Today we’d like to introduce you to the band Montclair.
Hi Anna, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Believe it or not, Montclair (the band) got their start on Montclair Avenue (the street) in College Station, with roommates Casen and Clay living in a house together. Casen (lead vocals/guitar) is the son of a Texas-based musician/radio show host, and despite having every opportunity, he had yet to try making music. Naturally, an introvert who turned to music for company, Clay (lead guitar) would saturate the house with soundscapes created with his trove of precious guitar pedals. Clays’ beautiful soundscapes worked their way deep into the dark empty recesses of Casen’s brain, giving him no choice but to dive headfirst into music and contribute to the noise. Typical of his nature, Casen (lead vocals/guitar) turned his bedroom into a home studio, relegating his personal space to a flipped-up mattress in the corner. The two purchased a drum set solely to convince their friend and local drummer, Jackson, to join the duo in their bedroom studio. With the final addition of a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend bassist and vocalist, me (Anna), the quartet was complete. College Station is a fairly small town, primarily populated by college students. This means the biggest pastimes in town are to create fun, reflect on who you are, and surround yourself with people who make you better. This is reflected in how we write, record, and perform our music.
With College Station’s fledgling indie music scene welcoming us with open arms, we began nurturing and creating a network of music-loving pals. Throughout many backyard jams, garage sets, and dive bar shows, we got our legs under us and realized this was something we wanted to pursue beyond college, so we got right to work. Casen’s videography background empowered the group to create music videos and tapes of live performances. I used my connections in the buzzing world of coffee shops to convince local businesses to fund mini-music festivals. Trading videography and marketing work for studio time, the band was able to record our first two singles, giving us a foot in the door to begin playing around Texas. For months, we could be seen writing lab reports in green rooms, carpooling to Austin for a midnight set at Swan Dive, and fueling late-night drives with coffee to make it back to College Station in time for our 8 teams. Combining our young go-getter enthusiasm with the organic and sincere friendships created along the way, we’ve garnered an audience of young folks who love the jams and an older crowd who respects the hustle.
Nowadays, we rest our hats in Austin (except for Jackson because he loves Houston for some strange reason that we still haven’t figured out) and continue to involve ourselves in the incredible music scene here. We’ve made some lifelong friends, played at some of our dream venues like Mohawk and Empire, and continued to curate a sound that is truly something we’re proud of and honored to share with people. We’re playing at Antone’s on January 20th, supporting our friend, Briscoe, so if anything we said here resonated with you, any of our songs sounded good in your ears, or if you want to come to hang out, hang out! We’re looking forward to all the future holds, but we are also in constant awe of the present and grateful that this is something we get to do.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like any creative endeavor, making music can be emotionally intense, making the highs feel higher and the bumps bumpier. Starting a band at the tail end of the pandemic meant that shows were often canceled and plans shuffled around. We also gained momentum around the time two of us graduated, one left the country for the summer, and one moved to another city. Thankfully, we are friends first and bandmates second, which helps us be flexible and accommodate each other’s needs. We’d also consider ourselves extremely lucky to have met the kindest, most supportive people the music scene offers. They’ve helped us with photography and video work, backline gear, advice. You name it! We wouldn’t be where we are without their support.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
Montclair is a groovy indie folk rock band, like if you took the movie Sound of Music and threw it into the 70s. We do our best to write fun but heartfelt music, thoughtful yet accessible. We are proud to be known for our sincere passion for making music and putting on fun shows, as well as being known as a part of the community we’ve been lucky enough to be accepted into. We set ourselves apart by trying to embrace the friendship and love that embodies our music and engagement onstage. Everyone is unique, so we do our best to stay true to that!
We love to hear about your fond memories of growing up.
Anna: New Orleans has something called Satchmo Fest every August to honor the legacy of Louis Armstrong. We used to go just about every year when I was a kid. Many performers there have serious music careers but come to the festival to try out their best Louis impression and blow off a little steam. The performers played music for the pure joy of playing music. Everyone in attendance focused more on dancing and enjoying the ambiance than who was playing. I think festivals like Satchmo Fest (a dime a dozen in New Orleans) have greatly influenced how I view music and performing.
Jackson: As an unabashedly nostalgic person, it’d take me 10 years to decide my all-time favorite childhood memory. The first one that comes to mind is a baseball game I went to with my grandfather back when I was 6 or 7, the Houston Astros vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates. There was nothing special about the game, except I did spend the entire game calling the opposing team the “Armpits-burgh Pee-rats,” which, in hindsight, was not all that funny. What was so special about this memory was that my grandpa and I thought it was the funniest thing ever. To this day, that’s one of my earliest memories of feeling like I was funny and that I could be perceived as funny, which played a significant role in my personality and who I would become.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/montclairtheband
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/montclairtheband/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCakPuGwDIq7KLb9r3jnPxuA
- Other: https://www.ticketmaster.com/briscoe-w-montclair-austin-texas-01-20-2023/event/3A005D33D9E54646
Image Credits
@corrieaune @bensiive @brynnosborn
