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NATHALIE ARCHANGEL |
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The East Bay, California based band is built around Nathalie and her partner Mark Montijo. They describe themselves as a duetting couple as “Shorter and less elegant than Johnny and June but taller and more functional than George and Tammy. We firmly believe there is a place for us.” As we await the anticipated second album by Nineteen Hand Horse, Miami, South Florida-based Yesterday & Today Music takes advantage of the situation with a wonderfully produced 28-minute, 10-track tribute CD/DL to Patsy Cline, Patsy On The Porch, an album that essentially marks the solo return of Ms. Archangel. mwe3.com spoke to Y&T Music founder Rich Ulloa who told us, “My philosophy on working with artists has been pretty basic... I love releasing new music that I am passionate about and proud to have on my label. Nathalie’s CD was a total and welcome surprise to me. To me, Patsy Cline is the greatest female vocalist who ever lived (even though Billie Holiday is my #1 fave) and the thought of someone covering her songs was not something I would ever expect to like. But when I heard Nathalie’s versions, I was truly blown away. Her sultry and sexy interpretations with a modern production style blew me away and I can't wait to have people hear it!” Nineteen Hand Horse co-founder Mark Montijo is featured here on lead and rhythm guitar and is as well a member of the backing chorus, The Ordinaires, led by acclaimed Orchestrator Bruno Coon (Disney, Randy Newman). They are a true tip of the hat to the legendary first call background singers, The Jordannaires. With a bevy of first rate musicians, including Grammy-winning Slack-key guitarist Jim “Kimo” West and Robert Clot (pedal steel), the sound of Patsy On The Porch is first rate and absolutely authentic. The album is underscored by the timeless production of Nathalie and co-producer Michael Peterson, who also engineered and mixed Patsy On The Porch. In her liner notes, Nathalie raves on about Patsy Cline, well appreciating her short-lived career. The period following Buddy Holly’s fatal plane crash in 1959 was pivotal for many country-pop artists heralding Patsy’s rapid ascent into the pop world and tragic death in a 1963 plane crash. Nathalie’s Patsy Cline valentine is a fitting tribute to that late 1950’s budding country rock sound proffered by Buddy and a milieu of fabled songwriters and singers, and for a time after Patsy as well.
Working with the well-respected South Florida based Y&T Music, Nathalie expresses, “Rich and Don thought it should be longer than 5 tunes and ultimately Rich wanted it to be full length. He brought “Seven Lonely Days” in as it is one of his favorite songs. Y&T artist Drew Weaver brought “When I Get Through With You” to our attention and we fell in love with the tune. Putting this together has been a true collaborative effort!” “When I Get Through With You” is one of Harlan Howard’s best compositions and it lands perfectly in Nathalie’s hands. The Ordinaires backup vocals are evocative of the post-Buddy Holly era in pop music history. The album closer “Sweet Dreams” (composed by Don Gibson in 1955) is burnished splendiferously in Nathalie’s musical aura and contains an unexpected and delightful surprise. There is an eight bar bridge in the middle which Nathalie, known traditionally first and foremost as a writer, composed. “This is one of my favorite songs and Don Gibson is one of my favorite writers, but I heard the bridge in my head and I couldn’t ignore it.” The new bridge adds a stunning and unexpected moment to one of the most celebrated torch songs ever written. Nathalie Archangel and the fabulous players on hand lead this music into the realm of the pop music church of all time. While these songs, many first interpreted by Patsy Cline, are remembered primarily as early country music in style, on Patsy On The Porch they still very much echo the early magic of late 1959 and into the early 1960s AM radio age. While Patsy On The Porch isn’t totally representative of the wide berth of Nathalie Archangel’s glory, the trip back to that post-Buddy era of AM radio magic is greatly enhanced by her deep understanding of these American songwriter giants. From what I’ve heard of it so far, the second Nineteen Hand Horse album, She’s A Show is shaping up to be a wonder and a winner, but taking time to smell the roses 65 years later, Patsy On The Porch puts a smile on your face as you bask in a nostalgic glow of pre-Beatles magic via the innocence of the early JFK years.
