‘Working stiff’ Dave Mason stays on the road after a lifetime in rock
Dave Mason's career stretches back to the 1960s, when he was a member of the band Traffic.
Dave Mason will be at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg Friday.
Dave Mason is considered one of rock's premier guitarists.
Photo by Chris Jensen
Dave Mason无毛视频檚 biggest hit came in 1977, with 无毛视频淲e Just Disagree.无毛视频�
In a 2020 interview with Rock Cellar Magazine, Dave Mason said, 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 not a rock star无毛视频 never wanted to be. I just wanted to write some great music, make some money and have some fun.无毛视频�
In a more recent conversation, Mason expands on the point, saying that he and most of his fellow musicians are 无毛视频渨orking stiffs.无毛视频�
无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 a small little pocket of superstar entertainers, and the rest of us are all just working stiffs,无毛视频� Mason explained over the phone last month from his home in Nevada. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e working musicians.无毛视频�
Now 77, few would dispute Mason无毛视频檚 work ethic over a career that extends back to the 1960s and has included rubbing shoulders with some of rock无毛视频檚 most celebrated figures. The native of Worcester, England, first broke through as a member of Traffic, penning the song 无毛视频淔eelin无毛视频� Alright,无毛视频� which went on to become a hit for Joe Cocker and has been covered by numerous other artists. The guitarist stayed with the band through three albums, and released his first solo album, 无毛视频淎lone Together,无毛视频� in 1970. Mason was also briefly a member of Eric Clapton无毛视频檚 Derek and the Dominos and, in the mid-1990s, was in a lineup of Fleetwood Mac.
Mason无毛视频檚 high-water mark as a solo artist came in 1977, when he just missed the Billboard Top 10 with the country-flavored 无毛视频淲e Just Disagree.无毛视频� The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee has continued to release new music sporadically in the years since, and has a blues album in the works that he has been recording at his house, which he says is in 无毛视频渁 big valley with a lot of cattle and horses.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 been on and off over the last couple of years,无毛视频� Mason said of the album, which will be called 无毛视频淎 Shade of Blues.无毛视频� 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 been something I wanted to try to put together.无毛视频�
The album is set to include remakes of the Traffic hits 无毛视频淟ow Spark of High-Heeled Boys无毛视频� and 无毛视频淒ear Mr. Fantasy,无毛视频� both of which will have guitarist Joe Bonamassa making a guest appearance.
Another Mason project looming over the horizon is the publication of his autobiography, 无毛视频淥nly You Know and I Know.无毛视频� It had been due to reach stores this month, but Mason无毛视频檚 publisher decided, in his words, 无毛视频渨e无毛视频檙e not in the book business anymore.无毛视频� When it is released, Mason无毛视频檚 volume will be joining a flood of memoirs by classic rockers, and he admitted that if it had been up to him he probably would not have gone ahead with it, but 无毛视频淚 got badgered into it by fans and my wife.无毛视频�
It will undoubtedly contain some interesting stories. A friend of Jimi Hendrix, Mason was among the backing vocalists on Hendrix无毛视频檚 无毛视频淐rosstown Traffic,无毛视频� and played acoustic guitar on the Hendrix version of 无毛视频淎ll Along the Watchtower.无毛视频� Mason also played on the Rolling Stones无毛视频� 无毛视频淪treet Fighting Man,无毛视频� was part of the legion of guests on George Harrison无毛视频檚 post-Beatles debut 无毛视频淎ll Things Must Pass,无毛视频� and played guitar on Paul McCartney无毛视频檚 1975 No. 1 hit 无毛视频淟isten to What the Man Said.无毛视频�
Mason explained that he can remember moments like those, but 无毛视频渢he stuff in between无毛视频� can be hard to recall. For his book, he hired a co-writer to do 无毛视频渁 lot of the digging up and research, the times and places.无毛视频�
Before the book and album reach the public, though, Mason will be doing what has consumed much of his professional life in recent years, which is playing live. He will be at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg Friday at 8 p.m., on what he is calling the 无毛视频淓ndangered Species Tour.无毛视频�
Thanks to music royalties drying up as a result of streaming, Mason said that 无毛视频渓ive is all that无毛视频檚 left.无毛视频�
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e just getting ripped off,无毛视频� he added. 无毛视频淪potify and the others don无毛视频檛 pay the proper royalties. And that无毛视频檚 what无毛视频檚 happened. Nobody无毛视频檚 buying records. And the only thing we have left is going out live. Songwriters are screwed. And the public doesn无毛视频檛 really care. 无毛视频� It无毛视频檚 decimated the business of making music. This is our job. This is what we do.无毛视频�
Any advice he无毛视频檇 like to offer to young musicians just getting started?
无毛视频淗ave a Plan B,无毛视频� he laughed.
Nevertheless, Mason said he has no plans to hang up his guitar, despite being a stone无毛视频檚 throw from 80.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檒l probably just keep going until I can无毛视频檛. I don无毛视频檛 golf and I really don无毛视频檛 have too many hobbies. I love playing. It无毛视频檚 getting a little hard traveling because of my age, but I love playing.无毛视频�
Additional information on the Palace Theatre concert can be found at the palacetheatre.org.