April 4, 2005
Interview by Elizabeth Ware

One of the a new generation of breakthrough jazz artists, Mindi Abair blew into the Smooth Jazz scene as a solo artist like a breath of fresh air in 2003 with her hit CD It Just Happens That Way. "Lucy's," the first single from the CD, spent eight weeks at #1 and tied for the longest running #1 single by a debut artist at NAC radio. The CD debuted at #3 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart, and stayed in the Top 10 for 19 consecutive weeks. Mindi's second solo release, Come As You Are (September 2004) contains a great mix of music from modern pop to traditional jazz, and the title track is still sitting in the top ten on the Radio and Records Smooth Jazz airplay chart.  She's currently on the road with Guitars and Saxes, but between getting ready for that and planning her wedding, Mindi graciously took some time out to talk with SmoothViews about the tour, the music and being one of the few women instrumentalist in the music business.

SmoothViews (SV): Welcome to SmoothViews! How are you?
Mindi Abair (MA): I'm great! I'm getting ready to get out on the road with my band and do the Guitars and Saxes thing.

SV: You've been a very busy woman! You had the opportunity to open for Josh Groban in front of very large audiences last year. You've been on the road a lot both with your own band and with Peter White, and the Guitars and Saxes tour is about to hit the road. Who's involved with that this year?
MA: This year's Guitars and Saxes is me, Jeff Golub, Wayman Tisdale and Warren Hill. We're just going to have so much fun! We're actually starting rehearsals in a couple of days. We've been discussing the music and how we want to do it. I've always thought the fun of these packages is being on stage together and playing each other's music. And that's something that… having done the Christmas tour with Peter White for the past two years and Rick Braun joining us this past year… that's one thing we really thought was of great importance was to be on stage all the time. Don't just make it about, well, here's Mindi's part of the show and here's Peter's part of the show and here's Rick's. We really wanted to make it interactive. For me that was the fun of it for a musician and an artist. But I think that the audience really reacted to it as well, because they got to see all of us in different forms, in different places and different music than they were used to hearing us and seeing us. That's what I'm looking forward to with this year's Guitars and Saxes.

Wayman Tisdale is such a funky, cool guy. And he's like five times my size. I think it's a great cartoon, you know. I mean I saw him on that tour with Dave Koz last year, and it was so funny with his arms up over Dave, and it looked like this big giant. I'm just going to have a blast with him, I know. And Jeff Golub… I sang on his last CD which was great, and he played on my CD, “Flirt,” so he's going to get to be the guy he was on the record on stage on “Flirt” which is great. So yeah, we're going to have a great time!

I don't know Warren Hill that well, but I went to the same college he did, so I always knew of him because I kind of took his place in a lot of the bands he played in at college. So I never really got to thank him until a couple of years ago. I was like, “Hey! Thanks for leaving for LA because I got to play in so many groups because you left them. And it really helped me become who I am as a player today.” I was playing six or seven nights a week in different bands, and thanks to him, that grew. So we've never played together, and we don't know each other that well. I'm really looking forward to playing with him. I think he's a great player, and there's a lot of history there.

SV: Your first CD It Just Happens That Way was a big success and a real breath of fresh air. You followed that up with another great CD, Come As You Are … yet another breath of fresh air! As of last Friday, “Come As You Are” was #5 on R&R's airplay chart! Congratulations on that!
MA: Thank you. Yeah, it went up to #2 and I was crossing my fingers for #1. But it wasn't meant to be. It's really cool that it can get up that high. It's so fun to watch a single climb the charts. And you really get to see it. I mean the charts are such a statistic, you know, such an unknown. But you get out in front of an audience, and you start playing that particular song. It's like I'll start playing “Come As You Are” and people will start clapping because they know it! And that's kind of the magic of radio. Like you don't realize people are listening to your song because you can't see it or hear it every time, and then, all of the sudden, someone claps when you start playing it, and it always blows me away.

