Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs is an American band, marking the first time that American singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne has released music in collaboration with other artists within the context of a band. Their debut album, "God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise" was released in 2010. Nominated for two Grammy awards, the album won the award for best contemporary folk album. The song "Beg Steal or Borrow" was nominated for Song of the Year. The band includes Eric Heywood and Greg Leisz on guitars Read Full BioRay LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs is an American band, marking the first time that American singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne has released music in collaboration with other artists within the context of a band. Their debut album, "God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise" was released in 2010. Nominated for two Grammy awards, the album won the award for best contemporary folk album. The song "Beg Steal or Borrow" was nominated for Song of the Year. The band includes Eric Heywood and Greg Leisz on guitars, Jennifer Condos on bass, and Jay Bellerose on drums. They have been working as LaMontagne’s touring band for some time.
“There’s something magical that happens when these musicians play together,” says Ray LaMontagne. “I’ve been wanting to capture what we’ve been doing live for a while. The chemistry is really special.”
The billing on LaMontagne’s fourth album, God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t Rise, reveals instantly that something new is happening with this project. The record is credited to “Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs”—the first time that the singer/songwriter has defined himself within a band setting, rather than as a solo artist. In addition, it marks the first time that LaMontagne has taken on the role of producer. And as soon as the music starts, with the Joe Cocker-style soul power of the opening “Repo Man,” it’s apparent that one of the world’s most acclaimed artists has moved into some fresh territory.
Not that he was necessarily in need of a new direction. The album is the follow-up to 2008’s Gossip in the Grain, which debuted in the Top Five on the Billboard charts; garnered two 2010 Grammy nominations; earned LaMontagne a coveted slot performing on Saturday Night Live; and continued the expansion of a highly-respected career that began with his first album, Trouble, in 2004.
The line-up of the Pariah Dogs, and their alliance with LaMontagne, is already well-proven and familiar. These musicians—Eric Heywood and Greg Leisz on guitars, Jennifer Condos on bass, and Jay Bellerose on drums—have been working as the singer’s touring band for the last few years, and developing into a tight-knit team. Though he had thought about trying to get all of these busy session players together in the studio before, only now did time and circumstance align and make it possible.
For one thing, there was a new work set-up that LaMontagne was excited about. “I just bought this old estate in western Massachusetts that belonged to the first US ambassador to Russia,” he says. “There’s this beautiful room in the house, that was once a connected barn that was turned into a ballroom in the early 1900’s and I felt like it would make a great place to record.
“It was an unknown space and an unknown situation, but it all worked,” says drummer Bellerose. “It was one of the easiest sessions I’ve ever done—the songs just played themselves. We were scheduled to record for two weeks, but we were done tracking in five or six days.”
The last song on God Willin’, “The Devil’s in the Jukebox,” was the first thing that the group recorded. Bellerose notes that this simple, bluesy track set a tone for the sessions. “It was kind of a springboard,” he says. “It loosened everybody up, gave us a chance to breathe.”
“That’s one of those songs I tend to write that is so damn linear, it’s up to us to make it interesting,” says LaMontagne with a laugh. “If you take it apart, there’s not a lot happening. But the way these guys approach songs is always surprising. Where they take the melody, the interplay between the rhythm section—who knows what they’re going to come up with?”
Guitarist Heywood says that the singer “made a decision beforehand to trust the band, and he really stuck to that.” He points to the album’s title track as an example of the way these sessions allowed each song to find its own path. Heywood and Leisz both play pedal steel, and they looked to LaMontagne to determine the arrangements and instrumentation.
“On that one, he said, ‘How about two pedal steels?,” Heywood recalls. “And then Jay started doing this bombastic, artillery-style drum thing. The song reads as a letter, with no chorus or bridge, so the whole thing was the most surprising track for me, and definitely one of my favorites. And Ray’s vocal performance is amazing.”
Ray LaMontagne has one of the remarkable stories in music’s past decade. Since leaving his job in a Maine shoe factory to pursue his calling as a musician, he has released three studio albums and two live EPs, won awards and topped critics’ polls internationally, and established himself as one of the most distinctive talents of his generation. His songs have been featured in numerous films and television shows, including multiple performances of his compositions on American Idol.
