BRENT MASON
INTERVIEW
_e.jpg)
(Editor’s Note: From the “About” section of www.brentmason.com)
Brent Mason is one of the most recorded guitarists in history. He is a Grammy Award winner, a 14 time winner of the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Guitarist of the Year Award, and a 2 time winner of the CMA Award Musician of the Year. He has been named as one of the top ten session guitarists in the world, joining the ranks of Jimmy Page, Larry Carlton, Tommy Tedesco and Steve Cropper. In October 2019 he was inducted into the Musician’s Hall of Fame and in July 2020 will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Brent has played on well over a thousand albums and continues to add to this extensive resume. He has also released two of his own albums, produced a number of artists, and holds several credits as a songwriter.
Brent was born in Van Wert, Ohio. At five years old he taught himself to play guitar by ear. He moved to Nashville after graduating from high school, in order to pursue a career in country music. Early Nashville gigs included a stint with the Don Kelly Band, a cover band who performed at the flinty Murfreesboro Road Honky-tonk, ''The Stagecoach Lounge. Eventually, he was discovered by country guitarist Chet Atkins, who invited him to play on his ''Stay Tuned'' album. From there, Mason has gone on to play on well over a thousand albums. Mason signed to Mercury Records in 1997, releasing an instrumental album entitled ''Hot Wired'' the same year. This was his only major-label album. He made a decision to leave Mercury Records soon after to remain in Nashville and work in the recording studio as a session guitarist rather than spend most of his time on the road touring and away from his family. He and his brother Randy released a second album, entitled ''Smokin' Section'', in 2006.
Although Brent works mainly as a studio musician he has produced several albums. In November 2013, Mason collaborated with online education site JamPlay.com to put together a series of lessons for aspiring guitarists. From 2003-2010 Valley Arts Guitar (a division of Gibson Guitars) joined with Brent to create and manufacture the Valley Arts Brent Mason Signature Guitar. In 2012 Brent joined forces with PRS Guitars to help create the Brent Mason Signature PRS Model Guitar. In addition he has been affiliated with Wampler Pedals for years and his “Hot Wired” Brent Mason Pedal is one of their best selling products.
Awards
-
Country Music Association (CMA) Musician of the Year - 1997 and 1998.
-
Nashville Music Awards - Guitarist of the Year - 1995.
-
Academy of Country Music - Guitarist of the Year - 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2009.
-
MusicRow Session Guitarist of the Year 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2010
-
National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame, 2011.
-
Music City Allstars Award (the musician who has played on the most top-10 songs on the radio for the entire year)
Due to Covid19 the Country Music Hall of Fame remains closed and have postponed all their special events, including Brent's induction into the Hall of Fame, this was to happen on July 12th. If you would look up hall of fame inductions, Brent's won't be there until such time as they reschedule the induction - which will probably now be in 2021.
For updates on the induction, visit the Country Music Hall of Fame website.
See a partial list of Mason's album credits here: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/brent-mason-mn0000518268/credits
Ohio City's Pride: Mr. Mason you were raised in a musical family. Your parents were in a local band that played in the tri-state area. Can you give us details on one of your best memories that you had being involved with your family’s band?
Brent Mason: Going over songs, rehearsing, making arrangements, I think it just made us really tight as a family. Obviously we had disagreements about things, as any family does, but overall I think it made us a very close knit family and those memories of rehearsing together are really good ones.
______
Ohio City's Pride: What other local musicians do you remember?
Brent Mason: I remember I used to do some early recording sessions with Derry McIntosh (I hope I spelled his name correctly) and he was a very good musician - played acoustic guitar, also a singer. That was in a recording studio in Continental, Ohio owned by Jim Dockery. Also Kenny Davis ..he was a really good steel player who played with my parents from Lima.
______
Ohio City's Pride: You went to Grover Hill Elementary and then on to Wayne Trace. How was school for you as a student and what do you remember most about it.
Brent Mason: I just remember looking out of the window a lot, being distracted and my mind wandering all the time, I was impatient to get through with school - I was an average student..but probably could have been a much better one if I had actually cared about it.
______
Ohio City's Pride: What do you miss the most about being in Paulding County?
Brent Mason: I always liked the County Fair they had every year, I really enjoyed going to that.
______
Ohio City's Pride: You said that you decided to go to Nashville after being laid-off from a factory that made tool boxes. What factory was this? You have also mentioned that you worked in a tile factory. What tile factory?
Brent Mason: The tool box factory was Kennedy Kit in Van Wert. Tile factory was Baughman Tile Factory in Paulding. I worked at the tile factory first before the tool box factory.
