Dave Mason on Tour Bus Maintenance and Staying Grounded

Photo courtesy of Mad INK

Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?

I travel in a custom Prevost XL with about 800,000 miles. I keep in top working order at all times. Vehicles are machines; they break down, it happens. I had to make a hasty landing once in a private plane while the cabin was filling up with smoke.

How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?

I cook on the bus.

How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?

None, I keep my guitars fresh and well maintained. Strings are changed on a very regular basis. How much does it cost to replace them? Unsure.

Where do you rehearse?

We are a touring band and rehearse wherever is dictated by our tour. Rehearsals are always full of surprises, but it’s also where the magic happens.

What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?

“Hole In My Shoe”

I looked to the sky
Where an elephant’s eye
Was look at me
From a bubblegum tree
And I all that I knew
The hole in my shoe
Was letting in water

Describe your first gig.

I don’t remember my first gig for sure; it was a long time ago but likely it was a school event when I was 16 or so.

What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?

The last job I had was at the telephone company. I was 16 or 17. My favorite day job is travelling to my concerts!

How has your music-related income changed over the past 5-10 years? What do you expect it to look like 5-10 years from now?

Drastically. Nobody buys music anymore, except at concerts. Publishing has gone out the window, radio isn’t more. There isn’t the business like there was in the early days. Which is too bad because it was a lot of fun and had mountains of opportunity. The only place now is playing live. Or you can get lucky with social media or a movie or commercial.

I hope artists will speak out about royalties and getting compensated for music. It is hard to see it given away free all the time. I hope practices will change. In the meantime, I’m going to keep doing what I have always done.

What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?

Take care of my money and watch my business. Nobody stays on top all the time. And I’d take good care of myself because you just might last a long time. And have good people around you and stay grounded.

When you poke around his recording studio, right away it’s clear that Dave Mason is not your average Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. The story is on the walls. There’s the platinum record from the first Traffic album, the band he co-founded with Steve Winwood. His role in Traffic alone, including writing the ubiquitous classic “Feelin’ Alright,” automatically solidifies Mason’s rarefied rock status. But keep perusing all the records on the wall and it hits you: that’s just the beginning…

He came of age during England’s tumultuous musical explosion of the early 1960s, always working his way up close to the stage to watch, among many others, the Beatles, the Stones and Dylan. Unlike the thousands of others around him however, a few years later he’d be working with all of them (and many other legends). It all comes back to all of the gold and platinum LPs on the walls. Mason played in recording sessions with his friend Jimi Hendrix, crafting guitar parts and singing background vocals on some of Hendrix’s most iconic hits. When the Rolling Stones recorded “Street Fighting Man” in 1968, they didn’t know it would become one of their best loved anthems. But they did know knew they wanted Dave Mason playing on the session. Bob Dylan brought Mason in to record with him because of how much he respected his singing and songwriting. And long after Mason sat in on some Beatle sessions, Paul McCartney enlisted Mason to play lead guitar with him on McCartney & Wings’ number one song, “Listen to What the Man Said.” If all you documented were the memorable moments Dave Mason added his magic to the work of legends, that alone could fill a book. George Harrison. Crosby & Nash. Delaney & Bonnie. Eric Clapton. It just goes on.

But it’s Mason’s vaunted gold and platinum solo career that truly defines this artist; a storied and unforgettable ride that started in the clubs and wound up selling out theaters, arenas and stadiums all over the world for the last 50 years – and is still going strong today. From pop-rock standards like “Only You Know and I Know” and “We Just Disagree” to many other beloved classics, Mason’s knack for soulful, insightful songwriting coupled with his expressive guitar playing endears him to generations of faithful fans and listeners. So broad are his skills and accomplishments that he becomes hard, if not impossible to define. Sensitive poet? Gritty guitar gunslinger? Revered inspiration to countless singer/songwriters? He’s all of those things and more; an eclectic, enigmatic musical everyman whose countless artistic achievements place him in the rarest of company.

Alone Together Again, Mason’s latest album, was released in December 2021. Mason is currently touring the US in support of the new album – full tour dates here.