Mason Interview: Stockton Record

[michelej1]

Stockton Record, November 6, 2008

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.d.../A_ENTERTAIN01

By Tony Sauro
Record Staff Writer
November 06, 2008 6:00 AM
Dave Mason began his latest recording project just to entertain himself.

After all, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member and co-founder of Traffic has been entertaining millions of other people for 42 years.

His six-year writing, recording and producing diversion, however, eventually evolved into Mason's first studio album in, "oh, probably 20 years," he said.

"I was pretty much doing it for my own amusement," said Mason, 62, who brings his veteran four-piece traveling band to Lodi's Hutchins Street Square on Sunday night. "I didn't really give much thought about whether it ever came out, frankly.

"As I sort of progressed along and kept working with it, people at a (record) label - that a very good friend of mine was a partner in - loved the album and wanted to put it out. We arrived at an amicable arrangement."

That resulted in the Oct. 14 release of "26 Letters - 12 Notes" (referring to the alphabet and musical scale), an engaging and appealing mix of pop, rock and blues styles with lots of the guitar riffing that typifies Mason's lengthy career.

"It's just hard to explain," Mason said of the 12-track album on which he worked with 10 co-producers and 30 musicians, including Willie Nelson. "It's not like I can play just blues, country or jazz. It's got bits and pieces of that stuff all over the place. I lean heavily toward songs and things with melodies."

That tilt began in 1967, when he and teenage friend Steve Winwood formed Traffic - which Mason described as "one of the original alterna-rock bands" - with the late Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood.

After playing in several bands (Jaguars, Hellions, Deep Feeling), Mason, from Worcester, England, briefly had been road manager for the Spencer Davis Group, whose lead singer was Winwood.

Something of a contrarian, Mason dropped in and out - and then in and out again - as Traffic recorded its first two albums of psychedelic, baroque and jazzy inventiveness ("Mr. Fantasy" in 1967 and "Traffic" in 1968). He rejoined for one 1971 live album ("Welcome to the Canteen"). That was it.

Mason wrote the London-based band's second U.K. hit single ("Hole in My Shoe," No. 2 in 1967) and "Feelin' Alright," one of Traffic's best-known songs (in versions by Joe Cocker and others), but ultimately wasn't interested in pursuing Winwood's jazzier meanderings.

"You know what? When you're 18 and stuff, you sort of think nothing's gonna end at that age," said Mason in reference to the still-substantial popularity of Traffic. "I don't think there was that much thought given to it, frankly."

After a brief alliance with Delaney & Bonnie (Bramlett), Mason began a solo career that included the 1977 top-20 U.S. hit "We Just Disagree" (written by Jim Krueger) and has continued steadily if unspectacularly. He and his band will do "somewhere around 120-odd" shows this year.

The setlist now includes five songs from the new album, Mason's sturdy hits and three early Traffic tunes ("Feelin' Alright," "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "40,000 Headmen").

"I've always been more of a live touring band," Mason said during a telephone conversation from a tour stop in New York City. "I suppose part of it is driven by the fact I need to keep my band together as a unit.

"It's not like Chuck Berry going into a town and picking up musicians who know three chords. My stuff is a little more elaborate than that.

"We've always had a great audience following. It's not as big as it was. But I don't have the, per se, hit song out there. It's certainly enough to keep everything going."

Mason also has kept it going with a roster of other Rock and Roll Hall of Fame types.

He once was a member of Fleetwood Mac (1993-95) and performed and recorded with Gram Parsons, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones and Cass Elliott (Mamas and the Papas), among others.

"All the people I've been lucky enough to work with," said Mason. "There's just a bunch of them. I've been lucky enough to be part of a lot of that stuff, which is great."

Like many of his still-active contemporaries, Mason must contend with the kind of age-ism once blithely invoked by the Who's Pete Townshend: "Hope I die before I get old."

"Just because you're not 18 anymore is not to say there's not good music being made and it's not relevant," said Mason, an Ojai resident who's lived in the U.S. since 1969 and retains only the merest trace of an English accent. "When young people hear us, they're like, 'Wow, that's great. What is that? They actually play.' "

His main refrain remains: "Rock and roll. It's an attitude ... not an age!"

"It speaks for itself," said Mason. "Basically, that's your whole life. It's an attitude. If you have a bad one, you'll get bad results. If you keep a good attitude, hopefully you'll get some positive results.

"Aging and getting old are two different things. Aging is something you can't do anything about - nobody can - but you can do something about getting old."

Touring and entertaining - both himself and his audiences - never gets old.

"Most of it's got to do with the fact that, live, we deliver," Mason said. "I think people remember that. We kind of deliver the goods."

[michelej1]

The Beach Reporter

http://www.tbrnews.com/articles/2008..._out/step3.txt

Stepping Out
Long Time Coming

by Michael Hixon
(Updated: Thursday, November 13, 2008 10:17 AM PST)

Even after more than 40 years of making hit music, singer/songwriter/guitarist Dave Mason hasn’t slowed down at all, with more than 130 shows under his belt already this year.