______
Ohio City's Pride: As you may know, a lot of times it is hard for young adults to leave the “norm” in NW Ohio and chase their dreams. What was the final push for you to do so? Was there ever any regrets.
Brent Mason: I have never had any regrets. It was the right thing to do for me and everything seemed to fall into place to carry me to where I am now and I am so thankful for that. But the final push was actually because I got laid off at Kennedy Kit, And even before that I was just trying to make sense of my life and future and knew that what I was doing in Ohio was not what I felt I was supposed to be doing. I had such a sense of feeling that every day I was staying there I was wasting that day. I think timing, my talent and luck all worked together in that instance - but the early years in Nashville were not easy at all - a lot of years barely scraping by financially and a lot of challenges to overcome. That old cliche’ is true - being successful does not happen overnight and requires hard work and dedication.
______
Ohio City's Pride: Did you have any contacts in Nashville before leaving Ohio?
Brent Mason: Yes I had a connection with Paul Franklin who at the time was a steel player with Jerry Reed. I can’t remember how it happened (I was still in high school) but I had his address and sent him some of my music on cassette. Paul got back in touch with me and told me that he and all the crew on the Jerry Reed tour were really digging my music and they had been listening to it every day on the tour bus.
______
Ohio City's Pride: You started in Nashville with your Hagstrom Swede guitar. Did it come from back home? If so, where did you buy it?
Brent Mason: Yes - my dad bought it for me for my birthday when I turned 15 at Kenny Davis’s music store in Lima. I can’t remember the name of that store. It was small.
______
Ohio City's Pride: When you first met Reggie Young were you star struck? Have you ever been star struck?
Brent Mason: Oh yes, for sure! I met Reggie on the day I was to work with him on a recording session so not only was I star struck but also nervous to play in front of him a bit. But Reggie was such a kind man, so easy to work with, I truly hold him in such high regard as not only an iconic guitarist but a great human being. And of course I’ve had other instances of being star struck since I have worked with so many legendary recording artists …probably a few others would be Ray Charles, George Benson, Dolly Parton, Chet Atkins,…..Jerry Reed of course when I first met him since I had idolized him since childhood. And some big stars were so nice and easy to be around there was never that feeling of being star struck. Like George Strait, Willie Nelson, Conway Twitty, George Jones, Reba McEntire, were already stars before I met them but were so down to earth they made me comfortable immediately. Also…a lot of the famous artists I have worked with were not famous when we first met and began working together such as Tanya Tucker, Trisha Yearwood, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Brooks and Dunn, Alan Jackson, Shania Twain…lots of others to add to the list, but when we first all met one another they had not had big success in the music business yet so they weren’t stars. I’ve played on thousands of albums and have worked with probably every country star or band at some point. At least 95 percent. So I suppose I started to get used to it over time.
______
Ohio City's Pride: When Don Kelley gave you the advice to stop playing jazz, did you ever want to continue playing jazz?
Brent Mason: Jazz is my favorite genre of music. I love to play it and listen to it. I’ve played jazz for the past 30 years …but not in a country recording session. So I HAVE continued to play it. Most of my musician heroes are jazz players like Keith Jarrett, Pat Martino, Herbie Hancock, Lenny Breau, Charlie Parker, the list goes on! When Don told me to stop playing jazz, he just meant during the performances I did with him. In the Don Kelley Band we played top forty pop songs and country songs. So there is no room for a guitar player to throw a bunch of jazz licks into that music. It doesn’t belong there. And also…since he knew I was in Nashville trying to make a career as a Nashville guitar player - he was warning me that the jobs I would be hired for here in town would not require jazz and playing it could even go against me when producers were considering who to hire to play on …say…for example ..a Keith Whitley album, or a Randy Travis album. But I have played lots of jazz in my own live performances where I am the solo artist and love to do so. And my knowledge of jazz guitar manages to sneak its way into country records sometimes in a very subtle way.
______
Ohio City's Pride: What was the most important thing you learned from Chet Atkins as far as the business?
Brent Mason: Chet always helped young guitar players that he deemed talented and deserving of that help. He really helped me break into the business when I was young and gave me some great opportunities. So I have always tried to do the same …there are quite a few young guitarists I’ve helped as well. I’ve tried to pay that forward.
______
Ohio City's Pride: Have you ventured in other parts of the music business besides being a studio artist?
