Mason Jennings

All Music Guide:

Singer/songwriter Mason Jennings blends the personal insights of a poet, the political broadsides of a protest singer, and the broad musical eclecticism of a jazz musician with a rock & roller's passion. The result made him one of the most talked-about new artists on the acoustic music scene and earned him a loyal cult following, as he moved over 30,000 copies of his first two albums and sold out shows around the country without the benefit of a major-label publicity department.

Jennings was born in 1975 in Honolulu, Hawaii, but moved to Pittsburgh with his family shortly after. While still a young boy, his father moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and sent his son a series of tapes featuring bands that were storming the then-fertile Twin City music scene. Inspired, Jennings picked up a guitar and starting writing songs by the age of 13. Three years later, Jennings decided to pursue a career in music and promptly dropped out of school, opting instead to move to Minneapolis and work on his songs full-time. At 19, he'd already attracted the attention of a major booking agency and begun receiving offers from record companies, but Jennings was more interested in a situation that would offer him creative freedom, not a fast influx of cash. Jennings soon retreated to his apartment and began working on his first album, which he recorded and scrapped four times before finally settling on a final track list.

Featuring just Jennings and his guitar, Mason Jennings was also produced and released solely by the artist himself. The album proved to be a potent calling card for Jennings; it received significant airplay on local radio stations, and the songwriter began playing a Thursday night residency at Minneapolis' 400 Bar, which soon won him a potent local fan base. Before long, Jennings began gigging with bassist Robert Skoro and drummer Chris Stock, and the Mason Jennings Band began work on their namesake's second album when Jennings contracted mononucleosis and was forced to take six months off from performing and recording. Following his recovery, Jennings opted to scrap the set of live favorites he'd begun to record and instead cut a set of new (and often strongly political) numbers for his second album, Birds Flying Away. More gigging followed, but drummer Chris Stock was unable to reconcile the rigors of touring with his personal life and amicably left the group, with Brazilian jazz musician Edgar Oliveira taking over the percussionist's spot.

Jennings' continued roadwork added to the enthusiasm of his fans and the positive press he received for his first two albums. For his third release, 2002's Century Spring, he finally found a proper record company to release his product (Architect Records) and signed a distribution deal with established East Coast indie label Bar/None Records, which also issued Use Your Voice in 2004. The next year, Jennings joined as the first artist on Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock's Epic imprint, Glacial Pace, which then released Boneclouds in 2006. His relationship with Glacial Pace soured, however, and Jennings made yet another jump -- this time to Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records -- for the release of 2008's In the Ever. He remained with the label for Blood of Man, which was recorded in a woodside studio and released in 2009. In 2011, Jennings returned with the studio album Minnesota, featuring the single "Witches Dream."

Wikipedia:

Mason Jennings (born March 19, 1975 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American pop-folk singer-songwriter. He is well known for his simple yet catchy melodies, intimate lyrics, literary and historical themes, and distinctive voice. His music has appeared in the surf film Shelter and he has toured extensively.

Biography

Born in Hawaii, Jennings moved with his family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at an early age. Jennings learned to play guitar at the age of 13, when he began writing songs. Jennings later dropped out of school and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to pursue his musical career.

Jennings produced his self-titled debut album in 1997 on an analog four-track in the living room of a rented home, playing all instruments himself. In October 1998, joined by drummer Chris Stock (a.k.a. Chris Stocksmith) and bassist Robert Skoro, he began a weekly gig at Minneapolis' 400 Bar as the Mason Jennings Band. The two week gig ended up lasting four months. In April, 1999, six months after forming, The Mason Jennings Band and Mason were voted by the 1999 "Picked to Click Poll" conducted by Minneapolis newspaper, City Pages. Mason began touring nationally and expanded the depth of his sound by inviting saxophonist Chris Thomson to play with them occasionally and replacing Stock with Brazilian jazz drummer Edgar Olivera.

Birds Flying Away (2000) revealed Jennings' political activism and penchant for singing first-person narratives of imaginary rustic characters. Following the release of this album, Noah Levy of The Honeydogs took over drumming duties from Olivera.

In 2002, Jennings released a studio album, Century Spring, and a "fans only" collection of acoustic songs, Simple Life. An EP supporting Century Spring was also released, featuring the album's opening track, "Living In The Moment," two live tracks, and the previously-unreleased "Emperor Ashoka." Jennings released all three discs — and re-released his earlier albums — on his homebrew record label, Architect Records.

In 2003, Skoro and Levy left the band and were replaced by bassist Chris Morrissey (Bill Mike Band) and drummer Brian McLeod.

On February 10, 2004, Jennings released Use Your Voice, which notably included the songs "Keepin' It Real," ostensibly written at the request of Shrek 2 producers (but not used in the film), and "The Ballad of Paul and Sheila," an acoustic dirge for late Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone. On September 30 of that year, the band released a DVD entitled Use Your Van, which chronicled the recording of Use Your Voice and part of the promotional tour. The DVD was filmed by Andy Grund.

On June 17, 2005, Jennings signed with Glacial Pace, a subsidiary of Sony's Epic Records headed by Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock. Minnesota's Star Tribune credited Brock with convincing Jennings to sign after the Mason Jennings Band had opened for several Modest Mouse shows in 2004. Jennings had long avoided the major labels, citing desires to maintain creative control and dodge big-label politics. Glacial Pace is now an independent label.

Jennings recorded his sixth album, Boneclouds, at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, MN with producer Noah Georgeson. The album was released on May 16, 2006 by Glacial Pace. Soon thereafter, bassist Chris Morrisey left the band.

Mason Jennings opened for Guster during their Winter 2007 tour. Accompanying Mason was new bassist Arabella Kauffmann and Brian McLeod on drums.

Mason sang two Bob Dylan songs for the soundtrack of the movie "I'm Not There" (released in November 2007 in the U.S.): "The Times They Are a-Changin'" and "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll."

In early 2008 Mason signed with Jack Johnson's record label, Brushfire Records. Jennings released In the Ever in May 2008. The title was inspired by his son referring to where he was before he was born as, "In the ever". Mason and Johnson met at Gustavus Adolphus College's Earth Jam in 2001 when Mason was scheduled as Johnson's opening act. Both enjoyed the other's musical style and toured together shortly afterward.

Mason announced at the Elemental Experience Music & Arts Festival in San Diego on May 2, 2009, that he would be releasing a new album (later entitled Blood of Man) in summer 2009. He also mentioned that he would have music on the soundtrack for the documentary "180° South". The documentary was released in March 2010.

On June 2, 2009 the single "Sunlight" was released on iTunes and all proceeds will go to the Surfrider Foundation in efforts to help clean up beaches around the country.

On June 20, 2009, Mason Jennings headlined the Locally Grown Festival in Ojai, CA. Jack Johnson sat in for a portion of the set, singing both Mason and Jack's songs. Zach Gill performed as well, as the show ended with "I Shall Be Released", a song written by Bob Dylan.

On September 15, 2009, Blood of Man was released on CD and vinyl format. A free bonus EP titled Independent (containing the tracks "Mark My Heart With Ashes" and "Wide Open Country") was distributed with the album at independent record stores. A week before the official CD release, a version of the album containing the exclusive track "Waves" was made available exclusively on iTunes.

In late 2010, Live at First Ave. his first live album ever was released. Mason Jennings is the subject of the second episode of BYUtv's AUDIO-FILES on April 24, 2012.