A Little Help From His Friends

Ricky Phillips, Eric Singer, and a Bevy of Guest Stars Help Finish Ronnie Montrose’s Last Album

- Michael Molenda

WHENEVER RONNIE MONTROSE AND I WOULD TALK about music, he was always looking to the future. He’d be thinking about his next tour, or his next project, or he’d say something like, “Wait until you hear this acoustic stuff I’m working on. It will blow your mind.”

So he was probably juggling a ton of ideas when he passed away on March 3, 2012. Many of those creative strategies ended that day, as well, but one of Montrose’s projects was saved from oblivion by his wife, Leighsa, and bassist/ producer Ricky Phillips (Styx). If you want to hear a tale about a near miracle, you might want to check out the backstory of how Montrose’s final album—10x10 [Rhino]—almost never was.

In March 2003, Montrose called Phillips and drummer Eric Singer (Kiss) to tackle a power-trio project that would rock harder than anything he had done in years— a sort of “homecoming” to the sound of his original Montrose (1973-1974) and Gamma (1979-1983) periods. This was big news, as the artistically restless Montrose followed his muse without question, and his frequent stylistic shifts sometimes frustrated audiences who adored his early riff rock.

“Ronnie was calling up Eric and me for all kinds of festival and club gigs,” says Phillips. “It was obvious he was having fun playing rough-and-tumble rock and roll again.”