JARED MASON ROCKS L.A. MUSIC AWARDS
Music News
Friday November 19, 2004
Hollywood --- Launched with glitzy floodlights, cozy red carpet, a long line of raucous fans, and an elegant tribe of well-coifed luminaries emanating from a string of Hummer limousines, the 14 th Annual Los Angeles Music Awards honored the area’s most talented local musicians Thursday night at The Henry Fonda Music Box Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. Amidst the variegated throng of enthusiastic punk rockers, bibulous executives, and gospelish church ladies staring at sequined miniskirts, the featured live performances included hard rock from Glitter Rose, bluegrass banjo pickin’ from The Michael Smith Band, electronic orchestration from Bodhisattva 13:20, and exhilarating polygeneric tunes from Bridge of Sighs, Perk!, Faceles, Red Delicious, Michael Tiernan, Deborah Bishop, and Peach. Yet, it was the lyrical ballad and title cut from Pasadena artist Jared Mason’s Independent Album of the Year “She Believes In Me” that brought the background decibels of the boisterous standing-room-only crowd to a reverent hush, followed by a screaming ovation of ear-splitting whistles from the affably diverse surge of tattooed gunmetal grunge, ebony-magenta tresses, business suits, and one turquoise-lime cowgirl hat.
From an eclectic musical background, revealed in biographical notes on his JaredMason.com website, Mason has crafted a remarkably expansive vocal range and confident keyboard spontaneity. Energized by the thunderous approval and modestly flashing a radiant smile, he calmly picked up a guitar and laid down some serious inspirational strumming for his bluesy uptempo “Givin’ It Up For Jesus” with solid backing from his band and superb vocal harmony from his wife Noni. Reflecting distinctive showmanship as a pianist, former drummer for several rock bands, and seasoned percussionist for international performances with STOMP, Mason reacted to more frenzied applause by high-kicking his theatrical neon-orange footwear in rhythmical swirligigs with the joyful exuberance of an electrified entertainer. Donning an authentic black cowboy hat, he closed the brief set and brought down the house with a spectacular excerpt from his trademark “She Taught Me How To Yodel” by wrenching and ratcheting his athletically inhuman vocal cords to their highest contrapuntal registers.
From classic rock and hip hop to Latin Jazz and country yodeling, the Los Angeles Music Awards featured a savory palette of aesthetic pleasures to satiate the musical tastes of almost every postmodern palate.
