WEBVTT - ITS Home Edition: Jason Mraz 0:00:01.360 --> 0:00:05.760 Welcome to Inside the Studio presented by I Heart Radio. 0:00:06.000 --> 0:00:12.560 I'm your host Joe Leaving. Okay, so, as you probably know, 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:15.240 we started the home edition of the show to let 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:18.040 you in on the ways that artists are coping with 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:22.200 quarantine and how these times are impacting their lives and 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:25.680 the way they make music. I think it's pretty safe 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:28.560 to say that no one we've spoken with has given 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:34.960 this quite as much thought, reflection and meditation as Jason Morass. 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:38.559 When Jason said this has been the weirdest year of 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:43.320 his life, I felt that big time. But then when 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:45.720 he followed it up by by talking about feeling a 0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:49.760 bouncing positivity is people try to learn how to make 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:54.080 you feel their smile behind their mask, I felt that too. 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:57.440 Jason's got a lot of interesting things to say. And 0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:00.640 even if I'm not a hundred percent sure about disadvice 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:03.720 to start every day by making your bed, I did 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:06.160 try it this morning and it definitely didn't make things 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:10.440 any worse anyway. If you enjoy this episode, be sure 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:13.640 to listen to the I Heart Radio podcast hosted by 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:18.920 our Quarantine correspondent Jordan run Talk. It's called Rivals, Music's 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:32.920 Greatest Feuds and it's available wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, everybody, 0:01:32.959 --> 0:01:35.000 my name is Jordan run Talk, But enough about me. 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:38.000 My guest today is a singer songwriter, and when he's 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:39.920 not doing that, he's growing food on his ranch in 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:43.479 southern California's uplifting summer jams like the Remedy and I'm 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:46.000 Yours are just as sunny as his disposition. And now 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:48.760 he's putting some badly needed positive vibes into the world 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:51.160 with his latest release, Look for the Good. It's a 0:01:51.160 --> 0:01:53.880 collection of original reggae tracks and bued with messages of 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:57.320 optimism and gratitude, as practiced by his hero Mr Rogers. 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:00.320 He's also backing up his ideals with action by dating 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:03.600 proceeds from the record to charities promoting Black Lives Matter causes. 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:07.480 I'm thrilled the welcome, Mr Ada z Jason Mraz Jason, 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:09.919 It's such an honor to speak to you. God knows 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:12.560 I've spent so much of my my teenage years playing 0:02:12.560 --> 0:02:15.200 your songs two girls on guitar, trying to impress them. 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:17.680 So I owe you a belated apology for for all 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:20.680 of those times I've massacred your songs in the name 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:24.520 of love. Oh, I don't mind. They're your songs. I mean, 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:26.680 when we record them and put them out there for 0:02:26.800 --> 0:02:32.080 you to do what you wish for good or bad, 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:36.520 for for awkward or for romantic heroism. I don't know, 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:39.680 it's all the above. In that one, i'd say, yeah, exactly. 0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:43.239 Oh well, how does life in quarantine find you today? 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:48.040 Totally weird, man. I've just this has been the weirdest 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:51.160 year of my life and probably for everyone. Probably for everyone, 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:56.280 just what was normal has been changed, and then we're 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:59.520 now being normalized into some really radical, far out and 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:03.240 painful things as well. During it all, we're just asked 0:03:03.240 --> 0:03:05.040 to kind of stay away from each other, stay home, 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:09.560 keep your keep your mouth covered. I mean, it's just 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.960 Twilight Zone all over the place, you know who it's not. 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:19.200 It's not. But what's very What I find is interesting, 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:21.880 and that's it adds to the weirdness, is that I've 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:27.200 experienced an increased level of politeness and cooperation. Like even 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:29.760 though we are being we are seeing a lot of 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:32.679 negativity in the world, Like America is getting an education, 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:36.520 But if you go to the grocery store and you're 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:38.400 at the gas station, you're doing the things we have 0:03:38.440 --> 0:03:41.480 to do to interact in the public working environments all that. 