The lyrics are the star of the show, the melody is the star of the show, and my voice . . . There are three parts, a trinity, a three part star, but I’m certainly not like, “Okay, whatever, that’s a harmonica, you’re not important so let’s just put you in the background and crank up the vocals.” I want people to like my voice, but I really want to stay true to the song. That’s what’s important. SM: Also, I’ve noticed that your phrasing is not always what I’m expecting, it’s really impressive, fresh, and original. MR: Gosh, thank you for saying that. There’s what you are as an artist, what you want to give, and what you think is true to the song. You want to give your listeners a good experience. I love standing out, but I’m not going out of my way to stand out, I’m just really being me. However, sometimes, you will hit a wall, commercially, because that’s not how everybody else is producing songs, right now. Producing songs is like fashion, “Nobody’s rolling up their jeans, what’s wrong with you? We did that ten years ago!” The radio stations, your radio team — who are supposed to help sell you — and even your record company, they are all trying to keep their finger on the pulse. If you’re not congruent with seven of the ten core artists who are currently making a certain sound, they’ll shoot you down and say, “That’s not a single!” But there are always the breakout artists like Mumford and Sons or Ray LaMontagne or Jason Mraz or Amy Winehouse who are like, “Well yeah, I don’t sound like that because I just gotta be me and it’s your job to sell me.” Of course, I want commercial success, too, but I don’t want to follow a trend if that’s not who I am. I do think I follow a genre, I am in a genre, but it’s a genre I’ve tried to carve out for myself.
Fit In Or Stand Out? SM: It definitely seems that upcoming artists get mixed signals, should they fit in or stand out to “make it?” MR: I think if you truly find out who you are — and boy, that’s the biggest battle: to trust your instincts, really trust your instincts as an artist and listen to your muse — then you will be original . . . even if you fall into the same category as other artists. I would love it if somebody put a playlist together with Amy Winehouse and me along with John Mayer and Nora Jones, and maybe, Jason Mraz because we are all played on adult contemporary radio, but we’re all very different! My biggest artist statement