Getting to Know . . . Montgomery Delaney
 by Kathy S-B  ·  10 October 2008

Montgomery Delaney is one of the most unique folk performers I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. How many former New York City cops are on the folk music circuit these days? Only one as far as I know and that’s Monty! His songs are thoughtful and contemplative and yet some are downright side-splittingly funny. Take a listen on Monty’s website and listen to some of his tunes. Highly recommended cuts: “Son of a Son” and “Land of the Free.” More songs are available on his MySpace page. Look for him at the me&thee next season!

What prompted you to start writing songs?

I began writing poetry in grade school. I don’t know why but I remember enjoying the idea that you could express your thoughts in rhyme and let your imagination run unhindered. My first “publication” (age 13) was a tune called “Playpen” which was recorded by a band called the Syms Brothers that were from Connecticut. A great keyboard player from my neighborhood in the Bronx, Rob Sabino (“Let’s Dance” w/ David Bowie; “We are Family” w/ Sister Sledge; Peter Frampton), was playing with the Syms Brothers at the time. He was rehearsing in his house across the street from where I lived. I told him about some of my poems and he read them. He took “Playpen” and made it into a song . . . . “In my mind I see pictures, of an everlasting moon, lovers making love, while listening to old time tunes, from a nickelodeon, buried in the sand, on a beach called Playpen, in a long forgotten land.” When Rob gave me a copy of the vinyl record and I heard the song . . . that was it . . . I was officially a songwriter. A pubescent songwriter, but a songwriter nonetheless.

You must have a lot of tales from your days as a NYC police officer as well as your days as a Marine. How did these two phases of your life affect your creativity and songwriting skills?

What a good question. I suppose the most profound effect of these two experiences was that they helped me to develop a worldview. In the Marine Corps, I had an opportunity to visit about 40 countries before I was 21 years old! In the police service, I had the opportunity to see people at thair absolute best and their absolute worst. I saw babies being born and watched as people died in the street (a few of them in my arms). These experiences instilled in me a sense of duty, honor and integrity that I hope comes through in the songs. I don’t write about what I don’t know, unlike Bruce Springsteen, who can only “guess” what it is like to be a cop in a potentially deadly situation. It is hard to feel threatened when you are living in a mansion surrounded by security cameras and bodyguards . . . unless of course you are completely paranoid. There is nothing more boring and irritating than a disingenuous song. The audience picks up on that kind of falseness immediately. Be true to yourself. Be true to your art. Be true to your audience.

The story of how you attended NERFA for a dozen years before you actually showcased is inspiring. Your ‘tip of the hat’ on your blog to all that NERFA represents is quite touching. It sounds like the camaraderie that you have experienced there and at other similar conferences has given you the courage and fortitude to dive into your music in a more forceful and engaging manner.

NERFA is a wonderful centerfuge. The Monty’s Room concept of the “No-Case” has really taken on a life of its own. Over the last 12 years, everyone who is anyone in this genre has stopped in to share a song and maybe play along with the new voice. The list includes, Richard Shindell, Sloan Wainright, Brooks Williams, Greg Greenway, Martin Sexton, Bob Franke, Tom Paxton, Peter Yarrow, the late/great Rachel Bissex, Tom Prasado Rao, Annie Wenz, Louise Taylor, Douglas Clegg, Cliff Eberhardt, Edie Carey, Karen Mal, Les Sampou, Kristina Olsen, Kim & Reggie Harris, Rex and Neal (Aztec Two Step), President Eric Schwartz and a whole host of others. It has been a place where a 17 year old kid with a new song can sit down and play it for Jack Hardy or Bill Staines or Neal Shulman. In fact, over the years, many of the bookers and presenters have learned that they can stop by Monty’s Room for a round of songs and get to hear that “diamond in the rough” that noone knows about yet. This year was a huge thrill for me because Buddy Mondlock stopped in and played “Cats In The Coliseum” for me . . . . I died and went to heaven . . . he has long been one of my absolute favorite writers. I have wanted to meet him for years and finally did. My buddy Stuart Kabak (my co host in Monty’s Room and a fabulous songwriter himself) and I will probably be doing this until we are very, very old men.

