Saddened to hear of the passing today of rock legend Ronnie Montrose. I have some of his LPs, and have always been a fan. He played live here in Redding. Early ’80s, I think. I can’t recall if it was at the Red Lion or the Holiday Inn, but it was in a big conference room at a hotel on Hilltop. (Anyone remember which?) Probably just a stop on the way somewhere else. I was there with Brent Taylor (Taylor Motors, Hi Brent!) who is a hard rockin’ guitarist himself. We were grinning ear to ear at the pleasure seeing and hearing Ronnie in a such a small room. Montrose had toured mega-arenas all over the world. I recall it was a few short sets, but Ronnie displayed extraordinarily expressive pitch control and blazing speed. He made a big impression on me. A virtuoso player.
I imagine you’ll hear plenty of Rock Candy and Bad Motor Scooter in eulogy. Classic rock pieces that help define the genre. Straight-ahead rock fun. If you haven’t heard some of his more Prog Rock work, you might like this video from the Open Fire days.
Crazy to think that bands toured with temperamental Moog Modular synths like keyboard player Jim Alcivar here. I think it even drifts out of tune. Typical! Classic stuff. The video below was shot just a few weeks ago. A favorite from the Gamma days. Thanks for the music Ronnie, and our condolences to your family and friends today. Get on your bad motor scooter and ride!