mwe3.com presents a new interview with Nathalie Archangel and Mark Montijo of Nineteen Hand Horse
Nathalie Archangel: Nineteen Hand Horse is essentially Mark and me and we collaborated fully on this project. As this record focuses on the reinterpretation of these Patsy classics, it was decided to place focus on the woman doing the re-interpreting. Mark Montijo: Our Patsy project is an expression of Nathalie's great love and respect for Patsy Cline and the incredible songs she chose to record. Our band Nineteen Hand Horse is a supportive vehicle for Nathalie to explore any creative path she chooses to follow. We were "all in" when she told us her dream of recording an album of Patsy Cline songs. The CD is not a tribute album per se, which would have required us to try to replicate the original recordings, but a respectful interpretation of carefully curated songs from Patsy's catalog. Using this approach freed us to reinvent the songs in ways we thought honored how the songs were initially recorded, along with how we thought the songs wanted to express themselves today. This stems from our philosophy that songs are sentient creatures that have their own hopes and dreams and unique choreography of how they want to move through the world. Nathalie Archangel: Rich and Don thought it should be longer than 5 tunes and ultimately Rich wanted it to be full length. He brought “Seven Lonely Days” in as it is one of his favorite songs. Y&T artist Drew Weaver brought “When I Get Through With You” to our attention and we fell in love with the tune. Putting this together had been a true collaborative effort! Mark Montijo: Our partnership with Rich and Don of Y&T has been so easy. We have a mutual respect that guides all our decisions of how to create and support a record. Together, Rich and Don are a powerhouse duo and their excitement and love of making records is so infectious, one can't help but be inspired!
The Ordinnaires are of course based upon the brilliant Jordanaires, who leant their extraordinary skill and artistry as first call backup singers for Patsy, Elvis and others back in the day. Robert Clot, rhymes with glow, is amazing as are Thomas Regan, Michael Peterson, Chris Ferreira and the rest! Mark Montijo: Making this record was a "family affair" for sure. Even beyond who Nathalie has mentioned, our (very) extended family includes; Steve Kinsella, who sang with the Ordinnaires, a literal tongue-in-cheek reference to the great Jordanaires, drummer Rod Hanna, who plays with The Driveway Band, a local Nor Cal band, bassist Brian Vandemark, who also plays with a variety of local Nor Cal bands, Michael Peterson, who added keyboards, engineered, mixed and co-produced the record, along with guitarist Wes Theobald, who is currently in Las Vegas playing with Donny Osmond. Wes is a graduate of North Texas University's Jazz Guitar program and I have been his student since 2019. mwe3: So what made you want to head up a new tribute album to Patsy Cline? Did you have a group of predetermined tracks and a sound you wanted to give these new remakes or, as you mentioned earlier, was the selection of tracks and the subsequent expansion of the number of tracks down to you and Y&T Records? I know you were telling me about the Nineteen Hand Horse live shows. Was that the setting that made you realize how accessible and enjoyable these songs would be to record and release on a CD? Nathalie Archangel: Yes! The more we worked with the songs live, the more motivated we became to record. They have such magic and capture that pivotal yet oddly subtle point in American music. Mark Montijo: We have regular gig we play at Toot's Tavern in Crockett, California. We play the last Sunday of the month we've been doing that for almost four years now. Laura and Matthew Easterling are a sister and brother team who own and manage Toot's Tavern. They have been awesome in their support of Nathalie and Nineteen Hand Horse and we have shot several of our videos there as well. This was the setting in which provides a chance to try out different songs and arrangements and get immediate feedback from a live audience before we bring ideas into the recording studio. What we did learn was that Patsy Cline is adored by almost everyone with an interest in traditional country music.
