Imperial Boogie
April 2000
by Nevis Espueles

"Tex Montana's Fireball - A Woman's Place"
This band doesn't ask for much in life. They just want to rock. Nothing less, nothing more. They have been playing their brand of country flavored rock-a-billy since '84 when they were known as the Green Party and have been playing non-stop ever since with a lineup that includes 3/4 of the original members. This is quite an astonishing feat seeing that most bands break up after only a few years together, but Tex assures me that she loves playing with these guys and I surely hope so, seeing that she has been married to drummer, Billy Berkenbile, for 13 years. Together forever seems to be the
attitude behind the band and they don't seem to be in it for the
ever-elusive recording contract.

"There are two kinds of musicians," says Tex, "there are those waiting for their music to take them somewhere and those that take their music somewhere. I think that we are the latter. All that we are saying is here is our music and we hope you like it."

After playing the Tulsa underground scene for many years, they packed up and headed back to her home state of Texas, Austin to be more exact and they set up shop there for about five years. That was an experience she doesn't look upon with fond memories. "The cost of livin' in Austin is insane and
it is really hard to get gigs there," she says with a southern drawl. "A lot of people think that it is hard to get gigs here [Tulsa]. There are just so many bands there and we decided to come back to Tulsa." She went on to say that she and the band like the vibe that we have in Tulsa so much better, due to the solidarity among the locals. "It is really cool here because there are so many great musicians and they all want to help each other as much as possible," adds Tex.

Being quite the attractive frontperson that she is, one would naturally suspect that she gets hit on frequently at gigs. I wanted to know if this caused any friction on the road with her husband/drummer Billy, "He knows that I can take care of myself, but the funny thing is that I get hit on more by women. I'm the chick in the band and I get all of the girls [hitting on me]. The guys [in the band] are like, 'What about me?" she laughs.

Aside from fixing up her house and buying and selling things on ebay, Tex is also a mother of two as well as an accomplished craftsperson. "In some ways, I'm really very tomboyish, I like to play guitar like a guy and do a lot of building but most people think that I'm feminine. Now, I won't not try something if it means my hands will get dirty. If it sounds fun, I'll try anything once."

Being influenced early on by the punk movement of the Sex Pistols and the music of the Pretenders, she seems to have a place in her heart that is permanently reserved for the band "X". "I listen to all kinds of stuff," asserts Tex, "but lately I have been listening to a lot of Lucinda Williams."

Her influences seem to come through on the Fireball 4's newest offering that is titled "A Woman's Place Is In The Home." Quite a controversial title in theory, the meaning of the album isn't at all what one would think. "It came from a third grade reader from the 1950's and I
collect that kind of stuff." It is more of a subjective perspective of home is where you make it. It can be where you sleep or it could be where you rock out.

Recorded in Springfield, MO in just 9 1/2 short hours by Lou Whitney (the Skeletons) live to two track, this album has the dimension that most more than two track albums have. "We just all sat in a room together and I opened up my notebook and called out songs. They were recorded right then."

In support of this album, the official CD release party has been slated for the show that has been dubbed "Textravaganza" which will include performances by several of Tulsa's best known musicians in a cavalcade of organized chaos. "We will be doing covers with several other musicians that night and the funny thing about it is I am letting everyone pick their own
songs and everyone is picking country songs to cover."

Known for pulling quite large audiences, I asked Tex as to what the strangest things one of her fans had done and she replied, "Well, we were playing in Stillwater and a man came up to me with one of our posters. He handed it to me with a marker and said 'I don't like you or anything, but I might as well get your autograph. It was kind of scary.'"

Well, Tex you might as well get your marker ready for your Textravaganza show, because there will be lots more autographs to be signed, but this time I bet these people will actually like you.