Jason Mraz
Friday, September 18th 8:55PM - 10:15PM
Your friend Colbie Caillat wanted me to tell you that she misses you and she thanks you so much for the incredible stage experience in Chicago on August 13th, where you recorded three live versions of the 'Lucky' duet with her. Any message for her?
I am so grateful that she came to Chicago for little old me. It was a blessed musical evening made so because of her gorgeous voice.
You're a unique voice in the music world because you've found success by being mostly positive. Why are you so happy, and why do you think anger and disillusionment and sadness are such popular creative muses?
What I'm sharing in music is how I overcome sadness, loneliness, boredom, anger; all of those subjects, all those negative aspects of life. My songs are actually the product of being all of those things. I'm still human, but I use music to balance me out. If I wake up on the wrong side of bed, I can still choose how to be happy. Life is not about handing you something, or giving you a pill to be happy. For me, writing and music is a way to always get back to a place of peace. It's what the new album (We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things) and the tour ('Gratitude Café') are about. The message is gratitude. I'm thankful for my fans, for life, health, seeing and hearing; things you're given from start. Life is pretty good. Usually the stuff we're troubled by, the things that make us angry, are the things we don't speak up about. Maybe you wanted to be a poet, but your parents wanted you to be a veterinarian. This kind of struggle can cause sadness. The world would be a happier place if you were a poet for yourself and not a veterinarian for someone else.
Did your folks approve of your dramatic and artistic pursuits? Were you a good kid or did you get in trouble a lot? Tell us about growing up in Mechanicsville, VA.
They were very supportive. I was a dork; always in chorus and drama. I ran with whatever crowd I wanted to run with. I was polite, on time, and acted in a way that made my parents trust me. Mechanicsville is typical Americana: churches on every corner, schools, people getting married after high school then having babies. Life goes on.
We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things is an interesting title. 'We Sing' and 'We Dance' seems intuitive enough for an album title; explain 'We Steal Things'. What are you referring to?
I actually stole the phrase from a Scottish artist (Visual humorist David Shrigley). In one of his drawings he etched those words, and I thought it was brilliant. It summed up modern civilization: We take everything for granted; it's stolen. We adapt to everything, we can own it, take it, wear it... it's reflective of the style that we adopt. The title is about the opportunities we take to be happy and fulfilled.
You rock the fedora today; what fashion staple will you be rocking in ten years?
