9
This question goes back to the
songwriting process. I know that
you’re a buddy of Bob Schneider,
who’s a great singer-songwriter
from Texas, and I’d read that you
guys have kind of an ongoing
songwriting challenge, where you
use a phrase to spur on songwrit-
ing. Can you talk a little about
that? I think that people who write
songs would be interested in how
that works.
Absolutely. Basically we have a little
online songwriting support group. It
isn’t a test or challenge or something
where anyone is going to win. We
don’t even critique each other. The
whole idea is to stop being so darn
precious about the songs you’re
going to write. Stop worrying about
if the world will like it; don’t worry if
it’s going to be a single. Don’t write
for any other reason than your love
of writing songs and connecting
with your instrument, connecting
with your divine. Whatever reason
you love to write, this is a songwrit-
ing group that’s going to support
that. And to get you started, here’s
a word or a phrase. So, let’s say the
phrase is “me talking to you.” It’s as
simple as that. And I’ll give you until
Friday to create a song and e-mail
it to us all. So, by Friday you get all
these songs in your inbox from all
these different writers, and you hear
everyone’s different interpretation
of “me talking to you.” The thing I
turned in for that turned out to be
“Lucky,” which was a great hit from
the last record. And the whole song
opens with: [plays and sings] “Do
you hear me talking to you / Across
the water…” so it gives you a launch
point to write. I end up writing for my
friends and for me instead and for
the sake of a game rather than the
pressures of any label or any other
group that wants me to write. So,
I encourage anybody to do it with
your friends because it puts the fun
back in playing. Like, for me, I’ve
taken my hobby and turned it into
my career. And sometimes that can
be a huge distraction. So adding
this game with some songwriters
like Billy Harvey, a tremendous writer
from Austin, Texas, Bob Schneider,
Tom Freund, Minnie Driver has got-
ten involved, Mike Doughty from
Soul Coughing. Every now and then
you see some real surprises enter
the game. It’s all about the Internet.
In fact, I’ve never even met most of
the people face to face.
The Jason Mraz
Signature Model (JMSM)
Based on the nylon-string
NS72ce, the JMSM has
Indian rosewood back and
sides, a Western Red cedar
top, and custom inlays. The
fretboard inlay features the
words “Be Love” below Jason
Mraz’s circle/triangle symbol,
both in Mexican cypress. The
rosette design is a series of
zodiac symbols in Mexican
cypress against a bubinga
background, set in a ring of
Hawaiian koa. The pickup is
the new ES-N
®
, which comes
standard on all nylon-string
models. Each JMSM comes
with a custom guitar label and
a certificate of authenticity,
both of which will be signed
by Mraz.
Mraz’s other Taylors include
a 612ce, 714ce, 414ce-R,
314ce-LTD, 612ce, NS52ce
and NS72ce.
Note: The prototype pictured
has the Fishman pickup
formerly installed on our
NS72ce. The ES-N features
our standard ES controls on
the upper bout.
Speaking of surprises, I have to
bring up “I’m Yours” because it’s
been on the charts forever. It’s a
song that you wrote five years ago,
and it was almost a cast-off song
and then got out and through the
underground became this huge hit.
Were you surprised by it?
Yeah, totally surprised by it. I was
just kinda churning on some chords
in my bedroom while I was making
my second album, and the song just
came out quickly. I wasn’t even think-
ing of sitting and writing a song, but
it just happened so I recorded it, and
I thought, cool, it’s a happy little hip-
pie song. I knew I’d play it live, but it
wasn’t fully realized for me to go and
put it on the record I was making at
the time. So, I started playing it live,
and I noticed that people were really
responding to it and singing along,
and they started to request it. Having
road-tested it for three years before
we put it on the record, it gave me a
chance to record it with a new energy
compared to how it was when I wrote
it. And I honestly just put it on the
record because I felt like it needed a
home for the audiences that already
knew it. I didn’t really expect it to
grow, and here it is two years since
I recorded it, and it still seems to
be growing in certain parts of the
world. The beauty of the song is that
I wasn’t expecting anything out of it. I
wasn’t thinking of singles or records.
I didn’t relate it to that part of my life.
For me, the song is about my relation-
ship with whatever inspires me. If
you listen to the lyrics, it’s about me
surrendering to that, which gives me
songs. I think for every other listener
it’s a song about generosity; it’s
about giving yourself or your time to
someone or something else. A lot of
people relate to it as a love song, like
a man giving his life to his woman — a
lot of people use it in their wedding
ceremonies. It can be anything to
where you give yourself up. Because
as soon as you give it away, you’re
suddenly free to receive. And I think
a lot of the success had to do with
the right message at the right time.
I think we’re bored of hearing about
climate crisis and economic struggle,
and we’re tired of continuing to sup-
port and hear about war and famine
and the whole darkness that kind of
saturates the news. It’s nice to turn
on the radio and, oh, yeah, there’s
also light and love that’s flourishing in
the world, and I think “I’m Yours” kind
of fed that.
You’re getting ready to record
a new album. In fact, tomorrow
you’re starting. Can you tell us a
little about the material? Is it stuff
that you’ve been playing out and
that you’re now ready to record?
There are only a few songs I’ve
played out so far. I’ve been protective
of everything else because it’s new
for me. It’s a lot more passionate. It’s
still spirited and joyous and positive,
but there’s a certain, I want to say,
anguish, but not from a negative or
heavy side. But there’s a certain pas-
sion. To me it’s music that gets you
by the shirt collar and says, “Listen to
this. Stop and listen.” Because that’s
what’s happened to me. I don’t know
where songs come from. I just like
to pick up a guitar and emote, and
it’s like something has just grabbed
ahold of me and said, “This has got
to be done.” And I’m really moved by
it, but I haven’t yet had an arena to
go on stage and do that yet because
our show has been of a different cali-
ber. So we’re basically starting from
scratch. We start tomorrow, and I’m
really excited to get the basics down.
Also, this is the first album where I’ve
got access to the world’s greatest
arrangers and voices and collabora-
tion partners, and because of the
success of “I’m Yours” on our last
record, everyone has shown up to
say, “How can I help?” So, in a sense,
I’ve got this great opportunity — I’m
one phone call away from anything
and anyone in the world. I’m not
afraid to use all those resources on
this record, as well. I’m thinking big.
My fingers are crossed.
