Jason Mraz's Blog, page 36

Back To The Earth, The Home Game.

I’m calling the next generation of farmers to action.

This is a story. It is a beautiful story. It is a story is about you and me. And how we gave up greed, corruption and ignorance. We realized that HUManity, HUMility and HUMus all came “from the earth.” And so, we kneeled and kissed the ground. And the earth spoke to us. And here is what she said: Be a Farmer. Grow food. Build community. Save the planet. #beafarmer #growfood #kisstheground #thesoilstory

The Average age of today’s farmer is between 60 & 70. And they hope to retire soon. We need 4-6 million new farmers just to replace them. And we need good food farmers to make sure our future isn’t fed from factory farms, chemical fertilizers, and GMO seeds. YUCK.

Did you know that organic, regenerative farmers could put an end to the climate crisis? The solution is IN THE SOIL!

New farmers wanted. Change your world with this course: Graeme Sait’s in LA, September 15th-18th. And check out Graeme’s Ted Talk.

www.thesoilstory.com

‘YES!’ World Tour – Pt. 1 (San Diego, CA)

Thank you Mayor Kevin Faulconer and the City of San Diego.

On the evolution of the foundation

Follow Jason Mraz Foundation online via twitter @MrazFoundation to find out “what’s growing on” with the money raised from generous donors, ticket portions, and merch items. In the past 30 days alone we have committed to hundreds of thousands of dollars to projects big and small, and I couldn’t be happier!

 

This week I am spotlighting Life Rolls On, an organization of which I am a lifetime member, contributing to their amazing efforts to stoke-out and improve the quality of life for individuals affected by paralysis. On our new tour, which begins this week, we will carry a new t-shirt, designed by me in partnership with Vuori Clothing, to generate income and awareness for our amazing friends and recipients at LRO. So be sure to check out the new goods at the merch table and/or soon in our online store.

 

In the meantime, enjoy this video of LRO in action at one of my local beaches! And stay tuned for more updates from JasonMrazFoundation.org !

 

 

The Symbolism of Second Place

Dozens of flights, tens of thousands of miles and 1.5 laps around the globe and finally the promotion and release of YES! is complete. Thank you for helping us #spreadYES! making it’s debut a victorious one. When the announcements were made about chart positions, Raining Jane & I paraded around our apartment chanting, “We’re Number 2! We’re Number 2!” sighting the display of two fingers as a symbol of Peace, or Victory, or the roman numeral 5, which is us! In many ways, we entered the charts exactly where we, as underdogs, were meant to.

 

There is much symbolism on the album cover as well, beginning with the 5 birds, representing RJ & I flying “like birds not of this earth;” a lyric from Beautiful Mess, a song we wrote together in 2007. The birds on the cover of YES! are flying in a (Roman Numeral) V-formation, representing this as a 5th album. Some birds are known to fly in a V-formation, and typically a male is out front, however, it is not he who is leading. His position is merely to make it easier for the women and children to fly. The women are in fact setting the pace. I loved this analogy for the band. My name may be on the cover, and I may be standing out front, but it is truly a collaborative effort and Raining Jane do set the pace with their unique sound.

 

Additionally, the birds are seen within a circle over a brilliant landscape. This represents the world within a world. The brilliant world that each of us have inside. A world that needs our attention very much, because in order to bring peace to the outer world, we must first experience & understand peace within. This is a common theme of the music of YES!

 

One of my favorite moments from the promotional tour was the honor of conversing with Jian Ghomeshi. His interviews and radio essays are some of my favorite. You can hear his shows on demand on the CBC network in Canada via the web or the CBC app. Below is a clip from our chat. Enjoy.

 

 

On Despondency & Optimism

Testes, Testes one two… Three?

Is this thing on? This is a test to see if the application to update my blog still works…

I’ve had such a disconnect from my computer over the past few months that I almost lost the intelligence to craft an insightful blog. Please pardon my absence.

The best I’ve been able to muster are a few tweets of gratitude, mentions, or shares to great projects, like Harmonic Humanity, who are currently fundraising to expand their work empowering the homeless. (It’s not too late to donate btw!)

Maybe it’s the crazy times we’re in, but I feel the main reason I’ve had trouble writing is due to despondency, which is dangerous I suppose. After all, despondency makes procrastination look sexy.

