Willy Mason’s South By Southwest:
“SXSW was crazy for me this year. I didn’t see any shows cause I was doing promotion and gigs the whole time, but I got to play in a church with my band and it went really well. It felt like we were doing the crowd a service by giving them a break from crowds and loud music … at least that was the sense from the stage. The Daytrotter session was cool too cause if it’s the one I’m thinking of, they were in a small warehouse-feeling place in a neighborhoodly area off the strip. It felt like the right place for recording music, maybe a bit of what I imagine Sun Studios to be. Other than that it was just running around trying to stay cool and bumping into other road warriors I’d met at various musical pit stops along the way. That’s about all I remember, except on the last night I went to visit the new boss of my record label and he had the king suite up top of a hotel and on the last night I sat on the balcony for a while looking out at the city and having some ideas about how to scheme my way through this business.”

Of the four-man Daytrotter crew that we had in Texas for SXSW, I was the only one who didn’t hear one lick of it. Beer needed to be purchased for the rest of that evening’s sessions and as I was leaving the Big Orange, Willy’s brother Sam asked if I could pick up some cheap red wine, he’d pay me back. I brought back a massive jug of the stuff – with helpful eyes and consultation from rider A.J. Landman – and refused money for it. I believe I made his week and from the sound of the session, they didn’t need my help. – Sean Moeller

First song
Save Myself (Willy Mason) [3.45MB] [2708 downloads]


– original version appears on If The Ocean Gets Rough
I wrote this song when I was trying to figure out how to make a couple bucks and find a place for me and my girlfriend to live. I wrote the bridge, “Slow and steady slow and steady etc.” when I was trying to clean out my grandma’s basement.

Second song
Pick Up Truck (Willy Mason) [3.41MB] [2667 downloads]


– unreleased
I wrote this about a friend of mine who was feeling pretty homeless, physically and spiritually. She ended up staying in the bed of her truck, hence the title.

Third song
So Long (Willy Mason) [2.78MB] [2503 downloads]


– original version appears on Where The Humans Eat
A simple catchy tune commissioned by my high school’s student council for the graduation ceremony. For one reason or another, it wasn’t quite appropriate, so I found it in the trash under some half-finished college financial applications when I went home to get some songs together for my first record.

Fourth song
We Can Be Strong (Willy Mason) [3.46MB] [2669 downloads]


– original version appears on If The Ocean Gets Rough
I wrote this one when I quit touring for a while and found myself in the same headspace as all my friends who’d dropped out of school and so were stuck at home with their parents for the winter. I was trying to shut up those voices in my head saying I was a failure, bum, loser, all that kind of stuff.