NEWSWEEK COVER: 'iPod, Therefore iAm' NEWSWEEK
The cover story in the July 26 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, July 19) focuses on the amazing rise of Apple's iPod music player and takes an exclusive look at iPod's latest model. Plus, a preview of the 9/11 commission report, containing new evidence of Iran's connection to the attacks. Also, a report on Vice President Dick Cheney and his fiercely protective family, and a look at the strongman tactics of Iraq's new Prime Minister. (PRNewsFoto)[DE]
NEW YORK, NY USA 07/18/2004 'I Was On Madison and It Was, Like, On Every Block There Was Someone With White Headphones, and I Thought 'Oh My God, It's Starting to Happen,' Says Steve Jobs of iPod's Impact Exclusive First Look: New Fourth-Generation iPod Operates More Efficiently, Has More Features and Costs Less Than Earlier Models NEW YORK, July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The iPod, the cigarette box-size digital music player (and its colorful credit-card-size little sister, the Mini) has smacked right into the sweet spot where a consumer product becomes something much, much more: an icon, a pet, a status indicator and an indispensable part of one's life, reports Senior Editor Steven Levy in the July 26 Newsweek cover story (on newsstands Monday, July 19). To 3 million-plus owners, iPods not only give constant access to their entire collection of songs and CDs, but membership into an implicit society that's transforming the way music will be consumed in the future. Apple CEO Steve Jobs tells Newsweek that the iPod's impact hit home for him earlier this year in New York City. "I was on Madison," he says, " and it was, like, on every block, there was someone with white headphones, and I thought, 'Oh my God, it's starting to happen.'" (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040718/NYSU003 ) Newsweek takes an exclusive advance peek at the considerably tweaked fourth-generation iPod that will roll out this week, and reports that it looks a bit different, operates more efficiently, has a few more features and costs less than earlier models. Highlights include the elimination of control buttons in favor of the iPod's "click wheel," more efficient menus and a 50 percent boost in battery life. Music hits people's emotions, and the purchase of something that opens up one's entire music collection -- up to 10,000 songs in your pocket-makes for an intense relationship, reports Levy. A chorus of celebrity Podsters sing the same praises voiced by ordinary iPod users, but add a dollop of coolness to the device, as if it needed it. Will Smith has burbled to Jay Leno and Wired magazine about his infatuation with "the gadget of the century." Gwyneth Paltrow confided her Pod-love to Vogue. And people who actually create music are among the biggest fans: "The layout reminds the musician of music," says tunester John Mayer. But fans of the devices use it for more than music. "It's the limousine for the spoken word," says Audible CEO Don Katz, whose struggling digital audiobooks company has been revitalized by having its products on Apple's iTunes store. And computer users have discovered that its vast storage space makes it a useful vault for huge digital files -- the makers of the "Lord of the Rings" movies used iPods to shuttle dailies from the set to the studio. Thousands of less accomplished shutterbugs store digital photos on them. In 1997, when Steve Jobs returned to the then struggling company he cofounded, he says, there were no plans for a music initiative. "Our goal was to revitalize and get organized, and if there were opportunities we'd see them," he says. Jobs & Co. initially failed to notice the impending revolution in digital music. Once that omission was understood, Apple compensated by developing a slick "jukebox" application known as iTunes. It was then that Apple's brain trust noticed that digital music players weren't selling. "The products stunk," says Apple VP Greg Joswiak. In February 2001, Apple set out to create a groundbreaking music player -- and have it on sale for Christmas season that year. The requirements: A very fast connection to one's computer (via Apple's high-speed Firewire standard) so songs could be quickly uploaded. A close synchronization with the iTunes software to make it easy to organize music. An interface that would be simple to use. And gorgeous. Assessing the final product, Jobs bestows, for him, the ultimate accolade: "It's as Apple as anything Apple has ever done." The October 2001 launch was barely a month after 9/11, with the country on edge and the tech industry in the toilet. Skeptics scoffed at the $399 price and the fact that only Macintosh users, less than a twentieth of the marketplace, could use it. But savvy Mac-heads saw the value, and the Pod was a hit, if not yet a sensation. From that point sales began to spike. No one was surprised that Apple sold an impressive 730,000 iPods during the Christmas season last year, but the normally quiet quarter after that saw an increase to 807,000. And last week Apple announced that sales in the just-completed third quarter, traditionally another dead one-hit 860,000, up from 249,000 a year ago.To the delight of Apple (and the chagrin of Sony), the no-brainer description of the iPod is "the Walkman of the 21st century." And just as the Walkman changed the landscape of music and the soundscape of our lives, the iPod and the iTunes store are making their mark on the way we handle our music, and even the way we listen to it. An equally big deal is the way the iPod is changing our listening style. Michael Bull, a lecturer at University of Sussex, has interviewed thousand of iPod users, finding that the ability to take your whole music collection with you changes everything. "People define their own narrative through their music collection," says Bull.
