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Dave Mason is back. Best known for his role with the British psychedelic rock innovators Traffic, Mason will release his first album of new material in more than 20 years on October 14th.
But though he hasn't put a lot of new music out into the world in a while, Mason never really went anywhere. He has maintained a successful solo career and honed his chops on the road, as he'll demonstrate when he brings his five-piece backing band to the Tarrytown Music Hall on Wednesday.
In fact, the new song "Deaf, Dumb & Blind" released on the album "Dave Mason Live" last year, went to No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. But Mason didn't see much demand for an album's worth of new material before now.
"Just like a suit, I went out of fashion," Mason jokes by telephone from Chicago. "But you know, sometimes if you leave it in the closet long enough, it becomes fashionable again."
If any musician could be content to rest on his laurels, it's Mason. When he was just 19 and playing in Traffic, he penned the classic rock anthem "Feelin' Alright," which has been covered by more than four dozen artists, including Joe Cocker, who had a hit with it. Mason had the chance to play the song when Traffic was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, during a ceremony that featured fellow honorees Bob Seger, ZZ Top, Jackson Browne and Prince.
Mason describes the moment as one of the highlights of his career. "I had pretty much everyone onstage as a backup band, so it was kind of interesting," he says. "There are some pictures of me playing, and then there's Keith Richards. Everybody was up there, playing guitar or keyboards or something, so that was kind of nice."
Not that it was the first time Mason had played with other rock-'n'-roll heavyweights, or even Richards, for that matter. Over the years, he's taken part in so many notable collaborations that it's difficult for him to pick a favorite. "Working with Hendrix would have to be (a highlight) for me, doing 'All Along the Watchtower' together," he says. "I played on 'Street Fighting Man' on 'Beggar's Banquet,' and I played with Graham Nash, and recorded with him, and the early parts of Derek and the Dominos, George Harrison. I sang on a version of 'Across the Universe' with a bunch of people. Recording with Stevie Wonder, having him come play on a couple of tracks, Michael Jackson singing on one of my songs."
Mason is happy to draw from his storied past when he puts together a set list for one of his live shows. He's understandably proud of his early material, and as far as he's concerned, a classic never gets dated.
"I think a great song still is a great song," he says. "There were people in the audience at the show the other night saying: 'Play the old songs. Play the old songs.' Well, you know what? There aren't any old songs. There's just good songs. They either last or they don't last."
That said, Mason could not be more excited about the material on his new album, "26 Letters 12 Notes," which he recorded over the past six years at his home in California and at studios in Florida and Detroit. As he confesses with customary self-deprecating humor, there's an easy way to know if new material is any good or not. "I've been listening to it for the last six years, and I'm not sick of it," he says.
Possessed of a sharp wit and an easy laugh, Mason clearly enjoys making jokes at his own expense. But he does believe that the new album contains some of his finest work, and not only because of how long he took to craft the material.
"For me, I think it's probably one of the better albums I've ever done ... because I'm at my peak vocally and guitar-wise. I'm probably as good as I'm ever going to be at this point. It's a combination of that, performance, songs, production. I think it all more or less really came together."
While excited about the new material and getting out on the road again in the fall to promote it, Mason does feel it's harder to find an audience than it was in the past. He attributes this largely to the decline in quality radio programming.
"There are no personalities," he says. "You hear a radio show and you go: 'I wonder what the second half of the show is going to be like.' Well, it's going to be just like the first half. ... It's just become a backdrop for selling people widgets."
Mason admits he favors talk radio himself. He doesn't listen to any contemporary music and often prefers not to listen to music at all. When he does, he usually turns to the classics. "Frankly, my life is consumed with music, so when I'm not playing, it's like the last the thing I want to do, unless I'm at home and I put on something classical, or jazz, or blues, or some of my old favorite rock-'n'-roll songs."
Among his favorites are the Beatles and Buddy Holly. Not only have they weathered the decades, but they're still fresh and relevant enough to attract new listeners. Mason has noticed an influx of young fans at his own shows, too.
"I think they've been technoed out, and rapped out, and they come to shows and go: 'Wow, these people actually play instruments,'" he says. "For them it's new, in a way. It comes around eventually, like everything. There's very few things that are really new. It just comes in a different box with a different bow on it."
When Mason presents fans old and new with his latest release this fall, he'll be greeting them while playing shows and promoting the album across the country. And he'll be making jokes, too.
"I should be out there," he says, "shaking babies and kissing hands." |
