My View

Who is Mason Hawk

And what was it like on the road?

   I was an average Midwestern boy with a voice and a calling for the stage. That boy died when I hired in to front a hard rock hair band in the early 80's. I took to the stage in my home town and found girls that wouldn't talk to me when I was growing up, now fell at my feet for a night of my attention, and so it began.

   But Music is a business and you don't tour the United Stated without someone cracking the whip, that someone was our booking agent. All bands must spend 1 hour of their break time talking to the crowd and promoting ‘The Brand'. So while talking to table after table I learned about life in this great country of ours. A band member who is well traveled and who will be 500 miles away by the weeks end gets the same treatment as a priest or confidant. They knew they could get things off their chest without the fear of it being all over town or ruining their spotless reputation.

The Bedroom

   There is something about intimacy with a stranger who just walked off the stage. The bond of the bedroom makes people think they can trust you with all their deepest darkest secrets, and you will understand without judgement, after all you’re with the band and have done far worse and done it more times. Some stories were so hot that it required a second go round on sticky sheets while other stories are so sad that you were left crying in each other’s arms as you advise them against suicide.

The Break Room

   Sanctuary or green room, it’s the place where you prepare yourself to go on stage and entertain the masses to the best of your ability. Wow, people have been told some real whoppers about what it takes to get the band ready for a high energy show. Things like passing the bottle, a tray full of drugs, or a girl offering one service or another so your mind is clear and ready to rock the house down. So if the owner brings his wife and daughter’s in while the guys are naked and in the open showers it should be nothing to guys ‘like you’, after all ‘You’re in the band’. So what if they all strip down and climb into the shower with you, they’ve heard the stories and whispered rumors about you guys so stow the fake modesty even if it’s real.

The Drugs and Alcohol

   Oh how the local dealer likes to say “That Kick-Ass show? Hey you can thank me for that. I got their mind right and ready to Rock!” They’ll say that no matter what really happened, same from the girl who’s knees are dirty. What about the case of beer or whiskey? Complements of the local liquor store, so don’t forget to work a “Thank You” into your show. Don’t worry about wasting any, the groupies know you have it and they’ll all help you drink it.

The Parties

   How can they be the talk of the town without the band from the local hot spot stopping by? Every party imaginable from shindigs to sexcapades, bondage to buck-naked. After all, you’re with the band and the band parties harder than anyone when no one else is around. I’ve woken up in a cold sweat after having a dream of being back in those days, seeing the hosts wife naked and chained to the wall, after walking through an orgy where they are passing the police chief’s daughter around for the second time, while I’m trying to decide between an aged mixed drink or an expensive imported beer. Surreal to say the least.

The Stage

   That’s what we really lived for, the only time you feel truly alive. You’re not Jimmy from Hayseed Missouri anymore, you’re Dorian from L.A. and you’re here to rock!

Decadence, debauchery, excess, trickery, it’s all part of the game right? And what do you do with a tour bus full of memories dying to see the light of day? You vent them through erotica. You take those tales and shuffle them like a Rubik’s Cube so you don’t break ‘The Code of the Road’ and pour them out on the page, no one would believe it happened anyway.

   Look I never claimed to be the best author in the world, never logged a PhD in literature, wasn’t best in my class on spelling and grammar. But if you enjoy what I write, I will try to do the best I can to entertain - all while finally laying to rest my dreams, nightmares, and demons… 

Signed, 

Mason Hawk