One of the more entertaining aspects of Mafia culture—both in fact and fiction—is the proliferation of nicknames that wiseguys and goodfellas are known by. Going down this colorful roll call made for one of the funnier scenes in Goodfellas, which was amped up even more in the truly hilarious Saturday Night Live parody.
Some years ago, Georgia-based blues singer/guitarist Brooks Mason was on the road with his band, and as a lark they decided to give each other “Mafia names” and speak with Italian accents.
So, he became “Eddie.” And then he explained to Blues Rock Review—as a nod to his short temper, which could “fizz like a battery”—he became “Eddie 9V” (pronounced “Eddie 9 Volt”). That most guitar pedals use 9 Volt as a power source was just fortuitous. Plus, as he noted, it sounded a hell of a lot better for the group than “The Brooks Mason Blues Bland.”
Well, Eddie 9V has gotten a lot more attention since the release of his fourth studio album, Saratoga in 2024. It’s the most complete crystallization of his meld of soul, blues, and rock, with an at-times throwback vibe which he delivers in a high voice that goes beyond and expands his previous releases musically. Eddie 9V will electrify Houston on February 13 at the Continental Club.
“Saratoga has definitely been a slow burn. In the music industry, in the back of your mind, you have this small thing telling yourself that every release is going to immediately be big. With the other ones, we just put them out and hoped for the best,” he says while (literally) on the road to the tour’s first gig in Dallas.
“With this one, I spent more time on the hooks. My co-manager, Alex, basically told me to make sure these were songs that I could play by a campfire with an acoustic guitar and still sell them,” he continues. Though he also notes that they’ll be playing “really loud” at their shows.
“The album took two years to make. We knew what we were doing more sound wise. It’s got better songs.”
Growing up in the Atlanta and Macon areas, the overwhelming influence of the latter city’s homegrown Capricorn Records seeped into his musical growth. With artists like the Allman Brothers Band, Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie, and Elvin Bishop, owner Phil Walden’s label laid the blueprint for Southern Rock.
“When we were growing up, my dad showed us a lot of older music. I was lucky in that. Other kids had to find it on their own. But I’m glad to be from Atlanta,” he offers.
In his bio, Eddie 9V talks about the musical influence of Atlanta-based blues singer/guitarist Sean Costello. He tragically died in his hotel room in 2008, one day shy of his 29th birthday, from a combination of existing medical, mental, and drug issues.
That was before Eddie 9V ever got to meet or see him, but one of his friends was in Costello’s band and gifted him one of Costello’s Stratocaster guitars. Which Eddie 9V now uses every night on stage. “It’s awesome to carry on that legacy,” he notes.
“When I went to YouTube to see some of his videos, the comments said ‘RIP’ and that was a shock. My keyboard player played with him a bunch. But I’m glad there’s a lot of video out there.” Eddie 9V also played one of Costello’s Les Paul Gold Top guitars on Saratoga, which a friend from Gibson Guitars had purchased.
Saratoga showcases a wide breadth of material, but two songs in particular sound as if they traveled in a time machine to 2026. The horn-fueled, gospel-and-soul epic ‘60s workout “Cry Like a River,” and a ghostly, ’50s reverb-drenched “The Road to Nowhere.” The latter of which Eddie 9V sings in a much lower register than the rest of the album.
“’Road to Nowhere’ was one of the first tunes we wrote, and I was listening to a lot of Everly Brothers. It wasn’t even supposed to make the record!” he laughs.
“And ‘Cry Like a River,’ that’s just me listening to a lot of Wilson Pickett. He’s one of my favorite singers of all time and more people should listen to him [beyond] ‘Mustang Sally’ and ‘In the Midnight Hour.’ Most of these songs are me trying to get them to sound right in my home studio before taking them out. I just wanted to make an old Muscle Shoals kind of song.”
Accompanying Eddie 9V on the tour is his regular band including his brother and frequent songwriting partner, Lane Kelly (bass), along with Chad Mason (keyboards) and David Green (drums). Also onstage will be Dustin McCook as an additional guitarist/singer.
After this show, Eddie 9V will be back in Houston on July 24 opening for the Black Keys at White Oak Music Hall on their just-announced Peaches ‘n Kream world tour. They’re also working on a new record for release this year and are now signed to Black Keys’ singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound label.
Finally, longtime fans might have noticed, um, a visual change in Eddie 9V. Gone is the visage of the man with the short, carefully-groomed hair, clean shaven face, and Buddy Holly glasses from the covers of Left My Soul in Memphis (2019), live record Way Down the Alley [Live at Blind Willie’s] (2020), Little Black Flies (2021), and Capricorn (2023).
In his place is a new Eddie 9V who has long hair, looks a bit scruffy, favors shaded sunglass, and wears retro Western clothes and headgear. So…did he one day look in the mirror and just decide to make a change?
“Well, when we got management, we were dressing crazy. Not crazy good, crazy bad. And we were strictly a blues and soul group. We wore suits and it was kind of silly,” he laughs. “And I was tired of putting pomade in my hair every night!”
Finally, when asked specifically about the ‘70s/’80s-era worn cowboy hat with ample plumage he sports on the picture at the top of this story, Eddie 9V says all thanks go to…eBay.
“I love that hat!” he enthuses. “I’m a big fan of Johnny Paycheck and these old country acts like Hank Williams, Jr. I wanted a hat like that, but they’re like $700 now. So, I just went to eBay and typed in ‘Richard Petty hat’ and that came up. It was only $30. I had to buy it!”
Eddie 9V plays at 9 p.m. on Friday, February 13, at the Continental Club, 3714 Main. For more information, call 713-529-9899 or visit ContinentalClub.com/Houston. Johnny Mullenax opens. $20-$30.
For more on Eddie 9V, visit Eddie9Volt.com.
This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.