Jason Mashak – Words & Music

Jason Mashak

« L’homme que j’étais, je ne le suis plus. » — Henry Miller

Musicalisticism (Sounds Made)

“I destroy like a lonely boy / with a broken toy that looks like you” (from “Destroyer”)

Jason Mashak with Argonauti
Argonauti playing for a Bob Dylan tribute concert in Prague (2016)

Jason Mashak is a Michigan-born songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist/musician whose music collaborations have spanned indie rock, alt-country, folk, blues, Americana, and roots music since the early 1990s.

From Georgia-based bands to Oregon indie projects and Central/Eastern European collaborations, Mashak’s music blends raw, heartfelt lyrics with influences from The Band, Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, JJ Cale, Neil Young, The Jayhawks, The Replacements, Townes Van Zandt, Gram Parsons, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Rolling Stones, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, the Beatles, Captain Beefheart, Steely Dan, Led Zepplin, Rush, ELP, and many other eclectic and classic rock artists.

Page Contents

  • History
  • Discography (Listen Now!)
  • Reviews
  • Gallery

HISTORY

1990-2000: Georgia Roots

In the ’90s, Jason Mashak co-founded Georgia-based bands Liquid Velvet, Deacon Jones, and The Steppers with notable musicians that included:

Liquid Velvet was mainly a bedroom experiment, during which Mashak, Cook, White, and drummer Stephen Whittier would jam endlessly on the handful of songs they knew or had begun to write. Moving into garage territory with drummer Darrin Langston, the band evolved into Deacon Jones and performed mostly house parties (across several counties), with instrumental music that combined elements of the Allman Brothers, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, and funky ’70s adult film-inspired versions of TV theme songs like Three’s Company and Sanford and Son).

When they met Jim Maddox, the few-years-older “singing drummer” opened up new possibilities. Reincarnated as The Steppers, the band expanded concerts to larger venues from Atlanta to Chattanooga, regularly surprising listeners with a revolving lineup that sometimes included bassist/vocalist Kevin Rentz (Reverend Shaky and the Part Time Believers), multi-instrumentalist Dax Rossetti, and other noteworthy Georgia musicians as onstage guests. In the mid-’90s, the band had a regular Saturday night house gig at Taco Mac in Cartersville, Georgia, and Atlanta concerts included The Strand (Marietta), $3 Cafe (Buckhead), and Lou’s Blues Revue. In 1997, they recorded two EPs: The Farmhouse Tapes with a couple of room mics in Maddox’s living room and This Truck Ain’t for Flyin’ at a studio in Atlanta.

Mashak and Maddox wrote songs separately at first, but gradually began to compose new material together. These bands delivered scruffy, rootsy rock with bluesy, languid paces — as noted in later reviews praising their “haunting feel” and road-trip-ready sound.

2000-2002: Portland Indie Scene

After both relocating to the Pacific Northwest, Mashak (guitar/vocals) and Maddox (drums/vocals) began writing new music together in 1999 and in early 2000 formed Seldomfence — an indie/alt-country/Americana band in the vein of Wilco and its earlier incarnation Uncle Tupelo. The Seldomfence lineup was solidified with the addition of:

  • Bassist Chris Wheby
  • Lead guitarist Scott Simpson (recommended by former Counting Crows drummer Ben Mize)

Their debut album Soft Explosion (2000) was dedicated to Rick Danko of The Band (who passed in late 1999, while Maddox and Mashak were writing most of the album’s material). Recorded in just a few days at Portland’s legendary Type Foundry Studio by Adam Selzer (Norfolk & Western) and mixed by Brian Jenkins (engineer for The Jayhawks, Screaming Trees), the record captured raw, unpolished energy with strong vocal harmonies and guitar work. A live recording from Ethos (Portland, 2000) and 25th anniversary remasters of Soft Explosion are available on streaming platforms (see below).

2006+ Central/Eastern Europe Explorations

Since moving to Central/Eastern Europe in 2006, Mashak has performed sporadically as a solo artist and with the (non)band Argonauti. Key (non)members have included:

Performances have included rare recording sessions or gigs every few years — such as the 2013 EP Lakeside, Slovakia (featuring guitarist Tomas Frolik of The Bladderstones), or the 2013 opening night of Divadlo Idiot in Slany (see a video of Argonauti covering “Lay Lady Lay”), or a 2016 Bob Dylan tribute concert at Klub Kastan in Prague. Some of Mashak’s recent solo releases (2023–2025) have included remixes of a few songs originally recorded with (non)members of Argonauti.

Discography (Listen Now!)

Jason Mashak’s musical endeavors are available to listen to on over 20 streaming platforms and stores, including Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, YouTube Music, and others…

Albums (LPs)

2026

  • Live at Buffalo Gap, 19.07.2001 – Portland, Oregon (with Seldomfence) — COMING SOON!
  • More Ruins — Spotify | YouTube | Apple Music

2025

2024

Singles & EPs

2026

2025

2024

2023

2013

1997

  • This Truck Ain’t for Flyin’ (EP; with The Steppers) — ReverbNation
  • The Farmhouse Tapes (EP; with The Steppers) — ReverbNation

Compilation Albums

These may be hard to find, as they typically circulated only as cassette tapes or CDs and were made by various members of the Postcard from Hell community.

  • Postcard from Hell: From the Front Porch to the Garage Disc 1 – includes “Oregon Rain” (with Seldomfence)
  • Postcard from Hell: Bob Dylan Covers – includes “Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread” (with Seldomfence)

Reviews

The Portland Mercury:

  • “Seldomfence play sort of traditional rock with a slight rootsy sound…. Weirdly enough, they sound a little like they’ve been listening to X… excellent listening for a road trip across the Midwest in autumn.”

Portland Online Music Net (POMN.com):

  • “…a degree of rawness without studio embellishments or tricks, in the tradition of the Stones’ Exile on Main Street… I give the vocal harmonies, guitars, and effective use of household items an A+”

Swizzle-Stick.com:

  • “Rootsy guitar sounds, slightly-scruffy vocals… these guys have spent their share of time up on Cripple Creek. Most of the tracks have a haunting feel to them, mostly from their bluesy, languid pace…”

Gallery

Album cover for the 2000 release of the Seldomfence album Soft Explosion
Album cover for the 2000 release of the Seldomfence: Soft Explosion

Seldomfence playing on the 96rock stage in Atlanta, Georgia (circa 1997)
The Steppers playing at Atlanta’s $3 Cafe (Buckhead) for 96rock radio station (1997)

The Steppers backstage at Atlanta’s $3 Cafe (1997)

Argonauti playing a private birthday event near Slany, Czech Republic (2019)

Album cover for the 2024 release of Every Ruin is a Thing We Have Made

Read Jason Mashak’s writings.