Brent Mason: Definitely. I did an instrumental solo album called Hot Wired in 1997. It was nominated for a Grammy Award. In the world of guitarists it’s held in pretty high regard so I am very proud of that. I did another album in 2006 with my brother Randy called Smokin Section. Over all the years of my career I have done instructional guitar clinics. I play live shows of my own material in Nashville several times a year. I was a serious songwriter in the early years of my career. I’ve written songs that have been recorded not only by myself but Johnny Mathis, Clinton Gregory, Keith Whitley and others. I’ve done a small amount of producing. I’ve had quite a few instructional guitar videos on the market over the years with Arlen Roth, PG Music, JamPlay, etc. And in the past few years I have started giving online guitar lessons which I am really enjoying.
______
Ohio City's Pride: How hard is it to keep going back into the studio and not repeat riffs that you have already done?
Brent Mason: Well..when you do so much there is a danger of that happening sometimes, I really try not to do that, I am always trying to be aware of that, but inevitably it may happen sometimes when you are in the studio almost every day. I really pride myself on NOT doing that ….but again - we are all only human.
Ohio City's Pride: You have been a session musician and have stayed away from road work. Is there any regrets doing so?
Brent Mason: Never a single regret! That life is not for me. I know a lot of guys who love the road but the thought of traveling all over the place sleeping in a bunk on a tour bus is not appealing to me, Actually - when I first came to Nashville I did go on tour with Ray Stevens as his banjo player. I needed the money and he already had a guitar player. He asked if I played banjo and I said I did (I did not know how), I taught myself and did that tour for a few months. You have to do what you have to do when you need an income! But I have been very very lucky. I have had a very steady studio career for over thirty years. I’ve gotten session on a regular and consistent basis for over thirty years so I haven’t had to seek out other ways to make a living, Studio work pays more than touring so financially it’s a no brainer if you are getting a lot of session work. You don’t have to travel and be away from home and make more money. Also the amount of creativity in studio work is the main reason I love it. I get to play something new and create new music every single day. If I was on the road as a sideman I would learn an artist or band’s show of 20-25 songs and repeat those songs every show over and over. Nothing against anyone doing that at all! It’s a good job - depending on who you are playing for it can be a great job. But I love the challenge of studio work. And one last perk of doing sessions is that every session you do through the musician’s union makes a contribution to your pension.
______
Ohio City's Pride: Was it difficult to turn off and on different styles. Is it difficult to wear different hats?
Brent Mason: Not for me. I love doing that - I really like that challenge and I'm a great historian of music - which a good session player has to be…or they should be. One of the main jobs of a studio musician is to be a chameleon that can constantly change and provide what is needed for a particular song and be ready for that every day. I have a huge pool of knowledge when it comes to being educated on a vast amount of guitar styles and genres and welcome the chance to use it in the studio.
______
Ohio City's Pride: If you were just jamming at home what style or combination of styles would you play around with? Is there a mode or key that always brings you back to?
Brent Mason: It depends on my mood I guess. Probably jazz. I really like to play jazz in B flat, or F just to keep my brain stimulated. Possibly some blues country in E and A.
______
Ohio City's Pride: My Little Ballerina. You said this was the last song that Chet Atkins recorded, How important is that recording for you?
Brent Mason: It’s very important to me. I wrote that song for my daughter Zoe when she was four years old. I saw her outside in the yard twirling and practicing what she had learned in her ballet class. When I went into the studio to cut it I asked Chet Atkins if he would play on the song with me. This was probably about three years before he passed away. He came into the studio and just played so beautifully on the song - he does the solo and a few other parts in the song. Just played gorgeously. And he told me a it was the first work he had done in several years. He hadn’t been asked to come in and record on anything and he hadn’t done anything solo in a long time. This would have been in 1997. Then a few years go by and I talked to him only a month or so before his death and he told me that My Little Ballerina was the last thing he had ever played on. I thought that was really a beautiful thing, especially since the very first song I ever played in a recording session was a song for his album “Stay Tuned.” He came out to see me in a club when I had first arrived in Nashville - I think it was 1985. I had only been in town a couple years. He came up after the show and said he was so impressed he wanted me to play on an album he was working on. The song we played together is called “Leather and Lace” on the Stay Tuned album. That album won a Grammy Award that year. It was a really big deal for me and to think that my first studio session was with Chet on his album and Chet’s last studio session was with me for my album. A full circle thing for sure.
______
Ohio City's Pride: What about your family life?
Brent Mason: I had a happy life growing up in Grover Hill. My dad worked in a factory, mom was a homemaker, and there was always music. Musical instruments all over the house and music playing on records, My parents liked a wide variety of music from Ray Charles, Bobby Darin, to Merle Travis and Jerry Reed. And like I said earlier my parents played music in a band and as I got older I joined the band as lead guitarist, probably around 15, My brother Randy was only 10 at the time but as he got older he became the drummer. He’s a great drummer and also guitarist. Great singer too. We had lots of friends and cousins around to play with. Loved to ride bikes and make home movies and pretend to be gangsters and cowboys. Just lots of good memories of a good life in a small town.