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:44.440 I've just found an overall sense of like, we're going 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:46.840 to get through this, and hey, how are you? And 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:49.720 I want to make sure you can feel my smile 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:53.800 behind this mask. I really am getting that so and 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:56.480 that's weird too, you know, it's like, Wow, everybody's being 0:03:56.560 --> 0:04:00.960 really nice. What's going on? It's definitely like I've noticed 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:03.200 to trying to like smile with the eyes more, which 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:04.920 is like, I guess, like what Tyra taught us. I 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:08.280 suppose it's the smizing. It's like you want people to 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:11.320 see it. I do that too. I agree. Wow. Thanks Tyra. 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:14.960 You've said on many occasions you are such an EmPATH, 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:17.240 and I know a lot of my friends and myself 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:20.440 for it's so hard not to to get bogged down 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:24.520 with the feeling of just just taking on everybody else's pain. 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:27.480 How do you try to keep your own head above 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:30.520 water and look out for yourself first without taking everything 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:33.680 else on? Well, they do tell you on the aircraft 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:38.080 to secure your own mask first before you help the others, right, 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:41.719 Maybe that's a metaphor for something, but definitely I've always 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:44.920 found that world peace begins within So anything I do 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:47.000 when I get up in the morning, make my bed, 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:50.880 brush my teeth, do a little yoga stretch, that short 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:55.440 little routine is sort of my mindfulness and my alignment 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:57.680 in my balance. So when I step out into the 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:00.440 kitchen where I have a shared space with roommates, or 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:02.320 I flip on my phone and I see the entire 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:05.839 world exploding, I can at least observe that from a 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:09.400 balanced in a calm place. I can observe the world, 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:14.280 the always changing world, the uncertain world. I can observe 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:16.200 it with a with a grounded sense of like, I 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:18.599 know who I am and I can handle this. I 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:23.479 can make calm decisions out of love, not of fear. 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:27.080 Whereas if I skip the bed making, if I skip 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:29.280 my yoga practice, if I don't brush my teeth and 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:30.880 I just run into the kitchen, I just look at 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:33.200 my phone, I don't have any I don't have any 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:37.560 place to stand on, and that whole world, uh can 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:40.040 overwhelm me, and then it's harder to even get out 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.360 of bed and get on with my day or be productive. Uh. 0:05:43.440 --> 0:05:46.960 So it's it's small practices of mindfulness that I truly 0:05:47.080 --> 0:05:50.560 do believe begins with making your bed when you wake up. 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:53.800 There's something to that. Also, you're you're correct me if 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:56.479 I'm wrong on an avocado and coffee ranch. Right now, 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:58.640 at the moment, I can't think of a place that's 0:05:58.920 --> 0:06:01.919 better than being a farm. Just being connected to the earth. 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:06.919 Does that help keep you centered? Absolutely? Absolutely. Now, farm work, 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:10.000 as much as of an ideal it is, it's still 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:16.520 a very challenging thing to maintain and sustain, especially in California. 0:06:16.720 --> 0:06:20.320 Anything in agriculture in California is is not native. It 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:23.440 was planted here because the weather is great, and we 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:26.560 can be able to produce a lot of food and 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:29.320 flowers and grains and all kinds of things that are 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:34.160 made in California. But the irony is it requires irrigation 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:37.719 and it requires a lot of farmer's footsteps. There's not 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:41.520 a whole lot of just natural food forests happening it. 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:46.279 It really is all designed I guess through generation generations 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:50.480 of agriculture. Um. So that's the boring part of the answer. Um. 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:54.520 But what it means is living out here is it's challenging. 0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:57.280 It's it requires us to do some work as what 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:00.080 puts a lot of energy into it, and most the 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:03.200 other farmers I've met do have second jobs, They have 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:06.839 multiple loans and leans on their properties, they have mortgages 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:10.320 because farming itself just doesn't make any money. So I 0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:12.360 always like to stress that when we're talking about this, 0:07:12.400 --> 0:07:14.080 because a lot of people want to go and live 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:16.560 out on a farm and what not, just be mentally 0:07:16.600 --> 0:07:21.160 prepared that it is hard work to live the farm dream. 