Jim and I, we had bands when we were kids, long before Traffic started. It’s part of what I was with, and most of the tunes I do were written by Jim Capaldi. “It doesn’t matter to me one way or other. VIDEO: Traffic Jam performs “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys”īut was there anything odd or ironic about playing Traffic songs written by Steve and/or Jim after Mason had left? Though I do include a version of “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” that sounds nothing like the way it was written. But for myself, I wanted to revisit the time that I was there and include it in a show where I take mostly stuff from the first two albums. I know Steve is still touring, but I don’t know exactly what it is he includes or doesn’t include in his shows. “There’s nobody out there playing it per se. “I just thought it might be fun to just go and revisit some of that stuff,” he said, of setlist choices. With Traffic Jam in 2014 – and a check of early 2020 set lists confirmed they were still at it – Mason was mixing both Traffic and solo material. And “Feelin’ Alright,” originally done with Traffic, was turned into a hit by Joe Cocker and also covered by the Jackson 5, Three Dog Night and Grand Funk Railroad, among others. That featured the hit “We Just Disagree.” Mason’s catchy blues-rock sound fit in perfectly with the FM rock radio style of the day. The apex was the platinum-plus Let It Flow in 1977. But Mason scored pretty quickly, too, with his solo debut, Alone Together, which went gold, and four more gold albums to follow. While Traffic – singer-guitarist Mason, singer-keyboardist Steve Winwood, singer-drummer Jim Capaldi and saxophonist Chris Wood – made its mark in the late- ‘60s, it came to greater fame and acclaim after the departure of Mason, who was there for just the first two albums. Thank God I can still get up and play because that’s the part of it that’s left untouched.” “The Incomparable Dave Mason” (Image: Pinterest) The thing is they get a million plays on Pandora with one of their songs and they got a check for $118.”Īs to streaming and the paucity of royalties, Mason said, “The genie is out of the box and I don’t know how you legislate or make that work at all. You’ve got this company making huge amounts of money through a public stock offering, for instance, Orleans, the main guy committed suicide. “Not only that, everybody would be down on the record labels – they’re bastards, they’re robbing us – but frankly the old record labels are making this look. Somehow, it’s sort of embedded and gotten into people’s psyche that it’s OK to do this – just grab it and take it. It’s not only for musicians and songwriters, but writers. People refuse to pay for music, and they don’t understand it takes time and money to make this stuff. It is what would be our retirement or what we pass on to our kids. I’m not just talking just for me I’m talking for all of us. And the problem is people will spend five bucks on a café latte frappe mocha but they won’t spend a buck on a song. “The Internet is a great tool, but unfortunately the internet is destroying all intellectual property. “I’ve been told I shouldn’t be negative about all this,” he said. And I impart a few little stories they might like to hear.” But Mason, like a lot of veteran musicians, was on the road, where there was at least something to be made. Yes, Mason averred, he still loved the music and enjoyed working with guitarist/mandolinist Jason Roller, keyboardist Tony Patler and drummer Alvino Bennett. It was the proverbial rug being pulled out from under you. Making a living … yes … the old hard way, to borrow a line from Tommy James’ “Draggin’ the Line.” All that had changed in the streaming/Internet era something that once had value – recorded music, catalogs – seemed to not have that any longer. VIDEO: Traffic performs at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2004
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