19HH - Just Duet

Sure, it’s a pun to say that the motto of Nineteen Hand Horse ought to be “Just duet.” But, in country music, male/female singer/songwriter partnerships like the one that’s been formed by Nathalie Archangel and Mark Montijo have a long and noble history, one that dates back to the glory days of George and Tammy, Johnny and June, Dolly and Porter…

Mind you, Nathalie and Mark’s team-up was a bit unlikelier than those. She spent the formative years of her music career recording well-received but under-promoted pop albums for Columbia and MCA. Perhaps as a harbinger of things to come, Nathalie recorded and released duets with no less than Frankie Valli and Howard Jones.

Mark grew up on a horse ranch a stone’s throw from Spade Cooley’s old place near Willow Springs, CA, where the sounds of Bakersfield on AM country radio were as abundant as sage brush, keggers and hot desert nights. Moving to Los Angeles, Mark formed a power trio called Dogs on Fire that landed Duran Duran’s coveted opening-act slot at the Los Angeles Forum.

Mark and Nathalie met, fell in love and were married in 1995. Fast forward to 2009, the year Nineteen Hand Horse was formed.