Mason Proper is an indie rock band which formed in 2004 in Ann Arbor, Michi… Read Full Bio ↴Mason Proper is an indie rock band which formed in 2004 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. They consist of Jonathan Visger (vocals), Brian Konicek (guitar), Zac Fineberg (bass), Matt Thompson (keyboards) and Garrett Jones (drums). Their most recent album, "Olly Oxen Free" was released on September 23, 2008.
Four vans destroyed and sold for scrap metal. Five guitar amps crackled, hissed, and went silent, exhaling a final puff of smoke. An irreplacable vintage keyboard face down at the bottom of a flight of stairs, 13 keys cracked and lifted, never to make a sound again.
A string of misfortune seemed to follow the five young men comprising Michigan's Mason Proper (named for an obscure phrase relating to Freemasonry) last year as they toured in support of their 2007 debut album, There is a Moth in Your Chest. Each time they packed up their belongings to head to another town, they would search their bags and equipment for arcane symbols, unexplained objects, anything that might prove to be evidence of the curse of unluckiness they seemed to be living under. "It was a ritual we took up half-jokingly," singer and primary songwriter Jonathan Visger said, "but the second part of the joke was always that if we ever found anything, it would certainly explain a lot."
The band powered on through the mishaps and continued to play as many of the shows as they could make it to, despite sending van after van to the junkyard. The early shows were energetic and bubbling with enthusiasm, but as the band encountered more and more trouble they became progressively wilder and more dangerously frenetic, coping by learning to take a sick delight in watching the chaos around them. They were in the grip of mental instability. During this time period, keyboardist Matt Thomson would often disappear for hours at a time without telling anyone where he was going. He even missed the beginning of several shows, including a well-documented incident at Denver, Colorado's Monolith Festival, where he disappeared into the mountains. Around this time a wild-eyed and bruised Jonathan was quoted as saying, "I'm disappointed if I don't shed a little blood by the end of a show," when asked about his wild and self-destructive performances.
The band's most fervent supporters are a group known as "The New Destroyers," named after an unreleased song the band retired from their live set after noticing that things would mysteriously break whenever they played it. Some of the New Destroyers cracked the coded messages woven into the artwork of Moth, and through it discovered the secret website the band had created, allowing anonymous communication with the band via the same code.
Shortly after they began using it, several unsettling coded messages came in threateningly alluding to private matters in the band's lives. Shaken by the amount of information the person seemed to have, Mason Proper temporarily shut down the site, but not before one last message came in; it decoded as: KEEP GOING CURSESTELLO.
Convinced that this was a reference to the Elvis Costello-like glasses Jonathan wore through this time period, bassist Zac Fineberg and guitarist Brian Konicek refused to do any further touring with what they now suspected was the cursed item. Jonathan refused to destroy them, saying they had sentimental value and that he would just lock them away instead, but drummer Garrett Jones, the most superstitious of them all, stole them in the night and burned them in Zac's fire pit.
After the allegedly cursed glasses were gone, the band decided to turn over a new leaf and look to the future, hopefully leaving their dark past behind them. They met with producer Chris Coady (TV on the Radio, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead), and with him selected 10 songs from a pool of 30 they had to choose from, aiming to make a very cohesive album, with a tone that reflected the band's collective state of mind as accurately as possible. They rented a small, empty house for a month and recorded the album, and Jonathan met up with Chris again at Carriage House Studios to mix what would become Olly Oxen Free (on the same console the Pixies' "Doolittle" was mixed on).
While some of the songs on Olly Oxen Free do update the dense, electronically-enhanced rock sound the band wielded recklessly on it's debut (which are sure to please longtime fans), it is the times when the band veers off into entirely new territory that are the most intriguing. On "Point A to Point B," nearly all the band's trademark noisiness is gone, while Jonathan sings "In past lives I was wealthy, so probably unhappy. Oh, I'm so glad I died," over a bouncy beat, and a sparse bed of bass and guitar ambience, before opening up to a beautifully simple chorus of, "I swore to myself last time was the last time." The band chose to close the record with "Safe for the Time Being," a song that had surprised the band by becoming an instant live favorite in the months before. A post-apocalyptic slow burner that stays sparse with only a heartbeat kick drum, thin guitar, and the most dynamic vocal melody the band has ever penned, until it explodes at the end in a grand wall of fuzz.
Olly Oxen Free will be out September 23rd on New York's Dovecote Records.
written by Lewis Muzynski, band friend and historian.
Related links:
Mason Proper (official site)
Mason Proper on Myspace
Dovecote Records
Four vans destroyed and sold for scrap metal. Five guitar amps crackled, hissed, and went silent, exhaling a final puff of smoke. An irreplacable vintage keyboard face down at the bottom of a flight of stairs, 13 keys cracked and lifted, never to make a sound again.
