MEAGHAN TAYLOR
James Mastro will show his photographs at 503 Social Club in Hoboken.
As a musician, a songwriter, a producer and the owner of a guitar store and an art gallery/performance space, James Mastro has helped shape Hoboken’s musical community since the 1980s. Branching out into a new area, he will present an exhibition of his photographs, titled “The Passenger,” at his own 503 Social Club. It will open with a reception, Oct. 12 from 2 to 6 p.m., and be on display until Nov. 23.
Mastro’s photographs remind me of his lyrics — both tell stories relying on interesting, ironic or clever juxtapositions of images and words. He takes the edge off haunting themes with humor.
Fans can follow him on his travels as a touring musician via his stirring photographs, which he often posted on social media; “The Passenger” will help viewers experience what he has seen and felt all across America and elsewhere, including Greece and The United Kingdom.
On tour, Mastro has always kept journals, but lately, he snaps a photo to record the day.
“I get a song lyric or idea out of many of the images I capture,” he says. “They put me back in a scene, and then the imagination just adds more color.”
On his recent tours, Mastro has been performing songs from his poignant and powerful debut solo album, Dawn of a New Error (2024), on MPress Records. He has recently been displaying his guitar virtuosity opening for and accompanying Alejandro Escovedo and Marshall Crenshaw.
JAMES MASTRO
“Movie House.”
Mastro’s fans have been following him since his days playing at Max’s Kansas City and CBGB during the rise of New York’s punk rock scene, in the ’70s. As a teenager, he played on Television guitarist Richard Lloyd’s 1979 solo album, Alchemy, and in the ’80s he became a member of the Hoboken’s rock band The Bongos. In the early ’90s, he fronted the alt-country band The Health & Happiness Show and in 2001, he joined Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter’s Rant Band. He also has appeared on Hunter’s albums, and performed on the Mott the Hoople reunion tour in 2018 and 2019.
Often the secret weapon in the bands of other artists, he has also added a recognizable and skilled sound, over the years, to the music of Patti Smith, Karyn Kuhl, Rachael Sage, Freedy Johnston, Garland Jeffreys, Lenny Kaye, Ivan Julian and others.
We spoke at length in 2024 and, again, recently, about his exhibition and upcoming plans.
Q: When did you first become interested in photography?
A: I’ve always enjoyed taking photos, but I’d say conceptualizing and directing my three latest videos got me to take my photography more seriously. You play with light, you zoom in or out and try to find the essence of what’s in the frame. I also found it a much quicker way to keep a diary. I can take a photo and then look back at it later and recall exactly what I was doing, what I was thinking, where I was going.
Q: What inspires you to snap a photo? What catches your eye?
A: I like decay a lot. Give me a rusted car in a field or an old storefront sign and I’m a happy guy.
Color will often attract me first, and then that can force you to find the beauty in something. Move your lens a little bit and a whole new perspective can appear that suddenly makes sense, or tells a story. Space in a frame can say as much as the subject itself sometimes, forcing you to fill in that void with your own sense of balance.
Q: Are you telling a story through your photos or creating a mood?
A: I think the stories are already in the photos, I’m just capturing it and putting it under a microscope. But again, I like to have viewers feel free to wander into the frame and add their own connection to it.
JAMES MASTRO
“Apartment With Clothes Drying.”
Q: Can you share some details with me regarding the photo of an apartment with clothes drying?
A: To me, the story in this photo is the clothes in the window drying. Though not visible, I can imagine the person now in the other part of that house, maybe having a cup of coffee after washing these by hand. I didn’t notice the clothes until after I took the shot, which made me feel like I won the lottery.
Q: And the movie house photo? (see above)
A: I see so many faces in this photo, not empty seats. Did they like the movie? Did someone have their first kiss here? Who tried to hide the fact they cried when the hero died?
Q: What do your photos have in common with your songs?
A: Well, I like my lyrics to carry a visual with them, to put you in a place. As a kid, my favorite project in school was when we had to make dioramas in shoe boxes — creating little miniature scenes with figures and other small decor. That’s what I try to do with my lyrics and photos alike; put you in a place that maybe you’ve never been before.
Q: Can you tell me about other photographers you enjoy?
A: Dorothea Lange’s photographs from the Dust Bowl era are stunning. You can see people’s entire lives in the way they stand, or are looking at something. And the geography of the land is etched in the lines of their faces.
There was a recent exhibit at Fotografiska NYC of Vivian Maier, a nanny whose cache of photos wasn’t discovered until after her death in the 2000s — which I find encouraging! Most are candid, unposed, life as it’s being lived. She was just a spy, snapping away, and leaving behind a wealth of information.
Q: What’s next for you musically? Personally? Artistically?
A: After this exhibition opens, I’ve got a few weeks of touring in November opening for Marshall Crenshaw, including a co-bill with The Bongos at Sony Hall in New York on Nov. 10. And scattered in between all that are some dates sitting in on guitar with my friend Bob Perry on Oct. 19 at 503 Social Club, and a Cramps tribute at Bowery Electric on Oct. 30. And I’ll be doing a show with my band The Gold Stars on Dec. 7 at Mercury Lounge in New York, with The Silos. After that, it’s time to start thinking about making a new record. And the next photo exhibit!
For information, visit jamesmastro.net, facebook.com/503socialclub or mpressrecords.com.
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