TJohn Mayer proves he's no passing fad Tall, bony, his elbows jutting out at odd angles when he plays guitar, John Mayer is a teen dream with a thick head of hair that wouldn't look out of place on a Kennedy. In a zippered, hooded sweatshirt and T-shirt, he looked as though he walked straight out of the audience. His 2-year-old "Room for Squares" CD sold more than 3 million copies, quickly turning him into one of the hot new talents of the day, with Mayer now making every great scene he can, from Eric Clapton's all-star Crossroads guitar concert last month in Dallas to a duet with Buddy Guy on the forthcoming Sly and the Family Stone tribute album. The little girls understand. Telltale high-pitched shrieks echoed throughout his set Friday at Shoreline Amphitheatre. But the 26-year-old singer, an obvious heartthrob candidate who won a Grammy for his song, "Your Body Is a Wonderland," is hardly one of those here-today lightweights who turn up at the top of the charts with frightening regularity. This guy is going to be around a while. Appearing on a double bill with Maroon 5, the lite funk band from Los Angeles that used to go as Kara's Flowers and may even be a little hotter than he is on the charts at the moment, Mayer simply towered over the bubblegum support act. While he is known for his earnest, acoustic-flavored soft rock songs, Mayer, who spent some time studying at Boston's noted Berklee School of Music, also likes to play blues on electric guitar. He tore off an eight-minute Clapton-esque slow blues, complete with some goofy trick playing, in the heart of his two-hour performance. This dichotomy seems to be at the crux of what Mayer does. He refuses to commit himself to either his own obvious inclinations or the audience's expectations. He can joke in one song about a woman who can "distinguish me from Jack Johnson," the other sensitive-guy-with-a-guitar come lately, yet his new single, "Come Back to Bed," is clearly modeled after a thumping Stax/Volt soul sound, complete with two-piece horn section. And rather than build the concert to some frenzied peak, he sent the powerhouse six-piece band home early and came out for the encore alone with his acoustic guitar and played for another 20 minutes. His songs sometimes sound unfinished, almost thrown together on the spot, and Mayer enhances that delicious impression with his good natured, loose -- but accomplished -- musicianship. He may have taken the anti-charisma thing a click or two too far, but this guy came out of nobody's cookie cutter. "This Love" was a No. 1 hit earlier this year for Maroon 5, whose major label go-round as Kara's Flowers was a complete bust. Coupled with the breakthrough hit, "Harder to Breathe," the band had little else up there on its giant stage set that made the musicians look so small. In fact, after landing the one-two punch, lead vocalist Adam Levine switched places with drummer Ryan Dusick, who whipped out a darn decent Bon Scott imitation as the band brought their set to a close with AC/DC's "Highway to Hell," just like any cover band in a nightclub might.ri
ple-Platinum Recording Artist John Mayer to Join Habitat for Humanity House Build on July 25th Clear Channel Entertainment, Habitat for Humanity 'Raise the Roof(TM)' Program and Lowe's Teaming on San Antonio, Texas, Build Four Lucky Fans Will Win Chance to Swing and Saw Beside 'Your Body is a Wonderland' Singer and Song-Writer HOUSTON, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Clear Channel Entertainment, Habitat for Humanity International and Lowe's today announced that triple-platinum singer/songwriter John Mayer will lend his support to the latest "Raise the Roof(TM)" house build on Sunday, July 25th in San Antonio, Texas. In addition, four lucky fans from Albuquerque, Phoenix and San Antonio will win the chance to join Mayer at the San Antonio build and see his concert later that evening at the Verizon Wireless amphitheater. Radio promotions will run on Albuquerque's 100.3 The Peak (KPEK), Phoenix's KESZ, and San Antonio's Mix 96.1 and WOAI. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040719/DAM013LOGO ) The San Antonio home, the second to be built as part of Raise the Roof, is being built for Angelia Brown, a working mother and cook at the State Hospital in San Antonio and her 15-year-old son, Jeremy. The home is also sponsored by Lowe's as a Women Build project. Lowe's is the national underwriter for Habitat's Women Build program, which encourages and empowers women to get involved in building houses as part of Habitat's mission to eradicate poverty housing. The Raise the Roof(TM) initiative sponsors Habitat for Humanity house builds with top music artists in local communities where the artists are performing on tour. Corporate sponsors, community volunteers and a few lucky fans work alongside the artist on the construction. Earlier this year, members of Blink 182 worked with volunteers and the soon to be homeowner in Harrisburg on the 1,101st Habitat home built in Pennsylvania. "A hallmark of our work is we create excitement and passion in the hearts and minds of