 Courtesy: RPR Media At only 20 years of age, Texas native Mason Lively is an old musical soul who crafts songs like a seasoned veteran. Released on April 6th, his first full-length, Stronger Ties, is a sonically diverse yet cohesive and balanced record that shines a light on Lively’s songwriting and diverse influences. Recently, Lively kindly took the time to chat and speak about his roots, the album, working with Pat Manske, and more. Your first EP, Livin' Large in a Little Town was recorded with Lloyd Maines and Pat Manske when you were sixteen. When did you initially feel the pull of writing, singing, and performing? At 14 I picked up the guitar and started honing my craft playing older country songs. Eventually, I began songwriting and my parents, who saw something in me, talked me into going to record. They've been incredibly encouraging and that is something for which I’m very grateful. It's amazing to have such supportive parent. Is your family musical? I’m the first to ever do anything musical. I grew up around, and am influenced by, many genres from classic country to blues and rock. When I was a kid, I was listening to Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Robert Earl Keen, as well as Randy Rogers and Turnpike Troubadours. I listen to so much and I wanted to keep the album to represent every aspect of Texas music that influenced me as an artist.  The new album, Stronger Ties, released on April 6th and you once again worked with Pat Manske.
Pat is one of the greatest guys to work with. He is good at steering the ship and making sure each song comes to life in its own way. With some songs, I knew exactly how I wanted them to sound, but others like “Early Grave,” went in a different direction. I thought that one was going to be this real rockin’ distorted song and Pat thought to make it this muddy contemporary Bluegrass tune. We stripped it down with banjo, fiddle, and dobro and it turned out awesome, and now I couldn't imagine the song any other way. We have a great collaborative style and I already can’t wait to get back into the studio - I love it so much. Were the songs specifically written for the album or were some ones you had in your pocket? A bit of a combination. I wrote “Angel Wings” and “Early Grave” a few years ago, but “Heavy Toll” and “Love Comes Back Around” I wrote right before I went into the studio. I write a lot; some songs I sit with, but a lot I write quickly and the songs with the strongest impact on me and strongest ties with me made the record, which is also why it ended up being called Stronger Ties. Even though you are only 20 years old, you write like someone with a lot of life experience. Where does that originate from? I get that a lot and I think it’s because when I was listening to music early on, I started studying the way people write. I found the blueprint of songwriting - how to dive in and use emotion to craft a song – and, for now, am writing from the experience of listening to music rather than living through something. The current single is the upbeat “Lonely Comes Back Around,” which seems a great way to introduce people to the album. That was kind of an unexpected first single for me. I like the song, but thought it was more of a B-side; my radio promoter, though, thought it was the perfect first single – short, catchy, and really showed my influences. The more I listened, the more I agreed, and while it’s a good song, it’s an introduction to what I think is an even better album. It’s an incredibly solid album, that definitely has many potential singles on it. Is there any particular reason why you bookended the album with “Heavy Toll” and “Angel Wings?” It took a while to get the order down because we wanted to balance the songs properly yet allow each one to stand out. We chose “Heavy Toll” as the opener because it was a strong, rocking tune to introduce the album and placed “Angel Wings” at the end because it is more of a classic love song. It’s a wonderfully emotional closer. Two of my favorites are “Role Play” and “Hard to Let Go.” Can you choose one and relay the story behind it? “Hard To Let Go” is probably the most personal song on the record. I was one of those annoying ass couples in high school who would hold hands with their girlfriend down the halls (laughing), and after high school, I got dumped. I knew I could write a lot of songs about the experience, but I decided to sit on it and get over it first. Once I did, a few months, later I sat down, played a chord progression and found the melody, and all of a sudden all of these feelings about getting over someone you cared about flowed out. It was everything I needed to say and once I wrote it, I put a pin in it. I’m super proud of the way it turned out. It’s one of those impactful songs where melody and lyrics fit perfectly together. Currently, you’re on a radio tour in Texas, so as you travel from place to place, what do you listen to? I like to listen to older artists, but newer guys that I’m listening to are people like Tyler Childers and Anderson East…and I’m still jamming John Mayer’s last album as well. Website/Facebook/Twitter/Insta/Purchase
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