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Mraz brings four-letter words to The Wharf

Singer-songwriter combines music and activism on his latest concert tour

4:33 AM, Aug. 16, 2012

Singer/songwriter Jason Mraz performs Friday at the Amphitheater at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Ala. / Special to the News Journal

Written by

Julio Diaz

Filed Under

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• WHAT: Jason Mraz in concert, with special guest Christina Perri.
• WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday.
• WHERE: The Amphitheater at the Wharf, 23101 Canal Road, Orange Beach, Ala.
• TICKETS: $61, $45.50 and $27, available at the Wharf box office, Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at (800) 745-3000. Additional fees may apply.
• DETAILS: (251) 224-1500, or visit www.amphitheateratthewharf.com.

A song can change a life. It happened for Jason Mraz.

The singer-songwriter’s 2008 hit “I’m Yours” sold more than 5 million copies and stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a phenomenal 76 weeks, shattering the record by 7 weeks.

“I let my hair down, that’s for sure,” said Mraz, who performs Friday at the Amphitheater at The Wharf in support of his new album, “Love is a Four-Letter Word.” “It changed my life pretty fierce.”

But aside from the obvious financial and career benefits, Mraz said the biggest change the song brought to his life was seeing how it changed the lives of others.

“The song’s success really confirmed my intuition that a song can inspire someone,” he said. “I’d watch the audience turn and sing the song to each other, and I love that. That experience made me want to make more music that would empower people. You’re announcing to the world something new and powerful.”

Mraz spoke to the News Journal about continuing to inspire, about his new album and about his trademark hats in a telephone interview.

Q: You recently got a chance to poke a little fun at your image with a guest spot on “Family Guy.” How did that come about?

A: It’s a scene where I’m wearing a hat. They asked if I wanted to come in and read and be myself, and I said, “heck yeah!” I think if you’re gonna end up being on a cartoon, especially for just being a guy in a hat, there’s a certain iconography to that. It was cool.

Q: And yet, looking at the press photos that accompany your latest album — no hat. Are you making a conscious move away from your trademark chappeau?

A: There’s actually a pattern, if I go back through my career, of hat and no hat. The press shots for (Mraz’s breakthrough album) “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.,” there was no hat. But I wear it on tour, and it makes my life a lot easier. I’m in Florida right now, and my hair goes crazy in the humidity. I’m not really attached to (the hat), but it’s always been there for me, going back to second grade. It comes and it goes, and I’m happy with either.

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Q: There seems to be two sides to your music, the laid-back pop side and the deeper, blue-eyed soul side. Talk a bit about that dichotomy.

A: I mean, there’s always going to be optimism, sunshine, The “toes in the sand” vibe (to Mraz’s music). But I also try to bring a little drama, and that’s apparent on this tour. We’re bringing back some of the darker songs (from Mraz’s catalog) where you acknowledge the heartache we all have in life through the music and the melody. Hopefully, we get back to the optimism by the end of it. In the banter and in my music, I try to acknowledge the darkness as much as the light. There are a lot of songs that say it takes one to have the other. There’s two sides to every story, and that’s been the underlying vibe to my music.

Q: Was there something either personally or professionally that caused you to bring in more of the darker songs for this tour?

A: The tunes I won’t give up in the set have called for it. Also, I have a new band that is extraordinary, and can pull off some of the old songs that I’ve never been able to pull off. So I’m taking advantage of the musicianship I have. The fans are appreciating it, and it’s super fun.

Q: The new album is titled “Love is a Four-Letter Word.” What does that title mean to you?

A: It means I was done, man. I was totally done. I knew I was making a love album, that was my focus. I wanted an opportunity to use those shapes (on the album’s cover art, a design Mraz had long appreciated), and it was another way to spread the message of love one more time. Taking it on was quite challenging. The songs were done and the art was done and I had no idea how to define love. And I just, right off, tongue off the cheek, I said “Love is a Four-Letter World,” let’s use that. It’s funny and sweet, a little sacred and a little silly.

Q: Activism is obviously very important to you, and one way you’re exhibiting that is with the “Tree is a Four-Letter Word” program on this tour. Talk a bit about that.

(Campaign website www.treeisafourletterword.org is) a great place to go to get started, and there’s tons of great stuff there. It’s the way I live at home, and I’m doing it on tour. We’re using biofuel, eating locally, using our own water bottles, and on our days off, we’re plating trees and helping to beautify areas. It’s a lot of fun. Usually you just tour and wave hello to people. This gives us a chance to actually do something physically in communities.

I recently wrote a story about this on my blog (on his website, www.jasonmraz.com). I just decided I needed to start paying to offset my flying and my touring. And you get a great feeling doing this. It has uplifted the hearts of everybody on our tour, which is so cool. Especially the management, they get to vent their frustrations out there.

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