our dedicated volunteers," says Chris Clarke, Habitat's senior vice president of communications. "Similarly, talented performers like John Mayer create excitement and passion among their ardent music fans. Through our partnership with Clear Channel Entertainment and Raise the Roof, we have a tremendous opportunity to blend the excitement and passion of music with helping others and as a result engage more and more people in our mission to eliminate poverty housing." Clear Channel Entertainment is extending invitations to artists across all music genres, and house builds are being scheduled in conjunction with tour calendars. "The response we're getting from artists interested in helping with Raise the Roof has been remarkable," said Kimberly Bowron, senior vice president, corporate culture and philanthropy at Clear Channel Entertainment. "We'll have additional house builds to announce shortly." Clear Channel Entertainment has committed to fund a significant portion of the expense for each house build, with the balance being raised among corporate sponsors, Habitat supporters, fans, and in some cases, the artists themselves. "Lowe's involvement with Women Build is much more than a financial arrangement, it is a reflection of our commitment to address the nationwide issue of substandard housing," said Larry Stone, chairman of the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation. "We are helping to build homes everyone can take pride in -- our employees, the volunteers, the partner families and the communities." For more information or to get involved with the Raise the Roof(TM), call (713) 693-8263 or go to http://www.habitat.org . About Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International, based in Americus, Ga., is a Christian ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. By the end of 2005, Habitat will have built its 200,000th house and more than one million people will be living in Habitat homes they helped build and are buying through no- profit, zero-interest mortgages. http://www.habitat.org About Lowe's Lowe's is a proud supporter of Habitat for Humanity International, American Red Cross, United Way of America, and the Home Safety Council, in addition to numerous non-profit organizations and programs that help communities across the country. Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation awards more than $2 million annually to diverse organizations across the United States. Lowe's also encourages volunteerism through the Lowe's Heroes program, a company-wide employee volunteer program aimed at preventing unintentional home injuries. Lowe's, a FORTUNE(R) 50 company with fiscal year 2003 sales of $30.8 billion, has more than 975 stores in 45 states. For more information, visit http://www.Lowes.com/Habitat . About Clear Channel Entertainment Clear Channel Entertainment, a leading producer and marketer of live entertainment events, is a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications (NYSE:CCU), a global leader in the away-from-home advertising industry. Clear Channel Entertainment currently owns, operates and/or exclusively books approximately 130 live entertainment venues, including nearly 100 in North America and more than 30 in Europe. In 2003, 69 million people attended approximately 32,000 events promoted and/or produced by the company, including live music events; Broadway, West End and touring theatrical shows; family entertainment shows; museum exhibitions, and specialized sports and motor sports events. In addition, the company's independently operated athlete representation business, SFX, provides management, marketing and financial consulting services to many of the world's top professional athletes. Clear Channel Entertainment also provides marketing services through LIVE Channel, a company dedicated to creating and executing live events for companies seeking brand promotion. Clear Channel Entertainment operates throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. More information may be found by visiting http://www.cc.com and http://www.clearchannel.com . Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward- looking statements. Visit our website at http://www.clearchannel.com .
John Mayer soars while Maroon 5 sinks at Cricket Pavilion
By Kelly Wilson, Get Out
July 21, 2004
There were a lot of hormonal women in the packed audience at Cricket Pavilion Tuesday night when John Mayer and Maroon 5 shared a stage. Ear-piercing shrieks could be heard throughout both sets along with chants such as "I love you John Mayer!" and "Take off your clothes!"
But the most disturbing shout out came from a man who screamed "John, your body is a wonderland" referring to Mayers Grammy-winning single, which he later sang.
But there was more to Mayer who was dressed in layers (a blue polo shirt under a white tee) and torn jeans than his clean-cut, boy-next-door good looks. The 26-year-old can sing and sing well.
"John Mayer could make a history lecture sound sexy," Leslie Goodman, 30, of Mesa, said. "His voice is incredible. Couldnt you almost see him as a phone sex operator?"
