Jason Mraz on writer's block and the advocacies close to his heart
By ROWENA JOY A. SANCHEZNovember 3, 2011, 12:10pm
‘Sometimes I wish I could spend most of my time just giving the music to the causes,’ says Jason Mraz during an intimate roundtable interview last Oct. 30 at the Crowne Plaza (Photo by ROWENA JOY A. SANCHEZ)
MANILA, Philippines – He may be “Mr. A to Z” and “all about the wordplay,” but American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz admits he also has writer’s block sometimes.
But while other writers, artists or musicians usually get rid of it by stepping away from the creative process, Jason takes the bull by its horns.
“Usually when I get writer's block, I write about writer's block. Because then that's what's going on in your life,” he told Bulletin Entertainment and select members of the media in an interview last Oct. 30 hours before his packed second Manila concert titled “Jason Mraz Special Acoustic Evening with Toca Rivera.”
Confronting these blocks head-on has, in fact, given birth to one of his songs off his 2005 sophomore effort, “Mr. A-Z,” titled “Mr. Curiosity,” which he forthrightly described as a “song about writer’s block.”
“I wrote it on my birthday, and I dubbed Mr. Curiosity as that which keeps me curious, that which would make me ask more questions, that which would make me be inspired. So I'm like, ‘Mr. Curiosity, come back to me, come back to my life and give me a reason to write,’” he recounted.
For Jason, pouring his thoughts out into words and music is “a way for me to answer questions that I might have within” and that which gives him “some kind of peace.” What he said next, however, may well prove the depth of his artistry:
“But because I'm a writer, I never settle with what those answers are. It's like I'll accept the answers that I'm given at that time but then I have to forget it all in order to keep writing. There was a time in my life when I thought, I know it all, I got it, I'm done, I'm happy, I've figured it out. But I realized I stopped writing after that. I wasn't being of service anymore. So I threw it all away, I allowed myself to forget and continue that quenching, that thirst,” said Jason.
The man known for his witty, playful lyrics and effervescent melodies, as heard in hits like “I’m Yours” (which stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 76 weeks), “The Remedy,” and “Geek In The Pink,” admitted to having a “standard” when it comes to writing songs.
“I write cheesy songs, but the world doesn’t hear those,” he said, chuckling. “If it sounds a little too spoon-fed or easy to swallow, I try to beat it as a writer, to write something better than that. So it's just a standard that I have to not be predictable, to take you in a journey through poetry.”
Jason acknowledges how music can impact lives (“Music is a great medicine that tastes so sweet, but we don't really know how potent it really is,” he said) and how it can be utilized to raise awareness for a certain cause such as anti-human trafficking, something which the hit musician fervently supports.
“This is an issue that's recently been brought to my focus within the last year, and it's just shocking, staggering. And the only way we're actually gonna be able to overcome it is if more people will start talking about it,” said Jason, who’s one of the celebrity ambassadors of MTV Exit (End Exploitation and Trafficking).
The Virginia-born Jason talked passionately about his causes apparently in the same way he does about his music. He cited human rights and equality, rights of gays and lesbians (he particularly noted gay marriage) as his advocacies. The troubadour has also put up the Jason Mraz Foundation “which supports environmental preservation, arts and education, trying to keep music and arts alive in our schools, and also assistance and recovery,” among others.
And just recently, he took part in a project called “In Search of Incredible,” which, according to its website, seeks “the most amazing stories from around the world” and introduces these as “films” on the site in hopes of inspiring others “to start your own journey ‘In Search of Incredible.’”
Asked what could be the answer to all of the world’s problems, Jason quickly replied, “Help others.”
“In doing that you get out of your own head, you get out of your own selfish desires and ways and you actually cause a shift in the world, in your own mind, in someone else’s life. So I think to truly bring world peace, it's because we finally started helping each other,” he said.
By ROWENA JOY A. SANCHEZNovember 3, 2011, 12:10pm
‘Sometimes I wish I could spend most of my time just giving the music to the causes,’ says Jason Mraz during an intimate roundtable interview last Oct. 30 at the Crowne Plaza (Photo by ROWENA JOY A. SANCHEZ)
MANILA, Philippines – He may be “Mr. A to Z” and “all about the wordplay,” but American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz admits he also has writer’s block sometimes.
But while other writers, artists or musicians usually get rid of it by stepping away from the creative process, Jason takes the bull by its horns.
“Usually when I get writer's block, I write about writer's block. Because then that's what's going on in your life,” he told Bulletin Entertainment and select members of the media in an interview last Oct. 30 hours before his packed second Manila concert titled “Jason Mraz Special Acoustic Evening with Toca Rivera.”
Confronting these blocks head-on has, in fact, given birth to one of his songs off his 2005 sophomore effort, “Mr. A-Z,” titled “Mr. Curiosity,” which he forthrightly described as a “song about writer’s block.”
“I wrote it on my birthday, and I dubbed Mr. Curiosity as that which keeps me curious, that which would make me ask more questions, that which would make me be inspired. So I'm like, ‘Mr. Curiosity, come back to me, come back to my life and give me a reason to write,’” he recounted.
For Jason, pouring his thoughts out into words and music is “a way for me to answer questions that I might have within” and that which gives him “some kind of peace.” What he said next, however, may well prove the depth of his artistry:
“But because I'm a writer, I never settle with what those answers are. It's like I'll accept the answers that I'm given at that time but then I have to forget it all in order to keep writing. There was a time in my life when I thought, I know it all, I got it, I'm done, I'm happy, I've figured it out. But I realized I stopped writing after that. I wasn't being of service anymore. So I threw it all away, I allowed myself to forget and continue that quenching, that thirst,” said Jason.
The man known for his witty, playful lyrics and effervescent melodies, as heard in hits like “I’m Yours” (which stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 76 weeks), “The Remedy,” and “Geek In The Pink,” admitted to having a “standard” when it comes to writing songs.
“I write cheesy songs, but the world doesn’t hear those,” he said, chuckling. “If it sounds a little too spoon-fed or easy to swallow, I try to beat it as a writer, to write something better than that. So it's just a standard that I have to not be predictable, to take you in a journey through poetry.”
Jason acknowledges how music can impact lives (“Music is a great medicine that tastes so sweet, but we don't really know how potent it really is,” he said) and how it can be utilized to raise awareness for a certain cause such as anti-human trafficking, something which the hit musician fervently supports.
“This is an issue that's recently been brought to my focus within the last year, and it's just shocking, staggering. And the only way we're actually gonna be able to overcome it is if more people will start talking about it,” said Jason, who’s one of the celebrity ambassadors of MTV Exit (End Exploitation and Trafficking).
The Virginia-born Jason talked passionately about his causes apparently in the same way he does about his music. He cited human rights and equality, rights of gays and lesbians (he particularly noted gay marriage) as his advocacies. The troubadour has also put up the Jason Mraz Foundation “which supports environmental preservation, arts and education, trying to keep music and arts alive in our schools, and also assistance and recovery,” among others.
And just recently, he took part in a project called “In Search of Incredible,” which, according to its website, seeks “the most amazing stories from around the world” and introduces these as “films” on the site in hopes of inspiring others “to start your own journey ‘In Search of Incredible.’”
Asked what could be the answer to all of the world’s problems, Jason quickly replied, “Help others.”
“In doing that you get out of your own head, you get out of your own selfish desires and ways and you actually cause a shift in the world, in your own mind, in someone else’s life. So I think to truly bring world peace, it's because we finally started helping each other,” he said.
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