“Music is the way of the world. I don’t know many languages. Hell, I only know English, but I know if I can play some blues, I resonate with everyone around the world.”

Eddie 9V: Road Trip Soundtrack

Born Brooks Mason in June 1996, Eddie 9V was playing guitar by the age of six (“one of those with the speaker in it – the most bang for your buck, y’know?”). Even then, manufactured pop music held nothing for him, and his years at Union Grove High School were instead sound-tracked by local heroes like Sean Costello, alongside his studies of “older cats” like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Freddie King and Rory Gallagher. Coming up on his home state’s live circuit – first with covers band The Smokin’ Frogs, then with highly rated blues-rockers The Georgia Flood – Mason soon turned heads, even representing the Atlanta Blues Society at the 2013 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. But his true birth as an artist came when he buried his birth name and adopted that striking solo moniker. Ruf Records released Saratoga, the new 12-tracks studio album by Eddie 9V.                         (Brooks Mason aka Eddie 9V / Photo by Cameron Flaisch)

Eddie 9V has an endless stockpile of cool stories; you’ll find twelve of them on Saratoga. It’s a record that will thrill both newcomers and fans who have followed Eddie since the start, showcasing his fresh, fiery spin on Southern soul, blues, rock and funk, with his signature wit and sharp observations of modern America placing him squarely in the here-and-now.

Interview by Michael Limnios

Special Thanks: Doug Deutsch, Ruf Records, Phil Einsohn (7S MGMT), Eddie 9V

How has the music influenced your views of the world and the journeys you’ve taken?

Music is the way of the world. I don’t know many languages. Hell, I only know English, but I know if I can play some blues, I resonate with everyone around the world.  

How do you describe your sound, music philosophy and songbook? Where does your creative drive come from?

Everyday I wake up and listen to new music or old music and I just wish I made it. It’s what keeps me going. I just want to, at the end of the day, make music that I actually want to listen to. My sound comes from a realness. I want the listener to understand the amount of work I put into it.

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

The soul. Too much music is made by computers and bad auto tune. There’s still plenty of good music being released but I hope more bands record together in a room. It’s all about one guy/girl and then they just throw on so many fake instruments.

Currently you’ve one release with Ruf Records. How did that relationship come about? Why do you think that Ruf Records scene continues to generate such a devoted following?

I love Thomas Ruf. He definitely got me out of the trenches and gave me a chance when no one else wanted to and I’m forever grateful.

"I never learned charts or music or anything. It all comes from feeling, that’s it. Whether it’s live or on the record you have to let folks know what you’re doing is real.“ (Eddie 9V / Photo by Bradley Niederman)

Do you have any interesting stories about the making of 'Saragota'? How do you describe new album's sound and songbook?

I do think it’s a wonderful road trip album. I was shooting for a more Americana-type album this time -- less blues songs and solos and more focusing on the songwriting. Saragota was written under a perfect western landscape. We had an off-day on the road and I was sitting on an Airbnb porch picking a riff I had recently come up with. I was writing all these little lyrics while looking out to a huge mule deer directly in front of me eating grass and carrots that I was throwing to them. It was definitely more my brother and I in our home studio recording everything. There's a lot of guests, for sure, but it was mainly overdubbing. We did the songs "Saratoga," "Delta," and "Halo" at Crown Lanes Studio in Denver, Colorado. It was nice to take a break, walk outside, see the mountains, and feel the fresh air. In our studio, it's just muggy with mosquitoes... Sometimes it's good to not have distractions.

What's the balance in music between technique and soul? How do you want the music to affect people?

I never learned charts or music or anything. It all comes from feeling, that’s it. Whether it’s live or on the record you have to let folks know what you’re doing is real.

What moment changed your music life the most? What´s been the highlights in your life and career so far?

Hearing The Beatles for the first time. Playing the Fillmore in San Francisco and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville have been some highlights. Just getting to travel and pay rent is the main part.

What are you doing to keep your music relevant today, to develop it and present it to the new generation?

I don’t care about being relevant. I think the further away I try to be relevant the more successful I'll get. If it’s real and from the heart any generation will get it.

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music paths?

Trust the process. Nothing comes for free. If it makes you happy then success will follow every time.

Eddie 9V - Home

(Eddie 9V / Photo by Cameron Flaisch)