Yes, it is true. We’ve been through two transmissions, a front and rear diff, a serpentine belt, and we haven’t missed a show on this year’s 50 States in 50 Days tour. I’ll blog about that later tonight, but TONIGHT we will be broadcasting live from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Please join us.
It will be good to catch up with everyone. Play some tunes. Chat a little in the chat room (which can be hilarious)……i’ll tell you about some stories we’ve collected along the way. AND, Ruth Trimble will play a few songs for you as well.
Briefly, this tour has been challenging, but we are committed to seeing it through. I can use your help with house concerts along the way (see remaining tour dates below), and finding folks to interview that may have aged out of foster care, or who work with people aging out of the foster care system? Leave your thoughts below.
Also, we play the Chicago area tomorrow night……Long Grove Cafe in Long Grove. It is an amazing little place with great food. Please send your Chicago area friends to the show!
So, join us. You can always watch, but if you want to “chat” via the chatroom, then I think you will need to create a profile with Ustream.tv……which takes about 5 minutes. Some of the most fun is had in the chat room while the broadcast is going on………you can find me show at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kevin-montgomery-s-50-states-in-50-days If you’d like to tip (just like you would if you were in the Hogsbreath and you walked up to the tip jar, then you can do that right here on this website via paypal….here.
Or here is the embedded link…….but if you want to chat, or see the chat…….I would follow the other link. What you will view right now is last recording session for “Fireworks” from the new cd…….it will go away the moment we go live at 10:oopm London time-for a reminder right before we go live join the Facebook Event page. I’ll update you right before I go live.
Streaming .TV shows by Ustream
Join the chat here………

We are almost out the door now here in Minnesota………you can follow us in realtime here.

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The remaining tour dates………if they are empty that either means that they are booked, but I haven’t had time to update yet, or we don’t have a house concert yet……so, please let me know if you, or someone you know would like to host?

FREE DOWNLOAD OF “THE GREATEST LOVE THAT NEVER WAS” FROM THE FORTHCOMING CD “SOME COMFORT”-PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY NOW HERE. (a password will be sent to you for an immediate download of the cd. Your physical cd will be sent when the artwork, and pressing is complete)
Do you want to host a house concert for this tour? Get in touch.
“Some Comfort” from the new cd……….

This is a video I put together of interviews from the 2010 50 States in 50 Days tour for the CASA’s of Orange County when I was their Luncheon Honoree. Some inspiring stories……..

I welcome your thoughts and comments below………..

Ok, I believe in six degrees of separation. I’m going to test it out now. Tomorrow I fly London to Atlanta……pick up my Suburban, and then drive to Nashville……pick up a few things and then head toward Los Angeles to pick up my documentary film cameraman.
To shoot this documentary about the 50 States in 50 Days tour, and make it something beautiful and inspiring for kid’s aging out of foster care, and really anyone………….we need a motorhome, or travel trailer to pull behind my Suburban.
For those that might be new to the mission. I’m the spokesperson for the Orange Duffel Bag Foundation-they help kids aging out of foster care, and at-risk teens. I do a house concert in 50 States in 50 Days, and I interview people that have aged out of foster care, or works with kids aging out, or at-risk teens. One of the main questions I ask them is “who cared about you?”…….and “is there one person that made a difference in your life?”……..the goal is to raise awareness for kid’s aging out in America, and also to inspire. 80% of kids that age out of foster care in America go homeless within the first six months of aging out. Shocking? Yep. Here is a video I put together from the 2010 50 States in 50 Days tour when I was the luncheon honoree for the CASA’s of Orange County.
This vehicle, or travel trailer could be the key to the success of the tour. I can come anywhere in the US to pick it up.
So, I need either a sponsorship from a motorhome/travel trailer company, or an individual that is willing to loan me their camper, or travel trailer from this Saturday, Aug. 18th to approximately Oct. 17th.
So, do you have one? Do you know someone that does? Do you know the head of Coachmen? Forest River? Any large motorhome manufacturer?
I’ve reached out, but have come up cold.
What I can offer them is lots of placement in the documentary, on my youtube channel that has had over 600,000 views, and ad space right here on my blog. Also, the engagement of my 25,000 twitter followers, 5,000 Facebook friends, and 4,200 Facebook “fans”………….plus, each night I take their product to a house concert and put it directly in front of 60 to 100 energized people that will get a tour of whatever vehicle I have.
Please leave your thoughts in the comments below? Do you know someone? I have two days to figure this out. Go!!!!!! Please share this to your Facebook wall. Let’s see if this six degrees of separation thing works?

“Releasing” a cd sometimes is a little like finding an injured bird…….taking the bird to the vet…..bandaging the birds broken wing…..taking care of the bird until it heals, and then you have your big moment when you take the bird into the backyard to “release” the bird. The bird, who by this time you’ve become a little sentimental about, flies up…..you can feel the excitement that comes from the satisfaction that you’ve “saved” this little creature……..it flies to your neighbors fence, lands, and gives what you think is one last look to you…..it is a moment…..and then “wham”…..the neighbor’s cat nails it, and presumably it comes to a very violent sad end.
I’m trying to avoid that with my new cd.
As an indie artist…..I live and die by my own sword…..which is oddly comforting, but the sword can draw blood at times. There are times when I wish I could be back in the big machine of A&M, especially when i’ve made what I feel like is the best record I ever made…….the one I WISH I had made when I was on A&M, but then again………I don’t think at 23 years old I just didn’t have it in me. So, I will fight the good fight, and do the best I can.
The 50 States in 50 Days tour is eminent. I will hit the road hard. Try to do some good things here and there, and if folks want to buy a cd it will be on the merch table. That is what I know how to do.
Today, prior to the tour………i’m going to do a special. If you buy a copy of “Some Comfort”, then I will throw in a copy of “True” as well, and also the live, unreleased 13 track cd–i’m getting a great reaction from the live cd. You can have those three cds for $25. In addition, upon purchase you will be sent to a link where you can instantly download the tracks from “Some Comfort.”
So, today’s special-Buy “Some Comfort”, “True”, and the live, unreleased tracks for $25.

