Staying up on what's new in music ain't easy these days, in a world short on new record stores and long on websites, social media blather, and celebrity. Asked what he listens to when he's not writing music, fast-talking septuagenarian Ray Mason exudes a teenager's eager urgency.
"I keep my ears open. I've been listening to new stuff by people I have been following for years like Nick Lowe and The Straitjackets, Rodney Crowell, Kathleen Edwards, and Lucinda Williams. And then Craig Finn. I don't own any Hold Steady albums, but I love his last two solo albums. He has a new one coming out that [Adam] Granduciel from War on Drugs produced. And The Beths of course, Expert in a Dying Field. I remember hearing [The dB's] Pete Holsapple raving about that on the web and I went, I've gotta get that album!"
