Wordsmith Jason Mraz mouths off about his sophomore disc, hair products, and Miss Morissette.
By Brandon Voss
The bad news? Geeky pop heartthrob Jason Mraz dates chicks. But the good news is that the 28-year-old gay-rights advocate recently posed nude for Jane magazine! Oh yeah, and he also just released Mr. A-Z, an infectious, vocal-driven follow-up to his 2002 smash debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come. I caught up with the Virginia-bred, San Diego-based surfer dude hot off his acoustic summer tour with Alanis Morissette. No wonder her beau, Ryan Reynolds, is worried!
HX: Hey, Jason! First of all, I’m a ridiculous fan of yours.
Jason Mraz: What makes you ridiculous? Do you make your own T-shirt and come to the shows?
Yeah, I Bedazzle it and everything! But seriously, I’ve been wearing out your new CD. Can you describe the evolution from the first album?
Well, it’s been three years, so a lot’s happened. I became a busier guy, traveled more and I didn’t date as much — I went deeper with my personal relationships. I’m tied down, and it’s great. So now when I sit down to write, I’m a lot more introspective. The songs definitely reflect a larger variety of moods, and I was able to think a little bit deeper this time around.
“Wordplay,” the upbeat lead single, really shows off your knack for writing witty lyrics and catchy melodies.
It’s a satire on my whole situation. I wanted to make fun of what I thought was expected of me. There are a lot of hardcore fans who thought [my breakthrough 2003 single] “The Remedy” was goofy, but there were a bunch who discovered us through “The Remedy” because it was such a positive song. So “Wordplay” is kind of a sequel to that song, but it’s also a song about Jason Mraz — a funky “I’m back!” song.
Another one of my favorite tracks is “Geek in the Pink.” A man has to be pretty secure in his masculinity to pull off pink, doesn’t he?
Absolutely. I’ve always been a big fan of the color pink. It’s definitely the most controversial color a man can wear, and I don’t know why because it’s such a beautiful color. And there are a variety of pinks out there: salmon, coral, hot pink, light pink, pinks that look like they used to be white that you washed with something red… I like wearing pink because not too many people do.
I hear that you’re getting away from those signature trucker hats. Are they officially over?
Yeah. I’ve been doing a pretty good job of keeping my hair short and clean — I think that was the biggest problem. I don’t know anything about product and grooming, but by keeping it short I can just wake up and there you go.
Don’t your gay friends offer any product advice?
Well, the guys who cut my hair give me tips. But I’m a little more confident now. The first time around I didn’t know anything about the success that was going to happen. And when it did, I didn’t know how to handle it. So the hat was a way to hide a little bit. I could always keep the hat over my eyes if I needed to close my eyes to sing the song. But now I find I’m opening my eyes. I’m more present and it excites me, so I’m going to go hat-free as long as I’m confident.
Tell me about touring with Alanis.
I’m such a fan of hers. Alanis and I have a lot in common — our kind of music. It’s happy music. There’s always a lesson to be learned and an optimistic point of view.
Did you have any interaction with her hot fiancé, Ryan Reynolds? My people enjoy him.
Yeah, I did. He was on tour quite a bit. I’d look over just about every night and he’d be in the wings watching our set. Because I was dedicating my set each night to Alanis, playing this stalker role and saying how much I love her and am getting closer and closer to her every day. And in the middle of “You and I Both” I would even change this one lyric “I’ll remember everything he’s saying” to: “Alanis, I will be an actor too, someday.” It got a big laugh out of the crowd. But he’s a really sweet, funny guy. They’re perfect for each other. The way they laugh together and walk their dog together is just pretty darn cute.
Was the tour out-of-control rock-star crazy? You know, partying with groupies, the three of you doing body shots off strippers...
We didn’t do them off strippers, but we took body shots off of Alanis. She’s crazy like that. [Laughs.]
I don’t doubt it!
No, there wasn’t too much of that going on. She’s pretty Zen now. She’d probably go do yoga or something.
Do you have any embarrassing pop-cultural interests?
I just got myself my own home and I don’t have a TV or any magazine subscriptions; it’s a pretty quiet place. But my last roommate, Jerry, whom I lived with for five years, he’s gay and I got him TiVo for Christmas. He follows all the celebrity gossip so he keeps me up to date.
Yeah, we’re good for that. So, did that rocket of yours ever come?
Many times! [Laughs] Yeah, it did. Now we’re in orbit, waiting to see what happens next.
HX, August 2005.