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:23.400 I've been very blessed because I have music in my life, 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:26.640 and I've been very successful with my first six albums 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:29.680 too to be able to afford a beautiful ranch. And 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:31.480 now we're trying to turn this little ranch into its 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:34.240 own sustaining business. So let's say that should the music 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:38.160 industry collapse and we we no longer are selling music 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:40.120 because everything is free, right, or we no longer are 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:43.120 doing concerts because there's a pandemic and we just can't breathe, 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:46.720 hopefully my little fruit farm will figure out a way 0:07:46.760 --> 0:07:49.160 to sustain itself. And what I mean is will the 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:51.840 fruit ever actually pay for the labor, or will my 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:54.000 other jobs and my other loans have to pay for 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:57.080 that labor too. So living on a farm is exciting, 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:02.440 it's romantic, it's beautiful. Who everything you've just said right 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:06.760 now is just so tinged with optimism. You know, it's 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:10.280 I can't tour right now, and the music industry is 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:12.600 really weird, but I'm gonna do this amazing beautiful thing. 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:14.880 I mean, And that brings me to this album you've 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:18.280 just made, which it's an album of hope, of optimism, 0:08:18.320 --> 0:08:21.200 and yet you've self identified correct me if I'm wrong 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:23.600 as a pessimist, Like, how is that? I don't I 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:25.720 don't believe you teach me your ways? How are you 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:29.000 this this hopeful and optimistic? Ah? Yeah, So the album 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:32.280 is called Look for the Good, and I sit down 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:34.760 and I will write a song like that, And in fact, 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:37.679 almost every song I've ever written is kind of through 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:39.480 that filter of like look for the good? How can 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:41.880 I look for the goodness? And it's usually because I'm 0:08:42.000 --> 0:08:47.920 I'm sitting in either insecurity or lack of confidence or 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:50.839 sort of not really knowing what the future holds, And 0:08:50.880 --> 0:08:53.640 so with that you can kind of feel out of balance. 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:56.720 And so I'll sit at an instrument piano or guitar, 0:08:58.120 --> 0:09:01.840 and I'll try to sing breathe life into a more 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:08.839 stable future, or breathe life into love. Romance poetry breathe 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:14.520 life into um just security, self confidence, things that I'm missing. 0:09:15.360 --> 0:09:20.160 So I use music too basically fill those I guess 0:09:20.240 --> 0:09:23.600 voids in my life. And if it works, if I 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:27.480 really feel the uplift and the song itself just by 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:30.800 the use of language, shifts my perspective into one that's 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:33.040 more confident, more optimistic than I know. I've done my 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:35.200 job on the piano, or at least the music has 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:38.560 done its potent alchemy on me, which is what I 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:41.400 believe it can really do for all of us. In 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:43.400 that saying, if I believe it can do it for 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:44.840 all of us, that's when I'll take that song and 0:09:44.840 --> 0:09:46.400 I'll put it on a record, I'll put it on 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:48.720 stage because I feel like there there might be some 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:52.080 medicine in this music, because it worked for me. And 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:54.160 I don't know why it is. I have a lack 0:09:54.160 --> 0:09:59.079 of self confidence and insecurities. It's whether it's being rejected 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:03.120 in I would is uh not the best soccer player 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:07.280 in fourth grade and I remember kind of being heartbroken 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:10.360 on the side of the field, and like those little 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:12.680 moments when you're seven, eight, nine years old, they have 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:14.880 such a huge impact on you and they start to 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:19.000 shape what you believe about yourself, and then however your 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:20.840 parents may have treated you, or your siblings may have 0:10:20.840 --> 0:10:23.640 treated you, or people at school or teachers, etcetera piles on. 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:26.640 And then as an adult, I'm still having to basically 0:10:26.640 --> 0:10:29.160 try to prove myself on the soccer field. Does that 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:31.959 make sense? Oh? Absolutely. I mean there's a reason I'm 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:33.760 wearing a pink shirt right now. I'm wearing it in 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:38.320 your honor. Thank you? Think um if reminds me of 0:10:38.360 --> 0:10:42.320 the album's closing track, Gratitude, which you express gratitude for 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:45.400 for so many things, including you know, like bullies when 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:47.880 you were seventeen, which is just looking for things from 0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:49.920 such a positive place. Can you tell me about that song? 0:10:49.960 --> 0:10:53.160 I know what kind of had a long gestation period. Yeah, 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:55.760 um again, look for the how can I look for 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:58.360 the good in everything? And when I was a senior 0:10:58.360 --> 0:11:01.360 in high school, it's especially my senior year. I remember 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:04.079 even starting the year going wow, I didn't get beat 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:06.760 up because my first year of ninth grade, driving to 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:09.480 school with my friend Brad, he said, hey, man, you're 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:11.199 gonna get your ass beat every once in a while. 