Into the Big Time: Q&A With Monticello Road

by Jason Wilson

Special to the Roanoke Times

Thursday November 18, 2004

The past 12 months have been very kind to Monticello Road. Since the release of its first full-length album - 2003's "This Scripted Show" - the Charlottesville five-piece has toured most of the East Coast, been voted best local rock band by readers of the C-VILLE weekly magazine and performed on the second stage at a Dave Matthews Band concert in Nashville, Tenn. Not to mention increasingly frequent airplay on radio stations from South Caroline to Washington, D.C.

With their mix of traditional rock, country and southern boogie-woogie, they may be next in line of regional acts such as Bruce Hornsby, Dave Matthews, and Agents of Good Roots to break out of Virginia and into the big time.

Q: Although you guys are a southern rock band, to call one would be selling you short. How do you explain your sound?

A: Kyle Rannigan (vocals, guitar): It's a mix of everything, really. I guess you could say we're part of the "Piedmont Sound"

Q: Musically, who influenced you?

A: Josh Manzano (drums): Jon Fishman of Phish is a big one for me

    Jason Marshall (bass): Dave Matthews and Ryan Adams

    Vaden Cox (guitar, vocals): James Taylor and my mom Brenda. She has a big influence over me.

'   As far as guitar? Eric Clapton and Duane Allman.

    Adam Silvers (keyboards, vocals): Ryan Adams and nothing else... except for voices in my head.

    Kyle: Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and Ryan Adams. Discovering him has had a        

    tremendous effect on my songwriting.

Q: Now that you're back in Charlottesville and the tour is pretty much over, do you have any good war stories?

A: Kyle: Man, we got pulled over, like five times.

    Adam: One, our manager - who was sober - was driving and they stopped us.

    Vaden: And we practically has a whole ABC store in the van. He walks up and asks 'Has anyone  

    been drinking?' and Kyle yells out from the back...

    Kyle: 'Man, we all have!' It was so bad. We got away though.

    Jason: That's the only one we can tell you.