{"id":21150,"date":"2024-02-07T11:28:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T18:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=21150"},"modified":"2024-02-07T17:28:20","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T00:28:20","slug":"james-mastro-my-god-video-premiere-with-web-exclusive-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2024\/02\/james-mastro-my-god-video-premiere-with-web-exclusive-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"JAMES MASTRO \u201cMY GOD\u201d Video Premiere \u2013 with Web-Exclusive Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>JAMES MASTRO \u201cMY GOD\u201d Video Premiere \u2013 with Web-Exclusive Interview<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Musician:\u00a0 JAMES MASTRO<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Video Feature:\u00a0 \u201cMY GOD\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8GPFH3t5eOY?si=vBpg6JMbLk74xFt9\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1><strong>JAMES MASTRO ENTERS &#8220;BRAVE NEW WORLD&#8221;<\/strong><\/h1>\n<h1><strong>WITH DEBUT SOLO ALBUM <em>DAWN OF A NEW ERROR<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>by Rodeo Marie Hanson<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-00.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21153\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-00.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-00.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-00-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-00-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Gripping the wheel at 2 and 4, a young musician\u2019s knuckles drained white from desire as he commanded the caravan\u2019s sturdy helm for his band\u2019s gig in Nashville. Tethered to the inner sanctum\u2019s dashboard, a boombox rattled with The Rolling Stones\u2019 raucous rhythms as the chariot\u2019s wheels pounded the asphalt below. Echoing Kowalski\u2019s contextualized flashbacks in\u00a0<em>Vanishing Point,<\/em>\u00a0memories of his young life reflected from his consciousness as he peered into the perspective offered by a posterior looking glass\u2014teenage years peeling back layers of clubs\u2019 security to unite with live music\u2019s discipleship of devotees, dissolved to performing on hallowed ground at a grimy CBGB\u2019s in the 1970s. Within seconds, James Mastro and the band\u2019s itinerary would be detoured courtesy of a driver executing a U-turn on the motorized artery putting his vehicle in the lane of a not-yet fully realized life.<\/p>\n<p>As the van capitulated to avoid a collision on the monument to mechanized boxes, it trundled at 65 miles per hour\u2014the ballet of twisted metal groaned its mortal dirge as the unrelenting road violently lashed the chassis and body indiscriminately. Miraculously Mastro, the other souls onboard and the musical impedimenta emerged from the wreckage unscathed. A pristine Fender Princeton amp marred by a broken knob, a newly acquired van now totaled, and the cancellation of Health &amp; Happiness Show\u2019s tour (the quartet for which Mastro was the frontman) formed the menagerie of casualties\u2014the year was 1994.<\/p>\n<p>Slender framed and beguiling face, James Mastro exudes the vibe of a benevolent hustler. He could blend in effortlessly as a three-card monte dealer on New York\u2019s 43rd Street while the \u201cCrossroads of the World\u2019s\u201d luminescence sanctifies the tilted fedora floating like a halo above his head. A cool and confident mien shadows every one of his machinations.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21154\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-01.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-01-300x240.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\n\u201cRiver of Stars\u201d The Ebbs &amp; Flows of Record Label Courtships<br \/>\n<\/strong>Singer-songwriter and guitar player, Mastro\u2019s esse is a creative laboratory populated by multitudinous music species. At the conclusion of the \u201cMe Decade,\u201d Mastro played the role of axeman on The Richard Lloyd Group\u2019s 1979 sheared and stripped rock debut\u00a0<em>Alchemy\u00a0<\/em>(Elektra). He bathed in punk\u2019s afterglow as mohawks and safety pins acquiesced to the gel of short spiky hair and skinny ties facilitating indie-power pop in the process with the Bongos as the group\u2019s plank spanker on their 1983 effort\u00a0<em>Numbers with Wings\u00a0<\/em>(RCA Records).