You can also just buy “Some Comfort” for $15 here, or just “True” for $15 here.
We shot the new video of “Some Comfort” in Los Angeles recently……and it feels like an example of my life’s work…….Cory from the “Red-Blooded American Boy” video agreed to appear in it……20 years later. She looks better…..I look a little grizzled, but I have 20 years of road on me. Here it is……..comment below and let me know what you think? Also, if you’ve already received your copy of “Some Comfort” then please leave an honest review below in the comment section…..here’s the video:

Thoughts on “Some Comfort” and the new video? Please leave them in the comments section below! Also, please share this post to your Facebook friends! Help me spread the word! Thanks ya’ll!

Every once in awhile I’ll use this space to promote something that I feel is important……other than the usual stuff. This is one of those times. For those of you that have followed the 50 States in 50 Days tour……you know that I partnered with the Orange Duffel Bag Foundation to try to help kids aging out of foster care in America.
UPDATE-We estimate that the book has sold 1400 copies, so we are about 600 copies from making the New York Times Best Seller List…….so, please pick up a copy today, or even think about gifting a copy to a local charity that works with At-risk teens. Or, if you have a sizable email list, please think about sending out an email to all your contacts. That would help tremendously. Let’s get it on that list!
The idea for the foundation was born out of my sister’s book that she co-authored with Sam Bracken, My Orange Duffel Bag-A Journey to Radical Change. I took the book on the road with me on the 2010 50 States in 50 Days tour. They self-released it. The book has won 5 national awards for best young adult nonfiction, best self-help and 2 international awards for best design. This coming week it is being re-released through Random House. We are hoping to make the New York Times Best Seller’s List in the first week.
How many copies do we need to sell to make that list? About 2,000.
My personal testimonial from taking the book on the road. I could go on and on, but in short, I saw foster kids get a copy in their hands and start reading it during my house concerts……..many of them cried, many of them powerfully spoke about the fact that they could relate to Sam’s story. Adults had the same reaction. I had teachers tell me that they bought books for their whole school and it had literally “transformed the faculty as well as the students”……..and “they would notice that it became a permanent fixture in many of the student’s backpacks.”

The first half conveys Sam’s moving story of overcoming a life of teen homelessness, poverty and abuse. The second half of the book is called Sam’s 7 Rules for the Road and gives his transformational change process. It’s an easy, fast and hugely impactful read (lots of cool pictures!)! If Echo/Sam can get 2,000 orders before June 12th, they will have a good chance of making bestseller lists, which will help spread awareness of this important cause.

So, I need you to buy a copy of the book before Monday, June 11th-the official release date.

Many of you bought the book on the last 50 States in 50 Days tour, and yes, I will have copies on the upcoming 50 States in 50 Days tour, but the time to buy is now! Please buy a copy to help my sister reach the goal of making the New York Time’s Best Seller list! Please share this post via Facebook and Twitter!!! And, if you already have a copy…….please leave a review in the comments below. Thanks!
Ok, Echo Garrett will do a live web stream tomorrow night (Sunday, June 10th) at 7pm Eastern time. She will discuss the book, the foundation, and chat with everyone. Why is that so cool?

Echo Garrett is the co-author of MY ORANGE DUFFEL BAG: A JOURNEY TO RADICAL CHANGE, which is one of the publishing industry’s biggest new self-publishing success stories. Echo and Sam Bracken self-published his graphic mini-memoir/self help book after being turned down by 60 publishers. Within a few months they sold several thousand copies and won 5 national awards for best young adult/nonfiction and 2 international awards for best book design. Simultaneously Echo and Sam co-founded a nonprofit called the Orange Duffel Bag Foundation to coach at-risk teens aging out of foster care system and homeless youth on how to change their lives and achieve their goals. For the last two years, she’s served as the unpaid president of the nonprofit, which has brought a message of hope to more than 1,000 kids. Now on the eve of MY ORANGE DUFFEL BAG’s re-launch by Crown Archetype, an imprint of Random House, with a first printing of 60,000 copies, Echo will chat live on Sunday night, June 10 at 7 pm EST, about her journey. MY ORANGE DUFFEL BAG is the first self-published book ever acquired by Crown, which had more #1 NYT Bestsellers in 2011 than any other publisher.

A journalist for 30 years, Echo’s work has appeared in more than 75 national publications including Parade, Delta Sky, Money, Business Week, Success, The New York Times and many more. She’s the author of 10 books, and has won many writing awards. For the last several years, she’s concentrated on book projects that inspire people to make positive changes in their lives.

You can tune in to the live webcast right here. I highly recommend logging into the chat facility on Ustream so you can ask Echo questions, and participate in the discussion. If you want to participate in the chat, then go to ustream.tv and set up an account. You don’t have to do that to watch, but to chat you will. If you want to connect with Echo on Ustream.tv, or watch it directly on Ustream.tv, then you go here.

Live Video streaming by Ustream
The chat…………..

Join the Facebook group “Help make My Orange Duffel Bag-A Journey to Radical Change a New York Times Best Seller”

Also, the Facebook event invite for the webcast.