In his early 20s, Mason made a name as a co-founder of Traffic with Steve Winwood, cranking out hits like “Feelin’ Alright’” and “Hole in my Shoe.” During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mason recorded with the likes of Jimi Hendrix on his landmark 1967 “Electric Ladyland” double LP, The Rolling Stones’ classic 1968 album “Beggars Banquet” and George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” in 1970. His first single, “Little Woman,” was released in 1968, but he had his first hit with 1970’s “Only You Know and I Know” off his debut solo album, “Alone Together.” Mason had his biggest solo success in 1977 when “We Just Disagree” hit No. 12 on the Billboard charts that helped push the album “Let it Flow” to multiplatinum sales. Over his four-decade career, Mason also recorded with Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Phoebe Snow, Michael Jackson, Cass Elliot, Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Stephen Stills, Ron Wood, Stevie Wonder and Winwood during his solo career.

In October, Mason released his first album of original material since 1987. The new album, “26 Letters - 12 Notes,” features 12 tracks of “blues-tinged” classic rock. His band includes Gerard Johnson on bass, John Sambataro on guitar, Alvino Bennett on drums and Bill Mason on keyboard. Guest musicians on the album include Willie Nelson and Sheila E.

Mason will be performing at Brixton, which is located at 100-J Fisherman’s Wharf in Redondo Beach, Thursday, Nov. 13. For more information, visit www.brixtonsouthbay.com or call (310) 406-1931. Mason recently spoke to The Beach Reporter about the new album and his long career in music.

I know your new album came out recently and it’s been a while since you released some new material. What was the delay?

Mason: (laughs) There was really nowhere to really get it out properly and the tastes were not there for the music. It just happened when it happened. I didn’t start making the album with any intention of putting it out, frankly. If something was going to happen, that was fine but with the state of the way things are, it’s just very difficult getting something out and getting it promoted so people even know it’s out there.

Going back to pre-Traffic days, what were your inspirations and how did you become a musician?

I just wanted to pick up a guitar when I was 15 because I saw all these bands and heard their music. I figured, ‘Oh, I can probably do that.’


Was it the Beatles that got you interested or was it something else?

I was listening to early stuff, my mother’s 78s were the Platters, stuff like that. Then I was listening to a lot of instrumental stuff like the Shadows and the Ventures, and then sort of learned how to play guitar. It just went from there. I was 100 percent into it. Part of it was, I don’t know, just a passionate desire for it. Traffic then developed and then I started writing and it went from there.

Was there a heavy R&B influence when you first started?

That’s where it started when I was 15. I started to listen to all kinds of music. Motown was huge over there, the blues. Motown records back then were not played on white stations in the U.S. at that time when they were still having huge hits out of Detroit. We were listening to all of that music over there and grew up with it, just basically turned America back on to its own music.

What was it about Traffic that clicked?

Well, there was interest in it in the first place because of Steve Winwood. He already had a number of top 10 records in England with the Spencer Davis Group. So obviously it had the media coverage and then we were different in our own way. Jim (Capaldi) was way into Elvis Presley when he was young and he did a great Elvis imitation fronting a band called the Sapphires. We were into that kind of stuff, cool records. I guess we had more of a pop sensibility. Chris (Wood) was an art student who played sax so he was way avant-garde, on the edge of stuff. I had more of a pop sensibility, I suppose, but the difference is, I guess would have made it great, but the difference drove it apart unfortunately. We literally were the first band that disappeared into the English countryside and locked ourselves away instead of going straight to London.

You had quite a bit of success with Traffic and then you went solo and you worked with a number of legendary artists…

I was lucky enough to record with Hendrix, playing the acoustic guitar and sang a little on ‘Crosstown Traffic.’ There were some other tracks we did where I played bass and sitar but I don’t really know what happened to them at this point. I played a little something on ‘All Things Must Pass’ and ‘Beggars Banquet.” I was lucky enough to record with a number of people, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson. It’s been interesting.

What do you feel is the highlight of your long recording career?

Every one of them were highlights. It was great that they wanted to play. I mean, Stevie Wonder played on a song of mine called ‘Lonely One.’ Michael Jackson sang on a song called ‘Save Me.’ It was interesting that they knew the music and wanted to do it. The opportunity to play with Hendrix, the Stones, McCartney, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, they’ve all been great. It’s always great when you get something like that together with some people who are trying to make something happen. Usually something interesting comes out.

Is there anything you would like to add about the album or performing here next week?

I think the album is some of the better stuff I’ve done in a lot of ways.

Why do you feel that?

Because I do (laughs). I like it. It’s about the only one I can keep listening to and I’ve been listening to it for about six years. I think there’s some great stuff on there.

What will you be performing at Brixton?