A string of misfortune seemed to follow the five young men comprising Michigan's Mason Proper (named for an obscure phrase relating to Freemasonry) last year as they toured in support of their 2007 debut album, There is a Moth in Your Chest. Each time they packed up their belongings to head to another town, they would search their bags and equipment for arcane symbols, unexplained objects, anything that might prove to be evidence of the curse of unluckiness they seemed to be living under. "It was a ritual we took up half-jokingly," singer and primary songwriter Jonathan Visger said, "but the second part of the joke was always that if we ever found anything, it would certainly explain a lot."
The band powered on through the mishaps and continued to play as many of the shows as they could make it to, despite sending van after van to the junkyard. The early shows were energetic and bubbling with enthusiasm, but as the band encountered more and more trouble they became progressively wilder and more dangerously frenetic, coping by learning to take a sick delight in watching the chaos around them. They were in the grip of mental instability. During this time period, keyboardist Matt Thomson would often disappear for hours at a time without telling anyone where he was going. He even missed the beginning of several shows, including a well-documented incident at Denver, Colorado's Monolith Festival, where he disappeared into the mountains. Around this time a wild-eyed and bruised Jonathan was quoted as saying, "I'm disappointed if I don't shed a little blood by the end of a show," when asked about his wild and self-destructive performances.
The band's most fervent supporters are a group known as "The New Destroyers," named after an unreleased song the band retired from their live set after noticing that things would mysteriously break whenever they played it. Some of the New Destroyers cracked the coded messages woven into the artwork of Moth, and through it discovered the secret website the band had created, allowing anonymous communication with the band via the same code.
Shortly after they began using it, several unsettling coded messages came in threateningly alluding to private matters in the band's lives. Shaken by the amount of information the person seemed to have, Mason Proper temporarily shut down the site, but not before one last message came in; it decoded as: KEEP GOING CURSESTELLO.
Convinced that this was a reference to the Elvis Costello-like glasses Jonathan wore through this time period, bassist Zac Fineberg and guitarist Brian Konicek refused to do any further touring with what they now suspected was the cursed item. Jonathan refused to destroy them, saying they had sentimental value and that he would just lock them away instead, but drummer Garrett Jones, the most superstitious of them all, stole them in the night and burned them in Zac's fire pit.
After the allegedly cursed glasses were gone, the band decided to turn over a new leaf and look to the future, hopefully leaving their dark past behind them. They met with producer Chris Coady (TV on the Radio, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead), and with him selected 10 songs from a pool of 30 they had to choose from, aiming to make a very cohesive album, with a tone that reflected the band's collective state of mind as accurately as possible. They rented a small, empty house for a month and recorded the album, and Jonathan met up with Chris again at Carriage House Studios to mix what would become Olly Oxen Free (on the same console the Pixies' "Doolittle" was mixed on).
While some of the songs on Olly Oxen Free do update the dense, electronically-enhanced rock sound the band wielded recklessly on it's debut (which are sure to please longtime fans), it is the times when the band veers off into entirely new territory that are the most intriguing. On "Point A to Point B," nearly all the band's trademark noisiness is gone, while Jonathan sings "In past lives I was wealthy, so probably unhappy. Oh, I'm so glad I died," over a bouncy beat, and a sparse bed of bass and guitar ambience, before opening up to a beautifully simple chorus of, "I swore to myself last time was the last time." The band chose to close the record with "Safe for the Time Being," a song that had surprised the band by becoming an instant live favorite in the months before. A post-apocalyptic slow burner that stays sparse with only a heartbeat kick drum, thin guitar, and the most dynamic vocal melody the band has ever penned, until it explodes at the end in a grand wall of fuzz.
Olly Oxen Free will be out September 23rd on New York's Dovecote Records.
written by Lewis Muzynski, band friend and historian.
