Zero % Interest (Live) by Jason Mraz
June 18, 2004 | 
16 Comments
The Artist: Jason Mraz
The Song: Zero % Interest
The Album: Live
Released 2001
I want to do something a little different this week.
I go to lots of live shows and I’ve been to some great ones lately. This week I saw The Streets, and they were great. A few weeks back I saw The Roots, The Postal Service and lots more. A few days after that I saw the excellent McLusky.
I discover great artists via live shows all the time. That’s one of the reasons I spent the whole week at SXSW instead of packing out after the interactive part. I plan on doing the same next year.
Many bands sound better live. And then there are those who you really have to see live to appreciate.
Jason Mraz falls squarely into that category. I saw him last Friday on his Curbside Prophet tour and I was frankly shocked. I expected it to be a pretty good show and I’d heard that he was great live, but damn, it was amazing.
The whole show was great. His “co-stars” Ra�l Mid�n and Makana were both awesome and I’d never heard either one — bonus. Mraz was very funny and extremely entertaining. He’s also ridiculously talented, something that doesn’t really come through in his studio album.
His songs just seem to lend themselves a bit better to an un-produced, unplugged sound. Not that the studio album is bad, not at all, it’s just he’s got much more to showcase than what comes through there.
I really think this guy is destined to be huge. I’m not sure why he’s not receive more widespread acclaim already, he’s been around and doing this for awhile now.
Anyway, give “Zero % Interest” a listen and check out Mraz live if you get a chance. He does have a really nice live CD you can buy now and another coming out later this summer. It’ll be a great one I’m sure.
Recommended if you like: Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Maroon 5, Pete Yorn, Jack Johnson
Filed under: Song of The Week
Comments
1. Josh Bryant said:
Nice! Finally some good music on here! j/k
I am the biggest John Mayer fan you will ever hear of. I have days worth of unreleased music on my computer from him. I am a guitar player and he is simply my hero. This just gives you a little background on my music style. No greater.
I picked up Jason Mraz’s album “Waiting for my Rocket to Come” when it first came out not really expecting much. It was one of those spur purchases that I just recognized a song on the back so I thought I would go for it.
I was shocked at how good it is.
Jason Mraz has talent, thats all there is to it. It’s not his looks or his record label, he is simply just good.
His guitar playing really amazes me. He seems to have the skill of most acoustic players, with the soul of an electric player and all the style of funk. You add that with his electric player and a killer wah pedal and you have a gorgeous combination.
On top of his amazing musical ability in instruments comes his lyrics. Not only are they witty and extremely fast, but he delivers them in such a way you would not expect some down home white boy to. He is so fast, it amazes me. Close to the way Marshal Mathers would deliver something.
His music also leaves tremendous room for fun and play… so you can already tell just from listening to his albums that he would be an amazing guy to see live. If any of you want a taste of what he is like live, check out this video.
I want to see him live so bad, unfortunately I just found out I missed his tour and he passed right by here not more than a week ago. A little depressed, but it looks like he will be in the gorge with Dave Matthews around fall.
“John Mayer, Maroon 5 and Jason Mraz” - you can’t loose with that combo. Now that’s what I call music.
And I’ll leave you with an Mraz quote of the day….
“It’s much to soon to leave this easy life.”
Posted on June 18, 2004 06:34 PM | #
2. daniel said:
I saw Mraz last year at a free show during the Del Mar Fair in San Diego. I must say, his live shows are awesome. The one that I saw may have been free, because he was really just beginning to get more attention, yet I must say he did. He kept the crowd entertained for the full couple hours of playing. Awesome song of the week!
Posted on June 18, 2004 06:42 PM | #
3. Geoffrey said:
I am a huge Jack Johnson fan, but not real big on Dave or John. Is this CD something I should check out? Actually, why don’t I just go give it a listen on iTunes. Thanks for the tip.
Posted on June 18, 2004 08:06 PM | #
4. Keith said:
Josh – If you read my SOW enough, you’re bound to find something you like! ;)
Geoff – To be quite honest, I can’t stand Dave Matthews and while I like Meyer, he’s not one of my favs. The RIYL stuff isn’t always with I like personally, sometimes they’re not even similar. It’s just my best guesses.
I do really love Jack Johnson and I find Mraz similar in many ways, but different as well – but he’s got more talent than Jack (IMHO). A bit of a different style, but…He’s more of an “entertainer” live as well than Jack is.
My guess is you might very well like his studio album, but I think you may well really prefer his new live one when it comes out.
Posted on June 18, 2004 09:18 PM | #
5. Geoffrey said:
So I gave Mraz a listen on iTunes. (How do you say Mraz anyway?) I can’t tell if I like it or not via the 30 second clips but I am intrigued. From what I heard, I miss the sweet subtlety of Jack Johnson, but that comparison may not be relevant. I may wait for the live album you speak of. On a related note I am really enjoying this Joe Henry guy a friend turned me on to. He’s what Tom Waits would have been had he kept following the path of Rain Dogs and got a little more mainstream. Cool Stuff.
I’ll give Mraz a more thorough listen. Thanks.
Posted on June 18, 2004 09:39 PM | #
6. Brian Fox said:
Man… I really loved Jason Mraz’s album Waiting for my Rocket… and i didnt even know about this album… Thanks a bunch… Consider this one ordered.