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:13.320 It's just part of high school. And so I was. 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:17.520 I was terrified of high school. And then in my 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:20.719 and then in my senior year, I feel like I'm 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:23.520 a pretty cool guy. I've done all the plays and 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:27.559 and proved myself to be you know, have friends at 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:31.600 all the different cafeteria tables, you know. And I was 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:34.400 kind of gloating, like, wow, I never got my ass kicked. 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:36.640 I did pretty good in high school. And then like 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:40.640 a week later, Uh, I got a series of beat 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:44.200 downs and slams up against the locker. One was off 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:48.560 site at school, offside of school grounds. That was pretty bad. 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:51.760 And all of it was just jealous guys because I 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:55.600 was doing well and I all my friends were their girlfriends, 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:57.679 and they just wanted to put me in their place. 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:01.400 And so, as as I continue to write songs in 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:03.600 my adult life, how can I look back at those 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:08.400 moments and see them as beneficial to who I am today? 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:10.959 So I have to say thank you for those experiences. 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:12.840 I mean, here we are still taking time on this 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:16.160 podcast to talk about those little moments. So those moments 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:19.520 are still contributing to my life today. And the song 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:26.120 Gratitude UH actually began out of that um that instant, 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:29.839 those instances in high school and when I have a 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.440 little seed like that, then I can't wait to turn 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:36.040 something into a song. Um. So I also thought about 0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:39.760 the rejection and the song also used to have other 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:42.240 verses in it. And that's the typical of songwriting, is 0:12:42.280 --> 0:12:45.760 I'll overwrite a song or I'll do multiple rites and 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:47.559 things just kind of end up on the cutting room 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:54.360 floor eventually. But this, this song actually began even probably 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:57.400 when I was first starting to write songs for love 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:00.680 as a four letter word, and unfortunately just it wasn't 0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:03.720 fully realized ten years ago. And when I was in 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:07.559 the studio last year working on this new reggae album 0:13:07.559 --> 0:13:11.400 with Michael Goldwasser and Raining Jane and some amazing musicians, 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:16.400 I still have this gratitude song idea. Um. Another great songwriter, 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:18.880 Matt Morris, and I had gotten together maybe in twenty 0:13:19.120 --> 0:13:23.680 fIF and spun an idea around the gratitude song, but 0:13:23.720 --> 0:13:26.000 again it never never saw the light. So it had 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:28.200 just been kind of hanging around one of the many 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:32.160 posted notes on the wall about potential song ideas someday. 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:34.880 And this album Look for the Good was just the 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:40.040 perfect final like package that Gratitude finally fit in and 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:42.240 it finally found its home, you know, I was thinking. 0:13:42.360 --> 0:13:44.520 I was thinking of the title, and I knew it 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:46.640 sounded familiar, and then it finally clicked. It reminded me 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:48.880 of Mr Rogers, sort of looked for the Helpers. And 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:51.719 you've actually seen that Mr Rogers was a big influence 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:54.320 on you morally and spiritually, at least as you made 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:57.440 this album right. Absolutely, And you know, I always knew 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:00.400 the guy was onto something, but the lad a couple 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:03.680 of years, there's been some great documentaries about the man 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:08.040 and books and articles, and I kind of got reacquainted 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:12.000 with him over the last five years and was very 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:15.680 inspired by how he chose to use the power of television, 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:19.320 how he chose to use that to get to people's feelings. 