Who is coco montoya

You learn from the people before you and hopefully pass it along. Sign in. Log into your account. Password recovery. Recover your password. Forgot your password? Get help. Lovin' Life After We target the plus demographic with stories and features focused on items of interest to this age group, plus extensive coverage of upcoming activities and events. Contact us: info lovinlifeafter I went down to see his show and it just tore my head off.

A few months later, Collins desperately needed a drummer for a tour of the Northwest and he called Coco. After the tour ended, Montoya remained in the band for five more years. It was during this time that Coco began doubling on guitar.

And Albert went out of his way to teach him. What a great gift he gave me. In return, Montoya learned everything he could from the legendary Master of the Telecaster. But he will only cover an Albert Collins song if he can make it his own. Montoya worked as a bartender, figuring his career as a professional musician was over.

But luck was still on his side. Soon after, Mayall needed a guitarist for the newly reformed Bluesbreakers, and he called Coco.

Filling the shoes of previous Bluesbreaker guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor would not be easy, but Montoya knew he could not pass up the opportunity to play with another blues legend. For the next ten years he toured the world and recorded with Mayall, soaking up the experience of life on the road and in the recording studio. Along with fellow Bluesbreaker guitarist Walter Trout, Montoya was a featured member of the band, and often opened shows with his own blistering blues.

Albert Collins was playing a matinee in a small club in Culver City that I played every weekend for several years. The club owner was so excited that Albert was going to play the Sunday matinee, and at this point, I had never really heard of Albert Collins.

Albert took my phone number. We left about three or four hours later for Eugene, Oregon—no rehearsal, nothing. Cold turkey. I stayed only because of Albert—he said he would teach me how to play blues music and he did.

That was all by chance, and it was the same thing with John Mayall. He heard me at a jam session on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. It was a unique mix of megastars and nobodies playing together. John came in, and he was celebrating his birthday. Around late or early , John called me and said he was reforming the Bluesbreakers.

John Mayall got me back into the music business as a guitar player. I was out of the music business altogether for four or five years. I just quit playing. I figured I reached as far as I was going to get as a drummer. I had a day job, and it was quite nice having a regular paycheck. I was bartending when John called me. He called back and said did you think about my offer? It really dawned on me that this is John Mayall.

That was hard. That was scary. I hold all the previous guitar players in the Bluesbreakers on a pedestal, especially Eric Clapton because he was why I wanted to play lead guitar in any kind of way. I decided to give it a go, figuring if I was a Bluesbreaker for a month, then I was a Bluesbreaker for a month.

I ended up staying for 10 years. CM: Two different schools of music, two different ways of proceeding in the music business, both coming from two different places. He was like a dad to me.