2 REVIEWS:
"A Few Good Hits to the Heart" (Garden Gate)
"Pat and Tex LaMountain are the Valley’s answer to Robin and Linda Williams. Like them, the LaMountains serve an Americana gumbo that draws from too many genres to allow pigeonholing. They sample country blues, old-time music, acoustic swing, folk, new compositions, and even a Hoagy Carmichael/Johnny Mercer standard like “Skylark” when the mood strikes. All is rendered with simplicity rather than Nashville-style slickness, a boon for those who prefer a fine piece of homespun over store-bought goods. They won me over with “Emmy Lou,” a Tex original about falling in love while listening to Emmy Lou Harris on the radio. Yeah, that could happen!" —Rob Weir, Valley Advocate, Easthampton, MA
' "A Few Good Hits to the Heart" features 15 country-flavored folk tunes that showcase the couple’s warm harmonies and Tex’s striking guitar work. Most of the songs on the new record are original compositions. One of the few cover tunes tossed in is “Skylark” by Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Charmichael.
The album was recorded at White Crow Music in Greenfield and also features appearances by Jeff Potter on harmonica and drums, Bill Reveley on fiddle and mandolin, & Barry Higgins, who also engineered the recording, on native American flute.
Listening to Pat and Tex is like listening to a couple of old friends -- there is a warmth and intimacy to their songs that shines through on the disc into your player, you feel like the pair is in your living room, singing just for you. “A Few Good Hits to the Heart” is chockfull of sweet melodies, lovely harmonies and touching lyrics that reflect the joys and sorrows of daily life.
These songs reflect myriad moods. One minute Tex is singing about his enjoyment of hearing Emmy Lou Harris on the radio on lighthearted “EmmyLou.” The next, he is lamenting the loss of a dear friend on the touching ballad “Dance On.”
“C’mon Joanie” is a swing-influenced toe-tapper that provides some friendly advice to a friend who is having love problems.”Seabrook Song (Our Mother the Earth)” is an environmental-themed song (and the only song the couple wrote together), featuring Higgins’ soothing flute sounds.' Sheryl Hunter, 'Sounds Local', The Recorder, Greenfield, MA
BIO
Pat & Tex LaMountain have been singing, writing, performing and harmonizing together for over 30 years. Writers of dozens of songs, they have developed a diverse collection of material that includes American standards, swing tunes, folk, rock, bluegrass and country. Their music has been described as “upbeat and rhythmic, inspirational and sensitive…catchy…with Pat & Tex there’s heart and soul.” Songs that touch us through melody, message and harmony. Their music is a blend of Pat’s crystal clear vocals with Tex’s tenor voice and unique flat and finger picking styles.
Pat was raised on an apple farm in New Jersey, Tex in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts and they met in Montague, Mass in 1974, where she had been singing with the Sawmill River Band and he with the popular Vanguard recording group, Clean Living. They teamed up and were “New Talent” winners at the New England Folk Festival at Vermont’s Mount Snow in 1977. Their three decades of performances have included festivals, clubs, coffeehouses, community concerts, radio, television documentaries and films.
Pat & Tex were founding members of the folk group, Bright Morning Star, touring the Midwest and Eastern states. Highlights of their careers include a Washington, D.C. 50,000 person rally performance, sharing stages with Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie. a two year hiatus to the Bay Area of California (charter members of the Santa Cruz, CA and Western Mass Songwriters Guilds), and a well received arts lottery funded three year concert series entitled Songs from Western Mass., featuring dozens of area songwriters in over 50 local community concerts.
Currently, Pat & Tex are working on the 5th annual COOP concert series, a cooperative project with area musicians, to help promote the Greenfield/Franklin County area as a destination for arts and culture. They are gearing up for performances to support their latest CD project, "A Few Good Hits to the Heart", released in April, 2007, which includes requested concert favorites and unrecorded originals.
They have previously recorded three albums: "Down Here on the Earth", "Home", and "Songs From Western Massachusetts", plus a collection of songs recorded for the Northeast Foundation for Children in Greenfield, MA. This release, "16 Songs Kids Love To Sing", is available on CD with a songbook.
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