With the release of Just Let Go, his third recording for Blind Pig, Coco Montoya continues to prove he’s one of the most formidable blues and roots rock guitar slingers on the scene. Montoya was born in Santa Monica, California in 1951. He was raised by his working class parents on the west side of Los Angeles and took an early interest in music. His dad had a large record collection of mostly jazz and big bands, and the house was always filled with music. Although he used to enjoy picking out notes on a guitar, Montoya’s main instrument while growing up was drums, playing in rock ‘n’ roll bands.
Then one day I went to a concert featuring Creedence Clearwater and Iron Butterfly. Albert King played between the two groups and I had never heard of him. Boy, after he got done playing, that changed everything. That revolutionized my whole life and showed me what music and guitar playing really were about. I knew that was what I wanted to do.