Roger Mason is a guitarist/composer and
multi-instrumentalist who lives in rural Southern Illinois. He has just
released his first solo CD Cool Shoes.
By the time he was 10 years old Roger was playing drums, accordion,
clarinet, and saxophone. He began learning to play the guitar when he was
eleven and says he's still learning.
He began playing professionally at age 14 in a cover rock n' roll band in
which he was the lead guitarist and lead singer. From there he went on to
playing in various other groups which ultimately lead to a "gig" with the
Legends of Rock N' Roll tour. After many years of "living out of a suitcase"
Roger gave up performing and began writing music jingles for various radio
and television commercials from his home studio in Southern Illinois. He is
becoming known in corporate circles for his ability to design music for a
wide range of projects.
Rogers musical influences are very broad, and he feels that he has been
influenced by someone from every musical genre. He plays nylon string
acoustic guitar exclusively, preferring its smooth silky sound to the more
jangley tone of its steel string cousin. His music is a combination of
Latin, Jazz, New Age and Pop. It's best described as very melodic nylon
string guitar over a music bed of strong rhythmic patterns. Smooth, smoky
and very contemporary are some of the ways in which his music has been
described