Vocalist Jason McMaster really needs no introduction. If you don’t know who he is by now, odds are you
are not a true heavy metal music fan and probably wouldn’t give he or his incredible vocal skills the time of day. After all, most young music listeners today are too bogged down in glorified pop names like Timberlake, Bieber and Lambert to have any time for someone that isn’t manufactured by the major record labels. McMaster is a rare beast in the underground world of metal. He got his start fronting math metal pioneers WATCHTOWER in 1982, then went on to major success with DANGEROUS TOYS in the 80’s (the band’s debut in 1989 spent 36 weeks on the Billboard charts and went Gold). Anyone who remembers those days will undoubtedly recall the rocking singles from that album: “Teas N’ Pleas N’ ” and “Scared”.
The fame ultimately got him elected into the Texas music Hall of Fame. He has since returned to Watchtower (1999-2009), fronted the rock act BROKEN TEETH and sang in tribute acts for KISS and JUDAS PRIEST. His new IGNITOR project is one of the more intriguing bands to emerge from metal’s crowded scene and their positively brilliant first album, The Spider Queen, solidifies McMaster as one of the genre’s all-time great singers.
The Metal Den’s Randy “Rocket” Cody has conducted an exclusive interview with vocalist Jason McMaster for his loyal worldwide Den Headz.
Rocket: Where were you born and raised?
Jason: Corpus Christi, Texas, near the Gulf of Mexico.
Rocket: Do you come from a big family?
Jason: Three brothers… had a great time growing up.
Rocket: Do you recall your first rock concert?
Jason: Of course, it was life changing. Rush and UFO in 1977.
Rocket: When did you first start singing in bands?
Jason: I started fronting bands at age 17. Started out on bass guitar at age 14.
Rocket: Did you ever take any formal singing lessons?
Jason: I never had a lesson. The irony is, I teach at the school of rock in Austin, TX.
Rocket: Who are some of your biggest vocal influences?
Jason: Kiss, Fred Mercury, Elton John, Rob Halford, Steve Tyler, Bon Scott, and Alice Cooper.
Rocket: You sang on WATCHTOWER’s debut Energetic Disassembly in 1985. Do you have good
memories of being in this band?
Jason: All great memories. I cut my teeth as a singer in Watchtower. I learned a lot from that experience.
Rocket: How exactly did the band DANGEROUS TOYS come about?
Jason: Friends needed a singer after they lost a singer. We started out doing covers, wrote a few songs, a few weeks later had some gigs, we needed to change the name of the band, on the fly came up with DT. It stuck. We played SXSW music fest in March 1988, got a publishing deal, a few months later signed with CBS/Sony.
Rocket: Killer. What about IGNITOR? Is that band still going on? I absolutely loved what you did with that in 2008. “Construct of Destruction” is one of the greatest heavy metal songs I have heard in ten years.
Jason: Thanks! Ignitor is writing all new material. We have some great stuff going. The working title of new record is “Shadow of the Needle”.
Rocket: Now how would you describe to fans the music you are doing currently in BROKEN TEETH? I definitely hear some AC/DC in that.
Jason: Real rock n roll. Infectious three chords, with a one note bass line all the way through under 3 minute songs. Institutions like Priest, Motorhead, Ramones, AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, Rhino Bucket, etc. We add the fire to music that some people call rock n roll. I am so tired of lame eyeliner rock that people think is really heavy, or the greatest thing they’ve ever heard. Watered down Crue, no thanks.
Rocket: Hell yeah! I totally agree with you. You’re also in various tribute acts. You do a killer tribute to JUDAS PRIEST called SAD WINGS. Is that a lot of fun for you?
Jason: I love doing the Priest covers. I didn’t have to buy anything to complete my Halford getup either, had it all, it was in my future. So fun.
Rocket: If you had the chance to sing for any heavy metal band in history. Who would it be?
Jason: Singing my own songs has a lot more charm than anything. I could write a book here on how that feels on stage, but, either AC/DC or Judas Priest, maybe Aerosmith?
Rocket: You were inducted into the Texas music Hall of Fame in 1998. How did getting that
great honor make you feel?
Jason: Very cool to be recognized by my peers in my hometown. I believe I am the only metal inductee.
Rocket: The metal world tragically lost Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell back in 2004, a fellow Texan.
Were you a big fan of that band’s music?
Jason: Well, I am a fan of Pantera, and a fan of Darrell’s. He was one of the guys that reinvented rock guitar like Billy Gibbons. He probably never had to buy a guitar his entire life becuse he won every guitar contest since he was a kid, and always deserved what he got out of life cause he was totally genuine. Nuff said.
Rocket: Who are some of the current upcoming Texas metal acts that have impressed you?
Jason: Warbeast.
Rocket: What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to someone who wants to be a heavy metal vocalist?
Jason: Learn to play an instrument. It’ll help you in the long run with writing collaboration. Oh, and of course, don’t quit your day job… and wear earplugs at rehearsal.
Rocket: So you say new Ignitor is coming. What are the other albums you’ll be putting out in the future?
Jason: Evil United (my newest classic thrash/power metal band), and we will start writing new Broken Teeth material very soon.
Rocket: Finally, where do you see yourself in ten years from now?
Jason: Doing another interview with you talking about metal.
Rocket: Well, this was a big time honor for me, brother. I’ve always been a real big fan of your work. You are truly one of the last straight up metal singers going today. Thanks very much for rocking this out with me. Best of luck with your music moving forward. Go ahead and give special thanks out to any of your friends, family and supporters.
Jason: Thanks to my family and friends who understand how important music is for the soul. be creative and standing up for art in the world will make this a better place. Listen to the music that speaks to you. The songs that don’t, should be easy to ignore. Do not judge, but excuse all who try to please everyone all the time, and again, do not judge that person when he fails to please you.
http://jasonmcmaster.net/
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