Jason Mraz is an American singer-songwriter who first came to prominence on the San Diego coffee
house scene in 2000.
He was born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
He enrolled at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, but instead of attending classes, he
headed west on a road trip that ultimately brought him to San Diego, where he decided to stay.
Mraz has sold over seven million albums, and over 11 millions digital singles.
-Wikipedia
Birth name:
Jason Thomas Mraz
Born:
June 23, 1977 (age
)
From:
Mechanicsville, Virginia, U.S.
Genres:
Pop rock, pop, blue-eyed soul, alternative rock, reggae, acoustic
Occupations:
Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments:
Vocals, guitar, piano, mandolin, mandola, banjo, ukulele
Years active:
1999present
Associated acts:
Christina Perri
Colbie Caillat
Jack Johnson
Tristan Prettyman
Notable Instruments:
Taylor Guitars
Did You Know:
His hit single
The Remedy
was about a friend who had cancer
Jason Mraz Quotes:
Careers can disappear just as quickly as they're made, so I'm in no hurry.
I've always been happy. I've just been loving doing this. It's just great. I couldn't ask for anything more. I've great friends and family.
I've been compared to people since the beginning. When you're starting out, you need a comparison so people will understand you right away.
In the words of Michael Jackson: I'm a lover, not a fighter.
It was a very bizarre experience for me, to get the songs together, go in there, and try to deliver them as I would perhaps in a live setting. But I realized that I couldn't take on that coffeehouse style that I came from and go in there and burn it up.
My dad is still the only Mraz in the Mechanicsville phone book, so he's getting calls from girls to see if I'm home!
My goal is to show everyone that they, too, can do what they love to do.
My parents dreaded the fact that I was changing my life to do this, but I just kept doing it.
Our shows are packed with laughter and light-hearted songs to lift the listener from their everyday life. We encourage the audience to participate in any way.
Sometimes you forget where the heck you are but when you get on stage, you know by the look on the people's faces and the accent in their voices where you might be.
Surrender to life itself and you'll just be rewarded with so many things. And I've been rewarded so many times, in so many mysterious ways. So I have no reason to be disappointed with anything.
The easiest songs to write are pure fiction. There is no limit to how you can tell the story. I find it difficult when I'm replaying an event through a song.
Traveling has a major impact on what I do, cause all over the world I'm meeting all kinds of people. And relationships is the second major impact that I have. I just enjoy the variety that the world has to offer.
We want people to see us live before we continue on and call ourselves recording artists.
What I enjoy the most about all this is the traveling. I love that my job allows me to travel all over the world.
When I was in high school, The Dave Matthews Band was a local band, and that was the first time I was starting to connect with a live band that was something that wasn't on the radio or TV.
Getting on stage is a bonus, that's my therapy, that's when I can tell stories and it all makes sense.
I basically had the idea when I was 18 that I wanted to write my own songs. I knew it was going to be a long, tough road, and I was like, if I just begin now, by the time I'm 40, I'll be good at it.
I buy records from all across the board. I get kind of a hybrid of influences in my own music.
I came from Mechanicsville, Virginia, where you have four seasons.
I didn't want to be a headshot and get a chance to go compete to sing-that's not me.
I encourage the players to simply feel what they feel and relay that on tape. The outcome was brighter than I could have ever imagined.
I had always been singing, all of my life, but it wasn't until I got out of high school and was on my own that I didn't have any accompaniment.
I had never made a record before, so I didn't know anything about it. I don't know anything about knobs, frequencies, tones.
I think anyone who uses the web is smart and will profit.
I think especially with the Internet and the amount of reality shows that are going on, there's no way to keep a secret anymore, so I try to let my project be as much as reality show as I can allow it to be.
I was looking for inspiration. I found it in California. The weather was always great, and the majority of San Diego seemed to be youth-and if you weren't 21 and couldn't get into the clubs, you'd go to a coffeehouse and hang out.
I'm always thinking about the next record. I've got like 20 different themes and then I'll scratch the themes. It's a learning process.
I'm totally into new age and self-help books. I used to work in a bookstore and that's the section they gave me, and I got way into it. I just loved the power of positive thinking, letting yourself go.
Jason Mraz Awards:
2004
San Diego Music Award for Artist Of The Year
2003
San Diego Music Award for Song Of The Year "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)"
San Diego Music Award for Artist Of The Year
2002
San Diego Music Award for Artist Of The Year
San Diego Music Award for Best Acoustic
Tour Dates: