Stephen Mason (musician)

Last updated

Steve Mason
Stephen Mason (cropped).jpg
Background information
Birth nameStephen Daniel Mason
Born (1975-07-08) July 8, 1975 (age 49) [1]
Joliet, Illinois, U.S.
Genres Alternative rock, folk, Christian
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals
Years active1993–present
Labels Essential/Silvertone, Gray Matters/Nettwerk

Stephen Daniel Mason (born July 8, 1975) [2] is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay.

Contents

Biography

Mason was born in Joliet, Illinois [3] in 1975, however was brought up from age 8 in Decatur, Illinois where he attended Warrensburg-Latham schools. [4]

Mason joined Jars of Clay as a founding member in 1993 with singer Dan Haseltine and pianist Charlie Lowell while studying at Greenville College in his home state of Illinois. As a submission piece to get into college, Mason wrote an instrumental guitar piece entitled "Frail" which was later recorded and used as the namesake for the group's first demo Frail . The song later had lyrics added by Jars of Clay's lead singer Dan Haseltine for the group's second album Much Afraid .

Growing up in Illinois, Mason is a Chicago Bears football team supporter, but also now supports the Tennessee Titans, who play in his adopted city of Nashville. [3]

He is also a supporter of the Nashville SC soccer club, where he attended its first MLS home match dressed as Moses, resulting in national attention and the club referring to him as "Soccer Moses". [5] [6]

In 2014, Stephen qualified as a Master Barber and has started cutting hair at his shop, The Handsomizer. [7]

Personal life

Mason married Melissa Mason in late 90’s and has two children. He left Melissa in 2009 to marry former BBC Radio producer Jude Adam on October 24, 2009. [8]

Guitars, amps, and pedals

Mason uses a range of different guitars for performing with Jars of Clay, both electric and acoustic. Some of them he uses exclusively in the studio and others exclusively for live performances. [3]

As for pedals, over the years Mason has been seen using a Boss Tuner, Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde, Swell Pedals G-TOD, Tonephile Puredrive, Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, DMB Pedals, and a Pedaltrain pedalboard.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jars of Clay</span> American rock band

Jars of Clay is a Christian alternative rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. The members met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois. They consist of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars. Although the band has no permanent drummer or bass guitarist, Jeremy Lutito and Gabe Ruschival of Disappointed by Candy fill these roles for live concerts. Past tour band members include Aaron Sands, Scott Savage, and Joe Porter. Jars of Clay's style is a blend of alternative rock, folk, acoustic, and R&B.

<i>Jars of Clay</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay is the first full-length studio album by Christian rock group Jars of Clay. It was released on October 24, 1995, by Essential Records. The album was released to commercial and critical acclaim, becoming one of the few Christian albums in the mid-1990s to achieve platinum status.

<i>Much Afraid</i> 1997 studio album by Jars of Clay

Much Afraid is the second studio album by American Christian rock band Jars of Clay. It was released in 1997 by Essential Records. Following the charting success of the band's debut album, Much Afraid was moderately successful, but was unable to achieve the level of its predecessor.

<i>If I Left the Zoo</i>

If I Left the Zoo is the third full-length studio album of the band Jars of Clay. It was released November 9, 1999, by Essential Records.

<i>The Eleventh Hour</i> (Jars of Clay album) 2002 studio album by Jars of Clay

The Eleventh Hour is the fourth full-length studio album by the band Jars of Clay. It was released in 2002 by Essential Records and marked the band's first attempt at producing a full album by themselves.

<i>Who We Are Instead</i> 2003 studio album by Jars of Clay

Who We Are Instead is the fifth full-length studio album recorded by Christian rock band Jars of Clay and produced by Mitch Dane. It was released in 2003 by Essential Records.

<i>City on a Hill: Songs of Worship and Praise</i> 2000 compilation album by Various Artists

City on a Hill: Songs of Worship and Praise is the first in the City on a Hill series of compilation albums by popular Contemporary Christian Music musicians. It received the Gospel Music Association's Special Event Album of the Year award for 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Haseltine</span> American singer (born 1973)

Daniel Paul Haseltine is an American singer best known as lead vocalist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay. Haseltine has performed vocals, piano, accordion, percussion and melodica, while with Jars of Clay. He has had different artistic titles, including songwriter, producer, film composer, music supervisor and art designer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Lowell</span> American pianist (born 1973)

Charles Daniel Lowell is an American pianist most known for being the pianist and keyboardist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of Clay.

