Pat Mason was the #1 Rock band promoter in the Northwest. Mason was an amazing character! Ask any band that he booked or the DJ's that hosted shows and there will be a Pat Mason story. He was instrumental in helping Paul Revere & The Raiders get bookings in the west. Pat would book top ranking talent like Ricky Nelson on "off nights" to get a reduction in their fees. Pat would travel with the bands on the road and would stop at his coin operated laundry stores and have the talent help him carry the change to the car! Pat owned a string of laundries up the coast. This photo is another masterpiece by Gino Rossi. Take a moment and look at Pat's cash booth (Raider Show in Seaside) and notice the candy ready for sales and cash laying in the drawer! Pat was the king of booking shows!
Thanks to Roger W Morgan, Roger Hart and Tiger Tom Murphy for the inside track on this amazing promoter Pat Mason.
Photo By Gino Rossi
I knew Pat quite well. He lived in Seaside and was a legend (your correct) with the bands trying to make it on the national music scene. Pat booked groups in small towns in the northwest and again your correct, he gave The Raiders bookings when they were trying to get traction. He was from the old school of promoter-hucksters that scratched to make a buck. Many could take a quick glance at the photo and move on, this captured exactly what Pat's passion was. Working the ticket booth so the cash could be counted with no missing greenbacks.
Posted by: S.J | November 30, 2009 at 07:15 AM
He was my uncle and I remember how different the world was when we would visit my aunt Alta and uncle Pat it is all good memories !! Dan Haley
Posted by: Dan Haley | November 22, 2012 at 07:17 PM