<em>\u00a0<\/em>When the verglas of a\u00a0post-Cold War thawed, Mastro\u2019s lead vocals and fretboard frenzy took center stage as the visual liaison for Health &amp; Happiness Show, an ensemble specializing in the flavor of Americana, on critically acknowledged early 1990s releases <em>Tonic<\/em> and <em>Instant Living <\/em>(Bar-None)<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Feelings of euphoria and discontent, precipitated by the ebbs and flows of record label courtships have perfected the poet\u2019s prowess, are culminated in\u00a0<em>Dawn of a New Error\u00a0<\/em>(MPress Records). Mastro\u2019s entree as a solo artist explores bookends of birth and death and events punctuating life\u2019s odyssey\u2014an unofficial compendium to Health &amp; Happiness Show\u2019s\u00a0<em>Instant Living.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em>Humanity meets divinity with a much-needed universal message of acceptance in the face of faith-based friction around the globe\u2014a weaving, lucid dream.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>\u201cGangster Baby\u201d First Generation Exposed to Rock \u2018N\u2019 Roll<br \/>\n<\/strong>An older brother who started buying albums and bringing them home opened up a whole new world to James Mastro during his childhood. Both of Mastro\u2019s parents were of Greek ancestry, actually being born in Greece. Mastro was the first generation to be exposed to rock music as a little kid after being inundated with Greek music. Every Sunday after church, Mastro and his family would make their way to the local department store\u2014he and his brother escaped the vigilant eyes of their parents long enough to procure albums. Making their bolt for freedom, the brothers furtively placed their treasures in the hooptie so their begetters didn\u2019t catch them in the act of contributing to rock \u2019n\u2019 roll\u2019s bulging coffers. Those albums liberated Mastro, implanting a desire to wend his way to a career as a professional musician.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cSpace Jungle\u201d Grit &amp; Grime Is What Starving Artists Can Afford<br \/>\n<\/strong>At 16 years of age, Mastro played at CBGB and Max\u2019s Kansas City during the 1970s with the likes of Blondie, Ramones and Talking Heads before punk became commercially mainstreamed and rebranded as new wave. Present-day New York is a facsimile of intrigue, power and allure\u2014once served unapologetically by \u201cThe City That Never Sleeps.\u201d Sanitized and gentrified decades ago by Mayor Giuliani to attract tourists, \u201cThe Big Apple\u2019s\u201d maggots have been removed along with its savored burst of piquancy. The glorious grit and grime that defined CBGB now only exists in a vacuum of video clips from that era.<\/p>\n<p>Mastro explores the erratic heartbeat pulsating behind 1970s Gotham and the altruism it offers to undiscovered talented artists, \u201cThe grit and grime is what starving artists can afford\u2014so New York at that time was very exciting and yeah it was kind of dangerous, and there were junkies all over the East Side, mixed in with winos, mixed in with great artists and musicians, but that just can be inspiring. When you\u2019re surrounded by grime, you want to make it more beautiful. That\u2019s kind of what I think everyone was just trying to do then\u2014make their little world a little better and a little more exciting. Also, it was lawless\u2014you were able to do some pretty wild things and kind of be under the radar. Commercialization is bound to happen to anything sooner or later, but back then\u2014pre-internet, pre-anything, it was all word of mouth or print. So it was like a secret little club that you\u2019d get let into and you tell your friend to go see the Ramones. Yeah, if it\u2019s cheap rent\u2014then that\u2019s where it\u2019s always going to start.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_21155\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-02-Berlin-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21155\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-21155\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-02-Berlin-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-02-Berlin-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-02-Berlin-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-21155\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Berlin &#8211; Photo Credit Dennis DiBrizzi<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong><br \/>\n\u201cMy God\u201d If God Did Not Exist, It Would Be Necessary to Invent Him<br \/>\n<\/strong>Often the God that people worship or create most closely resembles themselves, evoking Peter Fonda\u2019s Captain America quote in<em>\u00a0Easy Rider<\/em>,<em>\u00a0<\/em>\u201cIf God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.