Nathalie Archangel: Well stated Robert! It was a very special moment - just before a major cultural shift. You hear the promise of things to come as well as a reflection of a world long gone…. Mark Montijo: We are living in a consumer culture in which we have been programmed to believe that newer is always better. Look at the manner in which the North American continent was taken over by Europeans; the Western horizon always offered something new and people moved further and further West until land ended at the Pacific Ocean. Hunkpapa Lakota chief and spiritual leader Sitting Bull said, "If America had been twice the size it is, there still would not have been enough." You can also see it in the way we treat our elders. We warehouse them away in skilled nursing facilities. And I agree that attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. We spend an average of 2-3 seconds per social media post; over and over again. This is decimating our ability to stay on task reading anything of substance. mwe3: Seems like there are endless paths to tribute albums these days but very few record labels are proceeding along that path. Seems, looking back, it was a busier era for tribute albums in the 1990s maybe because of the advent and novelty of the CD. But seems you were lucky to find Y&T music whose specialty seems to be tribute albums as I know you were also on their Pete Ham double tribute album. Do you feel tribute albums are still a big deal? One things for sure, with Patsy, you do it much better than most artists. Nathalie Archangel: Thank you! I look at this record as a true growth experience and the opportunity to demonstrate maturity as a singer. I wanted the songs to feel very relaxed - almost completely free of tension. I think it makes it very listenable. Working with Rich has been incredible. He is one of the most knowledgeable individuals I’ve ever met and a true lover of so many genres of music. Mark Montijo: There are quite a few live tribute bands out there now. We know a few musicians who are working in those bands as they tend to make more money. In uncertain times like we are experiencing now; people tend to gravitate to the familiar. I think is is comforting to listen to music that was popular during an easier time in your life, It's like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket.
Nathalie Archangel: I hope so! I became obsessed with Buddy Holly just a couple of years before you did! Wore out my copy of “Buddy Holly Lives” and found every piece of music he ever recorded. What a brilliant musician. The world lost so much the day the music died. Just before his death, he had moved to NYC. The world will never know how he could have altered the course of music… Mark Montijo: Nathalie has a beautifully unique voice with a unique way of phrasing lines that communicates much more than the lyrics on their own. Nathalie interpreted the songs in her own style. It was similar with the arrangements. "Walking After Midnight" has this almost marching feel that brings to mind someone actually walking. We decided to do the song in more of a Western Swing groove. Willie Nelson wrote "Crazy" in 4/4. We decided to do it in 12/8. For the other songs, we studied the original recordings and listened carefully to what the songs wanted now. That comes from the same belief I mentioned earlier about certain songs having sentient qualities with their own dreams and their own way of moving through the world. mwe3: How did you prepare to cut this album and how did you scale it back to just 10 songs? I know Rich at Y&T is a Patsy Cline expert so at least you are in good company. But the band on Patsy is different from the lineup on the first Nineteen Hand Horse album. I know you decided to release it as a Nathalie Archangel solo album and not a Nineteen Hand Horse album because Patsy released the tracks as a female artist and there’s that connection.
Mark Montijo: We listened to Patsy's entire catalogue. During her eight-year career she recorded 104 songs! There were songs like "Crazy" and "Walking After Midnight" that we felt were essential and there was no question whether or not we should include them. The rest were chosen one by one. The list grew from what was originally an EP to a full album at Rich's suggestion. We asked the songs who wanted to be included. mwe3: Can Mark tell us about some of the guitars he plays on Patsy On The Porch and also what was it like sharing the guitar chores with other guitarists on the album including Wes Theobold and pedal steel guitarist Robert Clot. Also Jim Kimo West plays on the cover of “Strange”. You go back a long time with Kimo. The guitars sound great on “Strange”, 3 guitars. Interesting that “Strange” was the B-side to “She’s Got You”. Nathalie Archangel: I have known Kimo for years and he is one of the kindest and most brilliant people I’ve ever met. He is so natural with any guitar in his hand and makes the impossible look easy! He also sings beautifully! Mark Montijo: The main guitar I used for the Patsy CD was made by luthier John Kresich (Kresich@aol.com) here in Clayton California, where we live. I'm fortunate to have one of his outstanding "Johnny K" T-Style guitars with Lollar '52 pickups in Sonic Blue. I also used a 2021 12-string Rickenbacker 360, and a 2011 Fender Telecaster with a Warmoth roasted maple neck and Peter Florance pickups. For some cuts I played direct into the board. I also used a stock Matchless Lightning amp and a Fender Princeton amp with a Celestion Gold speaker. Pedal Steel player Robert Clot is getting some well-deserved recognition for his playing o the CD. He did two passes on each song. Robert's first pass was to create a "pad," a sustained atmospheric sound to add depth, harmonic texture and ambience which sets the overall mood of the song. The next pass was for fills in between vocal lines and solos. I agree with Nathalie about Jim "Kimo" West. He played a beautiful solo on "Strange." Kimo is one of those rare musicians who can evoke a transcendence that connects the listener to something greater than oneself.
