Why Filipino Fans are Unlonely

While in Singapore, Jason Mraz held a press conference on October 29 and live-streamed it via Facebook Live. In the said press conference, Mraz announced that he would be bringing the good vibes through his Good Vibes 2019 Tour in Asia next year.

Mraz said that there would be six shows in Asia for the whole month of May, starting on May 8, 2019, in Manila. The series of shows ends in Shanghai.

Official Tour Poster from Manila Concerts Scene

Aside from the tour announcement, Mraz also answered a few questions from the press. One question was about the reason why the tour was named "Good Vibes Tour" and not "Know Tour" instead. Mraz responded in a very Jason Mraz--way, saying that he only meant for the album to be named "Know." for it to be the follow up to the 2014 released album "Yes!". He said that to transform the negative vibe that the word "No" could bring, he changed it into "Know" as some sort of wordplay. With the "Good Vibes Tour", he wanted to spread the positive mindset that he has shared through this new album even more, on a much wider aspect.

He also shared that "Know." was in the works since January 1, 20,16 and that the working title that he had was "Master Peace". This phrase actually made it into the album in the ballad "Love is Still the Answer" (To learn how to master peace, or master war...). I thought that this song was crafted during the early days of this album, hence, the working title of "Master Peace".

He also shared that during the creation of the album, he had been far from home, far from his wife. This was the reason why the album was filled with love notes and letters for his wife. He also went back to songs from his past like the single "Have It All" which was written when he was in Myanmar in 212, the song for his wife "Might As Well Dance", and the 1999 track "Sleeping to Dream".

The creation of the album was a trial and error and a mix of ups and downs for him. With his superband, the Raining Jane, and Toca Rivera, the music scene was finally ready for more good vibes from Jason Mraz.

Aside from the aformentioned singles, fans would be expecting hits such as "Unlonely", "More Than Friends", "Let's See What the Night Can Do", and probably a debut live version of the song "No Plans". Mraz hinted that there might be newer and unreleased songs in the upcoming tour. 

The all-time favorites like "The Remedy", "Unfold", "Common Pleasure", "Tonight, Not Again", "No Stopping Us", "Mr. Curiosity", and "Zero Percent Interest" would also be a great addition to the set list, as far as long-time Jason Mraz fans would be concerned, especially if done with more Toca Rivera than Raining Jane.

Surely, Asian fans found that it was matchless to #Know this good vibes alert.

Love Them While You Can

Even with the most impressive technological advancement today cannot give the solution to this very scary thing: mortality.

Yes, every living thing here in the world has its own time limit. Once reaching that moment, you can never go back and change what happened to maybe stop it from happening. The only thing you can do is either to lay there and wait for your final moment or to make use of your receding seconds to say your final goodbye to everyone (just as they do in the movies).

My point is that if you have the chance to show love and compassion and everything you got to someone, do it. Do not hesitate nor procrastinate. Whether it is to your lover, to your wife, to your husband, to your mom and dad, to your brothers and sisters - do not hesitate.

Tell them you love them and that you are grateful that you are able to say it because there is no need to worry as long as there is love. Also, try to actually show love and not just say it. Actions speak louder than words, right?

Photo by Nick Fewings from unsplash.com

The worst thing that can happen to someone is getting ill, especially when that illness leads to deterioration and death eventually. Most of the time, medical practices can delay, or even heal, such consequences, but there are also times when they cannot. Those instances are beyond our control and at such a moment, miracles of Biblical proportions are the only things we can cling to.

Bad things wouldn't happen if we can prevent them and we would want to say the things we want before it would be too late.

Don't hold out on love, folks.

Are You Up For Not Giving Up?

The past few months have been filled with lots of hope for most Jason Mraz fans. As of this day, two songs have been available for us to listen to, "Have It All" and "Unlonely", with bits of news about the new album "Know".  

Aside from that, tour dates until December have been announced as well.

Jason Mraz is widely known as the singer/songwriter of the 2008 hit song "I'm Yours" and this song probably has displayed his positive outlook on love and life best among his long roster of songs. Good vibes!

Like most fans, it has been a habit of me to watch videos of his live performances on YouTube and of course, read comments. This one comment has gotten my attention ever since.

It's non-verbatim but it's mostly like this. It talked something about Jason Mraz songwriting. According to the statement, the singer/songwriter's recent songs have all been about being happy, staying happy and living a sadness-free life with love.

So what do I have to say about that?

Gone are the less-happy Jason Mraz songs that fans have both listened and cried to like "Absolutely Zero" and "The Boy Is Gone".

On the last album "Yes!", the only song that could fall on that category is "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" (Boyz II Men cover) since "A World With You" could be the little brother of "A Beautiful Mess" for me and still covered the subject of living life with someone you love through the ups and downs.

In his set at the 2016 Bonnaroo, he sang four new songs - "Work In Progress", "More Than Friends", "Chocolate", and "The Man Who Planted Trees". They were still jolly and easy-to-sing-along-to songs except for the last one.

