Penticton musician inks his 1st recording contract
Mason Burns of Penticton has signed his first recording contract.
The 22-year-old inked a deal with Caron Maria Records, an independent label based in Summerland, founded by international music producer Thurein Mindt.
“I’m stoked,” Burns said, Friday. “I’m excited about getting my new material out there. It’s great being in the studio, and I’m certainly learning a lot. It’s like painting a picture and seeing it all come together before your eyes.”
Burns has been in the studio for the past six months working on the unnamed album. It will feature 11 original recordings, solely writtenby Burns, with perhaps one cover version. He’s being backed by several well-known studio musicians. It should be available for wide release by the summer.
The album will be released with in-house record cutting, direct from the studio master as a limited edition vinyl release and as a CD.
Burns, who began playing guitar at the age of nine, is best known as lead singer and guitarist with Cosmic Brew, an award-winning trio founded in 2014.
The band is still going, he insists, and will be playing multiple gigs this summer, including a slot on classic rock night at the Penticton Peach Festival.
“The album is very 70s sounding, but with a fresh twist to it,” he said. “You’ll like it.”
Burns, who attended high school at Princess Margaret Secondary School, grew up listening to classic rock with Led Zeppelin being his all-time favourite. Other major influences on his music include Green Day, Ten Years After, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, T. Rex and Arlo Guthrie.
With much of their material being a throwback to the classic rock era, but with younger musicians, Cosmic Brew has built a fan base with a wide demographic. Starting in Penticton, they’ve gradually expanded their base across the Okanagan and now perform regularly in Vernon and Kelowna.
“It’s great to see 12-year-old kids as well as 70-year-olds in the same audience, loving the music,” Burns said.
Burns will preview most of his new album at a solo show at The Dream Cafe in Penticton on Friday, April 6.
Burns busked from the age of 10 at the Penticton Farmers Market and always dreamed of one day playing at The Dream Cafe, a music house which regularly hosts Juno Award winners.
Tickets for the solo show are available at The Dream Cafe or online at: thedreamcafe.ca.
To view a solo acoustic performance, visit the “Mason Burns” page on YouTube.