Montrose to Bring Old-School Rock to Largo

Ronnie Montrose has a harsh cough.

It’s not because he’s sick. If you’re wondering, Montrose has fully recovered from the prostate cancer he was diagnosed with about five years ago, a condition that caused him to not pick up a guitar for about two and a half years.

He’s quite the opposite. He’s currently on the Ronnie Montrose 2011 Tour, sponsored by Guitar Player Magazine, traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast, from hotel room to hotel room.

His allergies are kicking in.

“We do the best we can and make it,” said Montrose, 63, laughing.

If there’s anything he has proven to audiences thus far, it’s just that: He's making it.

After traveling from New York to Pennsylvania to Indialantic, FL, this week, Montrose and his band are making a pit-stop performance at the at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Michael Lee Firkins, who has been traveling with the tour, opens for the band. Firkins, known for his signature rock melodies blended with jazz, blues and country, released a self-titled album in 1990 that earned him “Best New Talent” honors in a reader’s poll by Guitar Player Magazine and Guitar for the Practicing Musician.

“It’s just been great,” Montrose says of his tour. “It’s a good feeling. We’re hoping to generate that feeling down in Florida.”

Known for his all-American, hard-rock, heavy-metal tunes during the '70s, '80s and '90s — such as “Rock Candy,” “Bad Motor Scooter,” and “Space Station Number 5,” all of which he will perform Thursday — Montrose has performed as a rock guitarist for his own bands and alongside a number of other musicians throughout his career, including Sammy Hagar, Edgar Winter, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Neville Brothers, The Beau Brummels.

His current tour, which began in January, is scheduled to end in mid-November when he travels back to California, where he is from. Montrose said he’s enjoying touring so much he may continue the tour into the spring and summer of next year.

“My fans are excited about hearing my songs live,” Montrose said. “I’ve written this music 40 years ago. Fans are bringing their family members. It’s very exciting to play this for them.”

As far as what audiences in Largo can expect from his performance on Thursday, he says it’ll be “Montrose music.”

“Just Montrose, period," he said. "It is literally just old-school, hard-core rock … just clean, lean and mean. That’s all it is. It doesn’t have to be anything. It’s unpretentious. It’s infectious. It’s very strong and dynamic.”

Montrose says he’s on the phone doing interviews a lot when he’s not performing, which he says is “the only way to spread the word.”

After his current tour, he will perform in an instrumental guitar tour throughout the United States, eventually followed by another tour that is a “big, elaborate acoustic guitar experience,” Montrose said.

Besides performing and touring, he says he enjoys other activities when he has the time.

“I don’t define myself as a guitar player,” said Montrose, adding that he likes to cook, hike and spend time with his family, among other things. He says he’s fortunate and blessed to be able to touch people through his music.

“They respond, and it resonates,” Montrose said of his fans.

Montrose doesn’t remember whether he has been to Largo to perform in the past, but one city he says he does remember well is nearby.

“Ybor City has the best Cuban food," he said. "We’re going to rock [Largo] to death and squeeze in a good meal down in Ybor City. We have priorities, you know.”

If you go

What: Performance by Ronnie Montrose after an opening show by Michael Lee Firkins

Where: Largo Cultural Center, 105 Central Park Drive

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Prices: $25 in advance, $30 on the day of the show

Contact: Visit LargoArts.com or call the box office at 727-587-6793.