Mason Proper
is an American rock band formed in Alpena, Michigan in 2004. After moving south to Ypsilanti, Michigan, the band continued to record in advance of their debut album, There Is A Moth In Your Chest. The band consists of singer Jonathan Visger, keyboardist Matt Thompson, bassist Zac Fineberg, guitarist Brian Konicek and drummer Garrett Jones.
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MASON PROPER TICKETS
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History
The Early Years and Moth
Some of the earliest Mason Proper songs can be traced back to the 2003 release of the split Sunday Sampler EP, a collaboration between independent
hip hop artist
Jawnrah and singer/songwriter Jonathan Visger's solo Mason Proper predecessor, Jonathan Apples. Shortly after the release of The Sunday Sampler, Jonathan joined up with Matt Thompson and Brian Konicek to form Mason Proper, with fellow Alpena natives Pat Stafford and Victor Kahn, founding member of the local act Honesty In The Auto Industry. They performed erratically in the
Great Lakes area, while working to record their full length debut album.
The band continued to record over 2004. During this period the band went through a series of personnel changes in the process of finishing their debut album, recording with Alpena drummer Matt Davis. It was around this time when they met Zac Fineberg, who joined the band. Finally, on
17 January 2006, the band released
There Is A Moth In Your Chest
on their own Mang Chung label. Cover art was provided by
Grandaddy drummer Aaron Burtch, while the inside of the package was designed by Rick Boven, who later went on to direct several music videos for the band as part of the production duo Hott Garbage.
Dovecote and Moth
Re-Release
2006 saw the group focus on promoting the debut album, touring across the country and recording sessions such as their
WOXY.com Lounge Acts in May. The band made the decision in the autumn to sign with
New York-based
Dovecote Records, and the self-released version of their debut immediately went out of print. A showcase at the
CMJ Music Marathon followed, as the band announced that they would be releasing a re-mixed, re-mastered, and in parts re-recorded version of
There Is A Moth In Your Chest
in 2007 for Dovecote.
[1]
The Shorthand EP
While touring through most of 2007 in support of
Moth,
the band had introduced several new songs into the set. Among these were "Rest Up," "The Bonemen," and "Friendship." The band decided to record these songs and release them as an EP. The fourth song, "Traveling Men (The Pond)" was the b-side off the vinyl single release of "My My (Bad Fruit)." Jonathan once again recorded the band in their home. To promote the EP, they worked with production company Hott Garbage to create a music video for each song. They toured through January and February to support the release of the EP; however, the Shorthand EP was not actually available until after the tour was over.
Olly Oxen Free
Once home from the winter tour, Jonathan wrote as many songs as possible to be considered for the second Mason Proper LP. During this time, he created the website "Secret Tunnel Group" to serve as a home for the various projects of members of the band, and through it released his first solo EP,
North South Part I,
which he had started over a year before. The band arranged to meet with producer/engineer Chris Coady (TV on the Radio, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead) for a preproduction session in April. At this session, the band listened through approximately 30 songs Jonathan had brought, and several from Zac, and together with Chris selected 11 songs to be refined.
Chris's schedule became tight due to concurrently working with TV on the Radio, so they rented an empty wooden house and with the rest of the band Jonathan recorded and produced what would become
Olly Oxen Free.
Immediately after, Jonathan flew to Carriage House Studios in Connecticut to meet up with Chris and mix the album in an 11-day marathon session. Due to mixing time constraints, they made the decision to drop "The Cure (I Don't Want It)" from the album, which is slated to be released separately in the near future.
Olly Oxen Free
was released on September 23rd on Dovecote Records.
In Concert and the Media
Mason Proper has toured as far west as Los Angeles and as far east as New York. The band has performed live on MTV, and done recorded sessions for Fearless TV, KEXP, Daytrotter, and WOXY.com.
They've done several tours with Via Audio, Mobius Band, Ra Ra Riot, Birdmonster, Saturday Looks Good to Me and Cloud Cult.
Discography
- There Is A Moth In Your Chest
- January 17, 2006
- There Is A Moth In Your Chest
- March 13, 2007
- Short Hand EP
- March 25, 2008
- Olly Oxen Free
- September 23, 2008
Notes
- Dovecote Records. [1] The new version was mixed by John O'Mahoney (Metric, Matt Pond PA), and featured a much stronger, bolder mix than the more lo-fi direction the band had sought on their first attempt.