Legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, guitar icon and singer-songwriter Dave Mason recently launched a coast- to-coast North American tour with dates currently running through November. On tour next week, Mason helps the east coast settle in for summer as he hits the Hamptons with two concerts at Amagansett, NY's famed and delightfully intimate venue The Stephen Talkhouse on Friday and Saturday, June 29-30.
Currently, there are over two dozen dates on the itinerary, with additional ones for October and November - including some with John Mayall - to be confirmed soon. Tour highlights include shows at Buffalo, NY's Artpark (7/10), three mid-July Canadian Blues festivals, Phoenix, AZ's Dodge Theatre (7/17, w/Stephen Stills), Tucson, AZ's Fox Theatre (7/18, also w/Stills), Costa Mesa, CA's Pacific Amphitheatre (7/19, w/Kenny Loggins), Las Vegas, NV's Cannery Hotel & Casino (7/21), the Lowell Summer Music Series in Lowell, MA (8/3), Annapolis, MD's Rams Head (8/6-7), Atlantic City, NJ's House Of Blues (8/9), Woodstock, NY's Bearsville Theatre (8/10), St. Louis, MO's Harrah's (8/16) and Riverside, CA's Voodoo Lounge (8/25).
On the road, Dave Mason and his band's other guitarists - John Sambataro (guitar, vocals) and Alex Drizos (bass, vocals) - will play custom instruments from RKS Guitars, the innovative company that he co-founded in 2000 and whose award-winning guitars he helped design. The band is rounded out with Alvino Bennett on drums and Bill Mason on keyboards and vocals. Mason's own utterly distinctive vocals and virtuoso guitar playing will be front and center.
Mason's artistry also shines on the new album Dave Mason Live "The Deluxe Edition," a compilation of ten live rarities, one audio-interview track with Mason and two previously unreleased studio recordings including the brand new "Deaf, Dumb And Blind." A longtime fan favorite, the cut is also the disc's first single and just climbed to #22 with a bullet (from #27) on music trade FMQB's AC chart. The other studio gem is Mason's riveting 1998 duet with dear friend and fellow Traffic co-founder Jim Capaldi on the band's classic song "40,000 Headmen." Capaldi - who died in '05, a year after Traffic was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - co-wrote the psychedelic rocker with Steve Winwood.
Among the disc's live tracks, recorded primarily at an intimate 2003 show, Traffic-era hits also include "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and the Mason-penned '68 smash - and perennial rock anthem - "Feelin' Alright." Solo classics include the hits "Only You Know And I Know" from his 1970 solo debut LP Alone Together and the signature song "We Just Disagree" from '77's platinum Let It Flow. Mason reached into the vaults for his rare in-concert rendition of the Eagles "Take It To The Limit," the only live cut from an alternate show. Fans will also savor a stellar version of the Dylan-composed "All Along The Watchtower," without which no Mason show would be complete - he played acoustic guitar on Jimi Hendrix's definitive version of it on Electric Ladyland.
The classic song also figures prominently in two upcoming independent features, both slated for 2008, that will present Mason's acting debuts - and his music on the soundtracks. In the family film The Black Dogs - directed by Bobby Carradine - Mason will play famous rocker "Fred," old friend and fishing mate of Keith Carradine's main character "Uncle Ted," who's given up his youthful passion for rock and roll. The cast also features Susan Sarandon as well as a group of aspiring young rockers including Carly Schroeder - fresh off starring in Gracie - and Miles Robbins, son of Sarandon and Tim Robbins. In a pivotal scene, Mason gets Carradine to play music again, and their rendition of "All Along The Watchtower" brings plot resolution in various ways. In Johnny Postal, set in an Asbury Park, NJ trailer park, Mason's guitar on the song is heard as the film opens. Later, he appears as "Mr. Tedesco" in the dark yet redemptive romantic comedy. Mason - and Debbie Harry, one of the film's stars - will also create additional music for the soundtrack.
