MAXX12 Release Ronnie Montrose Tribute Song

12/03/2012
. MAXX12 have released, He Rocked The Nation, their tribute to best friend, mentor and executive producer Ronnie Montrose, who died earlier this year.

The band is currently offering a stream and a free download of the song for a limited time here. We were sent over these details:

Montrose was known as one of the premier guitar players of the '60s and '70s. He started his career as a teenager playing for Van Morrison. Ronnie later went on to play for the wildly popular Edgar Winter Group, and then formed his own band, Montrose, also very popular in the '70s, and later, Gamma in the '80s. Montrose was also famous for discovering then unknown singer Sammy Hagar, who went on to be a superstar in his own band and later with other megaband Van Halen in the '80s.

News reports said Ronnie died of prostate cancer on March 3, 2012. But his wife, Leighsa Montrose, later made an official statement to GuitarPlayer that Ronnie had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He suffered from grave depression.

The song will bring back memories to Montrose fans, and clue them into some interesting things about him. His former agent, Jim Douglas of Prime Time Entertainment, says, "He Rocked the Nation is a wonderful, heart-felt and unique tribute to Ronnie. He would have adored it...and fans will love all the tidbits about Ronnie's career and personality."

Songwriter, guitarist and lead singer T. Michael Riddle of MAXX12 says, "The song is filled with some of Ronnie's favorite sayings. One thing he would often do is tell everyone backstage, 'Have you heard the news?' He'd get everybody all curious and riled up. Then he'd announce, 'There's good rockin' tonight!' We've also mentioned a lot of his famous songs, such as Bad Motorscooter."

MAXX12, co-founded and executive produced by the late Montrose, is one of the San Jose area's newest sensations. Composed of three super talented guys from the '80s metal scene, and featuring Riddle, formerly with metal legends Valhalla, MAXX12 is a phenomenon to be witnessed. They are creators of the edgy new metal sound, Apocalypse Rock: a swampy, hard-rock signature style. The band also features bass virtuoso Jon Hampton and hard rockin' drummer Ronnie Cascinai. MAXX12's mission is to rid the US of political trouble, through music. MAXX12 is already getting quite a cult following in Southern and Western American states.