Nathalie Archangel: Thank you Sir! Your mouth to G-d’s ears. I love this record and look forward to it finding its place in the world. Mark Montijo: I love the "She's a Show" recordings. They having been sitting in a silent darkness for quite a while. Those songs are more than ready to meet the world. We need to make that happen. mwe3: Can I mention some of the tracks on the upcoming Nineteen Hand Horse album She’s A Show that I was lucky to hear, pre-release?I was taken by some of the tracks I heard including the song “Jane” (We Were Gonna Change The World). Is that written about a longtime friend of Nathalie’s? I guess her real name was Jayne? And the lyrics mention the Patsy song “Crazy” too. What can you say about that track? Nathalie Archangel: It is indeed about my great high school friend Jayne (Jane). The song is taken from real life events that came back to me in bittersweet memories. Mark Montijo: Nathalie and I played acoustic versions of "Jane (We Were Going to Change the World)", "You Never Know" and "Hell Not Salinas" from the yet-to-be-released "She's a Show" album in Nashville at Bobby's Idle Hour Tavern in September 2023. Our good friend Bill Wence arranged that gig for us. The songs were happy to be heard and the audience was happy to hear them! mwe3: Another new 19HH track “An Almost Perfect Love Affair” is great. It has a great intro. It has a great King Curtis style sax solo too. Is the song autobiographical song about your own relationship? The lyrics are kind of surrealistic! Plus there’s a mention of the Tappan Zee bridge too! Does it hark back to the start of your relationship? With the shared vocals you guys are like the Laurel and Hardy of American pop! Nathalie Archangel: I love that reference! Am I Laurel or Hardy? The song is not autobiographical per se but it has elements of our relationship for sure. There is that underlying: he is fresh air to my Times Square thing… I understand the Tappan Zee has been renamed in recent years! Who knew?! That’s what I get for staying off the East Coast! Mark Montijo: "An Almost Perfect Love Affair" has a section that was inspired the opening riff in "Five O'Clock World" by the Vogues. Our bass player Anthony Moraila played the sax solo. We recorded that solo in three different parts. He did a great job.
Nathalie Archangel: Thank you! It’s a bit of a barrel race, no? Mark Montijo: "Guinevere Rose" has that twangy surf Telecaster sound dripping with reverb reminiscent of Dick Dale. Like Nathalie said, it is a little like a barrel race; fast and furious and over before you're ready for it to stop. mwe3: How about another new song called “Port Costa”? It’s one of the best songs Nineteen Hand Horse has written. It’s so upbeat plus there are so many name checks so obviously you recommend it as a place to live! What is Port Costa like? Nathalie Archangel: It is a spectacular little town in the East Bay. It was at one time a very important port city! It has a vaguely Victorian yet Bohemian feel, complete with an old, haunted hotel! Mark Montijo: Nathalie has been fascinated with Port Costa for years and she really does want to live there. Port Costa is a tiny town of about 200 people. About an hour away from San Francisco or Oakland, it is unlike anywhere else in the Bay Area. We play at The Warehouse in Port Costa where you'll see hippies, Hells Angels, and cowboys all enjoying the vibe. Port Costa has one main street, Canyon Lake Drive. There you'll find interesting shops and places to eat. There is also a mini trailer park with vintage trailers selling pizza, plants, jewelry, and coffee, among other cool stuff. mwe3: There are many more songs on the new Nineteen Hand Horse album but I just singled out a few and when it’s finally out, I hope we can do another interview! So that unreleased as of yet album, She’s A Show was recorded before or after the Patsy On The Porch album? Do you think there’s a label cool enough to release it? Nathalie Archangel: I hope so! The recording of the two albums overlapped. Mark Montijo: The She's a Show record was started before Patsy On The Porch was started so there was a bit of an overlap. We are actively seeking a path forward to birth She's A Show CD into the world. mwe3: Have you been writing steadily these past couple years? You must have a lot of new songs. Is this an inspirational time to be writing and recording music? Nathalie Archangel: We live, shall we say, in interesting times. There is much to comment on. Mark Montijo: I am Nathalie's biggest fan. She writes as inspiration strikes her. This can happen anytime and anywhere; on its own terms. mwe3: We went through a lot last year with the California fires (which was actually early this year!) and all the craziness we are going through as a country. Your beloved Teslas are bearing the brunt! But I guess like Nineteen Hand Horse, we’re a resilient bunch! 