We do a few of the songs on there, about four or five of them, and mix in Traffic and solo songs.

[michelej1]

Courier Post, (South Jersey) November 16, 2008

Peter Noone and Dave Mason: Musicians Give the People What they Want

http://www.courierpostonline.com/art...LIFE/811160325

On the surface, Herman's Hermits singer Peter Noone and rock guitarist-singer Dave Mason -- the first two acts to perform at the Scottish Rite's upcoming concert series -- don't seem to have much in common.

One is a former teen pop star, a multi-talented singer and sometime actor who pooh-poohs detractors who think of his band as solely a novelty act. The other is an intensely serious guitarist-singer who started out with Traffic, segued into a successful solo career and even joined Fleetwood Mac as a guitarist for a few years in the 1990s.

Yet the similarities, while not glaringly obvious, are apparent: Both Britons came to fame at a young age in the 1960s, both have been in and out of the spotlight more than once, and both have found themselves still charming their devoted fans through inspired and dynamic live shows.

"The people who come to our next show, they're our friends forever," said Peter Noone, who, at age 60, has been in show business more than 45 years. Noone studied voice and acting as a child, appearing in the popular British soap opera "Coronation Street," before finding international fame as "Herman," lead singer of Herman's Hermits.

With classic hits like "I'm Into Something Good," "I'm Henry VIII, I Am," and "Mrs. Brown, You've Got A Lovely Daughter," the band sold more than 52 million records and had 14 hit singles.

The photogenic Noone became the band's resident poster boy and appeared in several movies in the '60s, as well as onstage in shows like "The Pirates of Penzance" in more recent years. The 1990s had him appearing as the winsome host of VH1's "My Generation," and he even landed a part on the daytime drama "As The World Turns."

Playing about 100 shows a year, Noone and his cohorts (who are not the original Hermits band members) offer up "a bit of everything, old and new," for fans, he said.

"I love it; I feel great, and we have a great time playing," Noone said by phone. "We get an age range from 6 to 60 -- even older -- in the audience, and everyone seems to have a great time. And that's why we're doing this -- because it's so much fun for everyone."

Mason, meanwhile, is playing the Scottish Rite for the second time this year, having given a rousing performance there in the spring with his five-member band.

"It's a great place to play and I'm glad to be going back," the 63-year-old L.A. resident said by phone. Mason is touring in support of his just-released new album, "26 Letters -- 12 Notes," which, he said, takes its title from the precise things needed -- besides inspiration -- to write a song.

Six years in the making, the new album was recorded at Mason's home studio and is a soulful blend of his rock and blues influences.

Mason said he plans to play songs from the new record, as well as classics like "Only You Know and I Know," "We Just Disagree" and "the song that never stops" -- "Feelin' Alright."

"I love playing live and I like to give people what they want to hear," Mason said. "I'm happy people still want to hear me play and sing, so I give them a bit of everything."

-- Nicole Pensiero

[snoot]

Good read(s) Michelej, only saw one of 'em prior. Thanks for posting them.

Dave Mason for the win! Such a fantastic live performer (great songwriter too).

PS. Go Cali

[PenguinHead]

I'm a huge Mamas & Papas fan, and amazingly Dave Mason did an entire album with Cass Elliot (0ne of many'friends of Cass's), and it's fanstastic! I have much love for that record. It's rather obscure; it was only briefly available on CD by RCA. Now it's only available as an expensive import. I was lucky to find it back it mid-90's.

For me Dave is a real live, curious link between the Mamas & Papas and Fleetwood Mac. When he joined Fleetwood Mac I couldn't believe the weird irony of it.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

I'm a huge Mamas & Papas fan, and amazingly Dave Mason did an entire album with Cass Elliot (0ne of many'friends of Cass's), and it's fanstastic! I have much love for that record. It's rather obscure; it was only briefly available on CD by RCA. Now it's only available as an expensive import. I was lucky to find it back it mid-90's.

For me Dave is a real live, curious link between the Mamas & Papas and Fleetwood Mac. When he joined Fleetwood Mac I couldn't believe the weird irony of it.

In the wind I heard your voice. Go or stay I have no choice. Walk to the point of no return...

It's a good album. I'd love to see MCA release a comprehensive Dave Mason compilation that would include all of his Blue Thumb releases. It would only be two CDs at most, and it's all they'd ever need to release.

[snoot]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

I'd love to see MCA release a comprehensive Dave Mason compilation that would include all of his Blue Thumb releases. It would only be two CDs at most, and it's all they'd ever need to release.

Hear, hear. For the life of me, I have never seen a great Mason compilation. Why oh why?

[snoot]

Originally Posted by PenguinHead

For me Dave is a real live, curious link between the Mamas & Papas and Fleetwood Mac. When he joined Fleetwood Mac I couldn't believe the weird irony of it.

Same here, I was floored. Too bad so little came of it. For whatever reason, it was a poor fit.