The last three years have been a whirlwind of big life decisions, relocating, and grinding for the artist known as Tony Montana. Borrowing the name from fellow Cuban American (yes, Scarface) he began his “Montana’s Planet” brand in 2016. He came to the realization that he had bigger aspirations in the rap game other than rapping at parties for friends in college. What came not long after was a forced yearlong break from school that left him with the resolution to fully pursue music.
This hiatus from school truly became a reckoning in Tony’s mind that gave him the answer he’d been seeking. After finding a line into Seattle via a friend’s sister who had a spot for him to crash, Tony went all in. He sold all his stuff and came to Seattle with nothing but his hopes, dreams, and clothes on his back. It was during this time he made connections, played a few shows, and got to work penning his first full length.
Got Geeked is the result of Tony’s trials and tribulations with the educational system. The album takes you on a journey through his experiences gaining popularity in college, facing expulsion, and prospectively not finishing his degree. I had the chance to get into a deeper conversation with Tony about what led him to the city, working with Radio8Ball, and to the completion of his degree and his first studio album that he laid down at the infamous Ruby Room Studios.
Tony Montana Got Geeked Album Interview
What Events Brought You To Seattle?
Tony began the story with “I was suspended from college and I had nowhere to go and nothing to do in 2017.” He then told me a friend from back home was living with his sister in Seattle and said “yo you can fly out here and live with my sister.” Knowing a change of scenery would be beneficiary to his health, Tony sold all his belongings and got on a one-way flight to the 206. Tony told me “when I got suspended I thought it was a sign that I guess I’m a musician and that’s the way it’s going to be.”
After he’d already been performing and putting out projects, Tony lamented on a few music industry opportunities he didn’t take to finish his degree. He also knew it’d be a complete waste to have gotten as far as he did with school and to not finish. So, after his year suspension he flew back to Allegheny College in Pennsylvania and put the grind on full to finish a semester and a half’s worth of classes in 4 months. During this time he was maintaining his internship remotely for the Radio8Ball podcast. He quickly got his hands on his Bachelor’s of Science and made a quick return to Seattle.
What Happened When You Came Back?
Tony said his internship with Radio8Ball became a full-on job, working as their audio engineer. He’s been working with them over 2 years since then, and told me “I’ve basically recorded enough podcast material to span 50 actual albums.” In fact, five artists he engineered on the show last year saw nominations in LA Weekly. He then said that engineering his own work is always a goal he has in mind.
He also held a few other odd jobs such as fitness instructing and running the front desk, which is where he heard tell of Elan Wright at Ruby Room. After sending off an email or two, Elan agreed to meet up and start working out Tony’s masterplan for Got Geeked. Through precise budgeting Tony was able to get the album done in chunks over the course of nine months.
How Long Did It Take To Write All The Material?
Within the last three years Tony has put together all 13 of the songs for the album. He told me that the oldest song is “Live For Fun,” which he wrote back in the summer of 2015. Oddly enough, the most recent song he wrote for the project was “The Prologue.”
Did Putting Out The Album Feel Like Graduating Again?
Tony said “this record was a passion project more than anything else for me. I just wanted to do it, just to know that I could do it.” He went on to say that he wanted to “have it as a trophy almost, or, I guess you could say a diploma.” Oddly enough, the timing of the finishing of the album came close enough to have it release on the same day he graduated from college, May 11th. With a grin Tony told me “releasing the album this year on that date was like a true graduation for me, and now I don’t ever have to think about it again.”
Was There A Method To The Tracklisting?
“I made it to sound like I’m going through a metamorphosis into self-awareness.” Tony went on to say that “the first two tracks are very angsty, and more in your face.” He said “every three songs there’s kind of a break.” He cracked a smile when he explained that it’s split into 4 sections of 3, like a 4 year college would be. But then, the 13th track “Why We Get High” exists as a bonus track he said, “to make fun of myself for taking 5 years to finish school.”
How Is The First Half Of Got Geeked Different Than The Second Half?
The importance of the first six songs to Tony are that of a reflection on his freshman and sophomore years. This is the hazy mixture of partying his ass off and soaking in the social atmosphere of college and thriving. What follows is the meditative side that had Tony going through “the existential crisis of what to do with the rest of my life,” as graduation drew near.
What were your biggest challenges with Got Geeked? Musically and Otherwise…
As with any independent artist, money is always the issue. There’s never enough of it when you’re paying out of pocket for your studio time, promotion, album art, everything. Tony said “honestly money is the biggest hurdle in making music, for me at least.” He said “that’s why it took so long, I couldn’t afford to just go into the studio for two weeks and crank it all out.” He said recording the music was the easy part, and then had a chuckle again when talking about his time at Ruby Room. Because not only did he have all the material written well in advance and practiced, “when you’re working with Elan, songs basically make themselves.”
Do you plan to keep working at Ruby Room with Elan?
A quick affirmative came from Tony. He said “Ruby Room is the only studio I’ve worked at in Seattle, and I think they produce great results.” He told me the story of a guy he met at the gym he was working at under the name of Andrew Miller, who had done some trumpet work for Elan. After getting the connection Tony went in to do a quick 2-hour session for his hit single, “I Hate School.”
He left that session with an incomplete mix from Elan that he immediately threw up. That same rough mix gave him 100k+ streams and a hit he’s been riding the wave off of since. They had a good laugh about it when Tony came back in to lay down Got Geeked. He said production came solely from himself on two tracks, five for Elan, and the rest from other producers.
Will the next project be a full length, An EP, Or More Singles?
“It’s going to be a series of singles.” Tony confidently said, “I’m going to be producing almost all of the new singles coming out.” He went on to say “I’m going to basically see how much I can do on my own and then bring the rest to Ruby Room.” Expect potential music videos for his songs “Bad Guy,” and “Fake Smiles” as well, seeing as he said storyboarding for those has taken place.
Album Release Party
Tony Montana held a classy private affair upstairs at the Outlander bar in Fremont on the night of Got Geeked’s album release. The party had a photo booth as well as infused-cookies made by his fiancee with cannabis from Satori down the street. This man continues to make moves no matter where he
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