Musical Masonry - Ray's got a new disc out

You can trace Ray Mason's gritty, down in the dirt rock and roll sound to one thing: his 1965 Sears Silvertone guitar. OK, that might be a slight exaggeration, but as Mason says, "I try to base my sound on good songs and a guitar that sounds like a guitar."

His new disc, Like Bugs Chewing on Paper (now how Mason-like is that?), isn't a drastic departure from his past efforts, and if you're a fan, you wouldn't want it to be. With out of left field lyrics, pure rock 'n' roll riffs and an honest delivery, Mason keeps the spirit of bands such as the Kinks and the Stones alive. "These are songs that remind me of listening to the AM radio," says Mason. "Three minute blasts that bring back feelings of summer, heartbreak...all those good things."

Mason credits producer Jim Weeks (not the one from Little Big Wheel, though he's a talented bugger) as having a major effect on his new disc. "His relentless creativity is mind-boggling to me," says Mason. "Couldn't have done it without him. He knows the way I think and I know he knows this. "

He started his first band in Holyoke in 1966, calling it The Gladiators. Mason gobbled up records, and had been doing so for years, holding myself in his room listening to music for hours on end. From the late '60s through 1980, he played bass in a variety of bands in Western Massachusetts, including the Buck Rogers Movement, The Fourgone Conclusion, Seagull, The Sailcats and Signal. During that time, Mason has stockpiled quite a few songs of his own, and decided he needed an outlet for them. In the early '80s, he self-released at least five cassettes (yup, cassettes) and then later a single on his own Captivating Music label. His first full-length CD, Between Blue & Okay, came out in 1994 and 11 more followed. In 1985, he and Jim Armenti also started the Lonesome Brothers in 1985, producing seven CDs.

"Is that too many," says Mason. "Yikes."

Turning 60 next year, Mason has no plans to slow down on writing and recording. Already armed with 11 new tunes for his band to record, he's got the the framework and lyrics for 18 more. Mason appears solo at the Harvest Cafe in Hudson on Saturday, July 25 from 8-10 p.m. You can also find out more about Mason, and his band the Lonesome Brothers, at myspace.com/theraymasonband and myspace.com/lonesomebrothers.