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:23.480 And about five years ago, I was visiting a middle 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.880 school and I met the counselor and I said, Hey, 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:30.120 what do you need. What's a common request that you 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:33.320 would have to make your life better or make the 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:35.200 students lives better? And she goes, you know what, we 0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:39.040 don't have Mr Rogers anymore. And by the time a 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:44.320 student gets even to elementary school, if they have emotional problems, 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:47.360 it's almost too late to start to address them. In 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:50.200 the old days, Mr Rogers would address those from a 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:54.360 very young age and basically give kids counseling before they 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:58.680 ever showed up in school. And she was right. So anyway, 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:00.640 very inspired by him of the last couple of years. 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:04.040 I really do believe it has affected my work from 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:06.480 the No album with the Habit All track and what 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:08.520 we're trying to do on that album to look for 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:10.560 the Good and the messages we're trying to do here, 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:14.240 and you're right, look for the Helpers is exactly what 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:18.000 what inspired this song. Um Nelson Mandela's famous quote it 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:21.760 always seems impossible until it's done inspired this song. Uh. 0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:24.200 Michael Goldwasser sent me the song title look for the 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:28.520 Good after he'd heard it sermonized at his synagogue by 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:30.640 his rabbi, who said, look for the good and you 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:33.480 will find the good. Look for the bad and you 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:36.360 will find the bad. So how do you want to 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:40.760 spend your time? You know? And Uh, that to me 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:44.080 is like that's songwriting. That's what we do in the 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:47.040 song is we want to highlight those little moments in 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:50.280 life so that we can cherish those moments forever and 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:53.080 really make them feel big. Using the song for good, 0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:55.400 I mean use it for the theme for the Food 0:15:55.400 --> 0:15:58.440 for Heroes program in New York City, which provides food 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:01.680 for essentral healthcare workers and an essential personnel. How did 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:03.520 have that come to be? And what's been that that's 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:06.840 experience been? Like? That was that came right out of 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:10.640 the gates, because apparently someone in the Mayor's office of 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.320 New York is a big fan. So the minute we 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:15.000 put the song out there, like, oh my gosh, this 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:17.400 is so in alignment with what we're doing right now. 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:20.360 Can we use this song? I said absolutely, So we 0:16:20.440 --> 0:16:23.120 all signed off. Just play the song, do what you 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:25.800 need to do. Let's raise some awareness and money for 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:29.920 your your essential workers. They're feeding feeding healthcare workers, which 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:46.680 was pretty awesome. You released the album on June this year, 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:50.120 obviously a very important charge day. Tell me a little 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:53.240 bit that decision. Yeah, man, so you know, I had 0:16:53.280 --> 0:16:55.960 honestly never even heard of Juneteenth. That was not something 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:57.960 that was taught to me in my high school government 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:01.600 or Civics or history classes about I don't know. Six 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:03.640 months ago we decided, yeah, we'll put the album out 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:06.440 in the summer June Nineteenth looks great. We'll do Today's 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:08.840 show on June one. Like when you're putting music out, 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:13.160 you lay out a whole schedule of promotional events. Well, 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:17.400 the world's had its eyes opened, America started getting education, 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:21.520 including myself, and we realized, oh my gosh, our album 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:24.880 is scheduled on this very historic day. And I said, 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:27.040 you know what, I don't I don't want to not 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:29.880 put my album out because I feel like the lyrics 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:32.399 and the songs of this sing about the kind of 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:34.879 world we're working towards, a more equal and just and 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:38.280 fair world. And I can't just have an album about 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:42.040 these lyrics and these ideas without doing something. So I 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:45.320 reallocated my royalties that had already earned through the advance 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:49.560 that I got um with BMG, and uh, six different 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:53.880 organizations received the total sum of two or fifty dollars already, 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:55.879 which makes me feel great because I feel like this 0:17:55.960 --> 0:18:00.440 album now also serves that purpose of advancing a quality. 