\u201d \u201cMy God,\u201d a track from the new anthology dives into doctrines of divinity\u2014Mastro ruminates about God and what motivated him to write the song, \u201cYou want a God that you want to aspire to, and I would hope that\u2019s the case. If this is a good and benevolent God, then yes, you want to aspire to that. But then what\u2019s the opposite? I don\u2019t want to get political at all, but you could say I\u2019m creating a God that\u2019s like me; but if that\u2019s the case, there are some awful Gods then out there. I would like to be a little more hopeful and optimistic that we\u2019re creating a God that is above us in every sense, and that you can reach to and hopefully attain, as opposed to someone who is walking right next to you and is just like you\u2014then we\u2019re all Gods.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lamenting the need to address faith-based friction, Mastro wishes there never was a reason to write \u201cMy God,\u201d \u201cTo me, it\u2019s such a childlike sentiment. The fact that you would have to explain if your God is good and my God is good, then what\u2019s the difference? There shouldn\u2019t be. So what inspired it\u2014it\u2019s been kicked around for a while, and I\u2019m sure there was some kind of war somewhere\u2014a religious war that made me finish it off. You can pick any three or six-month period and find one to mark the start of that, but it\u2019s basically good or bad, smart or stupid. It\u2019s about tolerance. I accept your God, you accept mine\u2014we won\u2019t have any problems. I think sometimes religion is used as a smokescreen for some people to get ulterior motives, but if it\u2019s based on religion\u2014it might be easier to get people more riled up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy God\u201d has a powerful music video. The concept came to Mastro after he completed the first version of an accompanying pictorial which featured faces that cut across all demographics, representing different places and different ethnic backgrounds. The addition of subtitles to the telegenic aquarelle conveys with sparkling clarity\u2014this is a universal thing.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The Health &amp; Happiness Show<\/em><\/strong><strong>\u2014For the Love of Arthur<br \/>\n<\/strong>Mastro served as musical director for Robert Plant\u2019s set which closed For the Love of Arthur, a 2006 benefit concert for Arthur Lee, leader of the rock band Love, held at the historic Beacon Theatre. Lee had been diagnosed with leukemia and the Beacon show took place to defray his medical expenses. Other luminaries on the bill included: Ian Hunter, Nils Lofgren and Johnny Echols, co-founder of Love. Lee succumbed to the disease approximately a month after the event.<\/p>\n<p>Being in the right place at the right time, and knowing promoter Steve Weitzman, who was putting on that show was instrumental in Mastro landing the sweet spot. Weitzman called Mastro and asked if Ian Hunter would be interested in doing the show. Mastro took Weitzman\u2019s request to Ian, who agreed to participate. Then Weitzman called Mastro a couple days later sharing the news that Led Zeppelin\u2019s golden-throated troubadour Robert Plant is a huge Love fan and would be part of the philanthropic entertainment endeavor. Weitzman inquired about the possibility of Mastro putting a band together for Plant. Mastro eloquently and succinctly expresses his reaction at the time, \u201cAnything like that you just take with a grain of salt\u2014yeah, whatever\u2014that\u2019ll never happen.\u201d He continues, \u201cA couple days later my phone rang \u2018Is this James? Yeah, this is Robert, Robert Plant\u2019 I\u2019m like (<em>expletive F-word<\/em>).\u201d Right away Mastro and Plant started putting together a setlist. Plant\u2019s query was surrealistic, asking Mastro if he knew \u201cImmigrant Song\u201d before naming several other Led Zeppelin song titles. Mastro paints his impression of Robert Plant, \u201cHe was so great, so lovely and funny, and just a part of the band\u2014really liked hanging out with the guys. It was incredibly special and I\u2019d never been on stage with someone who was that powerful enough that if he had told everyone right then to rip every seat out of that place, they would\u2019ve done it. There was such a guttural response from people when he walked on stage\u2014it was incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cBrave New World\u201d From Hoboken to MTV<br \/>\n<\/strong>Purveyors of power-pop the Bongos share their birthplace of Hoboken, New Jersey with blue-eyed crooner Frank Sinatra. They received a proclamation from Hoboken Mayor David Roberts in 2007 and were also nominated at the first MTV Video Music Awards for \u2018Best Direction.\u2019 Cogitating on his tenure with the troupe and the Bongos\u2019 contribution to alternative rock Mastro postulates, \u201cWell I\u2019d say we were a part of it sure, after punk after any musical movement there\u2019s always going to be something that\u2019s going to follow it or take some of that and grow with it. Bongos were huge fans of Ramones and Talking Heads and so we tried to take it to the next level, whatever that was. Our friends at the time were bands like R.E.M, the dB\u2019s, and the Feelies\u2014these were our peers and it was a great time to come up.