2025 is progressing slowly but steadily so what are we all hoping for in 2025 which will no doubt be 2026 before we know it! Thoughts on our time in history and what it’s all leading to? Nathalie Archangel: These are unprecedented times in this country. It’s amazing how quickly all that we take for granted can be turned on its head, isn’t it? I wake up every morning with a vague sense of disbelief. I hope this terribly dark period will lead to a new dawn. Speaking of “Dawn”, that is one of my favorite songs of all time! Mark Montijo: We are happy to be driving our old Toyotas at this point! I hope the chaos we are experiencing can act as fertile ground from which something new, positive and beautiful can grow. Think of the courage a seed must have to sprout into a plant; something completely different from what it is. We can summon that courage to create something that is beautiful even beyond our imaginations. There is a Navajo Beauty Way Blessing that goes something like this:
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Miami-based Y&T Music continues on a roll with the 2025 solo album by lovely, ageless and delightfully eccentric late 20th Century pop-rock luminary Nathalie Archangel. Following two major label albums and several indie releases, Nathalie finally resurfaced in a definitive way in 2021 with the self-produced (along with the legendary James Jae-E Earley) debut album of her Country Glam-rock project Nineteen Hand Horse.
Musically, the ten tracks Nathalie has chosen to spotlight on Patsy On The Porch are each timeless classics written in some cases expressly for Patsy by some of the biggest and best country music songwriters of that late ‘50s and early ‘60s era including Hank Cochran, Pee Wee King, Mel Tillis, Willie Nelson and Harlan Howard, to name but a few of the American songwriting giants here.
mwe3: I was expecting a new Nineteen Hand Horse album but lo and behold your self-styled album tribute to Patsy Cline, Patsy On The Porch is actually your first solo album in several years.
Nathalie Archangel: There are some extraordinary musicians on this record including Grammy winner Jim Kimo West contributing gorgeous acoustic slack key guitar to “Strange” and well known exceptionally talented orchestrator (Disney, television/film) Bruno Coon on vocals and arrangements for The Ordinnaires. 
mwe3: The Patsy On The Porch album is kind of a throwback to the sounds of the post-war era of the mid 1950s and early 1960s. Why do you think that whole era has been almost blotted out of our memories? Is it too innocent for us now? American culture seems to have a much shorter attention span in the 2020’s than ever before. Also, it seems like there was a much higher standard of musical excellence back in the Golden era of American pop music from 1954 to 1964. And also how that first era was so influential to what came after, with the Beatles and other bands from England that used it as a springboard to their own greatness.
mwe3: How did you prepare for this tribute to Patsy Cline? There’s no shortage of footage of her performances on YouTube. I think there must be a video for every song she recorded live. And it’s amazing that here I am in May 2025 and I’m watching Patsy perform “Walkin’ After Midnight” from a TV show in 1957! I was 3 years old in 1957 and you and Mark weren’t even born yet! Do you ever feel we’re in a gigantic time tunnel? I remember when I first left NYC in 1989 I became a Buddy Holly aficionado. Maybe after hearing Patsy On The Porch some younger fans will become Patsy disciples. It’s like a great indoctrination!
Nathalie Archangel: Working with Rich is sublime! He is a huge Patsy fan and suggested several songs including “Seven Lonely Days” which is a marvelous showcase for ‘The Ordinnaires’. My original idea was to do a 5 song EP but Rich suggested we keep going and we got to nine! I love the number and was prepared to stop until the late, brilliant Drew Weaver suggested the 10th song “When I Get Through with You” The minute I heard it, I knew I had to do it. It remains one of my favorites.
mwe3: So with Patsy On The Porch out in 2025, after being delayed for several months, is the attention going to return soon again to your next album with your band Nineteen Hand Horse now? It’s basically recorded and done but no release yet? It’s a total masterpiece that stands among your best albums. On par with Patsy, the hopefully soon to be released She’s A Show will be a hit.
mwe3: Another new Nineteen Hand Horse track “Guinevere Rose” is fascinating to hear. It has a great rolling beat. Is there a story on that track?