Tim Montana Celebrates the Release of His Rock Album ‘Savage’

Ever since Tim Montana first appeared as a special guest on Loudwire Nights, his love for rock and roll has been undeniable.

Although he spent a decade in Nashville’s country music scene and developed immensely as a songwriter, rock music has always been at the heart of his creative endeavors.

With the release of his debut rock single “Devil You Know” in 2023, the positive response encouraged him to continue creating that style of music.

Montana embraced the challenge easily. He recalled, “Everybody got their hands on ‘Devil You Know’ and they were like, ‘There’s something there, go chase that,’ and I thought, ‘Okay, I can do that all day. Why didn’t you say so?'”

The result was a rapid production process for his new album, Savage, which is now available.

“It was a fast process,” he admitted. “‘Devil You Know’ started hitting and we just went and chased that, and we did [Savage] pretty quick over the holidays, putting the finishing touches on it in January. I’m stoked, man. We had a blast.”

Savage arrived at a crucial time for Montana. Despite achieving significant milestones as an artist like performing on the Late Show With David Letterman and forming friendships with iconic musicians like Dave Grohl and Billy Gibbons, he was eager to delve into his passion for rock for this album.

“I was pretty burned out of that scene,” Montana admitted, describing his long-time feelings of alienation in Nashville.

Fortunately, Montana had always maintained connections with people in Nashville who, despite working in the country music scene, harbored a deep love for rock and roll as well. “They’re paying their bills with country, but they’re going home and headbanging to rock and roll,” he said with a laugh. “You gotta seek those guys out.”

A few key collaborators who helped Montana bring Savage to fruition include Nashville songwriters Erik Dylan and Nathan Barlowe, along with producer Micah Wilshire, who helped Montana break out of his country music constraints.

Montana recounted, “I’d suggest calling a session guitar player, and [Wilshire] would hand me a guitar and say, ‘You have your own style.’ What if they had someone else play guitar for Kurt Cobain? It wouldn’t sound like Nirvana. I had to break that natural mentality, and I think we got a unique sound by doing it that way.”

For listeners exploring Savage, the album distinctly lacks country influences. Unlike artists like Jelly Roll and Hardy who blend country and rock, Montana and Wilshire fully embraced the gritty essence of rock and roll.

“I think if someone who didn’t know me or my history listened to it, they wouldn’t detect any country elements at all,” Montana said.

Montana discussed other personal anecdotes during his interview. He shared that while his mom supports Savage, it’s not her favorite work of his: “She’s like, ‘This reminds me of that terrible music you made me listen to when you were a kid.'”

He also expressed excitement about having a billboard on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles promoting his new album: “I was hoping Billy Gibbons would crash his car into a fire hydrant when he saw that.”

He reflected on his Fourth of July, spent supporting the family of Shane Barnes, a helicopter pilot in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment who was killed in November. Montana recalled, “I got a message saying, ‘Hey, when Shane was killed, we got his playlist and you were his No.1 streamed act. He never stopped talking about you. What would you charge to play a concert in his backyard for his family and his troops and teammates?’ I replied, ‘Okay, there’s my Fourth of July. A, I’m not charging you a thing, and B, we’re bringing a BBQ truck.’