a shiny new shovel!�

You can feel the demons fairly bristling beneath the humor and wonder how someone whose mind operates in such a manner is able to function at all. But function he does, though he lyrically admits in Unnatural Selection’s “Flat on My Back� that “It’s a mystery how normal people do that. They see the benefits of getting out of bed.�

The explosiveness of Pete’s process is tamed to powerful effect on Unnatural Selection . The songs are well-structured and reflect the influence of pop masters The Beatles, John Phillips, and XTC. Despite the fact that Pete claims, “I can’t write real happy songs like Katrina & the Waves’ ‘Walking on Sunshine,� the songs have an upbeat, melodic, and catchy sound. True, lyrics like “So if I write another song about you, it might make up for me,� from “The Splendor That Is You,� or “I pray to you my soul to keep but it is punctured and it leaks,� from “Catch Her in the Rye,� are indicative of a mind at war with itself, but the fact that they’re delivered within a context of interestingly textured and solidly authoritative pop allows the listener to derive a sense of hope and survival from the record.

The other Montgomerys are an all-star team that includes guitarist Tony Savarino (The Rudds, Give, x-Dale Bozzio), bass player Bob Melanson (x-Wheat, x-Tribe), pianist Andrew Malone, and drummer Mike Levesque, who’s played with The Gravel Pit, Letters to Cleo, and Scarce, to name a few. Pete himself spent his musical career prior to forming The Montgomerys in “different configurations of my old band, The Irresponsibles, since the mid-’ 80s. That band only got good towards the end of its life span. Just like a work of art, that only becomes true art once it’s been destroyed... Yeah, that’s it! The Irresponsibles did do some good stuff, however. We won Musician Magazine’s "Best Unsigned Band in the Country" competition and shortly after we toured, recorded with, and signed to Adrian Belew (Bowie, Talking Heads, Zappa). We thought we were going to be Rock Stars and that felt pretty good. We got right up next to fame and caught a taste of it, and then threw it up.�

The Montgomerys’ live shows are a mixture of rock ‘n’ roll excellence interspersed with Pete’s rambling monologues, similar in fashion to the free associative rants in his e-mails. Tony’s guitar work is matchless; his leads are exciting and tasteful. Bob and Mike lay down a variety of rhythms that keep their sets from ever getting stale, and Andrew’s piano touches enrich and embellish the sound. As a front person, Pete is mischievous and funny, making fun of himself between songs but singing with conviction; there’s no doubt that this is a band, not a comedy act. When asked what it’s like to be in a band with Pete, the members all agree that he’s a brilliant songwriter and a never- ending source of amusement. “I’m sure it’s kind of fun for the other guys to watch me go off my nut every other week or maybe not? I hand-picked the best musicians I could find, and it took me two years to assemble The Montgomerys. It’s blast for me to play in band of this caliber!�

Live, The Montgomerys have been known to perform songs from Pete’s days with The Irresponsibles. So what makes this band different from the Irresponsibles? “Irresponsibles were made up of my friends that I still hang out with, you know my best friends. It was a democracy, though I was the main songwriter, anyone could write or contribute anything. In the end, some things I wasn’t crazy about musically would stay in the set and on the record. I thought the band was great though and I think we deserved more than we achieved… but doesn’t everyone?�

It takes a fair amount of courage to write lyrics as raw and personal as Pete’s. When questioned about art imitating life, he replies, “My life is... I was born into... I’m the type of... It was a cold May morning when... Shit I dunno? I think I am somewhat mentally ill, and the music is a pressure valve, an in-house shrink that can get me through it. If I write it down and sing it, record it, well there it is, it’s out, I did it, and somehow I feel better and can move on. There’s never any shortage of it, I just wait a while and I need to write another one. It is personal stuff and its all I can write about. I’m a maudlin depressed person who is a drama queen, I guess? C’mon kids let’s put on a show! I’ll get my Mom’s curtains and my uncle has some lumber for a stage! The most personal and disturbing song on The Montgomerys new record is the last track ‘Gut Wrenchin.’ It gives me wicked douche chills. My brother can’ t even listen to it, it douches him out so bad! It’s about the night I spent some time with my father just before he died.�

The true poet causes us to discover the universal in the specific, and ultimately, Pete Montgomery’s psychological study becomes the listener’s own. By calling us to witness his own life struggles, he sheds light on the struggles we all share. In lyrical terms, that means that anyone could pick up a Montgomerys record and find something in it that strikes a chord of truth within them. The same can be said for the record in musical terms; anyone who loves well-crafted pop music can’t help but fall in love with Unnatural Selection and The Montgomerys, themselves. - The Noise Rock Around Boston

Written by Mike Varney

Tony Savarino began studying classical guitar at age 15. Later, he switched to electric and began studying with Gary Hoey (guitarist for Warner Bros. act Heavy Bones).

