MASON JENNINGS TO RELEASE LIVE AT FIRST AVENUEOUT AUGUST 24th, FEATURING THREE UNRELEASED SONGSMason Jennings will release his first live album, Live At First Avenue, on August 24th via Stats & Brackets. The live album was recorded during the last night of his fall 2009 Blood Of Man tour from the prestigious First Avenue venue in his hometown of Minneapolis, MN. The album features three unreleased songs: “Born”, “Grow Old With Me,” and “My Computer Screen.”Jennings latest release comes almost a year after his critically acclaimed and self produced Blood Of Man 2009 LP. Rolling Stone gave the album 4 stars, calling it his “Best Album Yet” and said, “What Makes Mason Jennings one of the best acoustic-based singer-songwriters you’ve never heard of is his ragged, intimate voice and simple ruminations of God, war, hope and gratitude.”In addition to the live record, Jennings will release a new album this September. The Flood is a 15-song record featuring once lost and unrecorded songs that he has written over the past 18 years.“Last winter an old friend asked me about a cassette tape filled with songs that I had given her fifteen years ago. She said she had lost it and was wondering if I had a copy. I called my Dad and he found a box of old recordings in his basement and sent them to me. The tape she was talking about was in there as were a bunch of other ones spanning the last eighteen years. Some were 4 track recordings, some were just recorded into an old voice recorder from Radio Shack. Some of the songs were songs that I have since recorded on my CDs but most were unreleased and many were a complete surprise to me.“I listened to them all and thought it would be fun to re-record some of them to keep them from getting lost again. I decided to do it with just guitar and voice so the songs would be the center point and they would feel cohesive even though they were written over the course of eighteen years,” says Mason about recording The Flood.In support of both Live At First Avenue and The Flood,  Jennings will tour California on an intimate four-city run including two nights at Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles, CA.TOUR DATESJuly 31st - St. Paul, MN - Lowertown Music FestSeptember 10th - San Francisco, CA - Yoshi’sSeptember 11th - San Francisco, CA - Yoshi’s (8 PM Show)September 11th - San Francisco, CA - Yoshi’s (10 PM Show)September 12th - Arcata, CA - Van Duzer TheaterSeptember 14th - Los Angeles, CA - Largo at the CoronetSeptember 15th - Los Angeles, CA - Largo at the CoronetSeptember 16th - San Diego, CA - San Diego Woman’s Club

Asamoah I am so excited for the World Cup final. What an awesome month it has been. Although, I do miss having the South American and African teams in there. I love their open style of play. I have to say that my favorite play of any of the games came when Asamoah Gyan of Ghana walked out onto the pitch with millions of people watching after he missed the penalty kick that would have sent them to the semi-finals and bravely took the first shot of the shootout and buried it. That was such a powerful moment of human courage and leadership. How can one not enjoy watching Diego Forlan play too? What an amazing player and vibe. Here is a cool photo by Jessica Hilltout from The New York Times and a link to a cool article regarding her new book about African soccer Also, some people have asked me about the new lyrics I have been singing live to my song “I Love You And Buddha Too”. Here They are. I have a feeling this song will continue to change over time….. Oh Jesus I love you And I love Buddha too Ramakrishna, Guru Dev Tao Te Ching and Mohammed Why do some people say That there is just one way To love you God and come to you We are all a part of you You are unnamable And undefinable All we have is metaphor That’s what time and space are for Is the universe your thought You are and you are not You are many, You are one Ever ending, Just begun Alright, all right, alright I love you and Buddha too When Prophets say they’ve heard The one and only Word And every Word is different God becomes an argument And we are left to choose A side or to refuse The whole thing in its humanness Or learn from each with tolerance alright, all right, alright I love you and Buddha too all right I hope you all are doing well. I have been writing a bunch lately and have been enjoying the beautiful summer. I hope you have been too! Love, Mason 7/08/10 World Cup Headquarters, Minnesota, USA

