Why He Loves Minnesota

By Jeannette Madden
Contributing Writer

Mason Jennings has a big laugh and a big talent.  When I told a friend I had spoken with Jennings he responded that he’d heard Jennings has something going on in the “old cranium” and he was right.  Jennings’ new album is called “Minnesota” and it’s classic Jennings with a fresh twist, just he and a roomful of instruments, creating whatever struck him.  One of my favorites off of the album, “Wake Up”, is a simple, almost spoken word song about Jennings’ own personal recovery and as he put it, “pretty much all of it is in there.”

Explore Minnesota is doing a sweepstakes for 4 tickets to the 12/30 show and a Deluxe signed LP of Minnesota http://www.exploreminnesota.com/sweep-stakes/index.aspx

Jennings grew up in Pittsburgh and fell in love with songwriting when he was fourteen.  He originally started on drums and then learned many different instruments from there.  Jennings said it was something he did “more and more” and eventually decided it was what he wanted to do with his life.  He moved to Minneapolis to try being a professional musician and in his words, it “worked well” so that’s where we find him today. 

Jennings said he chose Minneapolis because his dad was living here and a friend had sent some recordings of Minneapolis bands like The Replacements, the Jawhawks, and Prince.  “I just felt like there was a nice cross section of music being made up here,” Jennings said, “and I thought hey, you know, maybe there would be a way for me to fit into that tapestry of art and creativity.” I knew that Jennings’ new album being named “Minnesota” was a metaphor for the ever changing landscapes we experience and I assumed he meant more than just the weather.  “The obvious part of it is the weather, just that it’s such a cyclical place and there’s such extreme season,” he explained, ”but for me it also means that inside this state there are so many things colliding like a great art scene, great theatre scene, great radio.  Combined with the outdoors and all that farmland and nature, it’s just a real nice blend of different things and I haven’t found a place like it in all my travels.  It’s a pretty neat spot.”

I told Jennings that I think his fans have to accept that they never quite know what they’re going to get when he puts out a new album.  I believe this fit with his statement to the City Pages that he’s uncomfortable when music is predictable.  He agreed, saying “I think it just has to be interesting for me, you know, like as it goes.  For me it’s more a process of discovery rather than worrying about what people are going to think.  I like to find something new every time I’m creating.  I think with the kind of music I make my voice is probably a recognizable thing right away and in the middle of all of this I feel like it doesn’t really matter what kind of production it is as much.  Sometimes for me, I feel like it’s kind of interesting to hear my voice in different contexts and that part probably goes through all the records, that you can tell it’s me singing.”

I asked Jennings about the places he plays and what he likes about them.  “Depending on where I play I like to think about it differently,”  he said.  “I can sort of compare it to the idea of I like having a dinner with just a couple friends or I like throwing a party. They’re just different kinds of things.  You just have to know what you’re going for when you get out there and address every show appropriately; then you can have a lot of fun.  But if you try to go into a place like First Avenue where it’s packed and there are lots of people and it’s late at night to do a lot of talking or a lot of quiet stuff is going to be really uncomfortable.  You have to know okay, this is a bar and it’s late at night and you just have to aim towards that.  Part of the fun of it is finding the right show for the right venue.”

See Jennings at First Avenue December 30 with opening act The Pines and again for a two night run at the Paramount Theatre in St. Cloud Saturday, February 11 and February 12, 2012.  See below for information and how to purchase tickets.
You can hear more about Jennings’ admiration for his opening act The Pines if you check out the podcast of our interview!

Listen to “Raindrops on the Kitchen Floor” from Jennings’ new album Minnesota here: http://tiny.cc/JenningsSong
As always, you can reach me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with comments or questions about this story!

IF YOU GO:
WHAT: Mason Jennings with opening act The Pines
WHEN: December 30, 2011 Doors 8:00 p.m.
WHERE:  Historic First Avenue, downtown Minneapolis
INFO:  18+ $22 in advance $25.00 at the door Click here to purchase: http://bit.ly/nAUsIf
AND
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. on February 11 and 4:00 p.m. on February 12, 2012
WHERE: Paramount Theatre, St. Cloud, Minnesota
INFO: Tickets $19.00 Click here to purchase: http://bit.ly/sqhuVY
MORE INFO: First Avenue/7th Street Entry, 701 First Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55403 612-332-1775 and The Paramount Theater 913 West St. Germain Street, St. Cloud, MN 56301
(320) 259-5463