How Do You Afford Your Rock & Roll Lifestyle

"Nothing pleases me more than to go into a room and come out with a piece of music."
Paul McCartney

Hello my name is Mark Mason and I play music. I'm not a fatalist. By the same respect, in truth, I don't believe in myself. I believe in you. I believe in the audience's power to support and grow artists. You have the power, and even though people may try to tell you how to use that power ultimately it is your power. You can make simple choices based on T.V. reality shows or radio programming, or you can scour the internet looking for obscure indie gems; however, it is your choice none the less. I believe that we as artists need to respect that choice. If we want to be recognized we need to earn that recognition.

I don't believe that immediate success is real success. I don't believe that monetary success should be the true barometer for musical excellence. I don't think that the number of units you ship dictates quality. I believe that music belongs to the people, and the best thing which my fellow musical composers and I can do is enrich and enliven your lives. In fact, the artists who refuse to evolve with the people are the first ones to be left behind. The Beatles' evolution wasn't special because it was theirs, or because it was the first time an artist evolved. The Beatles' evolution was special because the people allowed it to happen.

"Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it."
John Lennon

I don't believe we're demigods, or the supreme beings of creative thought. I've watched my musical heroes kill themselves trying desperate to be something they were never meant to be. Icons. Kurt Cobain, Billy Corgan, Brad Nowell, Elliott Smith, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, they were (and are) just sad smart men who felt compelled to create heart-achingly beautiful music. And I'm sure you have your favorite musical icons as well. Often times the music is very easy to relate too. Just enough ambiguity and just enough precisely exacting lyricism allows us to bond with each others for at least a few minutes. It allows us to not be alone in misery or be boosted by the joy of a common love. A collective scream. A universal joy. Men who created something beautiful, but who were expected to represent that beautiful thing 24/7. It must be exciting at first, but then suffocating. For some it appears to be toxic. The art is good, but I think the personality part... I think that's the dangerous piece. The culture of self is damaging. The culture of self is dangerous. The culture of self deludes you into thinking that you're not in charge of the music. That you're not a part of the collective direction of it.

Arise sleeping giants, you're better than the computer generated recordings. You're better than celebutantes dancing in pretty clothes. You're smarter than you think you are.

This is yours. What do you want to hear today?

I Love You,
Mark