Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Mason.
Cody, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I picked up a guitar for the first time when I was in 3rd grade, and never really looked back. I studied the instrument for a few years until I discovered the cello, and then I fell in love. Through grade school, I studied strenuously and learned music theory and performance technique under the instruction of two very wonderful and influential individuals, Mr. and Mrs. Catoe. They led one of the best orchestras I’d ever have the pleasure of playing in and pushed me to pursue regional and statewide competitions. Throughout this period, I had fallen in love with electronic music. Starting in 7th grade, I was listening to the discographies of Daft Punk, Justice, Deadmau5 and many other electronic acts that were popular at the time. This led me to develop a keen interest in the art of DJ’ing. I got my first simple controller when I was a freshman in high school, and used the hell out of that thing, playing huge sets to my family on the living room computer. Fast forward, and I’ve discovered Ableton and realized I could make music on my own and on my own time. I translated the music theory I had learned from the cello into beats and simple loops I would bang out in a few hours. When I graduated high school, I moved back to my birthplace, Austin, TX and enrolled in St. Edwards University. I had upgraded to some more high-end equipment and began to lug around a speaker and my laptop to every party that needed music. Some of my first big shows took place with a random person’s kitchen counter as my DJ booth. My friends and I would scour the group texts for addresses, show up ten deep, rock the party for 30-45 mins (typically the amount of time it took for us to get shut down) and move on to the next one. It was fun, but I wanted more. I practiced more and ended up playing my first venue show at the Parish on 6th street here in Austin. It was invigorating, playing music on those huge speakers with a full light rig behind me. From then on I was hooked. I picked up residencies, applied to open for bigger headliners, all the while taking every gig in sight. Within the last two years, I had the opportunity to open for some of my favorite artists, play to crowds of more than a thousand people, and even had the honor of playing Float Fest with some of my closest friends. In the year 2018 alone, I played over 150 shows. From art raves at the infamous Cherry Cola Dog to playing Kingdom, Vulcan, Empire Garage and just about every other electronic venue in town. I’ve loved every minute of it. 2019 see’s me finishing my degree in Sound Recording Technology, and remaining present in the Austin scene but looking to broaden my horizons. As much as I love DJ’ing, I have a lot of other passions that I’m really excited to watch come to fruition. And to hear about those, you’ll just have to stay tuned.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do, why, and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
When I walk into a room I’m about to play a set in; I immediately take a read of the scene. What are these people here for? What are they in the mood for? When I play a set, I want to take someone out of their element even if only for a moment. I don’t want to play the music they’ve heard, I want to play music they like but have never heard before. But they like it because it’s just familiar enough. I want people to stop for a second and not think about whatever problems they left at the door, or outside of the venue. As someone who’s DJ’ed for going on nine years now, I have a respect for a DJ that can take control of a room and draw everyone in without trying too hard. A good DJ can mix music well; a great DJ can select and mix music well. There is a stark difference. So I’m always striving to strike that magic balance between selector and DJ. My favorite DJ metaphor is that our songs are the palette, the dance floor is our canvas, and our decks are our paintbrushes. We are totally in control of what the night looks like when we are finished with the painting.
How can artists connect with other artists?
One of the hardest things when I first started trying to get gigs was learning who to speak to. It can be overwhelming, but my best advice is to set a small definitive goal and take small steps to get to that goal. Patience is absolutely key here. I went to the venues I wanted to play, and after a handful of times I would introduce myself to staff, and nudge them to put me on opening spots until they finally budged. All it took was establishing a solid relationship, and that wouldn’t have been possible without just showing up. In this day and age, it’s easy to resort to the internet and your phone to try and accomplish things. But nothing will ever replace a face to face meeting. It goes a long way. So go out, be present in your local scene and offer to help out in any way you can. Then when that promoter wants to put a local on a dope show, your face will be the first thing that pops into their head.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
Although I played an average of 2 to 3 gigs a week last year, I’ve been taking it rather easy this year. You’ll be able to see me spin occasionally for my residency at the Line Hotel in Downtown Austin on the lake. I’ll also pick up gigs here and there downtown, and I host a monthly showcase of UK Garage and Deep Techno at Cheer Up Charlies. The best place to keep up with my shows is via my Instagram, @cozymason all one word all lowercase.
Contact Info:
- Email: cozymason@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cozymason/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cozymasonmusic/
Image Credit:
Matt Robertson, Tiffany Hunter, Alex Parker, Jared from jviewsphotography.com
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