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>Mastro comes out of his corner swinging with scathing lyrics that symbolically indict the media and political leaders. A blistering guitar solo and primal howls percolating through the bridge accurately portray human frustration with the current state of the world. Backing vocals by Ian Hunter provide another layer of credibility\u2014driving the point home with the finality of a nail in a coffin.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>\u201cNumbers With Wings\u201d If I Didn\u2019t Play Guitar, I Wouldn\u2019t Be Alive Now<br \/>\n<\/strong>In 2009, the Bongos performed a full concert set at the City Winery in NYC following a tribute to their friends R.E.M. at Carnegie Hall\u2014a fundraiser for music education programs. Discerning his thoughts on the value of music education in public schools, he articulates, \u201cIt is one of the most valuable things, and anytime I hear that a school doesn\u2019t have a music program I am so upset. I\u2019ll pick up guitars and donate them to schools. It\u2019s a proven fact that students do better in school if they\u2019re musicians\u2014their brains work better, their math skills are better. For me, I can speak personally as a kid, as a teenager, if I didn\u2019t play guitar I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d be alive now. Seriously, it was my escape, my release, and it has made me a better person. Yes, music education\u2014all for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_21156\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-03-Wales-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21156\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-21156\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-03-Wales-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-03-Wales-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-03-Wales-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-03-Wales-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-21156\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wales &#8211; Photo Credit Dennis DiBrizzi<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>\u201cPortrait of Disaster\u201d Two Terrible Words to Put Together\u2014Music &amp; Business<br \/>\n<\/strong>Less than enthusiastic best describes Mastro\u2019s panorama of the music business. He expatriates on the reasons why, and renders advice for someone who has talent and wants to pursue music as a career, \u201cTwo terrible words I think to put together are music and business. Music is all about joy in life and creating, and business is the opposite. Prior to Health &amp; Happiness Show and after leaving the Bongos, I had a band that was popular in New York, and we had every record company come to see us saying \u2018we love you, we\u2019re going to do a record blah, blah, blah\u2019 and I had so many meetings, and nothing ever came of it. I realized I started playing music for businesspeople that I didn\u2019t know, trying to think what they would like, what should I do now and that\u2019s the wrong reason. If you\u2019re not pleasing yourself, you\u2019re not going to please anyone else, so I was kind of done and just playing with a lot of friends more as a side guy, which was great. I still got to play guitar and be with friends and travel, but the business side of it I didn\u2019t have to deal with. The Health &amp; Happiness Show started with me and a couple friends just sitting around playing songs we liked, cover songs\u2014Hank Williams songs, Dylan songs\u2014for the sheer fun of it, and it just kind of brought it all back to me why I did it. We started playing out with no intention of ever getting a record deal or making anything of it, but it was one of the more successful things I\u2019ve done spiritually and creatively. If you don\u2019t try too hard, sometimes things come to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Drawing a parallel between material of Health &amp; Happiness Show\u2019s\u00a0<em>Instant Living\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>Dawn of a New Error<\/em>\u00a0Mastro<em>\u00a0<\/em>reveals<em>,<\/em>\u00a0\u201cThe title for<em>\u00a0Instant Living\u00a0<\/em>came off a billboard\u2014our van rolled over twice and amazingly no one got seriously hurt so we had to rent cars to get back home. We canceled our tour. On the way home, Vinny the drummer noticed a billboard for mobile parks \u2018instant living\u2019 and we all just started laughing because we somehow survived this, and it just stuck with us. We\u2019re happy to be alive and every second is an instant part of living, so that is why that title came to that record.