I totally agree: I have a Playlist in iTunes labeled “Dave, John & Jack” that playlist will now include Jason!
Posted on June 18, 2004 09:41 PM | #
7. Rune said:
You haven’t got a bad music taste at all. Did you know that Maroon 5´s new album “1.22.03 Acoustic” will arrive in stores on June 29th?
Great song besides this. I wonder how you are recording your weekly songs.
Posted on June 19, 2004 12:57 AM | #
8. paul haine said:
Geoffrey: pronounce it “Murazz”. I think.
I saw Mraz live a few months ago at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, supported by the wonderful Polly Paulusma and joined by the mediocre Gary Jules. Mraz was excellent – he was alone on stage, played acoustic, and the crowd loved him; many had come from America to see him. He chatted with the audience like we were all old friends.
Gary Jules, on the other hand, was just plain tedious. He didn’t seem too happy when the crowd started chanting for Mraz as Jules came on to do an encore…
Posted on June 19, 2004 04:59 AM | #
9. Keith said:
Geoff – I’ll check out Joe Henry. Oh and you say his name like this: “mraazz”, or “murazzz.” OR M.R.A.Z. ;)
Rune – I didn’t know that. But I really like Maroon 5. I’ll check that out.
Paul – I can’t stand Jules. That Tears For Fears cover he did, “Mad World” you know from Donny Darko, just killed me. The original was so much better. Too bad so many kids will think the Jules version is the original…lame.
Posted on June 19, 2004 06:34 AM | #
10. paul haine said:
Actually, Mad World is the one of his that I did quite like, though it was highly overplayed this Christmas, and took the Christmas #1 slot in the charts, knocking The Darkness to #2, which was Just Plain Wrong. But the rest of Jules’ songs are nothing special, and I struggle to tell one from the other.
Posted on June 19, 2004 06:59 AM | #
11. Rune said:
For your information, i can tell you that Maroon 5 will have their new song “Woman” on the Spiderman 2 soundtrack - It’ll arrive on June 30th :-)
Posted on June 19, 2004 10:02 AM | #
12. Chris Hester said:
Interesting stuff. Extra points for the melodic take from Madness’s ‘Our House’. You did spot that didn’t you?
Posted on June 22, 2004 12:32 PM | #
13. Jesie said:
Not to be a know it all but the name of the cd is “live” not whatever you called it but anyhoo jason is very talented and you should check out www.mrazmerized.com to see more great stuff about him. keep the mraz comming
p.s. his name is to be pronounced like jazz
Posted on July 12, 2004 12:08 PM | #
14. Molly said:
OMG this is an awsome CD! i have to admit, that i do have a jasonmraz obsession. i got this CD off of jason’s official website for $12 and ever since, it has never left my portable CD player…the man is so damn amazing! i love him!
“get your sleep, live your life, be a dork.” was said by the god, jasonmraz himself
Posted on July 14, 2004 03:27 PM | #
15. tst said:
if you didn’t like WFMRTC…give Mraz’s Live cd a listen. WFMRTC is an excellent album for what it is….a commercial release. check out the lyrics of the song “Too Much Food”. it is definately Mraz’s subtle way of telling off the “suits”. Mraz had to fight the powers-that-be to get his best song (IMHO) included on the album. the song…Tonight, Not Again. i have at least 20 versions of that song & with the acquisition of each one i think to myself…OMG this is the best version yet!!
Mraz is a wordsmith. he writes as beautifully as he sings. for a more indepth look at his musings…visit www.jasonmraz.com & read some of his “Journal” entries. he loves words and loves playing with them, and, in my opinion, he likes playing with people’s heads too. but it’s all in good fun. innuendo is a major player in his works. Love is the theme that runs throughout. the guy is a true hippy! (and btw…that’s a GOOD thing!!) Mraz uses his voice like an instrument…and a bright & shinny rare one at that. he “scats” like the old schoolers. Toca Rivera, his long time accompanist has a joke that goes something like…
Q. What would a Mraz song be without scat?
A. a minute long
as before posted…Mrazmerized.com is the place where you can satisfy your Mraz curiousity. the site has many many live recordings available for download and some video too for that matter. keep in mind that Jason is not only talented…he is pretty smart too. he has a very generous “taping” policy for his shows. not only does he allow taping of every one of his shows…he has a special section set aside behind the soundboard for those who want to avoid some of the overpowering crowd noise. i haven’t seen him yet in concert…but i will on 9-11-04 at NAU in Flagstaff. i’m very much looking forward to it. do yourselves a favor if you are on the border on the Mrazman’s talent and go to Mrazmerized & download some of his live stuff. your ears will definately be thanking you. tst
Posted on August 23, 2004 10:36 AM | #
16. Iva said:
I’m a big fan of Jason Mraz (it rhymes with jazz btw. :) dave matthews, jack johnson, jonny lang, john mayer……… and many many others. I just wish I’ll have a chance to see jason live, coz I’ve downloaded some videos of his live shows and the are amazing. I WANT TO GO OT HIS CONCERT :(
big hello to all the mraz lovers!
Posted on March 16, 2005 07:19 AM | #
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