While Studying at The Berklee College Of Music, Tony played on over 50 studio sessions. While performing at a Berklee concert by a friend of bassist T.M. Stevens (now with Steve Vai), who suggested that Tony and T.M. get together. His relationship has resulted in several songwrting collaborations, which Tony hopes to someday record.

Tony's demo displays his versatilty as both a writer and a guitarist. Whether he's playing full shred pyrotechnics or Bach-influenced contrapuntal lines, Tony manages to retain his own identity. Possessed of a great vibrato, contemporary flash techniques and an ear for interesting harmonization, Tony reminds me of a cross between Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert and Ritchie Kotzen.

Tony is today a member of the hard rock group Kid Crash with whom he plans to continue gigging and writing in preparation for an upcomng recording. - Guitar World

Written by John Stix

Note that Tony not only went to but graduated from Berklee! His time was well served, picking up harmonic and melodic composing skills to match his contemporary chops. Tony is ready to step into a Broadway pit band, sit in with Alan Holdsworth or lead his own contemporary hard rock group. - Guitar Player For The Practicing Musician

So I was listening to a little ditty from Cambridge’s BLACK FORTRESS OF OPIUM called “From A Woman To a Man” last night, and half the time I felt like the bald giant was going to appear in front of me looking real serious and say, “It is happening again,” and the other half I felt like I was an ‘80s jeans commercial where, I don’t know, some girl breaks up with me and all I have left are my jeans. This mix of broody, boozy, moody weirdness with front-and-center hi-hello guitar choppage extends through all of their songs -- and it’s an often captivating blend. Those guitars come courtesy of one Tony Savarino, who, according to heap of undealt-with Facebook requests, suggests I become a fan of Tony Savarino. I appreciate this kind of confidence. If the cloudy, eerie mid-40s forecast for tonight holds true, their show tonight at Church (goth points!) could be the perfect distraction from this non-committal spring. - The Phoenix

A Night at the Rock Opera” won’t change your life, but it will lift your spirits and entertain you for two-and-a-half hours - not so easy considering the average attention span wanes during a 30-second commercial.
Basically a tribute to FM radio’s theatrical best, the show - which opened at Arlington’s Regent Theatre on Thursday and runs through next weekend - began in 1999 as an ode to “Jesus Christ Superstar” and has since grown in popularity and musical scope.
Thursday’s first set brimmed with the energy of 23 local singers and musicians, dubbed the Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra, who carried out spirited renditions of tunes by The Who, the Beatles and Queen. The latter’s “Somebody to Love” was particularly graceful given its tricky vocal gymnastics.


A top-notch backing band respectfully handled the classic arrangements, subtly tweaking them to keep things interesting. Guitarist Tony Savarino is a proven instrumental asset, and violinist Gordon Hill added unexpected accents. Co-producer/drummer Alan Ware delivered a sturdy rhythmic backbone along with Nick Warseck on bass.
For the “Superstar” medley, Naoko Takamoto revealed deliciously bluesy chops during her take on “Everything’s Alright.” “With A Little Help From My Friends” proved an excellent vehicle for Lauren Anderson’s belting and Drew Kuhn’s soulful rasp, as well as his simultaneously hilarious and sexy gyrations.
A run through side two of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” made great use of the entire troupe. Leader Sal Clemente’s vocal prowess was most apparent during “Golden Slumbers.”
The second half featured an amusing slice of an original rock opera, a true tale of a failed attempt at collaborating with Andrew Lloyd Webber cleverly titled “Will We Rock You?”
While the lighting and choreography need improvement, it’s hard not to be taken in by the Ultrasonic rockers’ unabashed affinity for the progressive rock of yore. No band, no matter how large or accomplished, is going to meet expectations in tackling such mythologized music. The object is to do your best with what you’ve got - and “Night at the Rock Opera” has a lot.
“A NIGHT AT THE ROCK OPERA”
At the Regent Theatre, Arlington, Thursday night. Continues through June 10 - The Boston Herald