I Heart Jason Mraz

“You can turn off the sun
But I’m still going to shine”
–Jason Mraz, “Remedy (I Won’t Worry)”

If the only Jason Mraz song you are familiar with is “The Remedy” then I’m here to tell you that your missing out on a whole career of brilliance.  I’ll admit it, when I first heard “The Remedy” in ’02 I didn’t get it either. But then I stumbled upon his live performances at archive.org and my eyes and ears opened to how good this guy really is.

“Keep your eyes open as if
Love could come a walkin’ as if
Everything else is meaningless, meaningless
And that’s the way it ought to be”
–Jason Mraz, “Eyes Open (Remember My Name)

I’ve had the chance to see him live twice and both shows were a mixture of energy, humor, music and entertainment that you just can’t find or fake. As he sings in his song All Dialed In: “It’s s simple life today, no matter what they pay me, playing is my reward.” It’s apparent to anyone who has been to a Mraz show that this guy, along with his band, love to perform.

In anticipation of his new album coming out in a month, here are the Five Must Have Live Jason Mraz Shows:

1. Live at Schuba’s Tavern on 2003-01-15. If you never listen to another live Mraz show (and after this one you will definitely want to) this is the one. Just Jason, his drummer Toca, and bass player Ian, Mraz interweaves some of his early best with classic covers.
2. Live at Copley Symphony Hall on 2004-06-20. Jason returns to his adopted hometown of San Diego. A fantastic mix of solo, trio, and full band performances. Bonus: Jason sings opera.
3. Live at Kirkland Fine Afts Center on 2005-03-11. Just Jason and Toca. Crisp recording and fantastic set list.
4. Live at Rotown on 2007-07-13. From Sweden. Jason, solo, plays some songs that you don’t hear often and includes some new songs for the first time.
5. Live at World Cafe Live on 2008-04-13. As of this writing, this is the newest live show on archive.org. If you listen to the first four shows this one will have you excited for his new album.

In order to play these I would recommend downloading Switch and converting them to a more mp3/iPod friendly format. I know it’s an extra step, and will keep some of you away from checking Jason Mraz out. So to intice you a bit, you can download my favorite song from the Schuba’s Show, 0% Interest, in mp3 format.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: awesomemusic mraz

My wife is a better blogger than me

I have to come clean: My wife is a better blogger than I am.  She has had her blog for less than a week and has already posted twice (more than I can string together in a lifetime).  And good posts too.  Relevant things.  Not the sort of asinine stuff I’ve written about only to delete it when I think about sitting down to really do this blogging thing.

She even told me that one of the reasons she started her blog was to challenge me to write more on mine.

The nerve.

Well, we’ll see if it works.  In good faith I’ve put the RSS feed from her blog on the left hand side of Awesome Blog (free of charge!) but to balance it out I am including this picture of her with her eyes closed as Simon gives her bunny ears at this year’s Easter Egg Hunt.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: wife