New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

Jason Mather Is On Fire With The Release Of The Hottness


By Gary Wien

originally published: 01/15/2006


Jason Mather seems to be on a quest to bring back the scorching guitar riffs that dominated FM radio in the seventies. He's releasing his second solo record, The Hottness, on January 17th and will be hitting the rock clubs throughout the tri-state area in support of it. The official CD release party is schedule for the 18th at Grape Street in Philadelphia.

"Hottness is more like a fire - the fire within the whole soul that drives you to work forty hours a week and still come home and practice and try to do this," explained Jason Mather. "It's just a fire within when everyone is saying maybe you should just give up. It's like fire and passion."

That passion definitely comes through from the impressive guitar licks spread throughout the record. Mather, who grew up in Yardville, New Jersey, graduated from the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, California where he studied lead guitar. He returned to the East Coast and banged around in New York City bands for a few years before turning solo.

The Hottness was recorded at Skywalker Sound while they were wrapping up the work on "Revenge of The Sith". Mather recalls it as a crazy time with security very tight and chance meetings with Star Wars crew members could happen at any time.

"I remember one time I was in the comminsary eating lunch and Ben Burtt was in front of me," said Mather. "I recognized him from Star Wars commentaries. He invented the light sabre and laser beam sounds. I'm thinking to myself I'm recording, but I don't care - this is the guy who invented light sabres. That's the coolest thing!

"I was definitely savoring it and while I was out there I wound up being inspired to write all of these other songs, so I ended up having to redo a couple of tracks. The basic tracks were thereand then I came back to Jersey and started mixing. It's guitar-oriented. Just a homegrown album. I hope that people dig it."




New Jersey Stage provides affordable advertising for the arts, click here for info



Part of Mather's passion is to bring back the idea of a "complete" album. In this day of downloads, he still remembers growing up with albums by Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and having to get up to flip the side over. In those days, bands wanted the entire record to be heard instead of a single or two. Mather wants his records to be like that too.

"We came from the whole album thing and that's what I grew up on. Now all of a sudden it's like you've got to give your best 3 1/2 minutes or you're just out the door. It's like did I hit the chorus quick enough?'"

Jason's love for music started when he was just four years old and picked up the guitar because of Kiss. "I remember 1978 and sitting there watching Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park and looking at the album cover," he said. "These guys could breathe fire and play guitars too! Kiss was a big inspiration for me."
Ironically, Mather was able to get the same guy who created those classic Kiss album covers to create the cover for The Hottness. He met the artist Ken Kelley and intrigued him with his ideas for the CD.

"I'm like, I see everybody's album cover and they're just using a digital picture. I said I'm looking for some kind of art like you did for Love Gun or Destroyer - something with a Les Paul. I wanted to take this really old school and say the album does still exist. I want a real album cover and twelve songs like back in the day. It's kind of retro, but at the same time I'm trying to mix in the technology of today.

"His album covers transformed KISS from a Rock n' Roll band into larger than life superheroes for me. In this day and age, I feel the beauty of an album cover no longer exists. With The Hottness, I wanted to bring the magic of the album experience back to the people, and Mr. Kelly's artistic genius is making it happen."

You can get more information on Jason at his website
http://www.jasonmather.com

The Hottness is available from CD Baby at:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/mather


Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station The Penguin Rocks. He can be contacted at gary@newjerseystage.com.



New Jersey Stage provides affordable advertising for the arts, click here for info



FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Jax

Jax Hollow

Saturday, July 19, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music


 

A

A Night of Worship with Bishop William Murphy - Live in Concert!

Saturday, July 19, 2025 @ 7:00pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: music


 

Joanna

Joanna Connor

Tuesday, July 22, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music


 

Lynette

Lynette Sheard - ​​​​​​​Gatsby Reimagined

Thursday, July 24, 2025 @ 7:30pm
The Morris Museum Back Deck
6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music


 

Back

Back to the Eighties Show with Jessie’s Girl

Thursday, July 24, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
100 South Street, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music


 


 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Bergen

Bergen County Parks Department presents Music At The Barn

(PARK RIDGE, NJ) -- Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco and the Board of Commissioners invite the public to attend a free music concert featuring The Matt Chertkoff Trio and Houston Person on Sunday, July 27 from 4:00pm – 6:30pm at the Wortendyke Barn Museum, a County Historic Site (13 Pascack Rd, Park Ridge). This is the first concert in the 2025 music series.



71st

71st Annual Choir Festival: The Light of Life to Take Place on Saturday

(OCEAN GROVE, NJ) -- Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association joyfully presents the 71st Annual Choir Festival: The Light of Life on Saturday, July 19, 2025 at 7:00pm. Set within the soaring arches of the historic Great Auditorium—an awe-inspiring 6,500-seat space revered as a sacred ground for worship and music—this beloved summer tradition gathers hundreds of singers for a night of profound praise.



Lizzie

Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Jax Hollow on Saturday

(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Jax Hollow on Saturday, July 19, 2025 at 7:30pm. In a city teeming with some of the world's most talented entertainers, Nashville's Jax Hollow has emerged as a rare triple threat—a nuanced and hard-hitting songwriter, a powerhouse vocalist, and a world-class guitarist. She's a true embodiment of the Music City Trifecta.



Human

Human Wheels (Mellencamp Tribute Band) to Perform at Drew University

(MADISON, NJ) -- Human Wheels, the premier John Mellencamp tribute band, will perform at the Concert Hall at Drew University on Saturday, September 13, 2025 at 8:00pm.



Lyceum

Lyceum Hall Center for the Arts presents Aria Nouveau

(BURLINGTON, NJ) -- On Saturday, August 2, 2025, the City of Burlington, Mayor Barry Conaway, and Lyceum Hall Center for the Arts' co-artistic directors, Barbara Fisher and Patty Howard will welcome Aria Nouveau. This is a classical crossover performance featuring vocalists Laura Auer (soprano) and John Riesen (tenor). Showtime is 11:30am.