Q:I read that you met Lupe through a mutual friend. You sure you don't have a sexier story than that?
A:Well, we met at a burrito house. Our story isn't too glamorous. Really, it's more of a
coincidental matching. It fell into my lap. It came at the perfect time.
Q:Was he looking for a singer?
A:Not really. He was doing his thing, doing mix tapes and putting them on the internet, and I was working with our mutual friend, Greg Magers, who is an amazing sound engineer out of Chicago. He's also known as G Ball. He's both of our sound engineers. G Ball gave him my stuff, and he dug it.
Q:Are you recording the new album for his label right now?
A:We're trying; it's hard to record when I'm on the road. It's in its infant stages. We're looking to find the right producer, as far as some songs are concerned, and we're still looking for the right environment. We have all the songs; it's just a matter of getting them down.
Q: How did you work with him on "Superstar" and other songs; you come in with ideas on how to sing the hook, or was it all planned out beforehand?
A: He has a general idea of how he wants the melody to sound, and I basically go in and give it my flavor, improvise and try and spice it up and make it into something a little more musical.
Q:I ask because your vocals on your albums, particularly the live album, are a lot more
freewheeling, jazz-like, so it's kind of different to hear you sing a structured hook like in "Superstar."
A:You know, I don't consider myself to be a mainstream artist, and I never really aspire to be one, so it's sort of a strange environment that I'm in.
Q:It is, and that's the most intriguing thing about you. You're really two different artists.
A:I look at it like a versatility thing, an experience and exposure thing. If I'm collaborating with Lupe and millions of people a year are hearing my music, or a day for that matter, considering it's an international song, and people are hearing the voice and coming to my [MySpace] page, then what more can an artist ask for?
Q:Is jazz and R&B an influence? Your voice seems to have those touches, and it stretches you beyond a Jack Johnson mellow guitar dude.
A:The backbone of my music is soul and dynamics. You're gonna find the quiet, mellow stuff, but you better believe it's going to progress into something that's bigger than you would imagine. It's all about expressing your soul musically. It's not a mind thing for me. It's a heart thing.
Q:Being able to sing multiple styles, though, does add to your intrigue, because you're living in multiple worlds.
A:It's a big trip, and it hit me last night at the show when Jay-Z walks up to me and
congratulates me for my success, and then Justin Timberlake — Justin Timberlake! — walks around the corner and approaches me and tells me that he loves my voice. All I could say is, 'You're Justin Timberlake and You're Jay-Z.' This is tripping me out, man.
Q:So one night you're playing with Lupe and talking to Justin Timberlake, and then the next night you're at Martyr'swith your band. Is that exciting, humbling?
A:It's really exciting. I love the contrast. For instance, tonight I'm playing a show at The Key Club Plush Room in L.A., which is this small room that fits like a hundred people. I'll be lucky if I sell it out, but I love doing shows like these. The intimacy is beyond the grandiosity of the arena style.
Q:Now, when you do the album on Lupe's label, are these worlds going to collide? Are the two artists going to kind of merge?
A:(He laughs) The folkie and then the alter ego. We'll see. There's going to have to be some sort of compromise, but I don't want to be too poppy. My songs are much more to me than that. I'm not trying to sell them out to try and win overthe popular music crowd. They have to be honest. Whatever the compromise is, I'm not compromising the truth behind the songs. I don't know exactly how the album is going to sound yet. There are still a lot of questions to be answered.
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