Yet he maintains that, until God Willin’, all of these accomplishments have come despite his own struggles in the recording studio. “The process has always been laborious, it’s been difficult for me to get any momentum,” he says. “I always felt like I was swimming upstream.”
But this time, things were different. “Ray was really in his comfort zone,” says Bellerose. “He was home with family, he’s really relaxed around this band—there was never a moment that felt uncomfortable. I think he’s just having a lot more fun communicating with more people, and getting out of being on his own as a singer/songwriter.”
LaMontagne claims that he didn’t specifically set out to write songs for this group of musicians, though he certainly had its sound in his mind. Regardless of the outcome, he says that his process didn’t—and can’t ever—change.
“For me, songs just have to happen, they have to come out of nowhere,” he says. “Otherwise it sounds like you’re trying to write a song, and I can spot that a mile away—and I think listeners can, too.
“I won’t ever sit down and write unless something is knocking at the door. I can go months without writing a song—and that’s when it gets scary, when you feel like you’re never going to write another song because they’re just not coming around.”
LaMontagne’s steady output, however, indicates that there’s little cause for concern. And for God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t Rise, in addition to his own extraordinary writing, these ten songs had the benefit of contributions from an exceptional bunch of musicians, collaborating under ideal conditions. Even the notoriously self-critical LaMontagne can’t hide his delight at the results.
“These guys are all so good, and I trust their instincts, I just wanted to write songs that I felt would excite them,” concludes LaMontagne “There was a certain amount of pressure, because they’re so much more accomplished than I am as a musician. But I knew that if I could pull together a batch of songs I was happy with, there was really no risk involved.”
This biography was provided by the artist or their representative.
“There’s something magical that happens when these musicians play together,” says Ray LaMontagne. “I’ve been wanting to capture what we’ve been doing live for a while. The chemistry is really special.”
The billing on LaMontagne’s fourth album, God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t Rise, reveals instantly that something new is happening with this project. The record is credited to “Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs”—the first time that the singer/songwriter has defined himself within a band setting, rather than as a solo artist. In addition, it marks the first time that LaMontagne has taken on the role of producer. And as soon as the music starts, with the Joe Cocker-style soul power of the opening “Repo Man,” it’s apparent that one of the world’s most acclaimed artists has moved into some fresh territory.
Not that he was necessarily in need of a new direction. The album is the follow-up to 2008’s Gossip in the Grain, which debuted in the Top Five on the Billboard charts; garnered two 2010 Grammy nominations; earned LaMontagne a coveted slot performing on Saturday Night Live; and continued the expansion of a highly-respected career that began with his first album, Trouble, in 2004.
The line-up of the Pariah Dogs, and their alliance with LaMontagne, is already well-proven and familiar. These musicians—Eric Heywood and Greg Leisz on guitars, Jennifer Condos on bass, and Jay Bellerose on drums—have been working as the singer’s touring band for the last few years, and developing into a tight-knit team. Though he had thought about trying to get all of these busy session players together in the studio before, only now did time and circumstance align and make it possible.
For one thing, there was a new work set-up that LaMontagne was excited about. “I just bought this old estate in western Massachusetts that belonged to the first US ambassador to Russia,” he says. “There’s this beautiful room in the house, that was once a connected barn that was turned into a ballroom in the early 1900’s and I felt like it would make a great place to record.
“It was an unknown space and an unknown situation, but it all worked,” says drummer Bellerose. “It was one of the easiest sessions I’ve ever done—the songs just played themselves. We were scheduled to record for two weeks, but we were done tracking in five or six days.”
The last song on God Willin’, “The Devil’s in the Jukebox,” was the first thing that the group recorded. Bellerose notes that this simple, bluesy track set a tone for the sessions. “It was kind of a springboard,” he says. “It loosened everybody up, gave us a chance to breathe.”
“That’s one of those songs I tend to write that is so damn linear, it’s up to us to make it interesting,” says LaMontagne with a laugh. “If you take it apart, there’s not a lot happening. But the way these guys approach songs is always surprising. Where they take the melody, the interplay between the rhythm section—who knows what they’re going to come up with?”
