Jason Mraz: Curbside Prophet

You've seen the type; cute, alternately brooding then fast-singing young musicians making the coffeehouse circuit. There are always some that you sense will make it big with the right break. Jason Mraz was one of those success stories in San Diego, California. His popular album "Waiting for my Rocket to Come" is an exciting blend of humor, pathos and personal journey. Jason is an original. In some pix he resembles the actor Hugh Grant and then there's the wacky side. He wears a baseball cap tilted to the side and furry bunny slippers in his video for "The Remedy", as he gives fans the answer to life's problems... his own version of "Don't Worry, Be Happy". Jason is now on tour all over America and Canada.

In Los Angeles, we spoke with the singer/songwriter, who lists his influences as everyone from Dave Matthews to Sade, Beck and Bjork, about his start, his songwriting philosophy and his stint as a curbside prophet.

TeenMusic: Where is home? Where do you live most of the time?

Jason: Mostly right here in L.A. I spent the first three years in California in San Diego, and I've been here in L.A. for two years.

TeenMusic: Is anybody else in your family besides you musical?

Jason: My mom sings, and her father sang. He passed away when I was in seventh grade. But my mom sings, plays piano. We had a piano in the house, so it was always around. My mom plays hymns. My sister's sung a little bit, but she sort of got out of it.

TeenMusic: What's the best advice you've ever been given, and who gave it to you?

Jason: I had an acting teacher when I was in ninth grade, when I was doing a community theater thing; and he wrote me this really nice letter when the show was over. One of the things he told me was, like, be humble. Watch what you do, and be thankful for it. And I always took that to heart, you know. I think that's important, and I've always tried to pass that on to others. Because of that I wake up every day and I'm, like, wow – thank you so much for what I do.

TeenMusic: Do you think the coffee house scene is still a viable way to get started, or was that just lucky for you?

Jason: No, I think it's a great way. I think it's very, very important. You know, coffee house was it for me because I couldn't play the clubs. I was an acoustic musician, so I used it as my home to get comfortable playing, to make a connection with people and hone my act. I see a lot of people who play great music and all they want to just get through it; they just want to record and get it out there.

TeenMusic: Yeah, they're impatient.

Jason: Yeah. I got to the point I didn't care if we made a record or got to this point. At this point, I really miss the coffee shops because it was home, and it was so real. But I think it's really important for anybody starting out to find a home and just play the heck out of it. And also, there are other people playing there, and you can learn so much from those other people. I think it's a great thing.

TeenMusic: Were you actually a curbside prophet? Did you ever sing on the street with your hat on the curb?

Jason: I did a little bit. You just have eight to twelve seconds as people are walking by to get their attention. If you're singing like your own song and if it's long and brooding or whatever, they might just drift on by and not really get what you're trying to do. So I was kind of forced, like, "Okay, I've got eight and a half seconds," I started my song as they were coming, and I would cater the song to like their strut. So I can still apply those theories today to my audience – to the vibes in the room. You know you can feed off that. It's great training. It's not to say, "Hey, come look at me. This is what I'm gonna do today." I want to be a reflection of their mood.

TeenMusic: That's great. I expect they appreciate that. You had a false start in New York in the mid-90's. What's the story on that?

Jason: I moved to New York for seven years in the theater, because I really didn't play any instruments up to that point – I just wanted to be a singer. And the only thing I had known was musical theater, so I moved to New York to study that. Then I started playing guitar and realized if I'm going to compete at this, I'm going to do it with my own songs. If I'm competing like that, I can take my own time, whereas in musical theatre, you're competing with bodies for the same stage, and you're singing songs that everyone else is singing. So, I felt like I would be happier and stronger doing it on my own.

TeenMusic: Are you happy that the music industry is turning away from manufactured pop to featuring singer/songwriters and will it stick?

Jason: Well, yeah, I think it'll stick. People always have had a respect for that. I think it's timely because everyone loves reality television; everyone loves reality shows. And a singer-songwriter is reality music, you know. They can see the artist, and they can believe that this person wrote it, and they can believe the stories that they're telling. Songwriters will last forever. But what I found interesting is Liz Phair and Jewel, both very respected singer-songwriters who established themselves, have now both released big pop records. I know Jewel well, and I know she's making it complete mockery of it and having fun with it. And I think it's great. I think it's a great business move. Looking at all her albums, I think it's gonna be great.

TeenMusic: So, what is your process when you write a song? Do you write it down on a pad of paper or computer, and does the music come first or the lyrics?

Jason: The music, the starting phrases come out first. They usually come out when I'm listening to the radio or I was at a club the other night and wrote some stuff down. Each song's usually written so different. I'll practice on the guitar and play the heck out of it for hours, singing freely over it and record it. Then I'll go back and say, "Wow, I like that, I like that, I like that." But I rarely sit down and write something like the next line, the next line, the next line. I rarely do that. It's too hard for me to find it. It's easier for me to sing it. And let it just come out and just channel it from somewhere else.

TeenMusic: What is the weirdest object you've ever written lyrics on? Some guy said his girlfriend's arm.

Jason: I've used my jeans before.

TeenMusic: Did anyone ever try to buy a song without you singing it?

