18. April 2010, 22:48 Music Festivals Interview

Die Reihe vor dem Hotelzimmer, in dem die Interviews stattfinden, ist gewachsen. "5 Minuten, mehr Zeit kriegt ihr nicht!" Jason sitzt barfuß auf dem Sofa, die Mütze ins Gesicht gezogen. Er strahlt etwas Beruhigendes aus, die leichte Nervosität in meinem Bauch schwindet.

Students.ch: Your well-beloved recent Album carries the title "We sing, we dance, we steal things"... Obviously you sing! What makes you dance and what do you steal?
Jason Mraz: Freedom makes me dance. When I really just let go, than any kind of music can make me dance. You know, what I really love doing, when I am at a hotel room or at my house, by myself or with friends, is to use all kind of furniture, props and stuff to bounce off and dance around. So we create this abstract dance, a kind of hotel room or kitchen ballet. There is always a reason to dance!

And what do I steal?
Everything! Like I want to steal the view, so I’ll take pictures of it. If I read a great book, I'll steal that entire philosophy of that book and it will show up in the next two or three of my songs. You know, we as humans, we adapt! We see something we like and we want to wear it or we want to wear that idea. I chose ‘steal things’ in the title, because I think it also represents the things we take for granted. With anything we don't say thank you for, we have stolen an opportunity to be grateful for.

So you always adapt the stolen goods, you don't copy!
Oh yea! As a writer I never know what will come out. I write, I write, I write and then I go: “oh my gosh! I love, that this came through me!” Those are feelings, that I have seen in films or feelings I've experienced in relationships. So that becomes a part of me and as a writer, as a creator, I find that I get to recreate that. Then I get to give that away and someone-else can have that experience in the song and use it for himself.

You have an avocado farm and you like to share cooking recipes. Looks like you're a "home" man! How much time do you get to spend on the farm and treat yourself with good food?
When I am on tour, I am definitely more a visitor than a resident of my farm. I have just spend the last four month there. It was wonderful! There is always good food! Of course, at home, we eat locally. We try to make sure that all of our food comes from just that area, where we are at that moment. On the road, it is all about finding local food as well. Hitting the grocery stores and keeping good food on you, so you don't have to order junk.

So you employ an organic-food-finder?
Not at the moment! But I am looking for one! I used to have someone, who helped me doing that when on tour, but right now, I am doing the vending my self.

You engage in the protection and preservation of the environment. Did you know that Zermatt is a car-free zone? What do you think of a huge festival invading this idyllic and environmental-friendly village?
When I was driving in, I noticed that there was a lot of construction. The driver I was with also told me, that they would keep building. It makes me think, that this place is slowly growing and growing. I would hate to see this one-lane street become a two-lane street. There is something special about Zermatt, but once you develop an area, you can never go back to it's natural state. So I am always urging people to really consider alternatives. You know, a festival can be good and bad: It can be good, because you can raise awareness for this beautiful area, so people who travel here can go: "Wow, let's keep it like this!" But it can also be a bit tricky, because you are also inviting more people to tread on the soil. It's all about how you communicate, what the best intention is for Zermatt.

Text und Interview: Mathias Tünnerhoff
Photo: Samanta Siegfried

Jason Mraz im Web: Jasonmraz.com

Zermatt Unplugged Festival