Catch Me in New Zealand

Hi guys! I see some chatter has been going on while I’m away. Glad to see all the activity.

If you want to keep up with what I’m doing, check out my non-Mraz blog: travelcuts.wordpress.com

Hope everyone is well!

Lisa

A Bon Voyage Gift: Mraz Live, All Over the Place

Thanks to everyone who sent me some birthday cheer last week. I appreciate all of your kind thoughts and wishes.

And now I’m off to New Zealand! I’ll be gone for a couple of weeks. Will try to blog a little from the road, especially if I have any Mraz-related experiences while I’m gone.

While I’m away, if you need a Mraz fix, let me point you to the Mraz files at the Internet Archive. I’ve known about it for a long time, but never really had the time or appropriate technology to explore it.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of live Mraz shows available for you to download for free, as recent as the show he did in Rhode Island earlier this month and going as far back as the living room concerts he did back in 2000.

You have to be set up to listen to FLAC and/or SHN files, but there’s a quick tutorial that helps you with that. Start by downloading WinAmp if you don’t already have it and you’re halfway home

Then, voila! It’s a Mraz concert every day.

A few of my favorite shows so far are:

Mraz at Manchester Lane, Melbourne, Australia
03/22/2006
Lots of goodies in this show. Mraz flirts with feet, adds something to the middle of “I’ll Do Anything” that I don’t think I’ve heard before, talks about his McDonald’s fantasy and has the whole audience sing “Rocket Man” with their best English accent.

Mraz in Someone’s Backyard in the Netherlands
07/15/2007
You may have seen clips of this one in the documentary that came with We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. At least, I think that’s where I saw it. The recording is so good, you could invite friends to your back yard and play it and feel like Jason is there with you.

Mraz in Someone’s Living Room, SoCal
03/11/2000
A very young Jason Mraz tries out some of his new songs for friends. Can you believe some of his stuff is almost a decade old?

My Curious Birthday

I got in the car this morning and, as Mr. A-Z was in the CD player, “Mr. Curiousity” came on. It’s not one of my favorite morning songs, being a bit of a downer, but I let it play rather than look for something more upbeat.

A few lines in, Jason sings: “It’s my birthday and I cannot find no cause for celebration”

And I laughed, because it is my birthday and even though I completely forgot about that line, it managed to find me anyway.

Dwight Schrute was here.

I think I do have a few things to celebrate, including good friends, a decent job, a desk at work that is covered in decorations, cake, pie and cookies. And I still have good skin.  The older I get, the more I appreciate the good skin genes I got from my mom’s side of the family.

For everyone else, I wish you a happy day today, and thank you again for all the comments and feedback. (Teri – I never watch American Idol anymore, and now that I know what they’re doing to Jason’s music, I never will again. How terrible!)

Love is blinding when your timing’s never right,
Lisa

Mraz on Ellen: You Probably Missed It

Teri wrote last week to ask why there wasn’t any notice that Jason was going to perform on “Ellen” with Colbie Caillat. That’s a very good question.

I did get an email last week announcing that there’s a new Jason Mraz shirt for sale – which is actually a drawing of President Obama, and not really that much of a Mraz shirt at all – but I got nothing about any TV appearances.

Here’s an open letter to whoever is in charge of Mraz’ website and email blasts:

Dear Sir or Madam,

It seems you are having trouble keeping Jason’s fan base updated on his schedule. If you are in need of some extra help to keep things moving, please drop me a note. Because it’s such a worthy cause, I’ll only charge you half of my usual web service fee. Actually, throw in a few free tickets and things, and we’ll call it even.

Sincerely,
Lisa

Jason Mraz: Not That Into You

Teri reminded me (thanks, Teri!) that the trailer for “He’s Just Not That Into You” is using Jason’s “Did You Get My Message“.

I noticed it last week, but then it was all Grammy’s and neck pain and hating my job and I totally forgot.

Watch it now.

Being Jason Mraz’ Mom Pays Off

This article was just sent to me – thank you very much, Mr. Roop.

Read about how Jason’s mom got ready for Grammy night. She had more than $50,000 in jewelry offered to her (on loan), but then some red tape got in the way so she was only able to take the $18,500 earrings. A pity, eh?

She looks lovely, even without the extra jewels, and as proud as a parent could be. I just wish they’d asked her what she thinks of  ”Love for a Child”. Did she put his dad out on his ass? Or the other way around?

I’m far to old to care about that now,
Lisa

Jason Mraz: Big Grammy Loser

Jason and Mama Mraz

It’s cool though, right? I mean, the fact he even got nominated blew me away, and he got some decent screen time and his mom seemed happy to be there. He looked really tan and healthy too, which is good since he’s about to start touring like a crazed man again.

And John Mayer twittered Jason a compliment. At least I think it’s a compliment. You just never know with John Mayer, and sarcasm is really hard to express in twitter form:
johncmayer
Best Pop Male Vocal!! I wanna share it with Mraz. His is a really special performance. Hands are shaking, about to play some R and B!!

I’m sure there’s more to write about last night, but I can’t really move my neck right now and typing is killing me. Should be a good day at work.

Say what you need to say (x 42),
Lisa

Jason Mraz Tours Australia! Again!

Jason must have the travel bug wicked bad. (I lived in Boston for seven years. Sometimes a “wicked” just pops out like that.)

The guy was on tour for what, like eight months straight last year? He took a little time off for the holidays, did SNL, he’s off to the Grammy’s this weekend, then squeezing in shows in Rhode Island, Indiana and Illinois, then flying to Japan for a mini Asia tour, and then starting in March he’s headed to Europe for a dozen or so shows.

Now Mraz has announced that April will take him back to the Land Down Under for an Australian tour, which just so figures, because I’m going to be in New Zealand and Australia from the end of February to mid-March, missing him by just a few weeks. I really wish he’d give us a little more notice.

Then Jason is coming back this way for shows in Nashville and Vegas. Before heading back to Paris.

I would give anything to have his frequent flier miles.

Anyway, speaking of my own holiday, do any Kiwis out there want to give me some tips for traveling the North Island? Things to see and do in Auckland, Taupo, Wellington and places in between? Thanks!

This is the tour page, tour page, it’s all the rage,
Lisa

Mraz Article: San Diego Union-Tribune

Just found this new interview. It was in Sunday’s San Diego Union-Tribune. Nothing earth-shattering in the article, unless the news that Jason Mraz keeps his awards in his bathroom is something that will keep you up at night.

Keep an eye out for more pre-Grammy articles about Jason. It’s almost like people know who he is now. Crazy, hmm?

100,000 Visits and Counting

I’ve been waiting for it for weeks and then I almost missed it. It’s like waking up at noon on Christmas day, long after the parade is over.

This blog hit 100,000 visits! Go Team Mraz! I think Jason’s appearance on SNL last weekend helped to boost the numbers this week and get us there a little bit faster.

When I started this blog two years ago I was thrilled to get 10 hits a day. Now 200 a day is common, and when Jason was touring it was closer to 350 a day.  So thank you to everyone who has come here to talk about Mraz, share the love, practice gratitude and kill a few minutes of the work day.

Always a good deed doer,
Lisa