JB- Online you have this JPL Groupees thing.  Message boards, forums, that kind of stuff.

JPL- Yeah.

JB- Do you take a look at those?

JPL-  I do, yeah.  I chat on them from time to time.  Recently I've got addicted to MySpace.  I've been on there a couple times a day for the last couple of weeks.  (laughing)  It's been ridiculous. 

JB- What's the… I mean, I understand the concept of it, but what is it about that that appeals to you so much?

JPL-  I don't know, man.  I don't know.  I've come in contact with so many friends and so many people that I knew once before and lots of people come onto the site and, I don't know.  There's just so many weird and interesting people that add me as their friend and I also at the same time spend writing back to fans.  Fans will write in and I'll send them a little message back or something like that.  You know, kind of keep in touch and keep people posted on things that are going on. 

JB-  It's really a networking tool then.

JPL-  Yeah, partially.  I mean it's also a tool for my friends and family to be able to get in touch with me, you know, whenever they want.  And it's worked that way so far.  It's kind of a bit of both. 

JB-  It just shows the way society is that five or 10 years ago you would have never thought, "Hey, I can send a message to some celebrity in Hollywood and they're writing back to me now."  You know, we've come a long way. 

JPL-  I know, it's really weird.  It's really, really bizarre.  But it's kind of a cool way to be connected with everybody. 

JB-  Have you ever experienced - and I think any of us whose names is out there in the public have - but have you ever learned something about yourself on there that you didn't know before?

JPL- There's all sorts of crazy stuff.  I remember when I was on the (American Idol) show there was this wild rumour going around that it was ridiculous and they said, "So I heard that you've been dating (a girl) from The Real World on MTV."  And I'm like, "I don't even know that girl's name!"  They knew her name and were saying it to me and it was pretty ridiculous.  I mean, there's all sorts of that type going on and… I don't know.  So I guess to answer your question - yes!  Yes, I have learned things about me that I didn't know before.

JB-  Although, I guess that rumour isn't so bad unless she's some sort of… weird… character. 

JPL-  No, it's not a bad thing.  I mean, I don't think there's anything super gossipy or juicy that I could give you but that's the first thing that comes to mind.

JB-  Was there ever a time during the Idol process that you thought, "Hey, this music thing isn't for me?"

JPL-  I think about that every day, man.

JB- Really?

JPL-  (hesitating)  Yeah, it's like… I don't mean to sound like I'm unhappy because I'm not, I'm very happy.  I think normally in anybody's life they think (when) they wake up, "My gosh, what am I doing?  This is ridiculous.  Why am I still involved?"  But then I think you're reminded of the reasons why and you just kind of move on.  I don't know, maybe that's not the same with everybody.  I think, for me, sometimes I question whether or not I really want to pursue this path because it's just kind of like running uphill.  But at the same time I really enjoy it a lot and I love it.  It's my passion so that's what keeps me going. 

JB- I was just going to ask you what is your motivation that gets you going in the morning… on an early morning like this!

JPL-  Just the fact that I really enjoy it.  This is the first time in my life… I mean, I've never been lazy, I've always been a really hard worker.  But this is the first time working hard isn't hard, if that makes sense.  I enjoy working at this.  I really enjoy it and I think to me that's a great sign.  Anything that gets me to work hard and be happy in doing it is a good thing, I think. 

JB-  That is the most important part.  There are the artists who do it for the money and the fame…

JPL- Yeah.

JB-  And there's the ones who do it for the love of it… like you.

JPL-  Yeah.

JB- And you have an album in the works.

JPL-  I do, yeah.  My record should be out within a month.  And I'll be touring with it later on in the year.  And I think that'll be really exciting for me, I mean I just barely got the band together.  I couldn't be more excited about the way it turned out, I mean, these guys are incredible.  I'm very stoked. 

JB-  What kind of sound can we expect from it?

JPL- It's acoustic soul music… kind of.  So it's a mixture of that and classic rock and maybe slightly a bit of British pop in it.  So it's kind of like a weird mix of a lot of things but it works and I think people will really enjoy it.  It's the solo act with a band feel.

JB-  With some of your other songs you touch a couple of different genres - blues funk, alternative rock - and now you've got Brit pop, so if you can make it all work, then why not, right?

JPL-  Yeah, exactly.

JB-  What's your favourite song on the album?

JPL-  Gosh, I don't know yet.  We're going to be going back into the studio in about a week and a half and finish cutting a couple more tunes.  And you know, you never really know until then.  I did write a song on the ukulele though and I think that's probably one of my favourites so far.  I call it "The Ukulele Song", I mean, it has nothing to do with… it doesn't talk about the ukulele it was just easy.

JB- Is that the album title song?

JPL-  (laughing)  I doubt it.  I highly doubt it.  (laughing)  But it is my favourite.

JB-  What's it about?

JPL- Ah… it's just… I don't know.  I remember my mom, she came to me and said, "You know, you just need to write a love song that's just going to sweep girls away."  (laughing)  And I remember just thinking that is the most ridiculous thing.

JB- It's original too.

JPL- (laughing)  Yeah, very original.  So I thought, "I'm going to write a song that's exactly the opposite.  So "The Ukulele Song" is mainly all about the girl saving the guy.  Because my mom has the idea of the knight in shining armour type of thing and sweeping the girl off her feet and taking her away.

JB-  A typical female thing.

JPL-  Oh yeah, very typical.  I just kind of makes me laugh a bit.  And that's not entirely unoriginal but that's just where the inspiration comes from.

JB-  Where do you get your inspiration for songs?

JPL-  You know, just the things around me.  Whatever I'm feeling at the moment - the situations that I find myself in, I draw upon those.  So just the things that have impressed me so far in my life, the things that have a lasting impact on me emotionally I think is what has come out so far in my music.