Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Lazy Hands

Discussing San Diego's newly famous acoustic guitar crooner, Jason Mraz, Jason Turtle says, "When I was performing with Jane Lui, we had a few gigs with him and were beginning to try to collaborate. This was right before he got really big, so he was around more. He came over to write...we decided to smoke a bit to loosen things up and get the creative thinking flowing, but all it did was make me more paranoid. Between him and me, we kept trying out different melodies and chords -- 'How's this?' and 'What about this?' I couldn't think straight."

YOUR GUITARS?

"I've had about 12 guitars since I first started playing. I've finally broken it down to 3. One is a Martin D-1 with an LR Baggs i-Beam pickup system in it. I think I was a drummer in a former life, so I like to play the guitar as if it were one. The LR Baggs picks up my banging on it really well. Another is a baby Taylor with a Fishman piezo pickup that I had installed. It's my practice guitar, but it definitely makes my hands lazy. When I play shows with the full size, they tend to cramp up by the third song or so. So I tell as many stories as I possibly can to let them get some rest. Of all the guitars, my Yamaha F310 is my favorite. Someone bought it at Costco for $99 and just gave it to me. It tunes great, plays great, and doesn't sound all that great, but because it's the same model as my absolute first guitar, I'll never be able to let go of it."

FAVORITE VENUE?

Sponsored
Sponsored

"De Anza College cafeteria stage in Cupertino. The stage is humongous. It makes me feel small and insignificant. Plus, it's rather inconspicuous, so when I play there, I feel the music more. I have to work to get people to listen. It's an honest gauge on how well I am doing. People that like it will stop and stay."

LEAST FAVORITE?

"There's a place in Los Angeles that I'd rather not name, but it's a stage for rock bands. I don't really know how I got that gig, but I think the booker that set it up thought I was part of a huge band, so they asked me to open for a couple others. The stage was six feet off the ground, and I had three or four monitors to myself. When the curtains opened, the few audience members scattered to the walls like roaches caught in the light."

TOP FIVE CDs?

1. Glen Phillips, Abulum. "He writes songs with imagery and simple melodies that I can never seem to forget."

2. Imogen Heap, Speak for Yourself. "Beautiful music and beautiful production. It never gets old."

3. Toad the Wet Sprocket, Coil. "My first favorite band. Same Glen Phillips songwriting, but with a '90s pop rock twist."

4. Pete Yorn, Music for the Morning After. "Simple and acoustic. I like it melancholy."

5. Marc Broussard, Carencro. "Although he won't be able to sing past 35 years, he's got such a cool-sounding voice. And his performance is unbeatable. It's music to dance to."

BEST GIG?

"Snohomish, Washington, 2005. We drove to the place from Seattle the night before to check it out. As we got closer, the streetlights became more and more scarce. It didn't look like much of a city. When we passed 'Tractor Crossing' signs, we knew it wasn't much of a town either. But it turned out to be the best gig. For not knowing anyone, they were the friendliest and the largest audience of the whole tour. People came from as far as 80 miles away for it."

WORST GIG?

Once again, I'd rather not name the place, but it was at a large Seattle-chain coffeeshop located in San Jose. The stage area and seating area were divided by a pathway to the register. So as people would enter the shop, they'd stand in line, ignoring the fact that there was something going on."

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tuna within 3-day range Back in the Counts

Mind the rockfish regulations

Discussing San Diego's newly famous acoustic guitar crooner, Jason Mraz, Jason Turtle says, "When I was performing with Jane Lui, we had a few gigs with him and were beginning to try to collaborate. This was right before he got really big, so he was around more. He came over to write...we decided to smoke a bit to loosen things up and get the creative thinking flowing, but all it did was make me more paranoid. Between him and me, we kept trying out different melodies and chords -- 'How's this?' and 'What about this?' I couldn't think straight."

YOUR GUITARS?

"I've had about 12 guitars since I first started playing. I've finally broken it down to 3. One is a Martin D-1 with an LR Baggs i-Beam pickup system in it. I think I was a drummer in a former life, so I like to play the guitar as if it were one. The LR Baggs picks up my banging on it really well. Another is a baby Taylor with a Fishman piezo pickup that I had installed. It's my practice guitar, but it definitely makes my hands lazy. When I play shows with the full size, they tend to cramp up by the third song or so. So I tell as many stories as I possibly can to let them get some rest. Of all the guitars, my Yamaha F310 is my favorite. Someone bought it at Costco for $99 and just gave it to me. It tunes great, plays great, and doesn't sound all that great, but because it's the same model as my absolute first guitar, I'll never be able to let go of it."

FAVORITE VENUE?

Sponsored
Sponsored

"De Anza College cafeteria stage in Cupertino. The stage is humongous. It makes me feel small and insignificant. Plus, it's rather inconspicuous, so when I play there, I feel the music more. I have to work to get people to listen. It's an honest gauge on how well I am doing. People that like it will stop and stay."

LEAST FAVORITE?

"There's a place in Los Angeles that I'd rather not name, but it's a stage for rock bands. I don't really know how I got that gig, but I think the booker that set it up thought I was part of a huge band, so they asked me to open for a couple others. The stage was six feet off the ground, and I had three or four monitors to myself. When the curtains opened, the few audience members scattered to the walls like roaches caught in the light."

TOP FIVE CDs?

1. Glen Phillips, Abulum. "He writes songs with imagery and simple melodies that I can never seem to forget."

2. Imogen Heap, Speak for Yourself. "Beautiful music and beautiful production. It never gets old."

3. Toad the Wet Sprocket, Coil. "My first favorite band. Same Glen Phillips songwriting, but with a '90s pop rock twist."

4. Pete Yorn, Music for the Morning After. "Simple and acoustic. I like it melancholy."

5. Marc Broussard, Carencro. "Although he won't be able to sing past 35 years, he's got such a cool-sounding voice. And his performance is unbeatable. It's music to dance to."

BEST GIG?

"Snohomish, Washington, 2005. We drove to the place from Seattle the night before to check it out. As we got closer, the streetlights became more and more scarce. It didn't look like much of a city. When we passed 'Tractor Crossing' signs, we knew it wasn't much of a town either. But it turned out to be the best gig. For not knowing anyone, they were the friendliest and the largest audience of the whole tour. People came from as far as 80 miles away for it."

WORST GIG?

Once again, I'd rather not name the place, but it was at a large Seattle-chain coffeeshop located in San Jose. The stage area and seating area were divided by a pathway to the register. So as people would enter the shop, they'd stand in line, ignoring the fact that there was something going on."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego seawalls depend on Half Moon Bay case

Casa Mira townhomes sued after losing 20 feet of bluffs in storm
Next Article

Time’s up for Doubletime Recording Studio

Owner Jeff Forrest is trading El Cajon for Portugal
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader