In 2003, the folk-pop hit "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" blasted Jason Mraz from the coffee shops of San Diego to stardom. After his second album, 2005's Mr. A-Z, flopped, the singer-songwriter got seriously depressed. "That [record] felt like a homework assignment, and it was a nightmare," says Mraz. "I had just lost myself and I didn't know what I wanted to do." After spending some time recharging — and getting into surfing, raw food and Buddhism — Mraz returned last year with his third album of Jack Johnson-style hippie pop, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. — which includes his biggest smash yet, the reggae-tinged love song "I'm Yours."

Has life changed since "I'm Yours" took off?
Right now, my day-to-day life isn't that different. I still have to wake up and make my avocado smoothie and do my exercises and write in my journal and pack my suitcase and go to the next place.

Avocado smoothie?
My house in San Diego is surrounded by acres of avocado trees. I eat mostly raw foods. And I've been getting acupuncture and herbal remedies from a really wise yogi I've been going to for the past six years.

Is there any raw food you would not eat?
The beauty of raw food is that all of it is so spectacular. Once I did have this bizarre celery and honeydew-melon soup and it was cold and ridiculous and I just threw up. But everything else has been a delight.

You're also really into surfing?
You're just out there practicing patience, practicing oneness and defying gravity. The physics of it don't make any sense. However, as peaceful as people always say it is, the ocean also kicks your ass.

You ever surf with any other musicians?
I did this charity celebrity surf thing with Flea and Noodles from the Offspring. We were given an hour all to ourselves on a world-class wave. I caught more waves than anybody, but everyone reported that Flea won it. He's Flea, he's loved by the surf community.

What contemporary songwriters inspire you?
Bob Schneider, a brilliant, prolific songwriter based out of Austin. We play this songwriting game together; he picks a word or phrase — like "trash" or something — and you have a week to write a song about that subject. There's no win or lose, but if you don't do it, Bob's going to say you're a pussy. Nobody wants that.

Where were you when you wrote "I'm Yours"?
I was at home in my little writing room, chugging along on my electric guitar, feeling great. I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work with about 50 different Bob Marley songs. It happened so quickly, in 15 to 20 minutes, that I thought, "It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme or poem." You can never guess what's gonna be a hit.

It seems like you don't have any sad songs.
I write my miserable songs. I write songs about disgust and self-pity. We're all going to have bummer moments. That's not the stuff I choose to share.

[From Issue 1070 — January 22, 2009]

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• Jason Mraz Brings Sunny Vibe to Chilly New York for Saturday Night Live