SV: “I Can Remember” is featured in one of the episodes of “Summerland” too! How did that come about?
MA: You know that just came about out of nowhere, and to be featured on “Summerland” is such an amazing opportunity. I mean it's this show… it's mostly for a younger demographic, and they feature a lot of Rock bands and a lot of Pop bands but not necessarily Jazz artists. And to be asked for a song for that was so flattering! Great exposure. They are so into the music on that show. My song, “I Can Remember,” opened up the show, and it was the opening episode, and it was the music behind this huge wedding out on the beach. And you got to hear this song as they were showing everything. No one was even talking over it for a long time. So we had a bunch of people over just to see the show… because we're dorks. And we're all just, “Whoooo-hooo, that's great!!!” screaming and yelling over the song. And then at the end of the show, they actually showed everyone's CDs! They showed three or four CDs. “Music in this episode features the music of…” And there was my CD up there! And I thought that was the coolest to have a television series that is into the music enough to put up your CD and say, “This is who we featured.” Because you always listen to stuff on TV shows or whatever and go, “I wonder who that is.” And they tell you! That was a great opportunity!

SV: One really cool thing is the concert you'll be performing at tomorrow night – “The Jazz Experiment: Smooth and Straight-Ahead” where performers from both genres will share the stage. That's such a great thing to set the labels aside and just play good music. Tell us a little more about that.
MA: I've always been one to be for the doing away of labels. I just think that so many times people have a lot more to say than just being pigeonholed into one style. And it's a shame to make them feel pigeonholed and make them feel like they have to stay in that. I think that a lot of music that came before… what was Rickie Lee Jones? Was she Jazz? Was she Pop? I don't know. But I'm kind of glad I don't know! She got a chance to be her own entity. Like Miles Davis didn't worry about whether one of his records was contemporary or whether it was straight-ahead. He just did what was in his heart, and because of that, became this amazing icon who just kept changing music and changing people's perception of it. And I hope we're not stifling people today by labeling things so heavily. So, tomorrow night is going to be really fun for me. I think that getting people from the Straight-Ahead community and people from the Contemporary Jazz community together is just awesome! We ALL came up the same ranks in many ways. I played so many gigs doing all the standards, playing Straight-Ahead, Traditional Jazz. And I came up the ranks also playing in funk bands and R&B bands, and playing in Rock bands. And it's fun to be able to share that kind of heritage or that history with these people who do that for a living now. So we're going to have fun! I have no idea what I'm going to play. I very well could get up there and play a Charlie Parker song, which I'd love to do. I know Nancy Wilson's going to be there, who is absolutely one of my favorite, favorite artists of all times. That record she did with Cannonball Adderley was just… it's still in my iPod now! It's such a classic! …Yeah, tomorrow night is going to be a blast!

SV: I always get the impression that the whole label issue… the artists would prefer not to even have to worry about it. It's more of a critic issue than anything else… wanting to pigeonhole things… and I guess marketing as well. But I always get the impression that the artists would rather not even be tied down with the whole label issue.
MA: Yeah, someone asked me one time, “Did you always want to be a Smooth Jazz artist? Did you always strive for that?” And I was like… I don't know that that's a real term. I don't know that any of us thought we were going to be “Smooth Jazz artists.” It just happened to be the title put on a radio format. So I don't know that it's necessarily a style of music that any of us “went into” knowingly. But it was the radio format that became the people that would play instrumental music. Which… God bless them, because they gave a lot of people who play instrumental music the chance to get their music out there. There are so many talented people. They didn't fit into the Traditional Jazz mold, or they didn't have the vocals to put them into Pop. So yeah, I think it's more of a radio format than an actual style of music.

SV: A lot has been asked and said about you being a woman working in a man's world. Certainly, there are very few woman instrumentalists in the music industry – regardless of genre. But rather than focusing on the challenges that may bring, let's talk a little about the positive aspect of that! You've talked about the lack of women role models when you were growing up. Now you get to be one! What is that like for you? How do you view your role?
MA: I think that being a woman and playing an instrument is a responsibility at this point. When I grew up, as you said, there were no women instrumentalist role models to speak of… or at least there were a few, but they were more obscure. They weren't put into the spotlight. They would just come about here and there, and they were such an oddity. But they never really got the spotlight.

I never considered it though. I never even thought about the fact that there weren't women role models. I never thought about it until the point that I was in the Backstreet Boys band and people started making such a huge deal of it. And people would start emailing me and writing me letters. The girls that would come to the shows and even their mothers would write me and just say, “We've never seen a girl play an instrument and be a part of a band like that. And you gave us hope that we can do what we love, so we're practicing harder,” or “I just took up the saxophone.” or “I just took up the keyboard.” or whatever… and that was amazing to me! And that was really the first time I considered, wow, you know, there just aren't really that many role models out there, and that's a shame! And it turned out that I was a role model for these girls, and that was humbling, and flattering, and scary all at the same time!

Now that I've become my own artist and am out there with my band and my music, I look at it, and there are even fewer women in Jazz than there are in Pop or Rock. I think that it is a responsibility to go out there and let younger girls know, yeah! This is a cool way to make a living! You should be able to express yourself, and no, this is not just a boys club! I mean, if you really go out there and play and do what you do well, I think the respect follows. I've been in very few situations in my life that if you prove yourself, you won't be accepted. And that's what I've experienced. All the guys in my band are incredibly respectful, and the other artists out on the circuit that I do festivals with are incredibly respectful, and I think there's a lot to be said for that.

SV: Other than just telling them to practice hard and believe in yourself, what advice would you give a young woman/girl who's in love with music and might want to pursue that?
MA: I've had a lot of young girls come up and ask me for advice and ask me what I would recommend for them to get into music, and my answer is always to persevere, because I see so many people who don't put themselves on the line and don't get out there and do what they do. And so many people want to be musicians and want to be in the music industry, but maybe they're scared to take that step, or someone intimidates them, or someone says, “Well, you're a girl. You can't.” I didn't listen to any of that, and I was told that a few times on my way up the ranks, but I think that so much of success is based in what you believe you can do. And I learned that really early on. I think I was really lucky.

I was going to audition for what's called the “All-State Band” – when you're in high school and middle school they have these bands that are “the best” of the state of Florida . So you go in and audition and they'll put together a Jazz group from everyone in the state of Florida . You go in and do these auditions and they choose from there. Well, I was going to audition my senior year in high school, and it was such a big deal, and I was really intimidated by it. I had the music that you had to audition with, and you had to improvise and play the melody and do all this stuff, and I was just playing, playing, playing, and I thought, wow, these guys are just going to blow me out of the water. I just can't do this. And I went in and told my dad, “I'm just not going to audition. I've been playing this stuff a lot, and I'm just not good enough. I don't even have a chance.” And he was like, “Oh yeah. I guess you can quit. That's cool.” And I was so taken aback, and I was like, “Uh… ok.” And he was like, “Yeah, just quit. Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure they'll get ya.” He totally used reverse psychology, and it worked like a charm! I went back, and I was like, “Yeah, I guess I should just go for it, shouldn't I?” “Yeah, you should just give it a shot.” “Ok.” So I went in and auditioned, and I actually won first chair alto. So I got into the band, and it was just the most amazing experience, and my dad came in and he goes, “You know, Mindi, sometimes it's not the most talented people that get the chance to play and get the chance to be in these bands. But it's the people who work hard, and it's the people who go out and try. And if you keep trying, you'll attain things. But if you're too scared, and you don't put yourself out on the line to try for these things, you'll never get them.” And that was the best lesson! And that's what I always tell people.

