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View Full Version : Robert Renman, or Brent Mason?



Robert
December 22nd, 2011, 12:50 AM
Here's a cool story, or at least I thought so.

I just got this email from a girl in Belgium. She asked if I was interested in playing guitar on a track of hers, and if I could do home studio recordings like Brent Mason does. I read her message and I responded, yes I can do home studio recordings for you, no problem. She also asked for my bank account info right away, and my first thought and response was "do you use PayPal?". The next thing she sends is a message saying, "I will work with Mr Brent Mason and I received confirmation on his part to record the guitar parts for my first title.
Administrative details to pay money were the same as you..." - my mind is spinning....

So let me get this straight - I'm a guitar teacher in Canada (I have some talent, I am aware..., but...) who has very little track record as a studio musician, and she's trying to decide between me and Brent Freakin' Mason????

Should I laugh, cry or both???

Needless to say, Brent Mason is the number 1 studio guitarist in Nashville, and perhaps the hottest studio guitarist in the world today. The man is incredible as a player, and he's a machine at pumping out quality guitar works in almost any style - country, jazz, blues, roots, you name it.

I responded to her saying, "I would be happy to play on a track for you, and I am sure we can work out the payment details. I asked about PayPal since it is so common these days. Best of luck to you. "

I am not sure if this chick is some accomplished composer/artist from Belgium, or just some home studio song writer with money to burn. Either way - she got the right man for the job!

Brent Mason should be able to add some decent guitar work to her song - if not - I would be VERY afraid to even attempt to record something for her!

Oh well, it was an interesting exchange of emails, and it sort of shows how small the world can be, at times. I just hope she is legit.

Perhaps ya'll should create a website - "pro guitar player for hire", eh? :)

Tig
December 22nd, 2011, 01:00 AM
Cool! I hope something becomes of it.

I only get emails from Nigerian Princes.

Lev
December 22nd, 2011, 02:21 AM
Administrative details to pay money were the same as you..."


Does this mean you were charging the same fee as Brent Mason? :socool

When you think of it though, if you do a search on youtube for 'chicken pickin guitar' you'll find Robert Renman before Brent Mason. That's the power of the internet for ya! I hope you get the job, it could open a lot more doors for you in terms of studio/session work.

marnold
December 22nd, 2011, 07:27 AM
Here's a cool story, or at least I thought so.

I just got this email from a girl in Belgium. She asked if I was interested in playing guitar on a track of hers, and if I could do home studio recordings like Brent Mason does. I read her message and I responded, yes I can do home studio recordings for you, no problem. She also asked for my bank account info right away, and my first thought and response was "do you use PayPal?". The next thing she sends is a message saying, "I will work with Mr Brent Mason and I received confirmation on his part to record the guitar parts for my first title.
Administrative details to pay money were the same as you..." - my mind is spinning....
The part especially about asking for your bank details leads me to think that this is a very specific phishing attack.

jpfeifer
December 22nd, 2011, 07:46 AM
This is a great story!
I've been dabbling in the studio musician thing for some of my other song-writer friends. Lucky for me, my friends aren't aware that Brent Mason is also for hire on the internet, so they go along happily unaware that my tracks could be replaced by a true master of the art. But I should also mention that I rarely get paid to do my tracks and I'm sure Brent Mason would certainly not do his for free.

There some real monster players out there who will do tracks-for-hire gigs for anyone on the internet. The list includes some real heavy-weight players, I know, because I checked the list of some of these sites that broker studio musicians for hire. Here are some of the names you can get, if you're willing to pay:
- Robben Ford
- Brent Mason (of course)
- Lee Sklar (bass player for James Taylor, Phil Collins, and tons of other artists)
- Horn section for "Tower of Power" (don't know where I saw this, but one of the online sites were offering these guys for hire)

:-) I suppose you could pretty much get whoever you want if you're willing to pay enough.
One of my friends was playing drums at a big-band gig in Long Beach, Ca., and he was shocked to find out that they had hired Grant Geissman to play guitar with them that night. Grant is the guy that played all of those cool guitar solos on Chuck Mangione's song "Feels So Good" . That would have been great to play with him. He was one of my idols.

--Jim

Robert
December 22nd, 2011, 08:30 AM
The cool addition to this story, is that I also emailed Brent and asked how much he charges for recording guitar on one track. He responded within 30 minutes. I thought that was cool.

Let me put it this way - his fee was significantly higher than mine, but not insane at all.

I was honestly surprised he would take on such a job - I would have thought he was busy with big name artists albums all the time. I guess he must have some holes in the bookings with the big stars, and welcomes a smaller job now and then.

Robert
December 22nd, 2011, 08:31 AM
Oh and Lev, the funny thing about that chicken picking lick - it IS actually a Brent Mason lick!!!!

:D

jpfeifer
December 22nd, 2011, 08:46 AM
I'm not surprised that Bent Mason was available. The sad thing about the whole studio recording industry is that there isn't as much of it going on anymore. Recording budgets are smaller than they used to be and there are a lot of artists doing their recording at home now. I saw some interviews with some of these guys who are my heros, like Lee Sklar who was a long-time LA studio guy, and he was even saying that he isn't getting as much work as a session player anymore, and it often called to go play tracks as someone's home studio, etc.

It's ironic that the same technology that has made music sound so good, and so accessible for everyone, has pretty much destroyed the industry. The same thing is happening with print media as well.

--Jim

Robert
December 22nd, 2011, 09:15 AM
Jim, but there are very few who can play like Brent! Shouldn't he be in their home studios then? They still have guitars in most country music, and it's a popular genre with lots of music being pumped out every year. At least that is my impression.

jpfeifer
December 22nd, 2011, 09:46 AM
Yes! They should be hiring him more. It's hard to believe that he is not constantly doing sessions, even in someone's home studio. Who knows. Maybe he is just trying to pick up some extra work on the side.

NWBasser
December 27th, 2011, 11:14 AM
The part especially about asking for your bank details leads me to think that this is a very specific phishing attack.

This is exactly what I thought too.

Anytime an anonymous person asks for bank account details over the internet, I get very suspicious.

Tig
January 11th, 2012, 07:16 PM
Premier Guitar just published this feature on Brent Mason today...
http://digital.premierguitar.com/premierguitar/201202_1#pg121

Robert
January 11th, 2012, 08:33 PM
I just read that interview, very interesting read. I may have to get that DVD he's talking about.