Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz was born and raised in Virginia, where he was a fan of the Dave Matthews Band. But it wasn’t until his participation in musical theater that he first developed a love for music. He graduated high school and moved to New York where he attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. However, he dropped out a year later, took up guitar and began to focus on songwriting. He returned to Virginia for a short while, but felt called to the warm coast of California and moved to San Diego in 1999.

Southern California is known for its coffeehouses and support of singer/songwriters, so Mraz joined percussionist Toca Rivera and guitarist Carlos Olmeda for regular weekly gigs at Java Joes. Jason Mraz developed a following beyond San Diego and started getting the attention of record labels around Los Angeles. In early 2002, Mraz signed with Elektra Records and then returned to Virginia to write and record his debut album. John Alagia, whose previous clients included Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer, was tapped to produce Mraz’s album, and Jason commissioned a local band from his high school years, the Agents of Good Roots, to back him.

Mraz’s debut album, Waiting for my Rocket to Come, was released in November of 2002 and his talent as a vocalist as well as a musician/songwriter became clear. The album was a blend of Mraz’s early influences of country, rock, jazz and hip-hop along with his coffeehouse experiences. This album went platinum in July 2004 and reached #2 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart.

Jason Mraz started touring to support the album and in June and July of 2005, he opened for Alanis Morrissette’s tour. His second album, Mr. A-Z, was released in 2005 by Atlantic Records and it debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 album chart. In December, he earned a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Steve Lillywhite, who produced the album, was nominated for Producer of the Year.

In November of 2005, Mraz opened for the Rolling Stones on five shows of their world tour. He was also tapped to be a featured singer during The Gap’s fall ad campaign in 2005 along with Keith Urban, Alanis Morrissette, Joss Stone, and others.

Mraz toured mostly small venues and music festivals in 2006 in the United States and performed a few shows in the United Kingdom and Ireland. He was featured as a headliner at the annual Fair St. Louis and performed at the base of the Gateway Arch in July of 2006. In December of 2006, Mraz’s live online-only album, Selections for Friends, was released.

In 2007, Mraz debuted the single The Beauty in Ugly, a previously written song that was written for the ABC show, “Ugly Betty.” He also released a Spanish song entitled The New Beauty with help from Carlos Olmeda on the lyrics.

Mraz’s single, Geek in the Pink, was performed on American Idol in 2007, and was subsequently a hot download on iTunes. Jason Mraz and his management fully support audio bootlegging of his shows so his fans can recreate the live experience for their enjoyment.