SV: Speaking of your dad, you grew up literally on the road. Your dad was a working musician. You knew first hand what the lifestyle was like, yet you have said you never really thought about doing anything else. I think that's pretty interesting. A lot of people in your shoes would have NEVER considered music as a career! Did it all just really appeal to you at a really early age?
MA: Yeah, my family was so musical, and growing up seeing what my dad did for a living… When we got off the road he had a studio right next to my bedroom. So we had musicians in the house all the time recording. I'd come home from school and there'd be a drum set set up in the living room… cords going into the studio… someone would be singing into my closet… but to me, that was my normal. You grow up with that as your normal, so when it came to what I wanted to do for a living or what I wanted to become when I grew up, I just wanted to play music because it was fun! I never really pictured myself doing anything else. I thought, wow, do I want to be an architect? That's fun, but you've got to do math for that! That's not fun! (laughing) You know? Let's go back to music here. That's fun! So it was never really a black and white decision that was made one day… “I'm going to do music!” It was more what happened; it was more what I became. By the time it turned into me going to college, there was really no question. I think my mom and dad tried to get me to think of other things.

SV: I would imagine!
MA: Yeah, my parents were like, “Oh! Don't do it! Don't go into music! It's really hard! It's an amazing, amazing thing, but it's really hard, and we just wouldn't want that for you.” But I went on to do it anyway, and they were very supportive, and they were always in my corner. And that made a huge difference too.

SV: You're dad played on Come As You Are . Has he ever played on stage with you?
MA: Yeah. Actually, when I first moved to Los Angeles they'd come to visit me every once in awhile, and he would sit in with me on the gigs that I'd be playing. He's come into some little club and sat in with my band or sat in with some band that I was playing with. And it was always fun. But that hadn't happened in so many years. I started making records, and it was always my show, and they'd come whenever they could. So last year I was like, “Dad! You know, I'm playing in Vegas. You used to play Vegas all the time. You have so many friends there. Why don't you and mom fly in, and why don't you sit in with my band?” And he was just like, “Huh, that's kind of a fun idea! Why don't we do that?” So he came in and sat in on this Cannonball Adderley song I do call “Work Song,” and it was amazing. The audience was… they were on their feet! They were just crazy! I think it was fun for them to see how much we look alike on stage, how much we sound alike on stage… I mean, it's obvious we're related. And that was amazing for me and amazing for him as well, and we've done it a few times since. We did it in Lake Tahoe . He came up on stage and played, and it was just amazing. And he even came out for my CD release party in September. So he played for that and just brought that house down. We actually released the CD on his birthday, so we had a little t-shirt on him that said, “It's My Birthday,” and he was up there playing for my CD release party. It was so amazing. We'll probably never do it like Brian Culbertson. He's got his dad out on tour! But I'll get him up on stage when I can.

SV: You had a very successful career as a “sideman” playing with the Backstreet Boys, Mandy Moore, Jonathan Butler, Duran Duran, and others. What led you to go solo?
MA: I always wanted to be a solo artist, and that was my goal from the time I started playing. I would always write my own material, and I've had my own band since I got out of college. I shopped my demos to record labels every year. I was constantly going into record labels, and constantly getting turned down, might I add. (laughs) I've been turned down by every label, multiple times, for every possible reason. And I went through phases of music, just like the phases of music I went through as a player in other people's bands. My band would morph along with the times, for me and what I was playing. I started out kind of Contemporary Jazz, maybe a little more Straight-Ahead, and then I morphed a little more Pop, and then morphed a little more Rock even, and sang a lot more and played a lot less. I went through so many phases.

