They’d been together since Greenville College back in Illinois, had families to support - with no solid work experience outside of making music - and a nonprofit they’d launched to provide clean water in Africa, Blood:Water Mission.Įven before Haseltine’s Internet flap, Mason enrolled in barber school, preparing for a leap of faith.

On the other hand, there were good reasons to keep going. They were getting older, and it was time to start thinking about plan B.

As the band’s religious beliefs shifted, it became tougher to play lucrative evangelical music festivals. Googling Haseltine’s name produces pages of articles on the resulting backlash and his ensuing explanation.īut the real story is more complicated. There’s an easy narrative around Mason’s new career that says his old one was derailed by lead singer Dan Haseltine’s series of tweets in 2014 in support of same-sex marriage. What there isn’t: any sign of the barber’s two decades as guitarist and vocalist for chart-topping, Grammy-winning Christian rock band Jars of Clay, best known to secular fans for crossover hit “Flood” in 1996. The decor is stacks of towels, bottles of Lucky Tiger aftershave and letterpress art of mustachioed men. There’s not much parking, but that’s OK because there’s only room for Mason, his Prohibition-era barber chair and a row of three theater seats for folks who are waiting. Stephen Mason’s new barbershop is right next door to Nashville’s famed trailer/dive bar Santa’s Pub. Watch Video: Jays of Clay guitarist opens Nashville barber shop

Songs by jars of clay