Of course I can and will write about my adventures and successes the Janes and I had on our recent travels. Stay tuned for that. And I could easily share stories of the few times in my life where I sharted, but in addition to laughs, I’d also love to share my topical interests on regenerative farming, the importance of legalization of hemp, and how it would be less expensive to supply the entire US with solar panels than it is to declare war on another country for its resources. But despondency, or helplessness, makes one feel his conversation doesn’t have a chance.

I fear the environment will not be issue number 1 until we are out of food and water. And war will be the force used to obtain those resources until they’re gone. Besides, It isn’t the climate who’s having a crisis. It’s us. Supporting your local organic farmers supports regenerative farming, which is a practice recently proven to sequester carbon from the atmosphere while dramatically improving soil health, making both food and the environment healthier!

I am also disheartened with the government system’s inability to care properly for its citizens, especially with the strong resistance to universal healthcare along with insurance companies and banks taking advantage of their customers. I am saddened by the limitless lobbying in Washington. It makes me trust almost no one. And I loathe how divided our system is. I have finally become annoyed by the number of emails the DNC sends me to donate money. I’d rather eat bacon again and elect Louis CK as the president and let stand up comedy replace state of the union addresses. After all, politics is just talk, so let it be light while at the same time shockingly reflective of our national stupidity.

As much as I thought I cared to act, I find I prefer taking the day off to sit on my ass in a yoga class where instead of being frustrated by issues and politics I practice being calm and compassionate, accepting the twisted nature of the world as it is. A world so twisted we celebrate tobacco and alcohol but we prohibit hemp, a cash crop our nation was founded on; a crop that requires no pesticides; a crop that could be grown in the US instead of imported, giving farmers access to a billion dollar industry; a crop that can be used as food, medicine, fabric, and even bio-fuel! Yet, we keep it illegal and lamely prosecute more than 600,000 people a year, mostly men of color, ruining their lives forever. Thanks America. Way to empower your citizens.

It’s in this very state of despair that art, entertainment, and cultivating a compassionate spiritual practice are more important than ever. Therefore blogs ARE needed. Conversations ARE needed! Strong communities are needed! New networks are needed! AND NOW!

It is often from despair that I am called to write music that is optimistic; for optimism is the very thing that determines successful outcomes. Without optimism there is no energy in a task. Optimism is hope. Optimism is light. And it should be celebrated.

And so, to cut through the fog, as if I were writing a song, I am attempting to maintain this blog, however frank or random it may read. And I’ll do my best to continue updating the page throughout the tour.

Thanks again for your listenership, love and support. We are in this together.

I hope this posts.

Stay tuned!

YES! Guitar String Bracelets Available Today

Beginning today, August 7 at 2pm PDT/5pm EDT/10pm BST, the U.S. Online Store is offering 130 special edition ‘YES!’ Guitar String Bracelets to benefit the Jason Mraz Foundation. Each bracelet is made from Jason’s used guitar strings from previous tours. We have two bracelet sizes available (8.0 and 9.0 inches) and each one comes with a certificate of authenticity by Wear Your Music that is personally signed by Jason and hand-numbered.

Acoustic Exclusive: “You Can Rely On Me” – Live from the Artists Den

Raining Jane & I performed a special acoustic set before taping our episode of Live from the Artists Den.

Watch “You Can Rely On Me” now on theartistsden.com!

Japan Fan Pre-Sale Begins August 8

We’re bringing the YES! Tour to Japan this November! Read on for information about tickets and our special fan pre-sale:

Nov 11 – Tokyo at ORCHARD HALL

Nov 13 – Osaka at Grandcube (International Convention Center)

Nov 14 – Tokyo at Forum A

Ticket Price: Y8,000

Fan Pre-Sale: Fri, Aug 8 at 13:00 – Sun, Aug 10 at 23:00

URL: http://l-tike.com/fcjasonmrazticket/

PASSWORD: lovesomeone

PLEASE NOTE:

All information only available in Japanese.

Maximum 4 tickets can be booked per application. (Multiple shows can be applied in one order.)

Ticket shipping is available for addresses within Japan only.

Vendor does not accept credit cards issued outside of Japan.

11/14/14 Forum A

11/13/14 Grandcube (International Convention Center)