Quick Q and A with Mason Daring
 by Kathy S-B  ·  2 April 2010

Marbleheaders are all proud to call Mason Daring one of their own. Daring is the much heralded and influential composer of the soundtracks for ohn Sayles’ films as well as half of the duo, Daring and Stahl. “Marblehead Morning” is the most well-known song by Daring and Stahl.

To discover more about Mason Daring, go to this website. Here’s a video that shows still photographs from the film “Lone Star” accompanied by Daring’s music.

If you had to describe yourself in three words. What would those three words be?

Lucky, grateful, and unfinished.

I’m loving your website. Especially enjoy the quotes from the “Crazy Mason Daring” fan, Dick Pleasants (WUMB) who compliments your CD highly. You’re known as part of a duo — Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl. Here you are on this CD all by your lonesome. Care to describe the dynamics that went on during the recording.

I had the pleasure of working with Duke Levine as my producer; throw in the best players on the east coast, and you had a setting where, for once I didn’t worry about the burdens of recording — I let someone else carry that load, and simply enjoyed myself as an artist. I’m never that happy with my singing; as much as I enjoy actually doing it, after decades of working with artists like Jeanie Stahl, I don’t want to listen to myself. But I had been waiting so many years to record most of these songs, I let the songs themselves propel me through the process.

You were a major deal in the greater Boston area. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to remember you playing a show with Jeanie at Crocker Park. Did you open for Pete Seeger or am I hallucinating and that never happened?

Jeanie and I have played Crocker Park 4 or 5 times since the late 70’s — it’s probably the prettiest natural concert venue in New England — think of it as Red Rock East. Pete Seeger came to Abbot Hall many years ago — I didn’t play with him, but I lent him our PA, and did the sound for him. You know what? He was terrific — really worked the show. Sometimes people forget that, at the heart of it, he has always been a professional performer.

So what’s happening next for you?

I left Hollywood a few years ago to take care of family members here in New England — I still score films, but not at the pace I once held. This summer I will go to the Philippines to score a film called Baryo, directed by my old friend, John Sayles — it’s set in that country during the insurrection of the early 1900’s — has a fabulous story about a village caught between the American Army and a group of rebels — after that, who knows?