Related links:
Mason Proper (official site)
Mason Proper on Myspace
Dovecote Records
My My
Mason Proper Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'My My' by these artists:
A Pink Whenever I hear someone playing guitar I just can't help but…
Ali E Life is bigger It's bigger than you And you are not me Th…
Ani DiFranco Your body foreshortened below your shoulders Your face so cl…
Apink 'Cause you're my star 내 편이 돼줘 You're my star 내 곁에 있어줘 나의…
Apink (Eng. Apink) 뚜루루뚜뚜 뚜루루뚜뚜 뚜루루뚜뚜 My my my you're my 뚜루루뚜뚜 뚜루루뚜뚜 뚜루루뚜뚜 My m…
Charlie Feathers Well, I kiss my Baby and it don't seem right Too…
Chris Duarte My way down Ain't gonna be nice Long road down All covered w…
Conor & Jay 仍害怕吗 仍害怕吗 无论刮风 无论雨打 挽住我吧 全年陪伴你 逛天下 忘掉昨天 忘掉创疤 不要害怕 忘记他 来面对变幻 …
Dennis Brown Maybe I didn't love you Quite as often as I could…
DoubleCup Still acting brand new I'm glad that you notice Hold up don'…
Duarte Chris My way down Ain't gonna be nice Long road down All covere…
Evan Frankfort Take a good look at your dead-end life Tell me you…
Fears Confessed my faults, and seven sins Washed my soul for good…
Ferron I've got sunshine on a cloudy day When it's cold outside…
Finn Oh Yea You got my heart Ima give it to ya, just don't…
Gallipoli My, my My only lover You’ll have another boy To cheer you up…
Jo Stafford My romance Doesn't have to have a moon in the sky My…
K-Pop Nation My soul left my body The day you left me Oh tell…
K-Pop Super Stars This ain't a song for the broken-hearted No silent prayer fo…
Kanye West & Malik Yusef Yeah They say home is where the hate is, my dome…
Keller Williams I'm not in this town to stay Said a lady old…
Kwiet Storm [Verse 1:] I found sumthin special in this sexi little lady…
Les Sages I took one look at you That's all I meant to…
Liz Phair I love my bionic eyes I love my crystal vision If there's…
Luca Thomas In the 80s they gave me those quiet pills In the…
Mary 3 My my stomach hurts again tonight she says: And crashes on…
Menomena What if all my enemies were dead And I could forget…
Neil Young My my, hey hey Rock and roll is here to stay It's…
Paul Greene I always hide behind my guitar I always hide behind my…
Pied Pipers Dear, it seems years since we parted, Years full of tears…
Plumtree Tellin' you, baby No it ain't right My coming My m…
Purple Kiss 숨겨왔던 my, my wish list를 공개할래 놀라지 마 Christmas wish list는…
Raphaella I wanna love you till my lungs give up Love you…
Reigning Sound Don't you know I don't' claim to be lucky or…
Rêve Are we underwater? You got a way of slowin' time So…
Rhythm Power 다시 노래 불러줘 마이마이 내 시간을 돌려줘 마이마이 다시 노래 불러줘…
Seven Mary Three My my stomach hurts again tonight she says: And crashes on…
Seventeen Yeh 발맞춰 어디론가 run away Yeh 건조한 사막이라도 okay Yeh 구름은 햇빛의…
SEVENTEEN (세븐틴) 나의 밤은 deep deep 켜져 있는 TV 시끄럽지 내 맘처럼 너는 대체 어떠한…
Sweet G.A. Brown Every time I close my eyes I see you babe You're…
The Buckshots [harly hearts] My bitches rock wit me, potato in the sock…
The Heads Є на світі край багатий Щедрими ланами Чисті води, ліс і гор…
The Jadu Heartbreak and glued together words Echoes of things I never…
The Pied Pipers Dear, it seems years since we parted, Years full of tears…
The Reveals My boy's at her happiest When she gets to fuck me…
Tomas Pagan Motta Living a lie is something I've been getting good at I…
Tommy Dorsey MY OWN Tommy Dorsey My own let me call you my own Let…
Whigfield He.... Ah Ah There is a love, I found in you And it's above…
에이핑크 뚜루루뚜뚜 뚜루루뚜뚜 뚜루루뚜뚜 My my my you're my 뚜루루뚜뚜 뚜루루뚜뚜 뚜루루뚜뚜 My m…
에이핑크(A Pink) MY MY MY You're MY MY MY MY You're MY [Bomi] Naega…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Mason Proper:
100 Years Why do we all grow old? Why do we buy the…
A Chance Encounter Driving through my hometown all alone, I came across someon…
Alone four hundred people on this block shaking hands, yes they'r…
Carousel! Carousel! When I look at the sky and blue goes grey, well…
Chemical Dress Eliza "Cold" Cover blue... dusted... Alone Stutter in echo... h…
Downpour your voice is going hollow when ever the night starts cavin…
Fog My horoscope, said "pack your bags" Running low on hope, I…
Friendship I froze my hands Brokes my fingers off Gave 'em to my…
I Spy They put me out to pasture, The faceless cowards of conspir…
In The Mirror feeding on fleas when i happen to seize them. olly olly…
Intimidation I got bloodied up good, really good, Like you should, at…
Life's Cornucopia Life's cornucopia, mouth all a'gushing green. Full, every …
Lights Off Light rays never stop spending their days bouncing off her …
Lock and Key We saw the sun was going down through the iron bar…
Miss Marylou Carreau She caught the bug, she's having nightmares She bought a mu…
Mr. Charm This is a story about Mr. Charm, Mr. Charm and his…
Only a Moment down that twisted path, you can find us there up those…
Out Dragging The River he wrote it with a crabbed hand an ageless plastic poem bu…
Point A to Point B dark stained wooden table i'll breathe when i am able for …
Safe For The Time Being oh my god, there's no one left oh my god, the…
Shiny i saw something in the woods that i quite liked. something…
The World Is Smaller Than You Think If you don't know why you're here, join the club. All…
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Sammy N
i just found these guys- they're amazing!
Jonathan
sounds like the hives not bad ;)
avatarleeroy
any one have their old track named ' raise the line" its a personal fav and i have no idea where to get it again
Terry Monse
very weird but i like weird
Nick Campbell
o ya!...well the bassist did me and my band's recrodings. so ha! lol
LiamOakley
omg i know whit too who is this i got to saline also