We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mark Masefield a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Mark, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
Growing up, my parents had me involved in just about every extracurricular activity possible. I was encouraged to try everything, and to see it through to the end… if there was a club or a sport, that wasn’t really doing it for me, they’d have me finish out the season. Knowing I couldn’t bail on anything in the middle, I was always looking for some aspect of the game or club to find enjoyment in and help me through the season. This helped me make new friends, and discover that if I worked on something a little harder, I’d maybe find enjoyment where I first found stress or frustration. It also helped me understand that I’m not going to enjoy everything I do with my time, but that my decisions and actions affect those around me. I can’t quite recall all the things I didn’t end up sticking with, but I whittled my activities down to travel ice hockey and playing piano.
As I went through relatively high level hockey that took up the majority of my non-school time, I came across a decent amount of teammates that weren’t quite my people. Being in a team setting, I got past our differences and learned to work with them for the common goal of playing the best we could as a team. As a player who was good, not great, I learned that sometimes my place in a close game was on the bench, or that sometimes, it was the right move to pass the puck to the guy who could snipe a goal and not go for the shot myself.
As I transitioned to my high school varsity team being prioritized over my travel team, I also started playing in my first band, Outside the Box. We existed as a band from age 14-22. Freshman year of high school till after I graduated college is a pretty solid run for a first band. I approached (and still do) every aspect of working with my bandmates as if we were a team; turning the band into a business, prioritizing what gigs to take, what songs to focus on, who plays what part, who gets to solo in a song, what serves the song the best, how to create and maintain a positive vibe when you’re spending most of your time together, etc. When you’re on a team, you have a common goal, and ours was creating the best songs possible, presenting them in a way that served the songs not our egos, and putting on the best live show, all while trying to keep it fun. The correlation between teams and bands isn’t discussed enough, and I think a lot can be learned and accomplished by approaching musical collaboration as such.
I continued playing hockey through high school graduation, meaning I needed to figure out how to navigate and manage my time in order to make two passions work simultaneously. I still carry this skill with me as a freelance musician, navigating multiple bands that I tour with, dozens of recording sessions a year, and working on my own solo music, while still finding time to spend with friends and family.
When you turn your passion into a source of income, it means that there’s inevitably going to be gigs that aren’t the most creatively fulfilling. Finding elements of a gig to latch onto to say, use as a means to practice a type of playing, and understanding that your purpose and the vibe you create in a room to both your fellow musicians and the clients you’re playing for can be contagious. You took the gig, find a way to enjoy it and remain positive in the moment, or learn to say no to a particular type of gig. Thanks to my folks for having me stick it out with baseball… enjoying watching the planes fly overhead from the outfield definitely helped me through some crappy bar gigs by people watching over the years.
Mark, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m a keyboard player who spends a little less than half my year touring both nationally and internationally, and the other half divided by work as a session keyboard player with various bands and artists, sometimes producing artists or music directing shows and sessions, playing shows regionally, and this year, working on solo music for my debut album after working as a musician for 20 years. I’m currently touring primarily with two artists, Will Hoge and Dave Hause, and have a handful of dates with Mike Frazier in the coming months.
Music has been the primary focus of my life since I was 14, and my primary source of income since I was 15. Just about every life decision I’ve made has been considered by how it revolves around my musical endeavors. Among the larger ones, moving to NYC for college to remain close to my bandmates and be able to exist simultaneously in the NY and Asbury Park, NJ music scenes. Eventually moving to Bradley Beach, NJ to be near a scene I was finding a lot of work in, and to be close to the band I was in at the time. On a more day to day level, determining when and if I take vacations, attend holidays or weddings, etc. based on a rather unconventional and ever changing schedule. And on a global level, making what might not always be the most lucrative decisions to build and grow my career in a direction that keeps me happy and enjoying what I do.
Being that I always stuck things out as a kid, I’ve always worked to make a band exist as long as possible. I was a monogamous band guy for more than half my career, with two particular stints that lasted 8+ years and 5+ years. The way I look at it is, the longer we play together and find each others’ strengths and weaknesses, and the more we learn about each other’s perspectives and goals, the better and more freely we can grow and create.
I treat most aspects of life like this… I’ve always embraced building community and friendships, and introducing people from different walks of life. Introducing my musician friends to my photographer friends and graphic artists, introducing my friends in NJ to those in Nashville, LA, Chicago, Seattle, etc. I’m married to my wife, Katie, who I’ve been with since we’re 16 years old. We’ve grown together and learned how to navigate life together, and we’ve learned (and are always still learning) how to navigate my touring life while maintaining a home life that we enjoy together. Helping build and expand community, working on marriage, and keeping bands alive all takes a lot of work, but I find that this work is worthwhile to create lasting and meaningful friendships, relationships, and great music. Growing communities and maintaining friendships allows for fun and unique collaborations, and it helps artists that live freelance lifestyles where we must always be able to create our own work.
