‘Taskmaster's' music plays on

They called him the “taskmaster.”

Back in the late ’60s and early ’70s, Baron Vaden was the glue that held Seymour band The Mason Brothers together.

At that time, many young, impressionable boys dreamed of making it big, playing rock and roll in garage bands, but for Vaden and friend John Hill, it was more than just a dream.

“It was all business,” Hill said. “Baron was so focused on the music and making us the best we could be.”

It wasn’t unusual, band member Mike Jackson said, for them to practice 13 hours straight.

“And it wasn’t just on the music, it was on performing,” he said. “We learned how to perform by practicing.”

Named after a bottle of Mason Root Beer, the first thing Hill came across, The Mason Brothers formed in the summer of 1968.

“Snake Pit Banana Barn had just disbanded and we were looking for musicians to play with,” Hill said.

Enter Jackson on drums and Tim Wilson on keyboards.

“I was just 14 years old when they asked me to play with them,” Jackson said. “How many kids had the opportunity to play in a working band like that? I was kind of in awe that these guys who I looked up to as idols wanted me.”

Later on, Jackson’s brother Marc joined the group as a singer as well as Dave Parman on guitar.

“We were chasing a dream,” Mike said. “We had agents and were getting booked. We even had a record deal offered. It kind of got scary.”

But it was the music, straight rock and roll, and each other that kept the band together.

After hours of practicing at The Last Exit, a local hotspot for the under 21 crowd, and playing gigs, the band became more than a band. It was what Hill and the Jacksons call “a family.”

Their sound was rock and roll at its best.

“We did popular music and a lot of album cuts,” Mike said. “Grand Funk Railroad, Allman Brothers, Zeppelin.”

“We had our own music too,” Hill, who plays guitar, added. “And the covers we did play we took them and made them our own. Playing music together meant a lot to us then and it still does.”

Eventually, Hill left the group and other guys came and went. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Mellencamp, who had played occasionally with Snake Pit Banana Barn, even played with The Mason Brothers from time to time.

As time went on, everyone grew up and went their separate ways, getting married, starting families and careers.

Sadly, Vaden died in 1985, an event that had a profound impact on all the band members, even though they hadn’t played together since the ’70s.

On Saturday, the band will reunite for a special two-hour Oktoberfest performance at This Old Guitar music store in downtown Seymour. The show starts at 7 p.m. Admission is free with complimentary tickets, but a limited number of tickets is available at the store. For more information, call 524-8986.

At the forefront of each band member’s mind is Vaden.

“This is about Baron,” Marc said of why they decided to get back together. “There’s not many times that go by that I don’t think about him. He was like a brother.”

“He was the best friend I ever had,” Mike Jackson added.

Performing in tribute to Vaden was never a planned-out deal; it was something each member knew they wanted to do.

“That desire was something in us all before we even decided we were going to do it,” Marc said of the performance.

The band will play many of Vaden’s signature songs, Hill added.

“We’re looking forward to being in front of the people we know and playing again for our hometown,” Hill said.

“There are going to be some serious surprises,” Mike added. “Songs people wouldn’t believe they would hear again.

We’re going to be taking them back like Grand Funk Railroad’s ‘Time Machine,’ we’re going to take them out of the present.”

“We put the music to the midlife crisis,” Hill said jokingly.

Joining the group on guitar for the concert will be Jackson County native Larry Crane, who spent years performing with Mellencamp before starting his own solo music career.

“We’re really pleased with the way it’s coming along, it’s going to be enjoyable for everyone,” Hill said.