If his performance Tuesday was any indication, Mayer certainly wont be resorting to other work anytime soon. Throughout his hour-and-a-half set, the artist brought his sophomore album "Heavier Things" to life with the help of a seven-piece band that played everything from saxophone to bass to piano.
He performed songs such as "Clarity," "Bigger Than my Body," "Split Screen Sadness," "Daughters" and the sultry crowd favorite and new single "Come Back to Bed," which had couples swaying and Mayer confessing that he never played an electric guitar until he recorded that track. He stretched out the song and took time to improvise some new lyrics, such as Why do I always go to jail for something I sing?"
Mayer also treated fans to songs off of his first album "Room for Squares," including "No Such Thing," "Why Georgia," "My Stupid Mouth" and "Back to You."
"His set was amazing," Christina Woolly, 24, of Scottsdale said. "His second album comes across really mellow so it was cool to see him make those songs really rock. I really liked when he sang "Come Back to Bed." I dont think Im getting any sleep tonight because of that song!"
Sadly, Maroon 5 the L.A.-based band whose fan roster includes pop stars Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey and Mandy Moore werent nearly half as good as Mayer, thanks to a lot of technical difficulties. The fivesome have rocked East Valley shows in the past, but clearly didnt bring their A game with them.
Though he was the most charismatic of the group, lead singer Adam Levines voice appeared strained throughout their set. The remaining members often looked bored, especially bass player Mickey Madden, who seemed like he could fall asleep at any second.
Without a lot of momentum, the group delivered tracks from their platinum-selling debut "Songs About Jane" that included "This Love," "Harder to Breathe," "She Will Be Loved," "Sunday Morning," "Not Coming Home" and a new track, "Wasted Years."
"Im a huge Maroon 5 fan," Jayson Gates, 27, of Tempe said. "Ive been to many of their shows and this was the worst. The guys werent on at all. It sounded like it was the first night of the tour, but it wasnt .
John Mayer blew them out of the water. He is really talented. I can see why the ladies love him." M
ayer on music
Larry Rodgers
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 15, 2004 12:00 AM
In addition to his roles as first-class pop songwriter and heartthrob to millions of women, John Mayer has added "music writer" to his toolbox.
Mayer has joined the staff of Esquire magazine as a "cultural adviser," penning a monthly column on the music business.
Mayer, 26, agreed to put on his columnist's cap for an interview as his Tuesday appearance in Phoenix approached.
He talked about the music industry, how he views critics and whether the new column might help him find the perfect woman.
QUESTION: Have you been much of a writer over the years, beyond songs and verse?
ANSWER: Yes, but not consistently. I would never make a really good writer because I'm not consistent enough.
But that's what's so great about the Esquire piece - I don't have to be. I only have to write 300 words a month. I even wish I had more space when I get onto the topics that I'm passionate about.
Q: Do you pay attention to what's written about your music and performances?
A: Sure. I'm not going to lie and say I don't read reviews. You have to be really honest with yourself to be able to read reviews.
There are times where I read reviews and go, "Oh, that's pretty true, actually. Damn." And then you can learn from that and kind of shape things to get closer to where you want to get them.
If I read a review, I've got to check to see if it's (by) a man or a woman. Because there's a lot more skepticism on a man's part.
Q: Have you ever picked up the phone or e-mailed a critic who hit a nerve with you, either positively or negatively?
A: Never. You're not ever supposed to break that fourth wall.
If I'm going to open a magazine and peek, then you . . . just have to shut up and be a fly on the wall.
Q: We hear lots about what's wrong with the music business. What is the industry getting right?
A: More than ever, the industry is listening to what people want musically and just going out and finding it. The only misfire there is finding stuff that's not as developed as it could be.
Something's going right when somebody like Usher, God bless the guy, has as many Number 1 singles as there are tracks on the record.
They're working faster. Records used to be made and then sit. And (now) records get made, and they come out. That's really cool because it makes everything more timely.
Q: You've called online sites "the record company within the record company." Will the Internet's role continue to grow exponentially?
A: It has to. This is probably the last year of fighting the good fight and defending that one hill of physically selling CDs.
I would think, in the next 12 months, you'll see label heads going to young kids who have patented technologies or written code for things and saying, "I think we need you."
Maybe (the next) Bruce Springsteen is a guy who has a Web site, who doesn't sell CDs but sells downloads.
I think iTunes (Apple's pay-to-download site) has been the first real model to show people that this . . . really works.
Q: You've written that record labels shouldn't sign young artists until they've matured. Should there be an age requirement?
A: I wish. But the kids don't have to sign.
