Magic Bronson

For my last column of the year, I wanted to interview a local musician who is known by all -- although very little is known about him. His name is Andy Masker, and he is currently playing tenor sax in the funk band Magic Bronson. He also organized an excellent jazz open-mic night at the now defunct Tapas (we still miss you guys) under the name Paul Bellini Jazz Quartet. Masker has led an interesting life, which has been devoted to music for the last 15 years.

SB: What are some of the influences behind Magic Bronson?

AM: You know ... funk groups like George Clinton, James Brown, Maceo Parker, Stevie Wonder, Galactic, Karl Denson, The Meters and any New Orleans style group, Outkast, The Roots, The Wu Tang Clan, Steely Dan and Frank Zappa. Magic Bronson takes elements from all of these sources and mixes them up to create its own funk that ranges from composed instrumental numbers to more down-home roots and groove-based sounds. We have fun with it, either way.

SB: Give me a little history about Andy Masker. Where did you come from musically?

AM: The first group to give me a lot of experience with saxophone was called The Pharmacy. The Pharmacy was a progressive jam band with acid jazz tendencies, and we played the Charleston scene for years before breaking up. I also got to play countless gigs with an incredible blues guitarist named Mike Barker. He had a southern blues group called The Broken Bones Blues Band. About five years ago, I moved up to Huntington in order to pursue a degree in music at Marshall. I just graduated this semester with a degree in music education. Since I have been in Huntington, I've also played with The Zen Fishermen, The Paul Bellini Quintet, The Yetti and most recently Magic Bronson.

SB: Any plans for a CD?

AM: Magic Bronson has already done a lot a recording this past summer. We've got about nine tracks done and three to four to finish. You can currently listen to a few tracks online at our myspace.com page. We hope to finish up the tracks we have and then record a totally new batch of songs in the next few months. We'll probably be looking to release something around March.

SB: Lots of new members in that band, right?

AM: Well, we've lost a few and gained a few. Brad Kinder and Ben Coll have reformed The Yetti, which created vacancies on the drums and guitar. Kevin Arbogast from Mother Tucker Trio is playing guitar for us now, and it looks like John Espy will be playing drums. Other than that, the lineup remains the same.

SB: You've been around the scene for years now. What do you think of the music scene in Huntington?

AM: Clubs change hands in this town so fast that one often loses track.

SB: Sometimes I think that the average music-listener does, too.

AM: There have been long spells in the past four years where I didn't even bother booking in Huntington till I figured out where people were going to be. There are a few clubs like Marley's Doghouse that have managed to support local music for many years now, without having to close their doors. I look forward to getting Magic Bronson back to the Huntington area within the next couple of months, and we're only going to play venues that are fan-friendly and band-friendly. - Herald-Dispatch Huntington, WV