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:03.000 You know, you've been hearing about reparations, You've been hearing 0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:07.040 about redistribution of wealth, You've been hearing about socialism. I'm 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:10.320 a Bernie Sanders supporter, and who am I if I'm 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:14.159 not actually donating and volunteering and doing that work to 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:18.200 help society breathe easier. I'm beautiful thing that I want 0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:20.679 to read the names of the organizations you donate to 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:22.520 correct me if if I if I miss any, just 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:26.159 in case anyone listening also wants to contribute. San Diego 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:30.440 Young Artist Music Academy, Rise, San Diego Grassroots Law Project, 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:34.159 Center on Policy and Initiatives, and Equal Justice Initiative, and 0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:37.520 Black Lives Matter. I leave those are the six that's right. 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:40.040 Doing so much. I feel sort of almost bad asking 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:43.359 you this question, Uh, what else are you doing? Let 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:45.800 me let me rephrase that. What are you working on that? Musically? 0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:48.240 I read that you have a second reggae project in 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:52.280 the works. Yeah. So when we made this new album, 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:55.680 we assembled a phenomenal band, some guys that had toured 0:18:55.680 --> 0:18:57.480 with me, some guys that have been working with Michael 0:18:57.520 --> 0:19:00.199 Goldwasser in the past, and I just I want to 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:02.360 play more music with these guys. We're gonna tour next 0:19:02.440 --> 0:19:06.600 year on this album, and we thought, heck, let's do 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:09.040 another session before we hit the road, just so we 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:12.040 can continue to build our catalog of some great songs, 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:16.760 old and new using these these new reggae arrangements. So 0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:20.440 definitely working on that. I've been working on some some 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:28.720 holiday musical comedies for a holiday coming soon. Uh. And 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:33.280 then recently, this bizarre gig I got during quarantine came 0:19:33.400 --> 0:19:37.920 from PBS and the creators of The Masked Singer. Uh. 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:43.560 This weird reality show which I do not like the 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:47.680 show title at all, but it's called Celebrity Show Off 0:19:47.840 --> 0:19:52.560 and it's about different households competing for the best television 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:54.960 show that you can produce in a week. And we 0:19:55.160 --> 0:19:57.000 you know, we compete and if you know, if your 0:19:57.000 --> 0:19:58.720 show is not great, you get kicked off the air. 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:02.120 Uh I. I I kind of rejected it at first, like, yeah, 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:05.320 maybe I'll do one or two episodes, And now I'm shoot, 0:20:05.400 --> 0:20:09.240 I'm six episodes deep into a full season almost, and uh, 0:20:09.600 --> 0:20:12.159 but it's cool. I've learned a lot about film production 0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:16.440 and how to make movies on an iPhone and uh. 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:18.600 And in that I get to write short, little musical 0:20:18.640 --> 0:20:20.680 comedies as well and try to be a goofy Mr 0:20:20.760 --> 0:20:23.359 Rogers character, which you know we were just talking about. 0:20:23.920 --> 0:20:26.760 You've said that this Quarantine has been a gift in 0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:29.560 some ways. Why is that? What's been the silver lining 0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:33.320 of this for you? Oh man, I've never been home 0:20:33.640 --> 0:20:37.520 this much, and that is a gift because I just 0:20:37.920 --> 0:20:39.919 I'm such a transient. I've been living out of a 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:44.359 suitcase since I was by eight years old. That this year, 0:20:44.560 --> 0:20:47.800 I mean ship man, I'll probably home for most of 0:20:47.840 --> 0:20:51.840 the year. I've been here since March and doesn't look 0:20:51.840 --> 0:20:54.600 like I'm going anywhere anytime soon. I've learned how to 0:20:54.600 --> 0:20:57.040 play the piano this year, which feels great. I mean, 0:20:57.080 --> 0:20:58.919 I could cheat it a little bit, but I'm I 0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:02.679 feel like I'm finally in confident um and that's been 0:21:02.720 --> 0:21:04.919 a gift because I've been stuck at home and at 0:21:04.960 --> 0:21:07.320 piece of advice. Right at the beginning of all this 0:21:07.400 --> 0:21:09.920 is someone said, hey, man, just master whatever's in front 0:21:09.960 --> 0:21:14.400 of you, and if you're impatient, master your patience. All right, 0:21:14.960 --> 0:21:18.199 For me, I was afraid or or I couldn't imagine 0:21:18.200 --> 0:21:20.719 myself just sitting at a piano bench and practicing scales 0:21:20.760 --> 0:21:22.640 and things that to me was always boring ever since 0:21:22.680 --> 0:21:25.280 I was five years old. I didn't want to do that, 0:21:25.359 --> 0:21:30.080 and here I am almost forty five, and I still 0:21:30.160 --> 0:21:31.800 don't want to do that. So this year I said, 0:21:31.800 --> 0:21:34.440 I'm gonna master that. I'm gonna sit down, I'm gonna 0:21:34.520 --> 0:21:37.680 learn something. And that's how I have to look at 0:21:37.720 --> 0:21:39.800 it as a gift, you know. I I like to 0:21:39.840 --> 0:21:42.399 also hope that the piano is getting a little bit 0:21:42.440 --> 0:21:46.000 of mitigation and remediation through our being at home and 0:21:46.040 --> 0:21:48.920 are traveling less and are consuming less. But I don't 0:21:48.920 --> 0:21:51.160 know if that's really true. You know. I think we're 0:21:51.160 --> 0:21:54.040 also still drilling in the Arctic, and the Arctic is 0:21:54.080 --> 0:21:59.720 on fire, and we're all still ordering from Amazon. Uh So, 0:22:00.960 --> 0:22:04.200 I don't think the world's any better that we're at home. 0:22:05.920 --> 0:22:11.480 But I can skitterly do you a piano song before 0:22:11.800 --> 0:22:16.200 before we explode. Uh So, I guess that's a gift. 0:22:16.960 --> 0:22:18.800