Get Close... with Jason Mraz

By Renata Certo-Ware

Next month, Jason Mraz kicks off a world tour to support his latest album, Love is a Four Letter Word. But earlier this week, the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter was in Boston to perform at MIX 104.1’s Spring Fling Concert at the Lansdowne Pub. With a cantaloupe in one hand and a knife in the other, he sat down with STUFF to answer a few random questions.

Have you been to Boston before? I was here performing at the original House of Blues. It used to be a little attic space, low ceilings. This was probably about 10 years ago, during their last season of operation, and we knew they were shutting down. We stole a light fixture out of the dressing room – it had this skull on it, it was very cool and rusty. And that night, we broke an axel on the van. We felt like we got ours – because it was all about the voodoo and stuff like that.

Was this before or after you released your album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.? Way before.

So you’ve been consistent on that front. Oh yeah.

You’re a vegan, huh? Yeah, I focus on trying to be. It’s not always possible, and it’s not always what you want! I was just in tour in Italy, and I had to have some gelato. But basically, I try to think, “What can I do to feel my best?” If I have a coffee in the morning and put a bunch of cream in it, or if there’s a bunch of cheese around me backstage, I’m not singing my best.

Let’s say you have an awesome performance, and you feel you deserve a treat. What’s your go-to, post-show snack that you like to enjoy? After a show, I usually do oatmeal. I load it up with plant protein, with cinnamon, lots of spices. I like to spice things up.

I know you also do yoga. What’s your favorite yoga pose?Savasana  – the one at the very end where you just lay down and go to sleep. I more like a 10 hour savasana guy.

So, I couldn’t help but notice you wear a lot of hats. How big is your hat collection? Have you lost count, or is it just a few steady, trusty hats? Yeah, I kind of lost count. I no longer really have a steady - since my hair got long, none of my hats seem to fit anymore. I tried a few on before I left for tour and none of them really looked good anymore, so I grabbed a winter beanie. My hair is my hat these days.

Do you have a hair growth goal? Do you have a bet going with anyone, or are you just kind of trying it out? I don’t have a bet with anyone. I was just thinking about it this morning, I was like “Man, when are you going to cut that shit?” I feel like any time someone tells me to cut it, I have to put another month in to grow it. It’s kind of like rebelling against your parents.

You were born in Virginia, and now you live in San Diego. In the age-old east coast versus west coast rivalry, where is your heart?West coast. I feel like I’ve got more hippies on my side. New Age warriors, peaceful warriors. Yeah, I’ve got a lot of peaceful warriors on my team, should there ever be a real rivalry.

You’ve got a few tattoos – how many? About seven-ish. One was impulsive. The others were very thought out. I went in with some purpose. The one that was impulsive was a rooster that I drew on a bar napkin. I like that the rooster wakes the world up with a song. The cock is the first thing up in the morning. It’s in the tramp stamp location. So I have a black cock on my lower back. I sketched it out and brought it to the tattoo artist and he copied it. So I guess I’m the artist of this one. It’s probably my least favorite of my tattoos.

Do you have any backstage requests? Nothing crazy. I usually bring my own stock of food, so I just ask for local produce. Cantaloupe.

You have an avocado farm. Do you have a good guacamole recipe? My best guacamole recipe is adding chocolate – the powdered stuff from a natural food market. Cacao, dates, and a little agave nectar … the whole thing turns into a rich chocolate mousse. I call it Choc-amole.