So, this guy is ...Masa Rider. I feel so lucky to have found this beautiful soul of a musician. Going through his covers, all I could think to myself was "I think I've covered almost all these songs at my gigs." His taste in music seems to parallel mine so I guess it's only fitting that I have fallen for his musical sound and the manner in which he covers songs. So, enjoy this treasure of a cover Masa Rider did last September.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsgbhfGJ_xM
Absolutely love the cover and particularly the way in which he plays the guitar. Masa adopts a Hendrix based guitar style by draping his thumb over the top of the guitar, a style that I too adopted by watching John Frusciante. His vocals are always honest and straight to the heart, which I feel are the best kind of lyrics you can get. Forget technique, forget the rules and just play what you feel. If you move around, that's alright, if you go off key, that's alright, everything is alright as long as it's coming from your soul, and Masa does just that. It's almost as if John Mayer stopped caring about technique and lost himself in emotions. Considering the amount of "not so great" Dylan covers available on youtube, I really don't understand why Masa hasn't been appreciated as much as others. People should really check him out.
And now, a fun fact about "It Ain't Me Babe". I remember reading an old Times magazine reviewing his (Bob Dylan's) performance at the Royal Festival Hall in 1964. The reporter claimed that Dylan wrote the line "No, no, no, it ain't me babe" as a funny response to the Beatles' "She Loves You", in which they sing "She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah." Now, let's get back to Masa's genius.
The next cover of Masa's that I lost myself in was of Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz". It blew me away, needless to say. I absolutely loved the fact that he had put two guitar parts together and sang in a falsetto voice. It reminded me of the kind of thing one of my greatest influences, John Frusciante, would do. If you don't get what I mean, I suggest you look him up doing "Maybe", "How Deep Is Your Love", "Tiny Dancer" or just by listening to the backing vocals on any Red Hot Chili Peppers album he was on. But for now, enjoy this gem of a cover, by Masa Rider.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCJyo7G4BOE
Beautifully done, don't you agree? Just heart and soul. Now, I did some searching around youtube and came across an original of Masa's that I absolutely loved. It's called "Marie" and it's done in a falsetto again. He's accompanied by some fantastic musicians and I personally was curious if it really was his song. I remember doing the same thing when I listened to Orla Gartland's "Sixteen". I'm sure you might have done the same thing when you heard a great song by someone you don't know too well. "Did he/she really write this beautiful piece?" Well, considering the amount of emotions and thoughts bottled up in this soul of a guy, there's no a doubt in my mind that he has the ability to write great stuff. Have a listen to it, subscribe to his youtube channel (Masa Rider) and check him out on Facebook. Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOnqBeWyscI
Alex Hamel
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