The story
A life that became a mission.
The beginning
Born into rhythm
Eric Joseph Montgomery has been a musician since before he understood what music was. As a child he learned the phrase Aeeji Aho — pronounced eetchie ahoo, believed to be Apache or Navajo in origin — meaning "means nothing without heart." That phrase became the compass of everything that followed. He grew up near his grandparents' wheat and cattle ranch in Eastern Washington, where he learned the dichotomy of Western civilization and the Native American way of living in harmony with the land. At seven he was behind a drum kit. He hasn't stopped since.
The journey
Eagle chasing — and what it cost
Eric's path took him through real estate, material success, a yacht, top-rated corporate cover bands — the full expression of the Eagle's path. His band Montgomery Park topped radio airplay charts on the Colorado front range. He was in Maurice the Fish, rated Top Corporate Cover Band three years running on Gigmasters. He was successful by every Western measure. And deeply unhappy. The 2008 financial collapse, a divorce, and becoming a part-time single father shattered the rhythm he'd been playing. His heart drum went quiet. He knew something had to change.
The turning point
The vision quest
A friend introduced Eric to shamanic studies in Portland. As a drummer, something in his body knew he needed to go. Spirit told him to vision quest — four and a half days alone in the Tillamook rainforest with no food, no shelter. On day three, weak and parched, the prayer flags moved. Spirit said: pick up your drum. He dragged himself up and began playing. What happened next changed everything. His body came alive. He wasn't just playing the drum — he was the drum being played by something greater. The Sun filled his body. He heard two phrases, clear as the drum itself: Drumming for Humanity. Healing the Planet from the Sun.
The parallel
Jonathan Budd and the Amazon
Powur PBC founder Jonathan Budd received his vision for the company through a journey to the Amazon rainforest with the Pachamama Alliance — the same organization that shaped the Sounds4Solar mission framework through its Awakening the Dreamer Symposium. Two leaders. Two separate ceremonies. Two paths of inner work arriving at the same truth: the transition to clean energy is not a business problem. It is a calling. Sounds4Solar and Powur are not a random business partnership. They are a meeting of missions.
The mission
What was built from the vision
From the vision quest, Eric built Clean Energy 4 Good LLC — the legal entity housing the Sounds4Solar brand. He partnered with Powur PBC to give the mission operational infrastructure. He brought in Lauri Jones — a Masters in Musical Theatre graduate from the Boston Conservatory, a performer who has shared the stage with Patti LaBelle and George Benson — to co-create Montgomery Jones, the duo project that became the keynote concert vehicle for the mission. Together, they are building the movement that the vision called for: artists, music, solar, and the healing of the planet — unified in one loop that closes all the way.
