Songs In The Key of Life

Cancer and politics are heavy topics, and yet the record still seems overwhelmingly optimistic.
I try, as both a writer and a human being, to use songs to help me get past things. What I'm trying to find at the piano is the feeling of hope. If this record wasn't hopeful, I might be in a little bit of trouble, personally. I was trying to use this record to bridge that gap and get push past these feelings of being overwhelmed. And I'm glad you're picking up on those lines of hope and if it brings that into my listeners' world, I couldn't be more pleased.

You say you're using this record to "push past" and yet you have journalists like me asking you about being sick.
Believe me, I anticipated it. It's OK.

How do balance trying to promote and focus on your music, while trying to move past the huge back story behind it?
This record is where my real life and my music merge with each other, so sometimes it is hard to draw that line. I try everyday to find the balance, but when part of your gig is airing out your dirty laundry, separating yourself can be hard.

Are you worried that people who know about your struggles with cancer will bring expectations to the record?
Yes, there's always going to be that worry. But at the end of the day, I can't change who I am and I can't change my experiences. I've tried to communicate any sort of struggle I faced in a way that can be related to on a larger level. There were moments I just wanted to put it all out there, and other moments where I felt I needed to find a way to communicate a feeling without detailing the story exactly.

You recorded your experiences with cancer into the documentary "Dear Jack." When will that be out?
I'd started a video diary in late 2004, when I started doing the first Jack's Mannequin record. At the time, I was separated from my girlfriend, so I was a lonely dude looking for a place to vent. That ended up finding its way into the hospital and I documented a pretty large portion of what went on in the hospital while I was being diagnosed and treated. A friend heard I had this footage and asked if I'd feel comfortable with him seeing it and possibly putting some interview footage together and editing a documentary. MTV came on board to do the final editing. I'm not sure how and where it will be released, but it is finished. The goal is to do what we can to raise as much money and awareness to help impact cancer research, more specifically blood-cancer research. We're in the process of trying to figure out when it will come out, but there's potential for a broadcast release of it on the music networks in the next couple months.

Have you seen the documentary?
Truthfully, it's hard for me to watch. It's a heavy thing. It communicates what goes on when people say "cancer" or any major illness. I made it out, so people who see the film will hopefully know there's light at the end of a very dark time.

Will this tie into your charity, the Dear Jack Foundation?
Yes, any monies that are made on my behalf will obviously go directly into my foundation, which acts as a conduit to various charities that impact cancer research and blood cancer research, so we deal directly with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, which is based out of Orange County [Calif.] where I live.

© 2008