\u00a0<em>Dawn of a New Error\u00a0<\/em>is about learning from your mistakes, not that mistakes are a bad thing, I think they\u2019re there to make you better. If you learn from them, then it\u2019s a very good mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cVideo Eyes\u201d Walter Cronkite, Ed Morrow &amp; KAOS Action News<br \/>\n<\/strong>News used to be losers for network television, both financially and ratings-wise. They didn\u2019t make their bread and butter by selling news as entertainment, but the addition of cable channels in the 80s and 90s changed the business model. Now news sometimes resembles elements of entertainment more than journalism, and there is a temptation to focus on ratings and making money. Some of these thematic elements appear in the music video for \u201cRight Words, Wrong Song\u201d\u2014KAOS Action News is the fictitious network\u2019s moniker. Making observations about the news currently being more entertainment-oriented than journalistic in its approach, \u201cAbsolutely, it\u2019s sadly all about ratings. Go look at an old Walter Cronkite newscast, Ed Morrow\u2014there\u2019s always going to be a slant on the news. These days, you can find just about any newscast that\u2019ll cover your political religious beliefs, so the impartialness or the honesty of it seems to not matter as much. There are wars going on that affect thousands of people, but then when you hear about one particular person over and over again, something\u2019s not right.\u201d Mastro<em>\u00a0<\/em>was thinking about the 1976 motion picture\u00a0<em>Network<\/em>, written by Paddy Chayefsky, while making the music video for \u201cRight Words, Wrong Song.\u201d When the film was released, it was satire, but it eerily foreshadowed reality in the 21st century.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cPaths That Cross\u201d Utility Player for Patti Smith<br \/>\n<\/strong>Collaborator, sideman and utility player are some of Mastro\u2019s<em>\u00a0<\/em>other identities. He has been a utility player for Patti Smith and defines the role, \u201cIt\u2019s going to vary a little bit with everybody but someone like Patti, her voice is the lead guitar. You got to ride her wave\u2014it\u2019s exciting and it\u2019s great. Like a lead guitar player, she can start off slow with her singing, but if she feels it she starts vamping and ramping up. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve ever seen her live, but all of a sudden her lyrics will just start building intensity, so you\u2019ve got to be there to support it. It\u2019s not about being the best guitar player or doing the best solo, it\u2019s about being part of a band to make her comfortable or whoever you\u2019re working with comfortable. It\u2019s just staying tuned in and reacting to what is going on around you.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_21157\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-04-with-Ian-Hunter.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21157\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-21157\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-04-with-Ian-Hunter.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"603\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-04-with-Ian-Hunter.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-04-with-Ian-Hunter-300x274.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-21157\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ian Hunter and James Mastro<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>\u201cOne Of The Boys\u201d Working Relationship with Ian Hunter<br \/>\n<\/strong>\u201cRight Words, Wrong Song,\u201d \u201cThe Face of the Sun,\u201d and \u201cThree Words,\u201d all feature the guest vocals of Ian Hunter, who also appears in the music video for \u201cRight Words.\u201d Mastro sketches his working relationship with Hunter and how Mott the Hoople\u2019s lead singer became involved with this project, \u201cI\u2019ve been playing with Ian since the year 2000, so I\u2019ve been on these past 6 or 8 records or however many there are, and he\u2019s just become one of my best friends. Ian Hunter and his band Mott the Hoople are the sole reason why I started playing guitar as a kid\u2014I just loved that band. Years later, to end up playing with him was a dream come true, and to have him return the favor and end up on my record is pretty great. He\u2019s just an exceptional guy in every way, as a human, as an artist\u2014I\u2019ve never seen someone who works harder at making sure a song is perfect in every way lyrically, musically. I learned a lot from him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cRamble On\u201d Famous Single Words<br \/>\n<\/strong>Elucidating his take on the following artists in only a single word: Patti Smith, Ian Hunter, John Cale and Robert Plant\u2014Mastro commits without a pause, \u201cPatti Smith I\u2019ll say \u2018goddess.