Now, the Oklahoma City man has completed quite the musical feat himself: writing 100 songs in 100 days.
Songwriting has served as a stress reliever for him his entire life. After getting involved in drugs — “I could write a whole book on the effects of lacquer on a human being,” he wrote on his website — he found himself in rehab, where music served as soothing therapy.
“It’s always been there,” Montgomery said. “It’s everywhere. It helped me fit in there and tell myself, ‘Maybe I can do this.’” Motivated by the 174 “Woody Sez” columns Guthrie wrote for The Daily Worker from 1939 to 1940, Montgomery came up with the personal song-a-day challenge. He bought himself a camera, tripod and microphone, and began his journey.
With the technical help of his cousin, Jazz Bishop, he met his goal, recording and uploading each song to his YouTube channel, MrRandyMontgomery.
In the videos, Montgomery sings, plays guitar and, on occasion, chimes in with his harmonica.
Each tune is different, but Montgomery said he favors themes of war, politics, women and insects. Although some tracks are more serious than others, his lyrics are generally playful and humorous.
Of
his music, a fan favorite is “Tick on My Dick”; his personal favorite
is “No More,” written in tribute to Guthrie’s centennial.
While
Montgomery completed his mission shortly after Christmas by hitting
song No. 100, he has no intention of putting the breaks on his momentum.
In fact, he has continued, adding around 70 songs to his collection.
“Sometimes I write three songs in one day,” he said.
One day, he’d like to go on tour, taking the world by storm.
“My goal is to change the consciousness of all planet earth,” he said.
TOP 10 Random titles from Randy Montgomery’s ongoing project: 1. “Faucet Love”
2. “Kids Are Smart”
3. “Rats Are Cute”
4. “Don’t Look Like I’ll Be Getting Laid Again This Year for Christmas”
5. “Suitcase Mud”
6. “Life Is Like Six Flags”
7. “Gay Coaches II”
8. “As I Was Walking Out of Aldi Store”
9. “Hey Hey Hey Herman Cain”
10. “Seeds Grow”
Photo by Mark Hancock
This article appears in Mar 14-20, 2012.