I remember one turning point for me was when I was in Pennsylvania , and I was playing with Jonathan Butler at the Berks County Jazz Festival. Dave Koz went on before us… maybe we went on before him… I don't know. We were on on different days I think, and we all ended up in a bar one night together, and Dave was like, “You know, you have to put out a CD. You have to put out a CD as a sax player.” Because at that point I was singing an awful lot, and my stuff was more Pop. And he goes, “I know that's what you've been doing… playing out with your band and doing Pop stuff. You should really think about writing a few more sax songs - I know you have a bunch - and getting out there as a sax player.” And I was just like, “Yeah, you're right. It's been a few years since I've done that, and it's very much a part of where my heart is.” And he really, really planted that seed with me that started me writing more on saxophone again. So once I got a bunch of songs together, I played it for him, and he said, “You know, my record label isn't ready yet. We're not to the point where we can sign people, but you should get that out there. Give it to some different people.” I gave it to Verve Records and they signed me almost immediately. And it was just, you know, it was a lot to Dave Koz's credit that I'm here as an artist, and that was the time that they said yes, instead of no, and it was just amazing. I'm a big believer that things happen in their correct time.

SV: You graduated from Berklee College of Music. That in itself is a really unique experience. You are totally immersed in music the entire time you are there. Tell me about some of your favorite experiences while there.
MA: I think the beauty of going to a school like Berklee is that you get to be immersed in music 24/7. And everyone around you just thinks, eats, breathes, plays music every minute of every day. And that was something I hadn't been exposed to earlier, and the fun of being in an environment like that is that you grow with such leaps and bounds, and you're put in positions that you wouldn't normally be put in.

One night – this is such a perfect example – I was in a practice room. It was like midnight, probably. And I was practicing away, and I hear this knock on the door, and it's these guys who have a jam session upstairs in one of the larger practice rooms. They're like, “Hey, do you want to come jam with us?” “Yeah, of course!” So I packed up, went up stairs, and joined in on this jam session. Well, it was a Traditional Jazz, like Straight-Ahead, really amazing jam session. I was nowhere near ready for that. I mean, I couldn't start to play what those guys were playing. I just sat there and messed up, and couldn't play, and just kept messing up. But at the end of that night, I so knew where I stood. I knew how good I was and how bad I was, ‘cause I just sucked!!! I was not anywhere near the level those guys were at. And you know what? I think it's really great to be put in your place. So I learned from that, that I should put myself out there to just get blown away.

So every week I'd go to this jam session that was these amazing players, and they were playing all Straight-Ahead songs. They'd play Coltrane songs in every key, and just go all night. And it was this radical way to let yourself know where you stood. And it was such a catalyst for me practicing, and me becoming a better player. And slowing but surely, I worked my way up, and then we were the ones doing the cool jam sessions that people would come into. I just think that being in those environments where you have these players who can blow you away, you have these players around you who are inspiring, is so important.

That is most of what I learned at Berklee! The classrooms were amazing and I learned a lot in the classrooms, but I think it's more the personal just being around all these players, and learning from doing that I look back on with such respect.

SV: So was “26 Hemenway” [bonus track on Come As You Are ] your tribute to your Berklee days?
MA: Yeah! It was totally a tribute to my Berklee days. I was writing for the record, Come As You Are , and I just thought, “What haven't I done in my CDs that I would like to, and who would I like to work with?” You know, all those questions that you ask yourself. And one person, one band that was so influential from the time I was ten. I saw them, and I just freaked out. I bought every record, and I learned every solo, and I worshipped them! And I thought, “Wow, wouldn't it be cool to be able to write a song with Russell Ferrante?!” And it was totally just a dream, but I thought, you know, I'm just going to see if that couldn't happen! I didn't know him. I didn't know how to get to him. I had no idea. But I thought it would just be so cool what would come out of both of us. So I looked on their website and found a contact number which happened to be their manager… it was an email. So I emailed and just said, “Hi, I'm Mindi Abair, and I'm writing for my next CD and I'd like to write with Russell. Please let me know if there's any chance of that.” And he wrote me back and just said, “I know who you are and I like your CDs and I'm going to talk to Russell and here's his phone number.” And I'm like, “Yeah! I've got Russell's phone number! Check me out!” So I called him up, and he just couldn't be nicer, and we got together a few times to write and wrote a couple of songs. I just thought that song, in particular, was very cool, and I wanted it on my CD. We just had a blast creating that song. We were all in the same room recording, and it was a dream-come-true for me to write and record with someone of that caliber. I just sat in there and marveled at what a great musician he is.

