Pop quiz. Which of the following quotes came out of a musician’s mouth?
(A) “I don’t want to sell a million albums. My goal is to develop over time and engage with my own life.”
(B) “I really like the Internet. It’s beautiful because the music gets transferred so fast, to so many people.”
The answer? Believe it or not, both. In an age when musicians and record labels focus on declining record sales and the losses accumulated by music downloaders instead of the music itself, Mason Jennings, who will play Friday at 10 p.m. at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace St., in Wrigleyville, stands out both due to his views and his unique sound.
So who is Mason Jennings anyway? The singer-songwriter, born in Honolulu, spent his childhood in Pittsburgh before moving to Minneapolis at age 19. Since 1998, the humble, mild-mannered Jennings has quietly sold over 60,000 albums on his own Architect Records. His success shows that in an increasingly consolidated and difficult market, an artist can make a name for himself independently without compromising his music.
“I think as the record labels get bigger, there are so many people involved in the creative process. That really affects someone who’s trying to say what they feel. The individual voice is really rare right now,” said the 28-year-old Jennings, speaking over the phone from his home in Minneapolis. He added: “Universal Records has over 1,000 artists. How can you really care about anybody’s art if you have 1,000 people to worry about?”
The title of Jennings’ fourth and latest album, Use Your Voice, is essentially a call to action for musicians.
“I figured the way to try and inspire people would be to do it myself,” he noted.
In Use Your Voice, Jennings and his band create optimistic and peaceful textures in a generally stripped down manner. The listener can hear equal parts Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams and Jack Johnson in Jennings’ sound. As for the origins of his unique croon, Jennings couldn’t really pinpoint a direct source.
“I just try to listen to my guts and to go where it wants to go. I usually don’t think too much about it, and just kind of let it go,” Jennings said.
Use Your Voice is not without sadness, particularly displayed by “The Ballad of Paul and Sheila.” The song, a dedication to former Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone and his wife Sheila, grew out of Jennings’ personal reflection following news of the deadly 2002 plane crash.
“I wrote it for myself, just to make me feel better and to give a little hope in the situation,” reflected Jennings.
Such a therapeutic function of songwriting is common for Jennings, who sees it as a release.
“It’s a way for me, with all kinds of input in the world, to put things back out there.”
Jennings is pessimistic about the potential for moving over to a major label.
“During the last two years, I’ve been approached by a lot of different labels. So many people want me to get in there, homogenize my sound and work more like a committee. I had to ask myself: Why do I do this, and what do I want out of my music? What I want out of it is to grow,” said Jennings.
In “Crown,” the first track on Use Your Voice, Jennings refers to being “true to yourself to the bitter end.” This result might be anyone’s hope, but Jennings is living it today. He acknowledges his influences, but most importantly, he strives to be original.
Weinberg sophomore Sam Weiner is music editor for PLAY. He can be reached at [email protected].