______
Ohio City's Pride: Do you get back up here much for the holidays?
Brent Mason: Not really. I have been to three high school reunions and while there tried to see as much family as possible. The last time was the summer of 2017 I think. It’s an 8 hr drive from Nashville to the Van Wert/Grover Hill area and there are no major airports close by. I just don’t have time really based on the travel time, My parents and brother moved to Nashville shortly after I did so they are close by. I definitely made a special trip to Grover Hill because the town kindly erected a sign in honor of me and my brother Randy which really put a smile on my face! I had to take some pictures standing next to it of course.
______
Ohio City's Pride: Have any of your children got into the business or enjoy playing music? How about your grandchildren?
Brent Mason: No, although my daughter Zoe is very artistic and creative. She just chooses to channel that creativity in a different direction than musically. She has shown a small amount of interest - a few years back she asked for a mandolin for Christmas. My brother ’s children however, they are really into music, very talented singers and musicians. My grandchildren really love music. I have two grandchildren (they are the children of my stepdaughter. ) My grandson is 5 and loves to play drums, keyboards and guitar (as best he can). He really loves music and trying to play music. My granddaughter is around 16 months and has shown a huge interest in music already at that young age. Probably because she wants to do everything her big brother is doing but I can see how musical she is already.
______
Ohio City's Pride: Do you have any regrets with your working schedule and your family life?
Brent Mason: Not necessarily regret but it was way too much working. In the nineties and the first decade of the 2000’s it was pretty much a whirlwind of work. It was wake up, coffee, drive to studio , work all day, get home around 9 or 10pm and sleep. Repeat. By June my calendar would be full for the entire year with recording session bookings, Sometimes even on the weekends. I couldn’t make a dental appointment or a haircut appointment because I would always have to cancel it. And even to this day it’s a lot of working. On the one hand it’s a great thing to have steady and good paying work, And there are lots of careers that require that amount of time. Not just what I was doing. But on the other hand there were many vacations I had to miss and never could I celebrate a holiday on the actual day like a birthday or anniversary. I was at every graduation though, and took off on occasion to take a family vacation. But not a lot. And it was for my family that I worked so hard in order to provide them with a great life, And they knew that, No one made me feel guilty about it.
______
Ohio City's Pride: Currently you give private guitar lessons online (you can contact Brent for a private Skype lesson at brentmason.com) and you also participate in guitar workshops around the country. You have been quoted in saying that you are shy in nature? How have you overcome your shyness?
Brent Mason: Its true that I’m sort of shy by nature, If I don’t know you it does take me a while to warm up. But if I do know you you’ll never get me to stop talking and joking around. Back when it became possible to give a private one on one guitar lesson online I started getting asked all the time if I did that and I always resisted doing it because of my shyness, But I finally decided to give it a try and I really love it now. I started doing them in May of 2017 and to date have done over 500. I really have lost that shyness by interacting with so many people and find it a lot of fun, I’ve done lessons for people of every age and all over the world. It’s been really cool. People can just go to my website brentmason.com and send a message to me, It comes straight to me and I get them set up with a lesson. Some people just want to ask me questions - anything goes :-). Same thing with the guitar workshops, When I started doing those it was hard at first because I am such a perfectionist but you learn not to be so hard on yourself and just enjoy it and I do that now. So the Skype lessons and workshops have really gotten me out of that shyness and also that perfectionism streak I have.
______
Ohio City's Pride: Any thought of retiring?
Brent Mason: Right now I can’t imagine completely retiring, I will always be playing music as long as I am able and love what I do, I’ll probably slow down as time goes by, but retire…I don’t think so completely.
______
Ohio City's Pride: What advice would you give local young adults and/or local musicians that would like to take the leap into the unknown?
Brent Mason: This is probably the question I get asked the most, I see the majority of people that come to Nashville to make it in the music industry lose all their life savings and have to leave. So I hate to encourage someone to do that and have it end badly. But there are also a small amount of people that come that do have success. And you just don’t know which of those situations you will find yourself in when you leap into that great unknown. My advice would be to save up enough money to survive on for at least a few months. Nothing happens quickly. You’ll have to get some sort of job while you try to get your foot in the door of the industry and make your connections. It will not be a fast process because that’s not how this industry works. People truly have to pay their dues. Make sure you go to places where other people like yourself congregate like songwriter nights and places where people can get up on stage and play and show others what they can do. It’s been a long time since I have had to have that mentality…things are a lot different now in the 2020’s than they were when I came to town back in 1982.