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October 14, 2011

More Cherry Pie, anyone?

“Warrant” Serving up a Slice of Rock in Atlanta on Friday, Oct. 14

By Connie Hall-Scott Dalton Daily Citizen



　

If you want to know where the “Down Boys” go, the answer is Wild Bill’s in Atlanta. At least, that’s going to be the case this Friday, Oct. 14. American Glam band, Warrant, will take center stage at 9:30 p.m. - allowing plenty of time for the short drive from Dalton when you get off work or out of school.

During a recent chat with Warrant’s front man, Robert Mason, we discussed their newest album - “Rockaholic” was released this past May by Frontier Records, his pal Gene Simmon’s recent marriage, and what he thinks about Guns ‘n Rose’s recent nomination for induction into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Heaven. Cherry Pie. Down Boys. Just to name a few iconic songs one might expect to hear Friday night. Their new stuff is good too - Robert Mason wrote a lot of it.

“What’s more fun, writing the songs or performing them?” I asked.

“There’s a certain energy and a certain fun in the creative process that’s unique to itself,” Robert answered. “And there’s the immediate gratification of playing a song and having people respond to it. I write from my heart, when something touches me - making me happy, sad, enamored - it could be something that made me angry that day but that may not be a big deal the next. The song captures the moment, the emotion.”

“Which song do you feel the most while on stage right now?” I asked.

“Our new single, ‘Home,’” he answered without hesitation. “We shot the video for it last weekend. It was one of those songs that came to me while sitting at home with an acoustic guitar and a cup of coffee… it hit me, chords started coming quickly. Everyone who travels a lot - musicians, salesmen, those in the military - will get it.”

“What’s the coolest thing about your job?” I asked.

“It’s the moments that everything clicks and everything goes perfectly in a show,” Robert said. “Being able to go all over the world and become friends with people I considered idols at a time. Having my heroes compliment me in the way I would have complimented them as a kid. When we play a show and find the entire room is connected to us.”

Once upon a time Robert Mason was an English major, who considered a career in journalism. But music was in his genes, he said.

“There was always music around the house, my dad sang,” he shared. “I was always playing guitar or taking piano lessons. In college I had an epiphany while singing with a buddy in a garage band. ‘What if I can do this?’ You get a gig, you play, it snowballs from there. But I had to work for it. I was taught it’s not even worth having if you don’t have to work for it.”

I asked what he thought about his pal Gene Simmons, of KISS, tying the knot on his reality show “Family Jewels.”

“It’s about time,” Robert answered.

“If you had a reality show, what might it be called?“ I asked.

“Who Wants to Be a Battling Millionaire Iron Chef?” he laughed. “I’d do a cooking show. It’s one of my hobbies. I just did a pilot for a cooking show called ‘A Taste of Music’ with a guy who’s a friend. We had a blast. It hasn’t aired yet. It’s still in production.”

When our conversation turned to the recent list of inductees into Rock ‘n Roll’s Hall of Fame, Robert said he believes Guns ‘n Roses is long overdue.

“’Appetite for Destruction’ changed the world,” he said. “It came along at a time that everybody needed their world rocked and that’s what it did.”

Robert personally invites Daltonians to head to Wild Bill’s this Friday to get your world rocked. “Come on out and relive the old moments, embrace some new ones. Get off the couch, pull your ear buds out, and come see a real life rock band.”

To keep up with Robert Mason and Warrant visit www.warrantrocks.com. For more info. On Friday’s show call 678-473-1000 or visit www.wildbillsatlanta.com.

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