John Cruz, Nä Hoku Hanohano Award-winning singer-composer, is going lean and green in November and December, with a statewide tour at modest venues with easy-on-the-pocketbook admission.

It's his stimulus effort, to provide affordable good vibes in grassroots spaces. Some gigs have dinner options. We caught up with him in Kona, to catch up on his mission:

Question: With a tight economy, this is a tour with affordable prices in venues not commonly tapped for a trouper of your stature. Is this an easy Cruz (well, cruise) for you, or a challenge?
Answer: It's great to fill large venues, but regardless of how big a place is or what the ticket price, the goal is always the same, and that is to connect with fans and make people feel good.
Q: In these rough times for folks, with furloughs and lean wallets, do you suppose your grassroots route will have appeal and make fans feel better and at the same time support you?
Bigger venues cost more to play at, so this time, I wanted to keep ticket prices down for people who wanted to come see me play but maybe couldn't afford it. So I decided to play at smaller places with low overhead.
Q: You performed earlier this year at the South by Southwest fest in Austin. How did Hawai'i's music fit with that crowd?
Austin is a music town, and fans there already had a familiarity with Hawaiian music. Rather than hoping people would accept the music, we found they were actually seeking us out because they were excited to finally have some Hawaiians play Austin. The whole experience was a blast.
Q: What can you say about the third album that's in the works?
My new album is really just starting to take shape, so I'm still not sure what it's going to become. I'm still selecting the songs and deciding what I want it to be. I have some songs that I love and others that have yet to be written. I'm excited to be starting another project, and keep the creativity going.
I hope I can capture that same magic in this third project.
Q: You plan to hit the road next year to the East Coast, the West Coast, Canada, Japan, etc. Are you a traveling man — living from a suitcase?
I love traveling. I'm fine with living out of a suitcase, backpack or whatever. I just love to get out there and play. It's an opportunity for people to hear my music, which is wonderful no matter how long I'm on the road.
Q: You're part of a musical family, with a dad who entertained and brothers who sing and strum. Ultimately, at some time, you all were competing for the same audience. How competitive, or supportive, are you, as 'ohana-siblings-musicians?
My family has always been very supportive of each other. We're not competitive about our music. We might have some of the same audience, but we feel it's a blessing to be able to get up there and play it. It's about the joy of the music, not about who is better than whom.
Q: Is it intimidating to count among your fans, and friends, some notables like Jack Johnson, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, Lisa Loeb, Trey Anastasio and others?
It's great to be around artists like that to see what music is like for them; I'm just happy they've found success and psyched they're able to crack that lock, so to speak.
Q: And whom do you admire and listen to, as fan?
In Hawaiian music, I admire Peter Moon, Auntie Genoa and of course, Gabby ... my brothers and sisters too, because I love them. In contemporary folk music, I love Bruce Cockburn, Greg Brown, artists that don't get a lot of mainstream radio play. They are more independent, and I think it's rewarding to do it yourself.
Q: It must be a cool gig, to be spokesman of Sprint Hawaii's "Mr. Holland's Opus" Foundation, which donates free 'ukuleles to schools. Do you wish you had this kind of kokua while you were in school?
When I was in school, music was a standard part of the curriculum. Everybody had a chance to play. It's strange to hear that schools now don't have music programs or that students have to play paper 'ukuleles. Hawai'i has such a rich musical heritage, and the fact that the state doesn't nurture that is ridiculous.
Q: What do you like to do when you're not singing or entertaining ... in other words, the flip side of John Cruz, performer?
I love fishing, and go as often as I can. I like to go camping and do stuff that's quiet and that doesn't happen in front of people.
Q: "Island Style" will probably be your signature. How true-to-life is it? Was there a verse that never made the cut?
Island Style is completely true to life. That's why I wrote it. It means different things to different people, which is why different verses have taken life. I wrote my other verse as a response to people who started writing them on their own.