I've just seen kids coming up who are, for their age and their place in the arc, really good - like advanced-placement kids. But that doesn't mean that you take an advanced-placement kid who's a freshman and put him in a UCLA tech lab.
Q: What are you listening to this week?
A: I like this album by a guy named Teitur (a singer-songwriter whom Mayer praises in an upcoming column). The album of the week is Sam Cooke's Rhythm and the Blues.
Q: What's the headline about how this tour differs from last year's?
A: "Deep breaths, longer sets, now I'm 26." (Laughs.)
Q: Will the Esquire gig help you meet that perfect woman that you've sung about?
A: I have no idea. I'm starting to learn that you don't have to be a stud to millions of girls, you just have to be a stud to the right one.
Q: Is there a woman in your life now, or are you still looking?
A: I'm not even looking, man. There's being single, and there's being single and looking. And then there's just minding your own damn business. That's where I'm at.
Originally Music Lessons with John Mayer
Esquire Magazine
August 2004
This Month's Lesson: All Access
IT'S NO SECRET that America has an ever-growing love affair with "all access". People feel slighted if they can't be privy to every facet of their favorite stars' lives. (I'm waiting for US Weekly's inevitable "Match the Celebrity with His or Her Stool" feature.) In response, I've decided to up the ante and give you more access than you ever cared for, spoiling your insatiable appetite for gossip all together. So come along and peer into my world through some selections from my AmEx statements, in what I like to call The Not-So-Fabulous Life of John Mayer.
1/14/04: JOHNNY ROCKETS, $27.16
When you're famous, dinner reservations don't apply. Take, for example, my immediate seating at Johnny Rockets, the setting for futile, date-shaped nondate with the lovely Maria Menunos from ET. I rode shotgun in her car, and then somewhere around the chocolate malt she decided to work her boyfriend into the conversation. Check!
1/23/04: PAYPAL $1,719.15
Thanks to eBay, I'm the proud owner of a rare, unopened Bobba Fett action figure. I do not collect action figures.
4/04/04: LOUIS VUITTON #92, NEW YORK $4,812.19
During the four months in which I thought I might be a suit man, I went big on two high-class outfits at LV. I never tried them on, and I'll probably never have them tailored. On a related note, I've worn the same jeans every day since March, and I buy my shoes on eBay.
4/30/04: FRONTIER*CALLUS $1,563.25
Being a rock star means having any girl you want, anywhere, anytime. That's why from January 1 to April 30, I spent more than $1,500 on phone sex. The bulkiest charge occured at the tail end of New Year's Eve, which sounds about right, being that I stayed home to water the humidifiers in my guitar cases.
"You think you know, but you have no idea," they say on MTV's voyeuristic Diary series. Well, America, you didn't know it until it was too late, but you actually liked it that way.
Required listening for next month's lesson: Teitur's Poetry & Aeroplanes.
Inside Entertainment - May 2004
We all scream for John Mayer
Pop's cocky boy of summer on music heroes, female fans and who gets to party on his tour bus
Destination: Wonderland
By Nicholas Jennings
PhotoGraphs by Joshua Kessler
Riding high as pops puppyish boy next door, John Mayer heads for the middle ground between Stevie Ray Vaughan and Sting
Boyish John Mayer bursts in to the hotel room like the Sundance Kid, crouching down with pretend guns ablazing. The cocky playfully combative pose befits the US singer/songwriter who, at 26, is already at the top of his game and riding the highs on newfound fame. So far, Mayer has enjoyed multiplatinum sales for his Room for Squares album, and then saw his current album, Heavier Things, debut at number one. Meanwhile, theres a Grammy on Mayer's mantle, which he won for Your Body is a Wonderland, beating out his idol, Sting, and one of this biggest supporters, Elton John. Now, after opening for Stings European spring dates, Mayer is headlining his own major north American tour -- one of this summers biggest -- taking in large pavilions from California to his home state of Connecticut, with one lone Canadian date at Torontos Molson Amphitheater on August 7.
As the would-be western outlaw folds his 63 from into a tine, trendy hotel-room chair, prior to a late-winter concert at Montreals Centre Bell, a question about his notorious confidence seems an apt interview opener. Thats a natural part of me, says Mayer, matter-of-factly. I dont see the point in wasting time attempting to appear to be any way that Im not, or prefacing everything I say with, I could be wrong or Not to sound conceited, but... Warming up to the topic, he tosses out a baseball metaphor: Being confident about stepping up to the plate isnt confidence about hitting a home run. Its just confidence about stepping up to the plate. When I get on stage, Im not getting up there to hit it out of the park -- Im trying, but I dont think Im going to. But I know that, at least, I belong up there.
