MIKE MONTREY was given a guitar when he was seventeen. By the time he was in his twenties he was on a nationwide tour!

This amazing singer/songwriter/guitarist from Spotswood, NJ began honing his craft after his mother gave him his first guitar before he was ready to head off to college. MONTREY would make use of his down time by hanging out with other musicians and learning the early stages of guitar by watching them. By the time he was done with school, he had received formal guitar lessons and a wealth of experience. It was this experience that he parlayed into two successful bands, two CDs, and a national tour.

In 2001, he was a founding member of the band WATER. By 2005, they had two full-length studio albums under their belts, had played at some of the larger, more well-known venues in the tri-state area, and made an appearance at the vaunted SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX.

I pressed MONTREY for details as to how he booked the SXSW affair. His response was one that I've heard time and time again from multiple guests: he happened to be in the right place at the right time. As it so happens, there were two people who were connected to the festival in the listening audience at the time and they approached him about participating.

So, if you're a musician, especially a younger, less-experienced one, there's a lesson to learn from this: play your best because you NEVER know who's watching. I'm a firm believer that you should play your heart out regardless whether it's in front of two people or two hundred thousand.

In 2007, the rock band THE SAMPLES asked MONTREY to join them on their twentieth anniversary tour across the United States. He gladly accepted and he went on tour as a guitarist, playing large venues all over the country. MONTREY played/participated in places such as Red Rocks Amphitheater and The Dick's Sporting Goods Stadium in Colorado, numerous House of Blues in several states, and Tipitina's in New Orleans.

Upon returning home to NJ after a year on the road, he went almost immediately into the studio and began work on his first solo CD, entitled "A Perfect Reality." This eleven-song effort, engineered and co-produced by Mike Tarsia, has produced two singles ("Take Me Down Mississippi" and "Tin Can") that were Garageband.com and Relix Magazine's "jam-off" "Tracks of the Week."

MONTREY's current band is comprised of past members of THE SAMPLES and WATER, as well as a few newer members.

Nowadays, MIKE MONTREY spends most of his time playing a very full gig schedule in the tri-state area. Check his website, www.mikemontrey.com, or www.myspace.com/mikemontrey for his gig schedule and where to purchase "A Perfect Reality." He can also be found on Facebook.

This week on ROCK ON RADIO, Trenton, NJ-area band RECKLESS (www.myspace.com/reckless321) joins me live in studio. These young hard rockers will be discussing their CD, "The Break," as well as their musical future.

I'm also very happy to announce that ROCK ON RADIO is now on ten outlets. We have finally hit the west coast and can now be heard on www.Indie104.com out of Los Angeles, CA. INDIE104.com will be airing the program live at 10pm EST/7pm Pacific. This makes five outlets live and five in syndication.

ROCK ON RADIO can now be heard up to fifteen times per week. Thanks to Matt here at Chorus and Verse, all of my many guests, all of my outlets and, most of all, THANKS to all of you, the listeners, for all of your support.

Turn on... Tune in... and, as always... ROCK ON!