Mraz: From coffeehouses to major-label hit maker

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

San Diego singer-songwriter Jason Mraz brings his distinct voice and acoustic sounds to fans in concerts on O'ahu, Maui and Kaua'i. Jason Mraz with Makana, Tristan Prettyman 7:30 p.m. Saturday Hawai'i Theatre $20, $22.50, $27.50 528-0506 Also: Sunday afternoon singing the national anthem before the Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium, Sunday night at Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Feb. 20 at Kilauea Theater, Kaua'i

The mp3s they trade are mostly low-fi, recorded by fans in small clubs and coffeehouses nationwide, where Mraz played between 2000 and 2003. Over table chatter and bar calls, the energetic performances capture Mraz on acoustic guitar, his range-defying voice crystalline, often with trace elements of improv scat and hip-hop. His longtime percussionist/on-stage comedic muse Toca Rivera provides a djembe backbeat.

The recordings capture a moment in Mraz's career he quickly began to miss once "Rocket's" 2003 success found him touring with a full band in larger venues. And to longtime fans of Mraz's music, they're the gold standard against which everything he does is still judged.

"Those are still my favorite days ... still my favorite way of playing," said Mraz, 27. "A lot of my shows are still of the same caliber and quality as those coffee shop days were, especially when I'm out by myself or just with Toca."

For example, a solo acoustic set he'd played at a San Diego coffeehouse the evening before our chat.

"Whenever I'm not on tour, I'm at home in San Diego, doing exactly what I've always done. So it's a really nice mix these days."

Mraz's Saturday show at the Hawai'i Theatre promises more of a coffeehouse than post-"Rocket" vibe. He'll perform solo acoustic with a set list mixing road-tested favorites on/not on "Rocket" and new songs from his upcoming sophomore disc.

Opening the show is San Diego-based singer/songwriter Tristan Prettyman. Co-headlining is slack-key guitarist Makana, whom Mraz invited on his nationwide "Curbside Prophet" tour last spring.

Raised in the smallish Virginia burg of Mechanicsville — his voice still has relaxed traces of a Southern accent — Mraz trained his vocals with starring roles in high school musicals. Joseph in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Snoopy in, uh, "Snoopy." Mraz was even in a makeshift Color-Me-Badd inspired vocal group called Dressed To Kill.

"I had been tinkering with writing songs through high school," said Mraz. "I had instrumental records and I'd write raps to 'em — my own lyrics, my own melodies."

Post-graduation, he took up guitar to add his own folk-rootsy instrumentation to his lyrics and, to some extent, as a surefire way of impressing girls.

"It definitely helped because I was a very scrawny, goofy-looking 18-year-old boy who had a lot of hormones," he said.

Mraz also moved to New York around the same time to train in musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Melody, craft, harmony and vocal range? Mraz had it in spades. Acting and dancing chops? Not so much.

After a year of "working 40 hours a week and living in the tiniest apartment I could ever imagine living in," Mraz moved back to Mechanicsville, determined to perfect his songwriting, guitar and vocal skills. His new goal? Doing his own music on his own terms.

Three years later, Mraz tossed everything he had into his pickup truck and drove cross-country to San Francisco seeking gigs. He did all right there.

"But everybody kept saying, 'Check out San Diego,' " said Mraz. "And as soon as I did — and I mean right away — I was able to get into some coffee shops, find a scene and find musicians that I could learn from."

His performances soon landed him a Thursday-night residency at Java Joe's, the San Diego coffeehouse most famous for giving Jewel her first gigs. With djembe player Rivera, Mraz held the night down for two years, much of it for packed houses.

Self-financed demos and live recordings found their way to major labels, and Mraz signed with Elektra in early 2002. "Waiting for My Rocket to Come" was recorded back home in Virginia soon after, with roots-rockers Agents of Good Root — Mraz's favorite band in high school — as his backup players and John Alagia (Dave Matthews, John Mayer) producing.

"I had been a coffee shop guy only a week before we recorded, so I was a nervous wreck," remembered Mraz. "But (Agents) were phenomenal musicians. We just kept dressing the songs up. And for a very cheap record, we did our best to make it sound like a million bucks."

"Rocket" launched in October 2002, with Mraz continuing to tour with Rivera and bassist Ian Sheridan as an acoustic trio. "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" — a catchy, earnest and uplifting pop anthem inspired by a close friend's surviving bone cancer — became a hit soon after, peaking at No. 4 on Billboard's adult top 40 chart.

"Rocket's" success continued with "You & I Both" (No. 15) and "Curbside Prophet (No. 23) becoming radio hits nationwide (except Hawai'i, sadly) in 2003. Initially nervous about taking his music from coffeehouses to the pop charts, Mraz was taken aback by the record's modest success.

"I think our goal was to sell 50,000 (CDs) in 11 months. If we could do that, we were promised a second record," said Mraz. "We did 500,000 in 11 months. We had no idea."

After a year of writing, Mraz wrapped up recording of that second record last month. Cheekily titled "Mr. A-Z," it was produced by Steve Lillywhite (U2, Peter Gabriel) and will be out late this year.

Mraz described it as more dressed-down production-wise than "Rocket," with a live feel and playfulness that should prove instantly recognizable to fans of his early work.

"I don't want to say I've gotten serious, because I'm definitely not serious at all on this record," said Mraz. "I think it's definitely ... goofy. There's just so many moments when I listen to it where I feel like I break character and I'm just being goofy. But I like that, because that's me."

Reach Derek Paiva at 525-8005 or dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.

For fans only

San Diego-based singer-songwriter Jason Mraz releases his second album, "Mr. A-Z," later this year. He describes it as having more of a live feel and playfulness than his million-selling debut CD. Mraz will share the Hawai'i Theatre stage with slack-key artist Makana, who joined Mraz's "Curbside Prophet" tour last spring.

On Makana: "I met Makana via my yoga instructor (who) played his music while we did yoga. When I was putting together the (Curbside Prophet) tour last year, Makana was one of the first people I thought of. I like his music. It's peaceful, (and) slack-key guitar is just hypnotizing. What he brought to the show was just totally different, totally unique and really put a different spin on things."

On the best thing about playing the San Diego coffee shops: "We knew everybody. We played Java Joe's every Thursday for two years. And by the end of that, you knew everybody that walked in the door. We all hung out. There was no backstage. And it was great!"

On his oft-requested, never studio-recorded, live nine-minute epic "Dream Life of Rand McNally": "I can't escape 'Rand McNally.' I was in Japan, the (venue) was packed with Japanese people, and the only thing they're really yelling is 'Jay-Son! Jay-Son! Jay-Son!' Except there's one college dude in the back who must come to every show and he's yelling 'Rand McNally!' It happens at every show. I don't always do it. I think I can drop it out at least once in Hawai'i."