Guitarist Heywood says that the singer “made a decision beforehand to trust the band, and he really stuck to that.” He points to the album’s title track as an example of the way these sessions allowed each song to find its own path. Heywood and Leisz both play pedal steel, and they looked to LaMontagne to determine the arrangements and instrumentation.
“On that one, he said, ‘How about two pedal steels?,” Heywood recalls. “And then Jay started doing this bombastic, artillery-style drum thing. The song reads as a letter, with no chorus or bridge, so the whole thing was the most surprising track for me, and definitely one of my favorites. And Ray’s vocal performance is amazing.”
Ray LaMontagne has one of the remarkable stories in music’s past decade. Since leaving his job in a Maine shoe factory to pursue his calling as a musician, he has released three studio albums and two live EPs, won awards and topped critics’ polls internationally, and established himself as one of the most distinctive talents of his generation. His songs have been featured in numerous films and television shows, including multiple performances of his compositions on American Idol.
Yet he maintains that, until God Willin’, all of these accomplishments have come despite his own struggles in the recording studio. “The process has always been laborious, it’s been difficult for me to get any momentum,” he says. “I always felt like I was swimming upstream.”
But this time, things were different. “Ray was really in his comfort zone,” says Bellerose. “He was home with family, he’s really relaxed around this band—there was never a moment that felt uncomfortable. I think he’s just having a lot more fun communicating with more people, and getting out of being on his own as a singer/songwriter.”
LaMontagne claims that he didn’t specifically set out to write songs for this group of musicians, though he certainly had its sound in his mind. Regardless of the outcome, he says that his process didn’t—and can’t ever—change.
“For me, songs just have to happen, they have to come out of nowhere,” he says. “Otherwise it sounds like you’re trying to write a song, and I can spot that a mile away—and I think listeners can, too.
“I won’t ever sit down and write unless something is knocking at the door. I can go months without writing a song—and that’s when it gets scary, when you feel like you’re never going to write another song because they’re just not coming around.”
LaMontagne’s steady output, however, indicates that there’s little cause for concern. And for God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t Rise, in addition to his own extraordinary writing, these ten songs had the benefit of contributions from an exceptional bunch of musicians, collaborating under ideal conditions. Even the notoriously self-critical LaMontagne can’t hide his delight at the results.
“These guys are all so good, and I trust their instincts, I just wanted to write songs that I felt would excite them,” concludes LaMontagne “There was a certain amount of pressure, because they’re so much more accomplished than I am as a musician. But I knew that if I could pull together a batch of songs I was happy with, there was really no risk involved.”
This biography was provided by the artist or their representative.
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06God Willin' & the Creek Don't RiseRay LaMontagne and the Pariah DogsRay LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
14Beg Steal Or Borrow - Live - Fall 2010Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah DogsRay LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
15For The Summer - Live - Fall 2010Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah DogsRay LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
16Like Rock & Roll And Radio - Live - Fall 2010Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah DogsRay LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
17God Willin' and the Creek Don't RiseRay LaMontagne and the Pariah DogsRay LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
18Henry Nearly Killed Me (It's A Shame) - Live - Fall 2010Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah DogsRay LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
19For The Summer - Live From Avatar StudiosRay LaMontagne and the Pariah DogsRay LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
20You Can Bring Me Flowers Featuring Secret Sisters - Live - Fall 2010Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah DogsRay LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
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Beg Steal Or Borrow
Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs Lyrics
So your home town's bringing you down
Are ya drowning in the small talk and the chatter
Or you gonna step into line like your daddy done
Punching the time and driving life's long ladder
You've been howling at the moon like a slack jawed fool
And breaking every rule they can throw on
But one of these days it's gonna be right soon
You'll find your legs and go and stay gone
Young man, full of big plans and thinking about tomorrow
Young man, going to make a stand
You beg, steal, you borrow
Ya beg, ya steal, ya borrow
Well all the friends that you knew in school
They used to be so cool now they just bore you
Well look at them now, already pulling the plow
So quick to take to grain like some old mule
Young man, full of big plans and thinking about tomorrow
Young man, going to make a stand
You beg, steal, you borrow
You beg, you steal, you borrow
Dreaming of the day
You're gonna pack your bags
Put the miles away
Oh, just grab your girl and go
Where no one knows you
What will all the old folks say?
