Dave MasonIf You GoMadisonville• What: Dave Mason's Traffic Jam in Monroe Area Council for the Arts' Performance Series.• When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3.• Where: Hiwassee Performing Arts Center, Hiwassee College, 225 Hiwassee College Drive.• Admission: $23 adults, $15 students.• Phone: 423-442-3210.• Website: monroearts.com/tickets.Chattanooga• What: Dave Mason's Traffic Jam in Patten Performances series.• When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5.• Where: UTC Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St.• Admission: $25 adults, $20 seniors, $15 students.• Phone: 423-425-4269.• Website: utc.edu/fine-arts-center/pattenperformances.DAVE MASON SOLO DISCOGRAPHY1970: "Alone Together"1971: "Dave Mason & Cass Elliot"1972: "Headkeeper"1973: "It's Like You Never Left"1974: "Dave Mason"1975: "Split Coconut"1977: "Let It Flow"1978: "Mariposa de Oro"1980: "Old Crest on a New Wave"1987: "Two Hearts" / "Some Assembly Required"2008: "26 Letters ~ 12 Notes"2014: "Future's Past"
By Casey Phillips
Staff Writer
In a career spanning half a century, Dave Mason's fingers have been in so many musical pies it's surprising he can spare any for his guitar.
Mason, 68, is best known as a co-founder of English rock band Traffic, which made a splash in its native England during a seven-year run that produced five albums. In 2004, Dave Matthews inducted Mason and Traffic's other co-founders, Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
But in the decades after Traffic's short-lived, if celebrated, tenure, Mason entered into creative collaborations with a who's who of musical legends, from Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney to Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones.
And the British-born rocker has no intentions of stopping anytime soon.
"This year has been great, and I would say that being out there still performing is a highlight itself," Mason writes in an emailed response. "At this point in my life, I'm as good as I'm ever going to be. Why stop now?"
Next week, Mason will perform twice in Southest Tennessee. On Monday, Nov. 3, he'll be featured at Hiwassee College as part of the Monroe Area Council for the Arts' 2014-15 concert series. Two days later, Wednesday, Nov. 5, he'll follow up with a show as the fourth artist in this year's Patten Performance series at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
These local shows are part of Mason's Traffic Jam Tour, which is presented as an insightful retread of Mason's career, including reworked material from Traffic songs and a sampling of his expansive solo catalog.
Along the way, he says, he'll share insights with the audiences to provide additional context to the selections.
"I have put this show together more as a way of highlighting my entire career up to this point," Mason says. "We start the show with Traffic songs, then segue into my solo career. There are visuals that go along with it, as well as some stories and background regarding certain songs and associations."
The rearranged Traffic material reflects Mason's latest album, "Future's Past," which was released on May 13 and featured eight reworked songs from his career. Although they reflect his maturation as a musician, Mason says there are certain aspects of the material that he felt he would be remiss to alter.
"I reworked [the Traffic song] 'Dear Mr. Fantasy' as a way of making it my own without tampering with the melody," he says. "I have found that, as a songwriter, there are many ways to interpret a song that has a timeless theme."
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6205.
Follow him on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.