Norman Transcript / Pop
March 2000
by Carmen Johnson

"Tex Montana : Boy, what a girl"
Oklahoma has a plethora of talented musicians and bands. There are countless numbers of them teeming the state, and most people don't even know who they are.

One secret that's well on its way to expanding the horizons of those in Oklahoma City and Norman is Tulsa's own Tex Montana's Fireball 4. It seems like Tulsa's been holding out on us. They will play Saturday at 66 Bowl in OKC.

Tex Montana's Fireball 4 is - in its own words - a girl and three boys. And boy what a girl Tex is.

The boys are bass guitarist Dennis Dusenberg,
guitarist Jeff Graham and drummer Billy Berkenbile (who is also Tex's husband).

Tex started out in 1983 in her boyfriend's punk band. Then her main influence was X, and she admits she was more of a screamer than a singer.

But after realizing that the world only needed one Exene, Montana built her confidence with some voice lessons and the punker became a singer.

"I couldn't play an instrument, so I said that I wanted to sing," she said. "I had always been a lyric writer then I learned guitar and started writing more music."

"And things just fell into place."

The music that Tex plays is confident and energetic. There are some solid rock songs with some country influences behind them. Montana sings with heart, soul and emotion. And she should, since she wrote the songs.

There aren't any tough girl songs where she's trying to prove a point that she can keep up with the boys. She's already done that countless times.

But she does have a strength that comes across that can't be faked or copied. The music that the band plays is Montana through and through.

There's a feeling about the music that harkens back to when live bands were really good and plentiful with great songs that told stories. The songs that she writes go beyond the typical love and hate fare.

"I don't write songs about breaking up because it's not what I know. I've been married for 13 years and have been with the same band for a long time, too," she said "A lot of people, that's all they write about."

"Usually, I come up with a tune and do a little free association and find something that just seems to fit," she said.
The band has an upcoming release titled, "A Woman's Place Is In The Home" later this month, and the band plans a whirlwind tri-city tour that will include shows in Tulsa, Stillwater and Oklahoma City. The band will play 14 dates in 16 days.

"This is our first full-length CD. We had a bad habit of recording three songs tapes and then deciding we didn't like them," she said.

The band recorded the disc in Springfield, MO, with producer Lou Whitney, who has worked with the likes of Wilco, Dave Alvin, Jonathan Richman and Robbie Fulks.

"We did the disk in nine hours, which is just amazing," Montana said. "I went in and played some of my songs for him, and he said that we should just record it live and that it didn't need any help."

"It really gave me a lot of confidence in my singing. We just set up in a room and started playing and singing. There were no overdubs or anything."

Montana stated the session was reminiscent of those of the past like some of the old Sun recording sessions where the musicians just came together and played.

"It's easy to get caught up in the perfection. We chose to just do it live, and if there are any mistakes they're just part of the song," she said. "A lot of producers before wanted to make my singing sound really pretty. Well, that's just not what I do."

There's a great deal of balance in her work. The songs on the upcoming release include some that she wrote almost 15 years ago. They are incredibly timely, which proves what a substantial writer she is. It must be hard being a married mother of two and a musician who can play a gig just about every night of the week if she chooses, but Montana carries it off like it's just another day at the ranch.