So the home town's bringing you down
Are you drowning in the small talk and the chatter?
Or you gonna step into line like your daddy done
Punching the time and climbing life's long ladder
Young man, full of big plans and thinking about tomorrow
Young man, going to make a stand
You beg, steal, you borrow
You beg, you steal, you borrow
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: RAYCHARLES JACK LAMONTAGNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
Forrest George
So your home town's bringing you down
Are you drowning in the small talk
And the chatter
Or you gonna step into line like your daddy done
Punching the time and climbing life's long ladder
You've been howling at the moon like a slack jaw fool
And breaking every rule they can throw on
But one of these days it's gonna be right soon
You'll find your legs and go and stay gone
Young man full of big plans and thinking about tomorrow
Young man going to make a stand
You beg, steal you borrow
You beg you steal you borrow
Well all the friends that you knew in school
They used to be so cool and they just bore you
Well look at them now, already pulling the plow
So quick to take to grain like some old mule
Young man full of big plans and thinking about tomorrow
Young man going to make a stand
You beg, steal you borrow
You beg you steal you borrow
Dreaming of the day
You're gonna pack your bags
Put the miles away
Oh, just grab your girl and go
Where no one knows you
What will all the old folks say?
So the home town's bringing you down
Are you drowning in the small talk and the chatter?
Or you gonna step into line like your daddy done
Punching the time and climbing life’s long ladder
Young man full of big plans and thinking about tomorrow
Young man going to make a stand
You beg, steal you borrow
You beg you steal you borrow
Brandon Celaya
So your home town's bringing you down
Are you drowning in the small talk and the chatter?
Are you gonna step into line like your daddy done
Punching the time and climbing life's long ladder?
You've been howling at the moon like a slack-jawed fool
And breaking every rule they can throw on
But one of these days, it's gonna be right soon
You'll find your legs and go and stay gone
Young man full of big plans and thinking about tomorrow
Young man gonna make a stand
You beg, steal, you borrow
You beg, you steal, you borrow
Well, all the friends that you knew in school
They used to be so cool, now they just bore you
Well, look at 'em now, already pulling the plow
So quick to take to grain, like some old mule
Young man full of big plans and thinking about tomorrow
Young man gonna make a stand
You beg, steal, you borrow
You beg, you steal, you borrow
Dreaming of the day you're gonna pack your bags
Put the miles away
Oh, just grab your girl and go where no one knows you
What will all the old folks say?
So the home town's bringing you down
Are you drowning in the small talk and the chatter?
Are you gonna step into line like your daddy done
Punching the time and climbing life's long ladder?
Young man full of big plans and thinking about tomorrow
Young man gonna make a stand
You beg, steal, you borrow
You beg, you steal, you borrow
Taurus 03
I heard this song while waiting in the dentist's office and I HAD to look it up. This man's voice is beautiful; it's like a whisper-rasp that kind of reminds me of fog... But it also sounds like melted, slippery butter. Whew! 🙌🏽
Taurus 03
@LouAnne Smith Thank you, so much. 😊❤️
LouAnne Smith
Yesssss such a perfect description
Taurus 03
@D L Ahhh, I watched it a while ago as well and had to re-watch! It’s amazing.
D L
@Taurus 03 try the letterman live version it's a good live cut and I'm not normally a live music fan
Taurus 03
@D L I’ve been listening to it ever since. 😊 I’m in love with it.
Troy Desbiens
This is my FAVORITE SONG and I love music! I drove through Utah to Wyoming and I played this song and WOW...what a beautiful song to go with all the colors of the west! Love it!
certifiablygeeky
Definitely check out the rest of the album if you’ve never done that.
Geoffrey Logsdon
I was born in Colorado and made a trip out there a few years ago when my beloved 90 year old grandma passed away. I was sitting in a car in front of her house, next to the house where l was born. My grandma and her house was my sanctuary, where the world couldn't get me.
This song came on the radio while l was sitting there, and it was the first time l ever heard it. Before l knew it l had tears pouring down my face. I knew my life was never going to be the same. No grandma, and no sanctuary. I was the polar opposite of the character in the song...l would have given anything to be back in my hometown, among the small talk and the chatter. I escaped it and found nothing. Nothing.
GMar
All American 😉