Jason: It's happened the other way around, which is kind of weird for me. Like, "We'd love to have you sing on this track, you know, like have your voice on this track for a movie. We don't want you to write the song".

TeenMusic: I've seen pictures of you with a rabbit hat on with ears and one where you look exactly like Hugh Grant. So what's your real style? Are we ever going to catch you in a suit?

Jason: I love suits. I've always mixed my style up. I kinda like that. I hope, I mean I haven't been in this business very long, but already a lot of people have noticed all different kinds of styles I've got going.

TeenMusic: What, besides singing, do you do really well and what do you do really badly?

Jason: Okay. I think I'm a pretty good photographer. I take mostly Polaroids. I used to direct little home movies with all my friends. I think I do that pretty well. What do I do really badly? Let's see. Cook. I can make guacamole. I'm very good at that, but that's about it. I can make cereal.

TeenMusic: Is there anything in your life that's just too personal to write a song about?

Jason: Yeah, there's all kinds of stuff. Sometimes, I'll write a song that is so current, I couldn't perform (it) with the person next to me. So oftentimes, I wait a couple months and let it blow over before the song comes out.

TeenMusic: There's still a lot of downloading and passing your stuff around on the internet. Do you think that's helped or hurt your career?

Jason: I think it's helped. It's great. I mean, long before the internet, people used to pass tapes of bands that I've never gotten to see live and fall in love with them. And I think the internet is an easy way to do that, to really turn people on. Because the album is just one month with me, to record it in five weeks, and that's it. Where each night our live show is totally different. We're saying crazy stuff, we're mixing up the set. And people don't get a chance to see every last show. They come to one, but wow, the shows three days later are even better. If they could see that, they'd really flip out. I love having that freedom. I've always been a poor man. I plan on being one for the rest of my life. I have everything I need – a killer job. So....

TeenMusic: What song is the theme song of your life?

Jason: Well, I think for the past year, "Rocket Man" by Elton John.

TeenMusic: So what would you be doing if you weren't singing?

Jason: Wow. I've been working on a book. It's a graphic novel, so it's kinda like a comic book. It'll be illustrated. One of my best friends is an amazing graphic designer and painter and photographer, so he's going to illustrate my book. So I would hope that I could still try to write songs for other folks if I wasn't singing. Or maybe acting. I think I'd like to act. I also love all the behind-the-scenes stuff. I've always said, that after I'm forty maybe I'll go into films. After I'm a little older and look – I think when I'm forty, I'll look twenty-five. I still feel like I'm eighteen right now.

TeenMusic: Well, a lot of twenty-year-olds are running the business.

Jason: Yeah, that's true. I just feel I need to live a little before people can start believing my acting.

TeenMusic: What's your idea of ideal things you'd like to do on a date?

Jason: Well, you don't go out and do something that's going to make you both uncomfortable. If you don't know each other yet, the first thing I'd do is go and do something fun that you guys could be together. I used to go down to a little amusement park in San Diego and ride the roller coaster or go to a movie so you can be comfortable with the person, getting to know them just by sitting next to them. Then afterward you can talk about the movie. You start finding things to relate with. Like I've never been one to say, "Let's just go to dinner."

TeenMusic Who are you dying to do a duet with?

Jason: I'd like to a duet with Jewel. We've sung together on her tour, a while back. I think she'd be fun to do a duet with. She scats like crazy.

TeenMusic: What has been your most weird or most touching fan encounter so far?

Jason: My favorite one is a woman came up to me after a show. She'd waited a long time and said, "I just wanted to thank you, because this is the first thing my daughter and I have had in common for years." I love that stuff.

TeenMusic: When you're on tour, how do you blow off steam?

Jason: We just started this new tour wearing costumes. It's kind of like when we leave the theater, we have to go to the bus. And there're always tons of people lined up waiting for us. And rather than just come out and be overwhelmed, we come out as characters, like I come out as a pirate. And I love watching movies. I don't usually have time to find out what's playing or when, but I just know I have two and a half hours of free time, I go to the theater – whatever's playing. I love getting the large popcorn, sitting in the dark and watching the giant screen. It's great.

TeenMusic: What is next for you?

Jason: We tour. We tour until Christmas. Then we'll make an album in January or February next year. In September, we do Japan and New Zealand. Then in October-November, we'll do another full tour of the States.

TeenMusic: Have all your childhood dreams come true, and what's left if they haven't?

Jason: They have, they have actually. It's pretty amazing when that happens. You look around and say, "Oh my gosh, what do I do now?" you know? What do I dream about now? What do I wish for? Although I did want to be a magician for a little while. I started to [learn], but then I got all caught up in this music. And I don't know, I thought I'd like a magician kit and go for a week. I think that'd be fun. Then I always wanted to have a water slide, coming out of my bedroom into a pool in the backyard. I don't have that yet.

TeenMusic: Is it important for you to inject humor into your songs, because you have a lot of humor in most of them. Why is it so important to be funny?

Jason: I think everyone can relate to laughter. Someone once told me that to have a successful life, there are two things you have to do every day. One of them is to sweat and the other one is to laugh. If you can play some music, if you can incorporate laughter, you're doing a good thing in the world, you know?

***

Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.