Ray LaMontagne's Rural Retreat : Rolling Stone

Not too long ago, Ray LaMontagne was strumming and emoting his way through his harrowing 2005 breakthrough song, "Trouble," before a rapt, sold-out crowd at Radio City Music Hall. Today, on break from his tour behind the new Gossip in the Grain, he's back home in his farmhouse in the wilds of western Maine. A storm is coming, and with winter settling in, LaMontagne's audience will shrink dramatically. In fact, most days he won't see anyone other than his wife, Sarah, his two sons and the sheep, goats and chickens they keep out in the barn. "Nobody comes nosin' around," LaMontagne says of his 85-acre spread. "No one cares out here. You can carve out a little space and make things work."

Gossip in the Grain — which amps the spare Nick Drake-meets-Van Morrison sound of his first two albums with blasts of Memphis-style horns — was written on the property, and its rural vibe is evident in the many references to crows, cows and foxes. "I don't have a ton of distractions," LaMontagne says. "Staying busy around the place frees up the subconscious to do whatever the hell it's gonna do."

In the 1970s, Norman Mailer used the property as a base for fishing, hunting and ski adventures, but LaMontagne hasn't come across evidence of his visits. "We did find a lot of beer cans in the walls," he says. "Malt liquor."

LaMontagne gutted the house, which had been abandoned for years. He also turned a small horse barn into his work space — packing it with the vintage typewriters, motorcycles and Victrolas he admires and fixes up as a hobby. "A typewriter didn't have to look beautiful, but they made it look beautiful," he says. "There's a certain level of craftsmanship there. It's like an old car."

Having lived in Maine since his teens, LaMontagne has a "love-hate relationship" with the state: "The paper industry makes a mess of the woods. It looks like Hiroshima — just flat." And he wouldn't mind having more musicians to play with. But Maine is home. "In the summertime, driving just north of here on a motorcycle into the mountains, there's nothing like it," he says. "It's stunningly beautiful."

[Issue 1070 — January 22, 2009]

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