Do I have an issue with him releasing songs that seek to spread the good vibes and positive outlook that he has? Not at all. In this world of endless catastrophes and inevitable perils, what we need are sources of inspiration and motivation to still move forward even if times are hard. Especially if times are hard.

His continuous supplication of songs that seek to uplift us is a sign that he is a very generous person. He continually gives us the inspiration to still get back up after a beating and to rise up after falling down multiple times.

Sometimes, we don't need to be reminded of the tragedies that we have in life, especially when we already know how tragic our life has become. Being reminded of those things through songs could either backfire or inspire. We wouldn't know. 

Being reminded of the good things in life, being appreciative, and at the same time, being compassionate would only lead to one thing:  a stress-free life.

That would be the event more often than not. So why wouldn't we want to stick with that?

Do you feel like LETTING GO?

Let me share with you my latest experience in a grocery store. This ain't your typical grocery wish list story, hauling, or checking of the recent update on the price of goods. On the contrary, this is a story related to the first word that you read in this entry - "LET". 

*Before we go further, I will just say that the photos posted here are not mine and are taken from this website: https://www.pexels.com and I do not mean to plagiarize anyone.

Yes, this is a story about letting go. No, there is no scandalous happening here in this story, but just my own thoughts as I make my way out of that grocery store.

Yes again, I walked into a grocery store and planned to buy something but left empty-handed.

The night was just starting to cave in and capture the entire sky when I reached the grocery store. I went in, grabbed the cart and started checking off things on my grocery list. 

As I was in the crackers section, I saw an unfamiliar brand of a wafer. I immediately had the thought of buying that unfamiliar brand of a wafer for me to eat and savor during my leisure time even though I knew that it would not be wise to spend on such food.

Eventually, I listened to my urges and put it onto my cart. However, as I was making my way into the cashier, I could see that there ware already long lines of people waiting for their turn at each counter. I instantly went on to find which line seemed the best for me.

This was when letting go became the issue. Everything that I had put on my cart could be found in the nearby drugstore, except for that unfamiliar brand of wafer I spent time thinking about whether it should be bought or not. The question hanging in my mind was that should I choose to buy that unfamiliar brand of a wafer and sacrifice a little more time due to the long line waiting for me at the cashier, or should I just move on to the nearby drugstore and skip buying that unfamiliar wafer brand.



Which virtue should be at play here? Should it be the virtue of patience or the virtue of letting go?

This was what I did. Whenever I was put at the dilemma of choosing between multiple options, I weigh in the pros and the cons and I eliminate options. During that time, it was already night and I want to be home in time for dinner with my family. Moreover, I was really not in the mood to be in the presence of a lot of people. 

I was never fond of having a lot of people around me, even if they would be plain strangers. (Not into socializing, folks.)

So what I did was I took my mind away from that unfamiliar wafer brand and headed my way onto the nearby drugstore. Within 10 minutes, I was able to pick everything that was on my list. There was no line at all in the counter. Thus, I made it home just in time for dinner.

What am I really saying here, you don't really have to live in the moment at all times. You don't really have to say "YOLO". Sometimes, it can be really better to say "Live today, fight tomorrow" because you can't win your battles with just one blow. You can't win in life with just one stroke. There has been a lot of times in my life wherein I chose to play it safe so I can do more on the next day. Imagine if I had not switched stores and chose to wait in that long line to the cashier, I might not have gotten home in time, or I might have been stuck in traffic. 

Remember that there is always the best answer out of the multiple options that you have, however, there are also times when it is best to pick out the better option rather than the best. Your fate will still be determined by the actions that you will do with your decisions.

Is something bothering you right now? Know that you will have to make a decision eventually. You will not able to escape it.

So I ask you, will you let go? Will you live and heal today, so you can fight tomorrow?

x

Jason Still Has It All

Four years after the events of "Yes!" Jason Mraz has finally released a new single and guess what, folks, hints regarding the follow-up album and tour have also surfaced! Yes!

"Have It All" is the title of the new Jason Mraz studio single, the first one since "Love Someone" from "Yes!". Since its release days ago, this song has proven that our heat-loving friend still has it all indeed - the musicality, the wordplay, and the positivity. 

It is not a fancy song. It has no tricks nor hidden agendas. Instead, it is a treat for all of us who have been waiting for the next Jason Mraz album and concert tour. It is just a simple, easy-to-listen-to song which is the trademark of a bona fide Jason Mraz song.

It's not easy-to-sing-along though because of Jason's very playful wordplay unless it's on repeat on your music player (just like what I do). 

Based on the music video and if you are an avid Jason Mraz listener, you'd easily know that Raining Jane is a part of this song. That might mean that there would be fewer chances of having the fan-favorite Jason & Toca moment on the stage with just a guitar, a djembe, and their voices.

Nevertheless, any Jason Mraz news is a good news that fans like me would always look forward to. I hope that by 2019, Manila will be a part of their concert tour for that new music.

Here is the song from his YouTube channel, give it a listen and tell me what it does to you. Good vibes, folks!





"Have It All" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFkTu8Y1KLs