Quick Q and A with Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl
 by Kathy S-B  ·  10 September 2012

Marbleheaders are all proud to call Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl two of their own. Daring is the much heralded and influential composer of the soundtracks for John Sayles’ films. Jeanie is a renown folk and jazz singer. Both comprise the duo, Daring and Stahl. “Marblehead Morning” is the most well-known song they have recorded. It was a staple on folk radio in the 1970s. Mason and Jeanie were part of what became dubbed as The Passim All Stars. In addition to Mason and Jeanie, the All Stars included multi-instrumentalist Stuart Schulman, iconic Bill Staines and Guy Van Duser and Billy Novick.

Tell us about your most recent music soundtrack for John Sayles’ latest film, Amigo. The film takes place during the Philippine / American war of 1900. Did you have to do some research about this era and about the culture in the Philippines in order to compose music that would fit what happens on the screen?

For Amigo I listened to a ton of Philippine traditional music, particularly Randallas, which is a form of folk instrumental featuring a kind of 14-string mandolin called a Banduria — as well as a two stringed instrument called a Hegalung.

When you work on the soundtracks for films, do you go to the film location and watch some of the actual scenes being shot or do you just work with the final product?

In the case of Amigos, I went to Manila two weeks before the session and spent some time with players while I finished the writing. I usually go to the sets, but in this case it was too far away — by the time I got there, they were finished shooting.

Has there been on soundtrack project that stands out in your mind as being especially memorable?

As a rule, The Secret of Roan Inish is my most memorable score — I recorded most of it in Dublin, and it remains easily my most favorite and best selling soundtrack — I had visited the set several months earlier, and felt pretty comfortable writing traditional Irish music by the time the sessions rolled around. It looks like I’ll be recording another film with John this fall, featuring Mexican border music for a movie called Sisters he is shooting in Tijuana.

Here is a link to a lovely song from The Secret of Roan Inish.

A couple years back you recorded a solo self-titled CD. Any plans for another venture like this?

At the moment I don’t plan to record another one, but you never know.

Do you listen to much contemporary music these days? If so, do you have any favorite musicians or songs?

As far as listening to music these days, I find that mostly I listen to commercial country, or local artists, such as Roy Sludge. Other than that, I still love classical music — I may never get tired of the nineteenth century.

For more information about Mason Daring, check out his website.

You haven’t been singing and playing around as much in recent years. Do you miss being in the limelight?

I really don’t miss being in the limelight. What I miss is spending more time on music and the fun of playing and performing and seeing friends and acquaintances when we play at area gigs.

Is there a music project that you dream about and would like to tackle some day?

There’s no project at the moment, but I would like to continue writing songs and maybe recording some of them or have others perform and record them. I haven’t written much in a long time, but have started again recently and it’s been rewarding spending more time on music.

A song that you co-wrote called “Beyond Appearances” was covered by Santana. How did that come about?

Ha! That’s one on me. I’ve never heard of the song and I don’t know of anything that Santana recorded of mine. Is there another Jeanie Stahl?

[Note: All Music cites this composition. Thought it seemed it a little odd but very cool.]

If you could collaborate with one or two musicians (living or dead), who would they be and what kind of music would you conjure up together?

Well, I’ve been lucky to already have collaborated with two that are high on my list — Mason and Harriet Reisen, the lyricist I worked with. And, of course, there are the Passim All Stars. We have collaborated in different ways. Decades ago, Stuart Schulman, Bill Novick and I had a jazz band called One Sings the Others Don’t. Then Guy Van Duser on guitar helped me out for a year or so when I performed solo and was limited physically in how much I could play guitar. And singing harmony on some of Bill Staines’ records has always been a joy. But to really answer your question, I would love to sing in a band with Emmy Lou Harris or Lyle Lovett. And I wouldn’t mind doing a duet with Tony Bennett — everyone else has!

Do you have any special memories of Passim All Star appearances with Mason Daring, Bill Staines, Stuart Schulman, and Guy Van Duser and Billy Novick?

One of the memories for all of us were the snowstorms that happened in the early years of our doing the All Star performances at Passim. They were always in January — a slow time for the Club, so we were able to boost attendance for them during a down period. And our wonderful fans came out even in the snowstorms! Many of the storms were magical — white and fluffy snow. People were lined up down the block waiting to get in and still in a good mood. It made for some special and cozy performances while the snow swirled outside. And, of course, there is the camaraderie of playing with a group of friends and talented musicians. It’s fun for us and we want it to be fun for the audience as well.