He has toured around the country. His records have sold all over the world. He has also taught you the story of the thirteen colonies. History teacher Mr. Lamont reminisces about his previous career in music, its ups and downs, and the places he has played with the bands he has been a part of.
“I fell in love with rock and roll in seventh grade…we’d just moved to New York, and it was a tough time for me, I didn’t have many friends, so I listened to a lot of music, and it touched my soul,” said Mr. Lamont. Mr. Lamont played the drums before beginning to play the guitar in his senior year of high school. “I was very influenced by punk rock,” he remembers. In terms of starting his music career, he never planned on committing fully to musicianship.
Before college, Mr. Lamont was part of a few bands. Then, The NOT emerged in college, and it was active for three years, from 1983 to 1986. Mr. Lamont played full-time with the band members, who were local kids, after graduating from college. At the time, he thought to himself, “This is my passion. I’m going to give it a shot for three years, and if it doesn’t work out, I’ll do something else. I didn’t want to end up still flailing away in a rock band at forty or fifty. It’s really a young person’s game.”
Mr. Lamont also said that “it was an interesting period because there was a youth music movement called Hardcore Punk. It was very interesting because a lot of people didn’t like mainstream music… All over the country there were young people who wanted music that was super loud, super fast, super angry.” The NOT had two other band members, Rob Wallace, the drummer, and Peter Patino, the bass player. Patino now plays in a salsa band that has performed at Groton School. “He was the best musician in the band.” Mr. Lamont remarks.
“We played all over the country, we toured the country four times, went to Canada twice. Our records were sold all over the world: Europe, South America, Asia. We didn’t sell a lot of records, but we sold a good number of records, and it was fun because a lot of the songs were played on alternative radio stations and on college radio stations. We did reasonably well.” Though crowds weren’t enormous–about twenty-five to one hundred-fifty people–Mr. Lamont was content with playing his music. “The biggest show we played, we opened for some big-name punk rock band, [there were] two thousand people. But for me, it didn’t matter how many people there were. I just enjoyed playing the music. If there was one band I wanted to be in, this was it. It really felt like I was playing the music I wanted to play.”
The NOT released two records. Mr. Lamont compares his band’s music to other bands like the Dead Kennedys and Black Flag, saying, “I never felt we were nearly as loud and fast… We were more melodic, we had harmonies, [and] we had a sense of musicality that other bands didn’t have.” The NOT performed in various places, including clubs, function rooms, bowling alleys, basements, and backyards. However, this musician’s aspirations to become a professional eventually came to a wrap.
As is the case for many people who want to play music professionally, it is difficult to achieve such a dream, especially because of the arbitrary music industry. “My dream was to become a professional musician,” Mr. Lamont said. “But at least in the field of popular entertainment, it’s really hard, and it’s so random, there’s no logic to it…I can tell you that for every band who makes it, there are dozens of bands equally deserving, who have great songs, great musicians…but a lot of it is luck.”
This is one of the reasons why Mr. Lamont decided to shift his career from music to teaching. Furthermore, he said, “Towards the last year of the band, there were times when I got a little tired of playing the same songs, yet people want to hear the same songs. They expect to hear songs [that they know]. I think that’s why many musicians turn into actors. They make it look fresh, they make it look like they’re totally into it.” However, Mr. Lamont does mention that he does not have any regrets after leaving the band.
He still enjoys playing music as a pastime. He has even performed at an 25th alumni reunion gig here at Groton School six years ago and did a music tutorial last year with students Angus Warren ’16, Parker Banks ’16, and Steven Anton ’16. When asked why he loves music, Mr. Lamont said, “It somehow moves your emotions, and I love playing music with young people.” Music still remains near to Mr. Lamont’s heart and is one of many aspects that makes him a unique history teacher. The next time you see him around the Circle, be sure to ask him about stories from his musical past. They are certain to fascinate you.