Sonia Montez Is a Soulful Singer-Songwriter
I’m completely biased; Sonia Montez won me over with her cool, flowing music the moment I visited her MySpace page and listened to her song “Willow Road.”
Speaking with her about her musical influences, band, family, and self proclaimed “dorkiness” only increased my admiration for her. So be forewarned: you too may want to become her best friend after reading this.
Montez is a quirky girl from Brooklyn. Well, she actually grew up in California, then lived in Puerto Rico, and in 1998 settled in Brooklyn. As a result, her musical influences stretch far and wide.
From the Beatles and classical music, to the love songs her mother and aunt used to perform in their restaurant in Puerto Rico, a wide variety of musical genres inspires her.
“On the very top I guess are the first people I was exposed to, Mercedes Sosa, Beatles, Paul Simon, and classical music as well,” says Montez. “I think everything influences me, either in a positive or negative way. I’ll listen to a song and say ‘oh, it would be awesome to do something like that’ or ‘I don’t want to sound like that at all,’ but folk/pop classics are a constant positive.”
Judging from her vast array of influences, it’s easy to see why Montez prefers not to label her sound as any one type of music. Instead she goes “genre-less,” refusing to conform to executives in the music industry that are quick to name an artist as one thing or another.
“The first question people ask me when they find out I make music is, what kind?” says Montez. “It’s a question I struggle with because I honestly don’t know what to label it. It’s pop and folk and soul and jazz and top 40. I have no idea what I do.”
Not knowing what she does seems to be working out just fine for Montez. She has assembled a band of six musicians that can often turn into more depending on where the music flows. Every member of her band is extremely important to her. She names each person, along with the instrument they play, and isn’t shy about gushing over their talents.
Her band includes her cousin Mireya Ramos on violin, along with bassist Mark Kelly and guitarist Gabe Cummins. Kelly and Cummins have played with well-known musical artist like Will Calhoun and Aaron Neville. Says Montez, “My band members are a lot more famous then me!”
Despite this, Montez’s band works together seamlessly. While it is clear that she is the leader of the band, Montez listens intently to the sounds and suggestions each member of her team makes.
“I like the Woody Allen approach,” she says. “Unless they’re doing something I don’t like, I let them got at it.”
The results of the teamwork are flowing melodies, some tranquil and calm, others upbeat and danceable, some could even be referred to as “put you in the mood” songs. No matter what the sound, each song is like a quilt woven together piece by piece by Montez and her band members, that all begins when she gathers her thoughts and experiences and puts them on paper.
“ I just have a need to write,” she urges. “I’m not good at personal relationships or intimacy, writing is how I get all that out.”
Montez takes stories about her friends’ lives, or makes up situations to create a mix of personal and fictional lyrics. However, when actually listening to her music it’s hard to pick out which is which. Each and every lyric she sings is filled with such extreme emotion that it is hard to believe that all the experiences she describes are not her own.
“I’ve been shut off, shaken and stirred before, but never so bad that I couldn’t pick myself off the floor. And in between spaces of my ever changing heart there are thorny pieces that stab and stick to every other thought,” she belts out in a smooth voice in her song “Learning to Sing”.
Lyrics like this that elude to a bright future for Montez, especially since she is on the brink of releasing her first album, a project she shares small pieces of but ultimately hopes to keep a surprise. She does let me in slightly, saying that the album promises more than just music and will feature a major art concept.
Despite her blossoming success and a promising first album, Montez remains extraordinarily humble. She prefers to think of her self as “a fan girl playing for other fans”, and displays this role when she performs live. She becomes one with the crowd, and arrives on stage with no set list, instead choosing to let her audience dictate where the show goes. Those who attend her shows become what she refers to as “frans”, friends and fans all in one.
“I get what it’s like, being a fan,” she says. “I’m usually the first one on the line to see Tenacious D or Weezer. So that’s how I treat my status.”
Montez isn’t sure if she’ll ever get used to being recognized by fans, but each person who listens to the music she makes constantly humbles her.
“How do you thank someone who spent time and energy paying attention to what comes from your deepest creative self?” she asks, as if baffled by the thought. “It’s impossible, so I give lots of hugs. It freaks people out sometimes.”