SV: You can tell by listening to it that you guys were having a blast.
MA: Yeah, there's an incredible spirit to that song. And a lot of people haven't heard it because it's the hidden track, and it's this, “Well you have to keep the CD going!” And people are like “OH!” We thought it had such a great spirit about it that we should make it this fun, insider thing.

SV: Tracks like that certainly prove that you have the chops to play Jazz! But in most of the songs you write/play, you choose to play in a more understated, more melodic way – more like a singer would sing the song. Smooth Jazz artists are sometimes accused of not having the chops – that they can't play “real Jazz” – but it's a choice, isn't it?
MA: Right. For me, I choose to play the songs as I feel that they should be played. And many of the songs that I write are very contemporary, and they are very Pop oriented, and for me, I don't want to do the gratuitous high, fast sax solo. I don't think it fits the music. And I think when you write music and when you get the chance to make a CD, for me it's about the vibe. And I want the music to speak for itself, and I want it to be this journey of you going through the record and experiencing all these different things.

I don't think you should play fast just to play fast. I don't think you should play loud just because you can. I think you should play according to the song. If the song doesn't call for it, it doesn't call for it. There have been a few songs that I have done vocally that haven't had sax solos on them. I just won't apologize for that. You just can't put the sax solo on it just because you can. I could play keyboards. I don't play keyboards on everything. I play keyboards on a lot of stuff I do. You know, it's like I think you should do what's right for the music. For me, a lot of times that is playing less and having patience with the song and saying what should be said instead of saying way too much.

SV: You once said, “It's not about playing five million notes and scales. I'd rather play one note that makes you cry.” That's such a cool way to put that. Instead of showcasing your “skills” you tend to choose to express what is in your heart musically.
MA: I've always been attracted to players that could do that. And those are the players that I wanted to be like. I would always marvel at the players that could have that kind of technique. The Michael Breckers of the world are so phenomenal. I just sit there with my mouth open and just think, wow, to be able to do that… that's amazing. But these players like Maceo Parker – he'll play one note and just stay on it forever. He'll just keep playing that one note. And you're just like, “Wow! No one else could do that but you! No one else could make that note funkier and funkier the 80th time you play it.”

SV: Yeah, sometimes the idea that something is simple in the way that it sounds, can be one of the hardest things to do.
MA: Yeah! I think it is. I think it's about heart and soul, and that's definitely the type of player my dad was. He had chops! He'd use them every once in awhile, but it would be for a reason. And he would be the kind of player who would bend one note and you'd just be like, “Ah! That's awesome!” Or he'd make one note scream, and you'd be like, “Haha, yeah!” I really strive to be that player who can maybe evoke emotion or maybe do more with less. I think that less is more, at least from my camp.

SV: You have a great stage presence. You seem so comfortable and you communicate with the audience extremely well. And when you do meet and greets, you just seem very relaxed and comfortable. Is that the real you, or do you have to step out of your comfort zone and call that up?
MA: Actually, that is the real me. I'm not shy… or very rarely so. I find it fun, the interaction. Whereas I know a lot of artists don't like that, and they are a more shy type. But for me, I really think that music is an interaction in and of itself, and you're sharing a part of yourself with people. And for me, that's more the tough part.

I remember when I wrote my first CD, and it was about to come out. My fear was the exposure, not that it wouldn't be successful, ‘cause I really didn't care as much about that. It was more, “Wow, I wrote all these songs and played my heart out, and wow, that's all about to be exposed to people.” And I think in that realm and even walking on stage every night, you're exposing a piece of yourself with all these songs you wrote, and the way that you play, and the way that you express yourself musically. So when I get off stage, I feel like, “Hey, we're best friends! We know each other! I've already opened my heart way more to you than I could saying hi to you or any of that. I feel that that's just a natural extension – going out and saying hi to people. I like meeting the people in the audience.

