Jason Mraz

I think it's fair to claim that this week's Happy Half Hour guest is the most special visitor we've ever had on the podcast (which is saying something): Jason Mraz, the two-time Grammy Award–winning singer and songwriter who has gone platinum and multi-platinum in more than 20 countries. His tune "I'm Yours" also surpassed one billion streams on Spotify and was the most-streamed song by a solo artist in the naughts. His eighth album, Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride, dropped last June. In other words, he's kind of a big deal. Mraz lives in North County's greater Fallbrook area, where he runs Mraz Family Farms, providing companies like Chipotle with a steady stream of San Diego County–grown avocados (and providing this podcast with great talking points). In addition to chatting about his coffee farm and avocado-growing prowess, Mraz shines a light on his upcoming Kaleidoscope community concert, which will take place at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, on Saturday, February 17 at 7 p.m and on Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets will be available via JasonMraz.com this Friday, December 15th at 10 a.m. PT. Mraz will hit the stage alongside performers from eight local arts organizations: A Step Beyond Dancers, Banding Together, Diversionary Theatre, Monarch School Project, San Diego Young Artist Music Academy, Tap Fever Studios, Tierra Caliente Academy of Arts, and Wheelchair Dancers. They're all beneficiaries of grants from The Jason Mraz Foundation, which is dedicated to improving access to the arts for kids. It's a cause close to Mraz's heart for obvious reasons, considering his long, successful career in the arts. We recap it all—the open mic performance that launched his career (which Troy almost missed in favor of a punk show), the Dave Matthews endorsement that helped catapult him to fame, and, of course, his fan-favorite turn on Dancing with the Stars. "Over the past few months, I pushed myself creatively, and physically more than I have in decades," Mraz says of his time on the show. "I revisited what it was like to be a beginner in the performing arts, to immerse myself in something completely new, finding strength, joy, self-acceptance, and pride as I learned and grew every week." And Mraz isn't the only one experiencing growth. We offer reports from the front of San Diego's ever-expanding restaurant scene: First of all, a hell of a lot of fried chicken is coming to town. South Korean Fried Fave BHC Chicken will open in Sorrento Valley and Dave's Hot Chicken will open its sixth location in Mission Valley. Plus, tapas and small grower wine spot Finca launched in North Park with a crew formerly from Juniper & Ivy, and Priscilla Curiel will open Mujer Divina on Chula Vista's Third Avenue. See you next week! More information on the Jason Mraz Foundation: https://jasonmraz.com/foundation/ https://www.instagram.com/jasonmrazfoundation/ https://www.facebook.com/JasonMrazFoundation/

Kevin and Jenna GLEEK out over Grammy Award-winning artist Jason Mraz joining them on the show!! No really - Kevin confesses Jason's music has been the soundtrack to his life. Meanwhile, Jenna and Jason reminisce about their time on the Broadway hit show, "Waitress," and Jason shares how he felt about having his songs featured on Glee. Plus, Jason chats about his latest album and why this might be his last tour ever!! **We stand in solidarity with our union SAG-AFTRA during the strike. For more information, go to SAGAFTRAStrike.org. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mona Tavakoli is a Los Angeles-based drummer, singer and performer bets known for recording and touring with Jason Mraz. While Mona is equally comfortable performing as a drummer and a percussionist, she is especially known for adapting the cajón to unexpected genres such as rock and pop. Mona and Mraz have been collaborating for nearly a decade. She toured worldwide on Mraz’s 2012 album, Love is a Four Letter Word, and they performed together as a duo on programs such as The Today Show, The David Letterman Show, Ellen, Dancing with the Stars, and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. She is a co-founder and co-director of the Rock n’ Roll Camp For Girls Los Angeles , a nonprofit that encourages girls to find their voices through music during an intensive, weeklong summer day camp. Mona also promotes music education by hosting rhythm workshops at elementary schools and colleges around the country. Mona has been featured in DRUM!, Tom Tom Magazine, judged and hosted the Hit Like A Girl drum contest and awards show and is the recipient of the 2016 She Rocks awards “Inspire Award” for her work with the Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls. In this episode, Mona talks about: The new album she recently tracked with Jason and Raining Jane Her hybrid setup and her history with the Cajon Her unlikely combination of influences from Neil Peart to Jay Belerose Her background in economics and how that informs her music career Her #1 piece of financial advice for musicians Her role with the Rock n' Roll Camp for Girls Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pittsburgh Trombonist Reggie Watkins has always had a knack for music. He has come a long way from learning how to play the piano at six. Born and raised in West Virginia and spending years in Pittsburgh, Reggie was exposed to musical influences that would later turn him into an internationally-recognized performer, pianist, arranger, and composer. Leveraging his experience fronting a quarter on a cruise ship, he then served as trombonist and musical director for trumpeter and band leader Maynard Ferguson. From there he went on to tour and record with Jason Mraz from 2008 to 2013. He has shared the stage with many great artists from various genres including Aretha Franklin, Dave Matthews, Dianne Shuur, Jose Feliciano, Willie Nelson, Arturo Sandoval, Trombone Shorty, The Temptations, and the O’Jays. He is also a member of the Grammy-nominated Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band. He joins us in this episode to talk about his epiphany moment with jazz, his music education and influences, his early cruise ship gigs, his years touring with the Maynard Ferguson band and Jason Mraz, his practice routine, and the honor of playing at Aretha Franklin’s funeral.