As my career developed into a freelance one from a monogamous band one, I try to take something from each band or artist I work with to my next gig. Having done so much session work in so many different genres over the last decade or so after my first band parted ways, I’ve learned to quickly throw ideas at the wall to see what sticks, not be married to any of the ideas in particular, and evolve my parts based on what the band leader or band mates gravitate toward. I’ve grown to learn how to play a song on the fly, or with very little prep time, which has allowed me to take last minute gigs to substitute for another keyboard player. I like to treat a live show like I’m in a recording studio, surrounded by various keyboards, organs, pianos, synthesizers, and an accordion. I enjoy developing parts on two keyboards simultaneously that fit within the structure of a band or artist’s arrangements, live fading my instruments in and out. When the opportunity calls for it, I’ll open up into a more improvisational vibe. I love to arrange and structure new songs, or rearrange pre-existing songs in a new light.
Being in DIY bands for a decade and a half, I’ve learned the benefits and necessity of being able to handle multiple jobs outside of just playing my instrument. In my current role with Dave Hause, I tour and record with him as a keyboard player, but I also drive, engineer our monitors from stage, record and mix our live shows for online release, sometimes sell merch, and schedule our off-day activities to help keep us sane.
Over time, by having periods of my career where I’ve said yes to almost any gig thrown my way, I’ve learned what kinds of shows and sessions I enjoy, what kinds of touring scenarios I thrive in, and what type of work I don’t really care for. As I’m in the early stages of working on my first record that I’ll record later this year, part of me wishes I started writing for myself earlier, but most of me is excited that I have so much experience in my past to guide me on what to do, what to avoid, and that I have a vision of what I want my music to sound like and say.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Non-creatives seem to have a hard time understanding that money is not the driving force of the decisions I make, or the gigs I choose to take. If a big salary was my main goal in life, I’d be in a different field. There are also more lucrative gigs within the music world than pursuing a career focused on touring and recording original music, often with emerging artists, or what Dave Hause refers to as “working class musicians;” those that have a career with a dedicated fan base, but no major commercial hits. I have friends and peers that focus their work on weddings, corporate events, bar gigs, or teaching, both privately or in schools. I’ve tried all this work, and learned that it’s not for me. I want to make a connection with fans, and be a part of shows that feel like church… not in a religious way, but shows with a sense of community. Fan bases with deep connections to an entire catalogue, not just a couple songs they’re waiting for in an encore. I love playing listening rooms where you can hear a pin drop, see people crying or laughing within the songs, with eyes fixed on the singer and the band. I find myself turning down a lot of work that might pay very well, but doesn’t bring me the kind of joy that another conflicting gig might. Truly enjoying every gig I take is something that I really strive for, and that doesn’t stop with having a connection to the songs that I’m playing, but also a connection with the people that I’m playing with. I try to surround myself with like-minded musicians who are interested in creating and traveling in a positive work environment. Good vibes on stage translate to the audience, and on a record. Setting myself up to be working in a space with like-minded people is the most important thing I look for in the work that I take. It’s worthwhile to consider the entirety of the work experience as part of the pay.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
The best thing that society can do to support artists, creatives, and a thriving creative ecosystem, is to share what you enjoy with others. If you have a deep and meaningful connection with a song, a film, a piece of art, anything someone or some collaborative group created, chances are that art will speak to someone you know. We can all get caught up in listening to our same favorite records or rewatching the same shows, and that is still very important, but discovering new art is such a thrilling experience! The energy I feel after finding a new favorite band, or reading a great book, or whatever… there’s nothing better than sharing that experience with someone else; talking about a new show, listening to an album with someone, discussing your interpretation of a book or a lyric with a friend. In a world that is putting out increasingly more content, where the means of creating and sharing art with the world is at an all-time high, the more we share and show artists support by buying merch, attending shows, and bringing someone to tag along with you, then the more your favorite artists will be able to continue creating. Following your passion is not the most lucrative thing, and any small bit of support helps an artist keep their dream alive, and to be able to keep creating for you. Maintaining and creating human connection is increasingly more important in a world where you can easily live a very distant lifestyle. Sharing art is something keeps that connection alive, even if you choose to stay inside.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.markmasefieldmusic.com
- Instagram: @markmasefield
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.masefield
- Twitter: @markmasefield
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/markmasefield
Image Credits
Fuckin’ Casey
Florian Nielsen
Ryan Loughlin
Ian Gray
David Ross Lawn
Dan Matlack