It sounds like you have had a lot of music highs this year — playing that showcase at NERFA and also playing with one of your heroes, Rex Fowler of Aztec Two Step. Getting to this stage at age 50 is pretty cool.

I think that Rex Fowler is purely and simply a songwriting genius. Aside from being an exceptional songwriter in his own right, Neal Shulman is probably one of the ten (10) best acoustic guitar players on this planet! History will view the body Aztec Two Step’s work and will place them on the pedestal upon which they belong as artists and entertainers. They humble me with their friendship and there support for my music. I have been their loyal fan for almost 30 years now. When I was younger and had “the look” my songs were ok but I was still learning to entertain. I had to make a choice to put a badge and a gun on every day to feed my three kids. It was steady work and quite frankly, less unpredictable than the life of a troubadour (ask Rex & Neal about doing this for 35 years!). I had a few good years at music where I actually made a living of sorts. The choices I made were for the right reasons and they were the right choices. Now I can do music as an avocation. I have sort of become one of the best opening or split bill acts in the genre and I don’t mind that at all. I love to sing and I try to leave it all on the stage whether I am playing for 15 minutes or 2 hours. At this point in my musical life I feel completely confident in my ability to entertain 10 people or 10 thousand. When I go to places like Falcon Ridge, the business aspect aside, I look down at the stage from atop the hill and I know that not only could I get the crowd worked up but on a good night, I could even get them on thier feet and make them sing and dance. The other side of that is, I love sitting on the hill and listening to Greg Brown! I am certainly no Greg Brown . . . . but he is certainly no Montgomery Delaney either.

“Walking in the Light” is one of the best songs I’ve heard in a long time. Any specific thoughts about how that song came about?

Well thank you . . . . My mother was an amputee (lower right leg/1921) and when she died I had this vision of her walking in a bright light. One April night I was coming home from a gig at about 2 A.M. and my neighbor down the hall was having a gathering of some of his political friends. I overheard one say to another, “There is a truth, and it is objective.” It was April. I started to think about Easter and Passover and the death of Dr. King (which happened when I was 9 years old just a few weeks before my birthday). It made me so sad. Then I thought about Pete Seeger standing next to Dr. King at the “I Have A Dream” speech and I thought, there are some objective truths and I should write about them in the context of this moment of reflection that I am experiencing. The song happened in about 10 minutes and now I close just about every show with it. It received most of its airplay in the days, weeks and months following 9/11 . . . and I was happy to think it may have helped in the healing. Last year I got to meet Pete and record something with him and some of my colleagues in Tribes Hill . . . everything comes full circle.

You talk about yourself as a “human doing” as opposed to a “human being.” What a great legacy! Do you feel like your music is a testament to a life well lived?

I hope I have lived well and pray for guidance with that every day. In these 50 years I have been told that I was good at many things, a good Marine, a good cop, a good father, a good teacher, a good coach, a good songwriter, a good entertainer, a good sibling, a good lawyer, a good son, a good friend. Some have called me a renaissance man others have said that I am simply distracted. From my perspective, I am a large man in a small world. There is so much to do and see. There is so much to think and feel. If I have packed a lot of living into this 50 years it is only because I am hungry for experience. I keep moving because at 6 feet 6 inches and 275 pounds, I really don’t fit anywhere. There is a lot more I want to do and see . . . there are many more songs to write . . . hopefully my music serves to chronicle this life of mine and my thoughts about it as I live it. The songs are my truth surrounded in my melodies. If someone listens to one of my CD’s they will know an awful lot about me. Someday maybe my great grandchildren will “discover” me even if no record labels do! If a shark stops moving it can’t breathe . . . . I am also an attorney you know . . . lol . . .

Thanks for asking Kathy, and let me wish everyone all the best for the New Year