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NOVEMBER
SHOW
Friday,
November 3, 2006 at Bogart's featuring
MASON
BROTHERS with JACKIE
FROST ENSEMBLE and AIMEE BAYLES opening
BOGART'S
- 203 N. Lombardy St.
Here's
a little bit about the acts that are playing the November concert
series...
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THE TATERS
 MASON
BROTHERS
The story of Mason Brothers begins with the solo work of James Mason. In 2003, James released a solo album entitled Carnival Sky. The record was released on Sonoface Records (Durham, NC), and was written, recorded, and produced by James at his home on a small 10-track recorder:
“Carnival Sky's true beauty…is the raw nature of the songs and the recording. This is an album free of synths, loops and electronic bleeps, devoid of extraneous overdubs and noise. Mason offers only the trembling musical core of his work, placing it gently before the listener. It's an album that begs for headphones, a blue sky or a slow drive…it works perfectly." (Splendid Review of Carnival Sky)
In early in 2004, James and Christian began writing together for the first time, confident that what they could produce as a team would outshine the largely acoustic and unassuming home recordings James produced a year earlier. Mason Brothers soon discovered that they would require a larger group of musicians in order to take their music to more dynamic and expansive heights. Over the next year the brothers wrote and recorded new material, with the help of Mike Reina on organ and backing vocals. They also enlisted the help of Zak Billmeier on bass, Patrick Strollo on acoustic and electric guitars, and Oren Magid (Sonoface Records) on drums and percussion. The material that resulted from this yearlong collaboration builds on the solid and unique songwriting of brothers James and Christian Mason. At the heart of every song, there remains a subtle acoustic backbone. However, the potent and atmospheric layers now evident in Mason Brothers’ songs are formidable—the band often performs with a seven-person line-up.
It is perhaps easier to describe Mason Brothers’ music in terms of what it is not. With an army of musicians in tow with electric instruments, the band can no longer be described as folk. With the utter lack of any southern-drawl in the singing, or contrived down-home affectations, any attempts to pin this effort to “alt-country” fall flat. The depth of the music and songwriting are left unreached with the generic “indie rock” label. So, aside from actually listening to the music itself, the best description might mirror the band’s history; it might somehow attempt to chronicle and then tally the band’s unique development. It might go something like this: folk meets lap steel, meets rock, meets space rock.
The band is set to record a full-length album in January of 2006. They are currently trying out their new material with a handful of shows on the east coast. Look out for Mason Brothers in your neck of the woods soon.
Website: www.masonbrothers.org
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THE TATERS
 JACKIE
FROST ENSEMBLE
The Jackie Frost "Trio" was formed in
the mid 90's. The founding members were Jackie Frost (lead vocal, acoustic
guitar), Danny Hughes (acoustic guitar, vocals), and Richard Ward (banjo,
vocals). For over ten years the "Trio" performed at coffee houses,
private parties, and local concert halls in the Richmond, VA area. They also
preformed on TV and radio, and with the Richmond Symphony. The band recorded
several projects over the years and developed a local fan base.
With the release of their latest project, Calliope, which includes all original
band material, came changes in the band structure. The "Trio" grew to
near baseball team proportions at times to play the larger venues associated
with a successful and well received project.
Jackie has played some of the best-known stages in the area, including Ashland
Coffee and Tea, The Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts, The Cultural Arts
Center at Glen Allen, St. Catherine's McVey Theater, The Virginia Commonwealth
University's Performing Arts Center, and the University of Richmond's Modlin
Center for the Performing Arts.
A natural result of all this excitement was the migration from the
"Trio" to the Jackie Frost "Ensemble". The core group now
consists of original members Jackie Frost and Danny Hughes, and new members
Malcolm Pulley (mandolin, banjo, vocals) and Rusty Farmer (Bass). Larger shows
may include additional musicians in the form of piano, fiddle, percussion, and
schoobie-do-whap singers.
We have had the pleasure performing with such notable area musicians as Billy
Lux (acoustic string bass and bass vocals), Daniel Clarke (piano and constant
musical inspiration), Robby Sinclair (drums), Curtis Frye (acoustic string
bass), Chris Fuller (mandolin), Brian Sulser (acoustic string bass), Jim
Skelding (fiddle), and Anthony Dowd (keys).
Fans of all ages seem to enjoy our music, which runs the gamut - from straight
ahead delta blues, to jazz influenced improvisational standards - from bluegrass
powered arrangements of easily recognizable covers, to original material that
can only be heard at a Jackie Frost Ensemble show.
Website: http://pulleytunes.com
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THE TATERS
 AIMEE
BAYLES
Aimee Bayles is 23, a student, guitarist,
singer, and songwriter. Her passion for music began very early in her life,
having come from a musical family. While vocals are her strong point, she began playing
guitar soon after graduating high school mainly to facilitate her songwriting.
Her sound is of the folk/acoustic genre, although she hopes that as she plays
with various musicians that sound will evolve and grow. Influences include
Waterdeep, Travis, Coldplay, The Beatles, Ben Harper, and Lisa Loeb. She plays
often at the blue mountain cafe in Carytown, and also hosts a weekly open mic
night there.
Website: www.aimeebayles.com
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