Singer/songwriter Mason Jennings blends the deeply 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. Tickets are $25 general $20 HSU students. Tickets are available at the Works in Eureka, University Ticket Office at HSU or at humboldt.edu/centerarts.
Singer/songwriter Mason Jennings is one of the best-kept secrets in pop music. In his adopted home of Minneapolis his shows draw 3,000 fans. He was hand-picked by music supervisor Randall Poster to perform two Dylan songs, “The Times They Are a-Changin” and “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” in Todd Haynes’ acclaimed I’m Not There, both on the soundtrack album, and lip-synched by Christian Bale in the movie.
And now, his seventh full-length album, Blood of Man, is being released on Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records, after the chart-topping performer personally recruited him for the label.
“I’ve known Jack for a long time,” says the affable Jennings, who was born in Honolulu, moved with his family to Pittsburgh when he was two, then dropped out of high school at 16 to relocate to his current Twin Cities home. “We did an outdoor show together at a tiny college in Minnesota about six years ago. We toured for about two months and became good friends. He told me, if I ever wanted to record for his label, he’d love to have me. It seemed to make sense that this would be a good time to do it.”
Coming off his 2006 major-label bow, Boneclouds, for Modest Mouse leader Isaac Brock’s Epic-distributed Glacial Pace label, Jennings retreated to a studio in the woods, where he set himself up with a laptop and two microphones. The title comes from his son talking about where he came from before he was born, “Ya know dad, when I was in the Ever?”
“It was pretty raw, but fun, because that’s how I grew up working,” says Jennings about the recording process for In the Ever. “I wanted to do it quickly in a childlike way. I’d write songs in the morning, record them in the afternoon and finish them up by night.”
In the Ever continues Jennings’ spiritual journey, informed by his love of influences like Leadbelly, Mississippi John Hurt, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash’s American recordings and Led Zeppelin, his favorite band of all time. “I just wanted to make sure it’s not re-enacted music,” he says. “I have no use for being a retro artist. I want to understand my past and come from something, but move forward at the same time.”
“It’s been a slow growth, but extremely fun for me,” he says. “For me, it’s about expanding and working from a place of joy. If I can enjoy what I do, and make new art that inspires me, everything will work out for the best.”
For more information and credit card orders call CenterArts at 826-3928 or at humboldt.edu/centerarts.