<i>Drummer Boy</i> (EP) 1995 EP by Jars of Clay

Drummer Boy is an EP release by Christian folk group Jars of Clay featuring a new interpretation of the classic 1958 Christmas Carol "Little Drummer Boy". The EP was originally released by Essential Records in the Christmas following the release of Jars Of Clay in 1995. The EP was re-released as a two-pack with Jars of Clay prior to their second album, Much Afraid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overjoyed (Jars of Clay song)</span> 1998 single by Jars of Clay

"Overjoyed" is a song by American Christian rock group Jars of Clay. It was the fourth single from the band's second album, Much Afraid, and the fourth consecutive No. 1 radio single from the album. An acoustic rendition of the song appears on the band's 2003 double album, Furthermore: From the Studio, From the Stage. This song was also the compilation album WOW 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy Times</span> 1997 single by Jars of Clay

"Crazy Times" is a song recorded and performed by Jars of Clay. The song was a writing collaboration between the band members Dan Haseltine and Stephen Mason with songwriters Mark Hudson and Greg Wells. It was the first single from their second studio album, Much Afraid. The single fared well in the mainstream, peaking at No. 38 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The demo version of the song can be found on the album The White Elephant Sessions, while a live version of the song is included on the 2003 double album, Furthermore: From the Studio, From the Stage. This song also appears on the WOW 1999 compilation album.

<i>Christmas Songs</i> (Jars of Clay album) 2007 studio album by Jars of Clay

Christmas Songs is the eighth full-length studio album and first Christmas album from Jars of Clay, that was released on October 16, 2007, through Gray Matters/Nettwerk. This is the first ever release from the band through their newly created Gray Matters imprint via Nettwerk Music Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">This Road (Jars of Clay song)</span> 2000 single by Jars of Clay

"This Road" is a song written and performed by Jars of Clay that appears on the compilation album City on a Hill: Songs of Worship and Praise that was released in 2000 through Essential Records. The song was also featured on the bonus CD that was packaged with the Brother Andrew-penned book entitled The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together. A live version of "This Road" appears on disc two of the 2003 double album Furthermore: From the Studio, From the Stage.

"Frail" is a song written and performed by Christian rock band Jars of Clay. It has appeared on many recordings by the group and lends its name to their debut demo release, Frail, from 1994. The song has never been released as a single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fade to Grey (Jars of Clay song)</span> 1998 single by Jars of Clay

"Fade to Grey" is the first song ever written by Jars of Clay. It originally was recorded for the group's debut demo album, Frail, which was released in 1994. However, when the group recorded tracks for their self-titled debut album, time and budget issues were problems in being able to record the track.

Matthew Ryan Bronleewe is an American record producer, musician, novelist and songwriter.

<i>The Long Fall Back to Earth</i> 2009 studio album by Jars of Clay

The Long Fall Back to Earth is the ninth full-length studio album from Jars of Clay. It was released on April 21, 2009 through Gray Matters and Essential Records.

<i>Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville</i> 2010 studio album by Johnny Mathis

Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on September 21, 2010, by Columbia Records and focused upon popular country songs. With the exceptions of the traditional folk song "Shenandoah" and George Strait's "We Must Be Lovin' Right" from 1993, the heyday of the selections that Mathis is covering coincided approximately with the first 20 years of his career, starting with Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" from 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Out of My Hands (song)</span> 2010 single by Jars of Clay

"Out of My Hands" is a song by Christian rock act Jars of Clay that appears on their 2010-released album, The Shelter. The song, which was the first radio single released in support of the album, features vocal contributions from Mike Donehey of Tenth Avenue North and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer. The single peaked at No. 27 on Billboard's Christian Songs chart on September 25, 2010. "Out of My Hands" was co-written by two members of the band's touring ensemble, Gabe Ruschival and Jeremy Lutito.

References

  1. Stephen Mason on MSN Music. Retrieved July 23, 2007.
  2. NSAI Songwriter Achievement Awards. Archived February 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Full name noted. Retrieved August 15
  3. 1 2 3 Kot, Greg: "Bridges to Babylon". Guitar World Acoustic, No. 25. Retrieved from "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) on May 13, 2006.
  4. Mannlein, Arelene: "Relatives of Jars of Clay member – and many, many more – plan to gather". Herald & Review , Decatur, Illinois, Thursday, August 4, 2005, 5:10 PM CDT. Retrieved from [ dead link ]on May 13, 2006.
  5. "Soccer Moses: The story behind Nashville SC's most famous supporter | MLSsoccer.com".
  6. Maurer, Pablo. "Against all odds, Nashville SC's Geodis Park is 'authentically Nashville'" . The Athletic. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  7. The Handsomizer Retrieved October 30, 2015
  8. Jude Adam Mason – Twitter page