That night, before 5,300 screaming, mostly female fans, Mayer proves that he does. And his set, featuring such feel-good, sing-along numbers as Daughters, Something's Missing and No such thing, amounts to a grand slam, full of mellifluous melodies, hook-laden harmonies and blistering blues guitar. Drawing from folk, rock and jazz, Mayer tunes have an insidious way of winning over audiences. Sophisticated yet accessible, they contain sensitive, literate lyrics for the screaming girls and dazzling, Stevie Ray Vaughan-inspired guitar licks for the boys they bring in tow. Together, it makes for an undeniably appealing package, leading to a three-song encore this night that included a tasty jazz-funk cover of The Polices Wrapped Around Your Finger. The concert had all the signs of a MAyer love fest, including a sign that read Montreals Nurses Adore You, John and a bra that was thrown on stage (prompting the quick-witted artist, after retrieving it, to quip, thanks for your support).
A gangly figure, with almost puppy-doggish looks, Mayer is currently riding high as pops Boy Next Door. Although a dropout of Bostons Berklee College of Music, He still has a cultured Yankee poise that also makes him, unmistakably, Mr. Ivy League. Dressed casually in a long-sleeved black t-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers, hes a motor mouth during the interview, talking in full, fast paragraphs like an university professor wired on caffeine. Ask if his biggest challenge right now is staying real amid all the accelerating celebrity hoopla, Mayer is quick to dismiss the suggestion. I dont think so, he says firmly. Ive got good heroes. Mine are known for devotion to playing their instruments. My heroes played residencies at clubs for four hours a night, eight nights in a row. Thats the standard for me. I admire the work ethic of people like Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
No groupies or Debauchery? Ladies and after show fun, I believe are things that you set up for yourself to help get you through [a tour], says Mayer, who takes two buses (one for musicians, one for crew) on the road, along with four trucks full of gear. Its like NoDoze -- its just letting loose. I've learned , as I get older, how to let loose a little bit. It doesnt mean that you make a bad name for yourself, or that you reputation gets tainted, or that you have fun at the expense of somebody else. But youve got to have a good time. I might be doing this for some time -- thats the endorsement and the argument for doing it.
So how does Mayer party on tour? You can get a lot of people in the back lounge of a bus, he says, by way of explanation. Then, inevitably, gangsta rap ends up coming on the iPod, and that changes everything. Who gets invited on the bus? I dont invite anyone. I just tell my crew: Get cool people; dont get pricks. But I come on the bus and Im like Hi everybody, and someone asks, Can we take pictures? I say, No, you cant; not on the bus. Thanks. Have a nice night. adds Mayer, who is single and completely drug- and alcohol-free: Ultimately, youve got to live with yourself 24 hours a day, so you better conduct yourself in a manner that you can at least rationalize for yourself.
The second of three sons born to a Connecticut High school principal, Richard Mayer, and his schoolteacher wife, Margaret, John was an easygoing child but was, by his own admission, an incorrigible attention seeker. I was a real ham, he recalls. At Thanksgiving dinner, Id get a laugh and then Id go for another and eventually everybody would stop laughing and its like, John , go sit out. After landing the lead in a school play in Grade 5, he thought his future would be in the theater. But then he discovered the guitar at 13, and when a neighbor gave him a tape of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, his life completely changed. He pulled things out of the guitar and made it look effortless, says mMayer, of his mentor. Artist like him and Hendrix made generation after generation, including mine, pick up guitars.
By the time he was 15, Mayer was performing regularly at local blues clubs. After dropping gout of Berklee, he moved to Atlanta to join a friend and quickly established himself as a singer/songwriter on the local coffeehouse circuit. After a stunning performance at the 2000 South by Southwest music festival in Audition, Texas, Mayer landed a recording contract. But he credits his artistic development with having first been able to build a solid fan base. I was kind of underground, in the sense that I got my start outside of the petri dish, he suggests, which I think was the greatest thing in my life. But then catching the incongruity of underground and his own distinctly mainstream success, he adds: Im not an underground artist -- never really was and never will be. Im supposed to be writing melodies that get in as many peoples heads for as long as possible. Thats my true calling.