Have you guys seen this picture or Barack? So awesome. I met some really nice people in Richmond last week and they recommended some websites…I found this photo on a cool one called theblaaahg.com. Also, I have been meaning to post a link to my favorite radio station. Minnesota is blessed with one of the best stations in the country. It is called The Current. It is a MPR station that plays really great music. They stream online, you guys should check it out. The Current Radio. Such great DJs and such a great resource for new music. And thirdly, how horrible is that oil spill? I can’t believe it. It is so brutal. My cousin went down there right after it happened and told me that it is so much worse than the media is making it out to be. She was and is so heart broken. It has made me look around at the world while I have been touring. My question is….isn’t covering the earth with blacktop for roads and parking lots just a slow motion oil spill too? I bet if you add up all the roads they would dwarf the oil spill. What are we gonna do? We have to find a good alternative to automobiles. We overwhelm me. And…..I know it’s bad form to follow a major earth tragedy with a silly soccer calamity but, just to lighten it up, that was a crazy goal the USA tied England on, right? I was a soccer goalkeeper for years growing up. I feel for Robert Green. But that is also the fun part of that position. Being accountable and on the spot. It’s like a high wire act. I hope he uses that botched save as fuel for a great game later this week. I LOVE the World Cup…...But I do hope the fans cool out on those vuvuzela trumpets….. It’s like a fleet of plastic jet engines are landing on the field for 90 minutes…...I thought something was wrong at first…..but I get it…...the South African fans love them…. Alright, back to work at the studio. Hope to see you on the road! Peace and love, Mason Minnesota 6/15/10

Chris Malloy’s 180° South soundtrack to feature original songs by Ugly Casanova (Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse), James Mercer (The Shins) & Mason Jennings. The June 22nd release by Brushfire Records also features songs by Jack Johnson & Love as Laughter.   Brushfire Records will release the original soundtrack to director Chris Malloy’s film 180° South on June 22, 2010. The 180° South soundtrack features new music from James Mercer (The Shins, Broken Bells w/Danger Mouse), Mason Jennings, and Ugly Casanova (Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse with various collaborators) - all of whom participated significantly in the overall film project. Songs by Jack Johnson and Love as Laughter also appear, as well as James Mercer’s cover of Neil Young’s “Journey Through The Past.” The compilation was assembled by the film’s producer, Emmett Malloy, who recently directed The White Stripes’ Under Great White Northern Lights. Director Chris Malloy’s film strikes deeply into the heart of Patagonia’s wilderness - it was there, during the making of the film that the soundtrack was conceived. Mason Jennings and James Mercer visited Patagonia during the shooting of the film. Deeply impacted, they spent the following weeks, months and years that followed, writing music and enlisting friends such as Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock and Jack Johnson to help get the soundtrack made. “When we had a rough edit of the movie, we headed to Portland to Isaac’s studio to record the soundtrack for 180° South. Pulling up to an old two-story craftsman house, we could hear the peaceful sound of guitars through the windows. Chris and I stopped and stared up at the attic, completely captivated. It was not long before we were watching footage and going over ideas and it wasn’t long after that before we heard banjo, trumpet, squeezebox, drums and harmonies coming from every corner of the house. That did not stop for almost 2 weeks.” Emmett Malloy - producer

Hey there. So I checked in to facebook and here are my responses to some of the questions you guys posted. Thanks for writing in!!1. What is the best piece of advice you can give to aspiring musicians, that you had to learn along the way?——Just be yourself and do it because you love it. Or if you do it for some other reason, know what that reason is. And also: the thing that some people don’t like about your music will also be the thing that some people like about it.2. Do you think your best work comes from your own life’s strife or serenity?——The best stuff comes from longing and hoping I think. Not sure about that…its mysterious.3. What is your favorite venue and why?——The venue is always less important than the audience. I have had just as much fun in front of 10 people as 30,000.4. How long are your legs in measurements?——Just long enough to run away. Oh measurements….2 dreams shy of a shipwreck.5. What is your Mt. Rushmore of books? (four favorites in no particular order)——-This is hard. OK, off the top of my head….The Bible, Anna Karenina, The Road, and Mary Oliver’s New & Selected Poems.6. I believe that bringing insight into the human condition in a way that attracts people and helps them understand life is a rare gift. In your songwriting, is this a purposeful intent or just the result of expressing your own observations and inner dialogue?—-Thank you. Well, it all just feels really important and interesting to me. I care, ya know? So I work from that place of caring and love. I know it helps me, maybe it helps others…Thank you.7. Do you spend time understanding the scientific basis for human emotion or is it mostly intuition that guides you?—-Yes. If I find something interesting I like to learn as much as I can about it. I love listening to brain scientists talk. Or astronomers. Or doctors. Psychics. I just follow what is interesting to me, with the feeling that much of the important part about life is very subtle and mysterious. I try to pay attention to what is given to me to pay attention to. Which I suppose is intuition. I am interested. And grateful. Life is awe inspiring.8. Who is your favorite painter/ artist? In other words, if you were to look at one painting for the rest of your life what would it be? What work of art takes your breath away?——-I really like what my children draw. I like art by children. i like Robert Motherwell. I don’t know…..I like so much…..its hard for me to think of people right now. The photographer Andreas Gursky…...I like when people draw on napkins…..I like the way those danish shipping containers look on barges….I like good simple tattoos….One painting for the rest of my life?? I don’t know….maybe I’d draw a picture of my wife…...9. I wanted to ask you if you are scared of death. Not necessarily of dying but of death.—-Depends on the day. Some years I have thought of little else….sometimes it just seems as normal as anything or more so. I think it will be familiar.10. I want to know if, since you’re a married person, you think it is important for humans to experience marriage.——-No. Whatever is interesting for one person may be uninteresting for another. Everyone is different. Thankfully. It is important for me but only because I met the right woman. Its not something that seems to work if it’s entered into lightly or by only one person.11. Have you considered putting out a childrens album?—-I have thought of it. My wife and I have done kids shows a few times and really enjoyed them…..Maybe someday…when it catches my interest. Otherwise it would be unnatural and on somebody else’s vibration and that’s no fun for anybody. Kids can feel that in an instant.Mason

