Singer/songwriter Jason Mraz has a group of friends with whom he trusts his life — and his music.
"They are the people I play for first," Mraz said by phone from Spokane, Wash. "I write my songs and then I play them for those people. If the music touches them in some way then I know I'm on the right track."
The Virginia-raised Mraz said he got into music at an early age. "Ever since I was kid I would see and hear music groups. I remember the feeling I had then. I knew that I wanted to be a part of that. I wanted to contribute my own music. It didn't matter who I saw. I have so many influences that I can't remember them all. It didn't matter if they were jazz, rock, pop — I just knew I wanted to do what they were doing."
Mraz said he fell into the pop singer/songwriter category by default. "I think it was because of my limited knowledge of how to play music that I'm in the pop-music category. But that's where I am."
His new album "Mr. A-Z" features 12 tracks that were culled from a total of about 40 songs written for the project. "I brought them to the band and we voted on them. We settled on 20 songs and recorded them. From there, we chose the final 12.
"It was hard cutting the songs. There were two in particular that I wanted to have on the album. One of those we cut because we recorded it wrong. We tried to do it as a band and it should have been just me and my guitar. But even then, there wasn't a place for it on the album. But I'm confident that all my songs will appear on a record at one point or another."
Three years had passed between Mraz's albums "Rocket" and "Mr. A-Z." And that didn't sit well with the musician. "We didn't have rehearsal space or studio time. I'm trying to remedy that right now. I'm building a studio in the back of my house so I will always have rehearsal space and studio time."
Between opening for the Rolling Stones and playing for smaller clubs with fellow singer/songwriters James Blunt and Tristan Prettyman, Mraz said he follows a core set list and then touches them up in each city. "If I meet someone in a place that I'm playing before the show, I ask them for requests. I know I have to play songs from 'Rocket' and from 'Mr. A-Z.' But I also want to play songs for those people who like my very early stuff. They are those who don't like my new stuff that well."
If you go . . .
What: The Rolling Stones, Jason Mraz
Where: Delta Center
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
How much: $60-$350
Phone: 325-7328
Web: www.ticketmaster.com
E-mail: scott@desnews.com