Ultimately, Mayer says hes aiming for that middle ground between Stevie Ray Vaughn and Sting. He may have already found it. During the Montreal show, Mayer showcased his knack for combining irresistible, Sting-like ear candy with Vaughan-style slow-burning, spiraling blues guitar on the sexy Come Back to Bed. Performing with his longtime bassist, David LaBruyere, a first-rate singer himself, and a talented but never showy backing band, Mayer drew equally from 2001s Room for Squares and last years Heavier Things albums. It was a concert that sent the ecstatic Centre Bell crowd -- especially the predominantly female portion -- home extremely happy. Earlier in the day, Mayer downplayed the significance of row after row of creaming girls. Its just recreational screaming -- they dont quite know what theyre screaming about, he said. Six thousand girls screaming at the same time, he adds, is not one woman saying, Hey, do you want to go out and get something to eat? The moment you confuse those tow things is when you lose your gravity.
Highly confident and well grounded, Mayer seems to have it all. Hes even been called the James Taylor of his generation, which many songwriters would consider the highest of compliments. does he mind the comparison? Sensitive singer/songwriter is such a strange category, he says, because Jimi Hendrix was a sensitive singer/songwriter, but nobody thinks of him has one. If Hendrix on only played an acoustic guitar, he mightve ended up a James Taylor, too. Pausing for a moment, he adds: I understand why people would call me that. Its all about honesty, which is hard thing to pull off. Songs have to feel right and not come across like youre pandering or being smarmy. Anytime you throw yourself out there, trust is the only thing youve got going for yourself. Mayer doesn't likely need to worry. The trust between him and his audience, right now, seems unshakable.
Fast lane to fame
In three years, John Mayer has made quite a splash
By Rachel Leibrock -- Bee Staff Writer
John Mayer, who performed at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., last month, headlines at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre near Marysville on Wednesday. Associated Press/Chris Polk
There comes a moment during concerts when John Mayer looks down at his shoes and thinks, "I'm just a guy and I'm on stage playing in front of 15,000 people - what's happening?" What has happened is that, just three years after the release of his best-selling major label debut "Room for Squares," the 26-year-old singer-songwriter is a major musical force.
Now, Mayer, who performs Wednesday at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre, is juggling several identities - handsome, radio-friendly pop idol, serious blues musician and average, everyday guy - and trying to merge them into one seamless public persona.
It's not always easy, Mayer explains on the phone from Milwaukee just hours before launching his national tour.
"I get home (from a tour) and think, 'I'm a rock guy - what am I doing in an apartment?' "
Mayer is kidding - sort of. But it is jarring to switch between lifestyles, he says, especially when it's 3 a.m. and you're standing in front of an empty refrigerator and realize that your New York City apartment doesn't come with room service. "It takes a week for me to realize that I don't have to dial '9' anymore on my phone when I'm home."
Melding his musical personalities, however, is simple, Mayer says.
To some he's the prince of adult contemporary pop. His light, scruffy voice and reflective songs about lost loves, regrets and days gone by have made Mayer a radio staple and earned the artist multiplatinum record sales; in September, his sophomore release "Heavier Things" debuted atop the Billboard album charts.
He's no pop lightweight, however. In 2003 he received the best male pop vocal Grammy for "Your Body Is a Wonderland." Over the past few years, Mayer also has held his own playing with rock and blues stalwarts such as Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt and Sting.
For Mayer, being able to keep a foot in both musical camps is liberating.
"It's cool that I'm in a lot of different categories," he says. "Every time I put out a new single, it's like I'm a new artist again. For me it's like, whatever I want to do I can do."
Still, he admits, the limitations of radio mean that the general perception of him as an artist isn't always so clear.
"I (do) feel limited by being able to only put out one song at a time - I wish I could release two at once," Mayer says. With such constriction, he says, there's often the association that he's just "the guy from that one song."
While it may be technically true, says Mayer (who has logged plenty of chart time with singles such as "No Such Thing" and "Your Body Is a Wonderland"), he's also "the guy from the song right after that."
Consequently, Mayer is picky about what he sends out to the airwaves. For "Heavier Things" he chose the poppy, optimistic "Bigger Than My Body" as his first single and followed it with "Clarity," a drifting, slow-burn melody.
"I (picked 'Clarity') because I want people to hear trumpets - people listening to pop radio heard Roy Hargrove on the trumpet and didn't even know it," says Mayer with the excited glee of a star-struck fan. "He's only one of the greatest trumpeters ever living!"
Mayer, who grew up in Connecticut before relocating to Boston, then Atlanta and, eventually, New York, put in time at the prestigious Berklee College of Music after high school. It was an adolescence weaned on the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix, however, that shaped his musical direction.