Enjoy Mason’s “Happy Record Store Day” Video Blog! Remember, the Record Store Day release is April 17! If the above video isn’t working, you can here to watch it!

Sometimes people ask me if I have any favorite songs…...I guess I don’t have any favorites of my own. To me my songs are just a part of the whole, like leaves on the tree or something. I don’t get too attached but I love the process of writing and creating music. As far as other people’s songs I guess it is sorta similar. I love Led Zeppelin so much but would be hard pressed to pick one song to define them, let alone 5. I recently hosted a radio show in St. Paul on a great station called The Current where they asked me to spin whatever I wanted. That was fun. You can listen to the online version of it HERE. As far as a song that I would go out and say that there is none better than, I would say Johnny Cash’s version of Bird On A Wire by Leonard Cohen. Johnny made some key lyric changes that really move it to a whole new level. Here is a live version of it. As far as I’m concerned, this is as good as it gets, performance and song. Do You Realize? by The Flaming Lips is up there too…. and In The Still Of The Night by Cole Porter…. and Edelweiss by Rodgers and Hammerstein from the Sound Of Music…. I guess I should stop before I fully open the can of worms…. I suddenly feel like I may have addressed this before because I remember bringing up Silent Night too…. Oh well…. today I looked in the mirror and thought “what is going on with my hair???” Then I thought “my hair is starting to look like one of those composers like Beethoven,” then I thought “That makes sense. That would make sense why people always find me staring off into space too”.... speaking of Beethoven and songs, you can’t beat the Pathetique Sonata’s second movement…... Hope to see you in Michigan and Illinois this weekend. Looking forward to it! Mason Minnesota

Enjoy Mason’s “Happy Spring” Video Blog

I am really sorry that I wasn’t able to play in Fargo last night. The promoter recommended we postpone the show due to flooding and I trust him since he is there and I am not. I really hope that the flooding subsides and that you all who live up there are safe and your homes and businesses are left dry. The drive home from Sioux Falls yesterday was wicked with the water level coming right up to the highway in some places. Amazing to see forests of trees coming out of water. Thanks for understanding and I look forward to seeing you on May 7. Mason

Sorry it’s been a minute. I am back now, was down South visiting family and am now home in the melting snow. The fog is crazy. From where I sit up on the hill I can’t even see across the lake. Good thing I got in my winter drive-on-the-lake a couple weeks ago. I maybe cut it a bit close, I thought I was gonna get stuck out there for a minute. I even saw an ice fisherman stand up in my rearview mirror and start towards my flailing vehicle. Then, magically I was back on land. Three people speaking Japanese watched me drive up off the lake like I was driving up the side of a wall. Shaking their heads. I have been working a lot these days, getting a new studio set up, going through the live recordings from last Fall, and also going through a lot of my old tapes and picking out songs I wrote to potentially record for a second volume of Simple Life. It’s been a lot of fun. We’ll see what comes of it…. I have been enjoying playing these solo shows this season too and am looking forward to the ones coming up. It’s been fun pulling out some rare songs and playing more intimate venues. Oh yeah, that reminds me…I am not the most computer savvy guy but I try to check these sites from time to time. I just thought I would put it out there that if anybody has any questions they’d like to ask me that I will check in on Facebook in the next couple weeks and try to answer them. The one thing about being off the road more is that I miss getting a chance to connect with you all. So, how have you been? What’s been on your mind? I hope all is well and hope you all are enjoying “The Unlocking” as Kurt Vonnegut called this 6th season. It’s the Equinox this week! Yay! Bring on The Equinox! That sounds funny. Like I am gonna have to battle a monster with a helmet. Or have a dance off with Kid N Play. Or something like that. Happy Spring, Mason Foggy Hill, Minnesota 3/12/10