In the Headlines...
Jason Mraz: Spreading the Remedy
By: Nicole Roberge
Jason
Mraz left fans enamored with his album, “Waiting for My Rocket to Come,”
which featured the hit singles “The Remedy” and “You and I Both.”
The LA-based singer-songwriter has a busy touring schedule, having
toured with artists like Dave Matthews, Jewel and Maroon 5, but it was his tour that
prompted the start of Rock for a Remedy—an organization that now
sponsors food drives at concerts with various artists. And it all began
as a birthday present for Mraz.
“Someone had mentioned, ‘you should have people bring you gifts on your birthday. You’d get a lot of gifts,’” Mraz remembered. “But I was like, ‘what the heck am I gonna do with a lot of gifts?’ So we came up with the idea of having them all bring food. We’ll say, ‘Jason wants food for his birthday,’ and then donate it to the local food bank. And that’s how it started. It was such a successful night that the girls who helped us organize the thing and volunteered their efforts just said, ‘Let’s do it again.’ I think that’s amazing.” And they have. Since Mraz’s birthday concert in 2003, which the dubbed the "Never Too Much Food" Drive (a play on one of his song titles), they have continued to hold food drives at concerts with artists like Gavin DeGraw, Matt Nathanson Dispatch and Damien Rice.
And Mraz appreciates the work these
volunteers have done and is happy to see them continue doing it, as he
realizes the work and energy that goes into it. But what impact do
these food drives have?
“The first impact that we always see is the weight of the food on the rental car,” Mraz joked on the importance of the event, but was quite serious. “The volunteers, they load the food up in their car, and they’ve actually wrecked two rental cars now from having so much canned good s in the trunk and in the backseat.” But it is after they load up the car and drive away that the next impact is made. “We don’t actually get to see the second impact when they actually deliver it to whatever food bank is collecting, because we’re out of town. We leave immediately after the show. But I can tell just from these volunteers, just how much they’re moved by it—that’s what I get the impact from.”
He also sees the impact it has on fans who attend these shows and bring food, and hopes that those who haven’t brought food before but see others doing so, might change their mind the next time Rock for a Remedy is in town. “I would hope that even those who don’t bring food, maybe when they’re leaving the show they see all the food there and think, ‘wow, I have a lot of crap in my pantry that I’m not gonna eat.’ Stewed tomatoes and black eyes peas and things, and all these cans in the back of the pantry and you wonder why you have them in the first place. That kind of guilts you,” Mraz said.
If
anything, Mraz says he hopes it is encouragement to become involved, or
at least raise awareness of the amount of people who cannot afford
food: “Maybe it’ll encourage them to do something in their neighborhood
or on the holidays, just get it out there. There’s too many people in
America that are homeless or foodless. A lot of people have homes but
they can’t afford food. Anything we can do…we’re anywhere from 2-5000
people a night coming together, most paying an average of $20-$30 a
ticket, and I hate to say it, but those same people who buy these
tickets can afford a seventy-five cent can of food. Bring it.”
And though Mraz does recognize the good that people do on their own, he would like to add some incentive for fans who help out in the future: “Maybe someday we can figure out a way for those who bring food to get half price off their ticket or something like that. That would be pretty cool. I don’t really control the tickets so that’s pretty hard to do right now, but I would like to do something.”
Mraz’s contributions don’t stop with Rock for a Remedy. He is a rocker with a big heart and would give you the shirt off his back. Literally.
Mraz has been known to sell t-shirts he has worn at concerts and on television appearances on EBAY, and then sends off the money to charity. The idea came about when somebody sold a beer bottle he had drank out of for about thirty dollars. A friend told him he should get in on it, and sell some of his own things to make money. But again, as with his birthday, he said he didn’t really need the money, but that it was a good idea. What if they sold his items, but the money went to charity instead? And that’s just what they did. “For a while we sold a bunch of t-shirts and some random things, and said, ‘throw it all over to Make-A-Wish, let them have everything that happens.’ One thing that I’m going to try and do is start adding my own match to it. Because honestly, everything that’s been given to Make-A-Wish so far from these auctions has been from the fans. They paid for the shirt. All I’m doing is donating a t-shirt.”
Make-A-Wish is Mraz’s charity of choice, after his friend Charlie, who he wrote “The Remedy” for, turned him onto some cancer organizations and survivor groups. It reminded him of Make-a-Wish and prompted him to get more involved. He explained, “I had done a fundraiser show for Make-A-Wish a couple years ago. A couple of months later, I got a letter from the kid who actually got to use that money to go to Hawaii. It was like, ‘I wanted to thank you for the show. I got to go to Hawaii, I swam with dolphins. Sorry I haven’t written you sooner—I’ve been sick.’ It was really touching.” So much that Mraz has continued to put most of his charitable efforts over to them, donating money and raising awareness of the organization with his fans.
Mraz not only recognizes the good that comes out of seeing the children’s wishes fulfilled, but also the amazing things that can happen afterwards. “It’s amazing the rates of survival after these kids have their wish granted. It takes them out of their element—out of their hospital, out of their sick world—for a day to a week, depending on whatever they can handle. It takes them to a whole new level and shows them what life can be like if they have their wish come true. It just turns them on in such a way that it gives them a will to live,” Mraz explained. “There have actually been some kids who had their wishes granted at like 8 when they were told they were gonna die, and here they are—13, 14—and they look like normal kids, and they’re still going. It’s a really interesting, and good, thing.”
Now, in this holiday season, Jason Mraz has a special addition to his online store off his website. There, fans can donate money directly to the Make-A-Wish foundation. Many of his fans appreciate the extra mile Mraz goes to help those in need, and he knows that his status as musician promoting an organization will make fans more likely to also turn to the charity. It is in the sincerity in his approach and direct involvement in these charities that is admirable and gets the recognition of fans. It’s easy to stand behind a microphone and say something, but it takes on a new life when you truly believe in what you’re doing.
Mraz hopes that his involvement can only inspire younger people to get involved, and will continue to promote Make-A-Wish to his fans. “I would hope that it has a positive effect,” Mraz said of talking to his fans about charities. “I think there’s more impact on younger kids who idolize any musician. Based on what that musician does, that kid is gonna most likely copy them in some way. They’re gonna copy the artist that they look up to. So there’s enough artists out their putting their efforts towards charities and maybe that kid will take notice, organize something and be the charity geek at his or her school. Which is really my goal.”
For a kid to model their efforts after Jason Mraz’s would undoubtedly be a good thing.
Go here to donate to Make-A-Wish through Jason Mraz
Rock for A Remedy photos by Emily Courville