How do you look for the good when the world can feel like a dark and challenging place? Jason Mraz, Grammy Award winning, multi-platinum artist, singer songwriter, and musician has sold millions of albums and performed all around the world - but he has always stayed grounded in being a vessel for goodness and kindness. He shares how to stop worrying about what other people think of you, how to live in alignment through your words, actions, beliefs, thoughts, and attitude, and how to enjoy the messiness of creating something great. - Get Jason's newest album Look for the Good on Apple Music https://apple.co/2CtIjG4 or buy the vinyl https://jasonmraz.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since the release of his first hit single, The Remedy (I Won’t Worry) , in 2002, Jason Mraz has based his musical career on sharing positive, uplifting music. On June 19, the two-time Grammy winner is releasing Look for the Good , an album that encourages us to find hope, optimism and gratitude despite the turmoil we’re experiencing this year. In this episode, Jason explains how this collection of songs came about, what he learned in the process of writing and recording this album and what he hopes every one of us takes away from it. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why he believes it’s so important to look for the good in every situation. How music can help soothe and heal us. The power of remaining positive.

Jason Mraz’s new album begins and ends with the same phrase: “Look for the good.” Those four words are not just a lyric or the title of his seventh studio album, but also an all-encompassing world philosophy for the musician, who believes that in dark and challenging times we should search for something positive. The musician also runs the Jason Mraz Foundation, which has donated over $1 million to organizations supporting inclusive arts education and equality. The foundation recently put on an event in San Diego, “SHINE,” to celebrate all-inclusive arts education and become more fully immersed in the community using Jason’s music as a backbone. In many ways, Jason, a two-time Grammy winner, Songwriters Hall of Fame Honoree and board member of the ASCAP Foundation, aims to use his position to empower others and inspire real-world change and positivity. Everything he does and every song he writes comes back to the idea of love. Look For The Good is not just an album – it’s a refreshing way of seeing and experiencing the world we live in. You can connect with Jason at : https://www.facebook.com/JasonMraz/ https://twitter.com/jason_mraz https://www.instagram.com/jason_mraz/ https://www.youtube.com/jasonmraz And on his website at https://jasonmraz.com.

Evan Ruggiero aka 'Lord Pegleg' and I had an epic conversation that lasted over 3 hours last October. We talked about everything from working with Jason Mraz, to performing on the Ellen show, to beating Issac Hanson at pool, to a move he learned from Clayton 'Pegleg' Bates called the "airplane." We even nerded out with a 2-man beatbox rendition of "YYZ" by Rush. This episode is dedicated to Neil Peart. A huge thank you to the Twin Cities Tap Festival for helping to make this episode possible! We're on Tik Tok now! Follow us @HaveTapShoes Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. @HaveTapShoesWillTravel #HaveTapShoesWillTravel Thank you to Ryan Grams and Uptop Films for the technical support, Matt and the staff at Dancing Fair , and Andy Ausland for this week's music! Bucket Drummin' Volume 1 by The Ausland Brothers is available on iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, and Spotify. 10 tracks all-percussion. Questions, comments, gigs, ideas? Email rick@havetapshoeswilltravel.com Record a voice message to be played on the podcast, Anchor.fm/HaveTapShoesWillTravel UPCOMING TAP CLASSES * Mon., 6-7 PM (Ongoing), Adult Beginning Tap Class w/ Rick Ausland, Zenon Dance, Mpls., MN. * Tues., 6:45-7:45 PM (Ongoing), Adult Intermediate Tap Class w/ Rick Ausland, Ballare Teatro, Mpls., MN. * Tues., 7:45-9 PM (Ongoing), Adult Advanced Tap Class w/ Rick Ausland, Ballare Teatro, Mpls., MN. * Wed., 7-8 PM (Ongoing), Adult Beginning Tap Class w/ Rick Ausland, Ballare Teatro, Mpls., MN. * Wed., 8-9 PM (Ongoing), Adult Adv. Beginning Tap Class w/ Rick Ausland, Ballare Teatro, Mpls., MN. UPCOMING TAP EVENTS * Fridays, 4-6 PM (Ongoing), KSR Tappy Hour - Free Group Tap Dance Lessons , Can Can Wonderland, St. Paul, MN. * Sunday February 9th, 2020, NACHMO Choreography Showing , Off-Leash Area ArtBox, Mpls., MN. * June 11th-14th, 2020, Radiant Rhythm Initiative , Swing Into Summer Tap Festival, St. Cloud, MN. ADDITIONAL SITES TO CHECK OUT * MN Citizens for the Arts - artsmn.org * Springboard for the Arts - springboardforthearts.org * Dancing Fair - dancingfair.com * Twin Cities Tap Festival - twincitiestap.com * Keane Sense of Rhythm - tapcompany.org * Rhythm Street Movement - rhythmstreetmovement.com * Radiant Rhythm Initiative - radiantrhythminitiative.com * Sparkle Theatricals - sparkletheatricals.org * New Buckets and Tap Shoes website and video at www.bucketsandtapshoes.com Please use your phone and record a message for us to be played on a future episode. Click here: anchor.fm/havetapshoeswilltravel/message " Go in rhythm, y'all. " - Professor Robert L. Reed, St. Louis Tap and Heritage Festival --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/havetapsho