\u2019 For John Cale \u2018combustible.\u2019 For Robert I\u2019ll say the god \u2018Thor.\u2019 Then for Ian, I\u2019ve got to be good on this one because if he reads it and he disagrees then I\u2019m in trouble, I\u2019ll say \u2018genuine.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cNo Regrets\u201d I Couldn\u2019t Think of a Better Place to Be<br \/>\n<\/strong>Speaking about president of MPress Records, Rachael Sage, and her contributions to bring\u00a0<em>Dawn of a New Error<\/em> to fruition, Mastro enumerates Sage\u2019s largesse, \u201cShe brings so much\u2014we talked earlier about combining the word music and business and just how awful it is or can be. As an artist herself, she and her staff are just so sympathetic and intuitive about what I would like or what would make me cringe, because she goes through it too. So yes, she brings a lot to the table, and a woman\u2019s intuition I think is always much more spot-on than a man\u2019s. That may get me in trouble with some people, I don\u2019t know, but I just think she gets it, she gets artists. For me, I couldn\u2019t think of a better place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_21158\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-05-Norway-train-tracks-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21158\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-21158\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-05-Norway-train-tracks-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"892\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-05-Norway-train-tracks-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-05-Norway-train-tracks-photo-Dennis-DiBrizzi-222x300.jpg 222w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-21158\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Norway Train Tracks &#8211; Photo Credit Dennis DiBrizzi<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong><em><br \/>\nDAWN OF A NEW ERROR<\/em><\/strong><strong>\u00a0Album Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u201cRight Words, Wrong Song\u201d<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>Mastro comes out of his corner swinging with scathing lyrics that symbolically indict the media and political leaders. A blistering guitar solo and primal howls percolating through the bridge accurately portray human frustration with the current state of the world. Backing vocals by Ian Hunter provide another layer of credibility\u2014driving the point home with the finality of a nail in a coffin.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u201cThree Words\u201d<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>Possesses all the panache of indie-power pop. Delicious, inverted wordplay paints a self-assured protagonist who can offer only one thing\u2014Ian Hunter and New York-based singer-songwriter Megan Reilly\u2019s voices inject color into the black-and-white subject matter.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u201cThe Face of the Sun\u201d<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>Ian Hunter as the voice of God, lays the celestial foundation for this infectious pop song. The word \u201cbaby\u201d is not used gratuitously but rather uniquely\u2014lending weight, legitimacy and emotion to the song.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u201cTrouble\u201d<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>1970s shades of country-tinged crossover and Americana. It\u2019s on par with the Rolling Stones\u2019 \u201cWild Horses\u201d with existential content. Chantress Megan Reilly\u2019s vocals proffer salvation for any vexation. \u201cTrouble\u201d was inspired after Mastro shared the stage with Levon Helm.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u201cMy God\u201d<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>Humanity meets divinity with a much-needed universal message of acceptance in the face of faith-based friction around the globe\u2014a weaving, lucid dream.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u201cEverywhere\u201d<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>Skillful mandolin playing sets the mood\u2014delicate, fragile, but deliberate. Production on this track is interesting, as it utilizes the less is more philosophy to create a larger-than-life space\u2014in turn, the song breathes and almost exceeds the album\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u201cNever Die\u201d<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>This composition could be a more optimistic companion piece to Talking Heads\u2019 \u201cRoad to Nowhere.