If you haven’t seen the Australia based blues rockers Mason Rack band rock out yet, don’t miss their show at the Slice, Aug. 4.
They  have just returned from six months at home in  Australia  and are in the midst of their fourth Canadian tour, mostly of summer music festivals.
“You  guys have so many music festivals  here. It seems like every town has a music festival in the summer,” observed guitarist / vocalist Mason Rack from a stop in Edmonton.
“It’s so cool. I’ve played about 120 shows in Canada and I’ve never seen one fight. In Australia, I’d play 120 shows and there’d be  about 50 fights,” he continued.
“Everyone is so friendly and nice in Canada,” he said adding he  enjoys the live performance.
“We might not make thousands of dollars tours , but we  make thousands of smiles, and that’s the real payoff of playing live,” he said.
One of the things about a Mason Rack show, in addition to his deadly slide guitar and Tom Waits on steroids growl, is his drum duel with Canadian drummer Joel Purkess, which involves Rack wandering into the crowd wielding a pair of drumsticks, hitting everything from tables, chairs, beer kegs and the floor as well as Purkess’s drum kit. This tour it has been expanded to a three person drum duel.
“It’s a new one involving all three players. It’s just going to be blues rock on steroids,” he described. They have a new live CD called ‘Live in Canada’ out which they recorded in Sault Sté Marie.
“It was just a very  special show. It’s getting some really good response. It’s number  two on the blues charts in Australia and #17 in the U.S. blues charts, which is really surprising,” he said, adding he will also be performing a couple of new songs.
“I’m always writing  pieces of music and poetry. Whatever fits the music best,” he said.
As much as he enjoys being back in Canada, he enjoyed playing back home.
“I’ve got a three-year-old son and ex-wife I’m on good terms with,” he said.
“He’s really , really into music. We Skype a lot. And I just bought him  a new guitar.”