Outlaw alt-country singer/songwriter Monty Branham spells out his “bucket list” pretty clearly in the lyrics of his first single, “Burn Down With Willie”:

1. Drive a top-fuel race car

2. Ride the range with Roy

3. Sit up on a mountain top, ride a car hood down the slope


However, according to the song, “all that changed the day when I first smoked a little dope. My dreams have changed I must confess, you might think it’s silly. But I’d give it all for just one chance to smoke a joint with Willie.” Well, this dream might not sound too unreachable for Monty after considering the phone call his lovely wife Amanda received on New Years Eve a few years back at their home in Christoval, TX. “I remembered answering the phone and Willie Nelson was on the other end asking for Monty and he wanted to tell him that he had heard the song and he liked it,” Amanda recalls. Unfortunately, Monty was not there. He was hard at work in a noisy sheet metal fabrication shop when his cell phone rang. Met with static and noise on the other end upon answering the call, Monty hung up. A short time later he received a call from Amanda, “Did you talk to him?” “Talk to who?” replied Monty. “Willie Nelson just called the house and I gave him your cell phone number”, to which Monty replied, “Shit, I just hung up on Willie Nelson!”

Fortunately, modern technology and quick-thinking allowed Monty to hit the redial button on his cell-phone and he was able to talk briefly with Willie Nelson himself. Turns out that Monty had attended a Willie concert in Abilene a few weeks earlier and he waited out by the bus after the show to hand Willie a copy of his demo and to get his guitar autographed by the man himself. “Willie actually listened to the song demo and took time out of his busy schedule to personally call me and let me know that he enjoyed the song. What an honor!” exclaimed Monty.


This once-in-a-lifetime encounter inspired Monty to recruit San Angelo-based blues-rock band The Flinchers to back him at shows and to assist with recording his debut EP, “Don’t Be Mad Cuz I’m Late”. Produced by and engineered in the home studio of The Flinchers’ drummer, James Rannefeld, the EP includes 3 “true-story” originals and 3 covers by a few of Monty’s favorite songwriters, Joe Ely, Butch Hancock, and Steve Earle. “Don’t Be Mad Cuz I’m Late” is a humorous telling of Monty’s difficulty getting to work on time back in his hell-raising days. “Don’t be mad cuz I’m late, be glad I’m here at all”, is Monty’s advice to his angry boss, along with “why don’t we call it a biker’s day off”. After hearing a rough mix of “Burn Down With Willie”, Daniel Barrett, Austin producer and leader of the award-winning roots-rock band Porter Davis, commented, "Monty and the band barrel through their AmericanaTexadeliccountrybakedroots blend with abandon and charm. This music is bound to please from El Paso to Tyler, in between and beyond. Pour yourself a Shiner, roll yer own, and be prepared to grin!" Daniel added dobro and organ to the barnstorming basic tracks and his final mix gave the unique song a soulful sound with deeper roots.


Born in Dallas and raised in West Texas, Monty was fed a steady diet of Buddy Holly, Elvis and Willie Nelson records provided by his mother, in addition to the Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Bo Diddley records that his dad liked. You can hear his love of Johnny Cash in the train beats and energetic, rhythmic acoustic guitar work in “Burn Down With Willie” and “Lorie #9”. Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy were two of Monty’s favorite bands in the late ‘70s. “I gave up on rock and roll in the ‘80s. The music was not real. About that time, I began listening to Joe Ely, Delbert McClinton, Steve Earle and John Hiatt”, remembered Monty. Monty pays tribute to a few of these troubadours by including cover versions of their songs on the EP. “Boxcars” was penned by Butch Hancock but has been performed and recorded by Joe Ely. Monty’s version on the EP includes a Hammond organ track performed by John Talley and a unique guitar track from The Flinchers’ rowdy and unconventional guitarist, Miles McMillan. “Working For The Man” by Joe Ely and “Goodbye’s All We Got Left ” by Steve Earle round out the covers and Monty’s voice has the perfect amount of grit and punch to make these great songs his own. Jerry Tubb, acclaimed Mastering Engineer for Terra Nova Digital Audio in Austin, TX commented, "Monty's earthy, powerful voice and meaty songs, along with Miles' unusually rowdy guitar playing, set this session apart from the norm".


Monty Branham and The Flinchers’ live shows are energetic, soulful and rocking. Monty’s long-time friend and fellow outlaw, Lango Thompson joins him on stage and plays the spoons unlike anyone you’ve ever heard. These two along with the tight blues-rock groove of The Flinchers make for a unique mixture of styles that is quickly winning fans of many genres. If you like real music played by real people, you will love Monty Branham. If you don’t catch him on stage, you might see him crusin’ the flat West Texas highways on his ’51 Panhead or in the black and primer gray ’57 Chevy he’s owned since he was 18. Don’t let his rugged and no-nonsense appearance fool you (dressing up for Monty means a clean t-shirt and jeans with no holes), inside this former hellraising outlaw lies a devoted family man with the heart and soul of a West Texas poet.