SV: Some quick questions to help our readers get to know you a little better… What kind of music do you like to listen to? What's in your CD player?
MA: What's in my CD player… well now it's what's in my iPod! What is in my iPod… the Verve Remixed 3 is in my iPod. I love that whole series. Just to hear these old, amazing, classic Jazz songs remixed by these brand new, just fresh, amazing mixers. For me that's just fun, and I think it opens up a whole new generation of people to experience jazz and makes it fresh and makes it new. I'm all for that. I know they've taken a lot of flack from the traditionalists and that whole realm of people, but I have to say that it's just an amazing record. All of them are.

I have the new Beck CD which I love. I think he's a great mix of styles. He's not Rock, he's not Pop, he's just Beck. And I love the art of it. He doesn't really care what people think. Each record is an art piece in and of itself. Each record is very different, and it's always good. So for me, it's always fun to see what he comes up with. I'm just a fan of his , so I'll buy every record and take it from there… see what he has to say. I think that's kind of fun.

Let's see… what else am I listening to… always in my collection of what I listen to is Cannonball Adderley and Nancy Wilson. That CD is just forever in there. I can't get tired of that one.

And Patty Griffin's new CD, it's not brand new… I've just been listening to that a lot. I just think her lyrical choices are just really amazing. The Dixie Chicks use a lot of her songs. I just think that she's such an amazing song writer. She has so much heart and soul, and you can feel it in her songs and the way she sings.

So my tastes are a little varied.

SV: Do you have a favorite hobby?
MA: Hobbies, hmmm. I don't know if it's a hobby, but I'm a total beach girl. Total beach girl. So any chance I get to go to the beach I take. I just love being out there. Is that a hobby? I don't know. I also like to garden. I just love to be out there and plant stuff and watch it grow. I'm not great at it. I kill a lot of stuff. But that doesn't distract me from the fun of it! (laughing) I get out there and do what I can, and have a good time with that, and unfortunately, kill a lot in the process. What is growing out there is pretty awesome. I have these little purple Calla Lilies out in my front yard, and the bamboo is taking off, and you know. So it's kind of fun to watch things grow. I like that.

SV: It's a little harder to kill things in Florida and Southern California than it is for the rest of us though.
MA: Right, exactly. The only time I kill things is if I forget to water them… that kind of stuff, which happens when I go out on the road. Other than that, it's all good.

SV: Favorite time of year?
MA: Summer. I like the summer. During the winter I go to movies and do all that stuff, but summer is great! You can be outside, and it's sunny. I'm always the one to open all the windows and let the sun in. Yeah, I just absolutely love summer. I couldn't be happier than when it's 90 degrees.

SV: Favorite food?
MA: Favorite food… chocolate chip cookies! Yeah. Come on!

SV: Have you had Dave Koz's mom's chocolate chip cookies before?
MA: Yes, and they're unbelievable! That's another of my hobbies. I bake an awful lot. I cook a lot too, but I've been into baking since I was a kid. And once I had his mom's cookies I was like, “You are the real thing!” You know. “I know the real thing! I can bake! But you, you are the real thing!” She is just amazing. She'll bring in like ten kinds of cookies. That's insane! And they're all good!

SV: Favorite musical instrument to listen to?
MA: Well, I don't know if I have a favorite musical instrument to listen to, but I will say - this is kind of funny - I'm getting married in a few weeks, and everyone thought, well, you'll definitely have a sax player at the wedding. And I'm like, no I don't want I sax player. I want a trumpet player! So we've actually got a trumpet player at the wedding. I just think the trumpet has a classier sound. I thought I'd like something classy at the wedding.

SV: Thank you so much for taking time out to talk with us!
MA: I'm so glad we finally got to do it.

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