\u201d Everyone is on that road, standing in a line, where one day mortality can no longer be ignored\u2014the number in hand is unknown. Mastro takes on the end of physical existence with unflinching audacity, inviting a meeting on the other side.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u201cHere Beside Me\u201d<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>Mellotron musings create a soporific landscape\u2014this song could fit almost any of the Coen Brothers\u2019 films. Ambiguity reigns supreme here, and is open to interpretation\u2014it might be celebratory or mourning.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u201cGangster Baby\u201d<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>Fitting of a love letter penned by Clyde Barrow to Bonnie Parker\u2014folk heroes and partners in crime who are consumed by the flames of passion blinding them to the laws of gravity, reality and the pursuits of J. Edgar Hoover\u2019s FBI to bring them to justice.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u201cSomeday Someone Will Turn Your Head Around\u201d<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>The Jersey City New Heights Gospel Group and the Radio Free Song Club Singers render roller coaster-like redemption\u2014all who worship good music are welcome here.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u201cRiver Runs Forever\u201d<br \/>\n<\/u><\/strong>This track closes out the album and captures the moodiness of an Old West gunslinger\u2019s soliloquy before a duel. Brian Griffin, touring and session drummer (The Black Crowes, Richard Marx, Lana Del Rey) provides percussion resembling the sound of boots and spurs reluctantly marching through a dust bowl, while a fate not yet determined slowly materializes.<\/p>\n<p>Tony Shanahan (best known as Patti Smith&#8217;s bassist, co-producer and musical collaborator) is Mastro&#8217;s\u00a0bandmate from his days in Health &amp; Happiness Show, and produced this album and plays bass on all tracks.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_21159\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-06-photo-Ray-Ketchum.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21159\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-21159\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-06-photo-Ray-Ketchum.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"880\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-06-photo-Ray-Ketchum.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/James-Mastro-06-photo-Ray-Ketchum-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-21159\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">James Mastro &#8211; Studio &#8211; Photo Credit Ray Ketchum<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Fans and new fans can get more info and stay updated at:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jamesmastro.net\/\">https:\/\/www.jamesmastro.net\/<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jamesmastro007\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jamesmastro007<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/james_mastro1\/\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/james_mastro1\/<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jimmastro\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/jimmastro<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mpressrecords.com\/\">https:\/\/www.mpressrecords.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JAMES MASTRO \u201cMY GOD\u201d Video Premiere \u2013 with Web-Exclusive Interview Musician:\u00a0 JAMES MASTRO Video Feature:\u00a0 \u201cMY GOD\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 JAMES MASTRO ENTERS &#8220;BRAVE NEW WORLD&#8221; WITH DEBUT SOLO ALBUM DAWN OF A NEW ERROR &nbsp; by Rodeo Marie Hanson Gripping the wheel at 2 and 4, a young musician\u2019s knuckles drained white from desire as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":21164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7725],"tags":[14618,14617,14619,12160,14620,14621,14622,11113,5654,3592,14623,14624,14625,14626,14627,3879,6942,14628,14629,5688,14630,14631,14632,180,14633,14634,14635,14636,14637,3886,14638,14639,4338,14640,14641,10187,14642,14643,14644,14645,10188,14646,14647,5648,14648,14649,4440,4315,12394,14650,7566,14651,14652,14653,14654,8013,7978,8985,9127,14655,14656,14657,14658,789,14659,14660,14661,4460,14662,14663,2120,483,14664,14665,817,964,7606,14668,14666,14667,14669,2313,13243,14670,14671,14672,14673,14674,2295,14675,3273,14676,14677,14678,5085,14679,2278,14680,14681,14682,6541,14683,14684,14685,14686],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21150"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21150"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21167,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21150\/revisions\/21167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}