These days, Mayer considers himself lucky to be a player among many of his one-time idols.
"It adds an almost palpable value to your music," says Mayer, who, among other ventures, recently recorded with Buddy Guy and performed with B.B. King.
"Sharing in a timeline of music that is really expansive with someone like B.B. King, who laid the cornerstone in blues music ... it's invaluable and also just a great playing experience," Mayer says. "These are my heroes."
Mayer doesn't attempt to outdo his heroes; over the years he has mostly shied away from covers.
"Traditionally, I don't play covers, but I'm going to try some during this tour," he says.
It's not easy covering songs, Mayer explains, because his own voice is a tough fit with other people's material.
"I have a really (bad) voice, so I can't really sing other people's songs." Mayer laughs before pitching his voice several octaves higher in an attempt to warble a Sting song: "If you love somebody. ..."
Mayer stops singing and laughs again.
"I wish I could sing that - but I can't," he says. "Most of the time it's just a (joke) anyway, like, 'Here, I'm going to stand on stage and pretend the song is mine because it's always been a fantasy to cover it."
Pop star, well-respected artist or hero-worshiping regular guy, Mayer knows his limitations - and what keeps him going.
Post-tour he'll shop for a new home, finish writing and recording an album and, perhaps most importantly, carve out some leisure time.
"I'll move into a new place and live a little," he says. "I'm just looking forward to being home and making music and living life."
Mayer is a wonderland
With his follow-up to the triple-platinum 'Room for Squares,' John Mayer sticks with what works well for him and his fans.
By Alan Sculley
Special to The Herald
John Mayer had a novel way to confront the challenge of following up his three-million-selling major label debut, "Room for Squares."
"The name of the game for me is what is the ideal way to fail. It's not really what is the ideal way to become successful," Mayer said. "It's what way is the most ideal way to fail. Because if it does fail, you'll want to know that it was the exact way it should have failed. That means making the kind of record that feels exactly the right temperature to you. ..."
To that end, Mayer, who is touring this summer with Maroon 5, retreated to an apartment in New York City to write for his new CD, "Heavier Things," and set a basic goal for himself: He simply wanted the songs to feel good when he played them.
"The reason that that was my criteria, to feel good to play, was because that's about as specific as you could get in trying to predict what a record's going to be," Mayer, 25, said. "I knew that as long it was fun to play it wouldn't matter."
As on "Room for Squares," Mayer comes off as a humble, work-a-day guy who deals with normal problems such as loneliness ("Something's Missing"), who longs for a simple life and the comforts of home ("Home Life") and will be absolutely devoted to that one special woman ("Only Heart").
Musically, "Heavier Things," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with first-week sales of 315,000, continues to feature the easy-going, slightly earthy pop sound of his earlier music.
Several of the strong songs ("Something's Missing," "Come Back to Bed" and "Split Screen Sadness") display Mayer's ability to write melancholy ballads. But two of the CD's friskiest tunes are also among his strongest efforts.
The recent hit single "Bigger Than My Body" takes wing behind the song's irresistibly catchy chorus, while "Only Heart" has a near-perfect pure pop melody.
The biggest musical difference, in fact, is that most of the new songs find Mayer favoring electric guitar over the acoustic guitar frequently featured on "Room for Squares." But even this shift is fairly subtle.
The Connecticut-born Mayer began his pursuit of music in 1997, when he enrolled in the prestigious Berklee College of Music. He stayed only a year before moving to Atlanta, where he began writing and playing solo acoustic shows.
By 1999, he had released his first CD, "Inside Wants Out," which mixed solo acoustic performances of his early songs with a few tunes that were recorded with a full band.
That CD gained strong reviews, and in 2000, his showcase at the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas, led to a record deal.
Next came "Room for Squares."
By early 2002, Mayer was selling out clubs. Then radio began to catch on, and "Room for Squares" began an 80-week run on the Billboard chart fueled by the hit singles "Your Body is a Wonderland" (which won a Grammy for best pop vocal performance), "Why Georgia" and "No Such Thing."
The success of the CD also prompted Columbia's re-release of "Inside Wants Out" in 2002 and the release of a live CD and DVD, "Any Given Thursday," last year.
Mayer hinted that his live show will present some changes from the show represented on "Any Given Thursday" and even the sets he played as recently as last summer when he toured with Counting Crows.
"There's a certain feeling right now that this is the moment to make a change. I have to keep it fresh for myself," he said.
John Mayer performs Sunday at the White River Amphitheatre.
John Mayer 7 p.m. Sunday, White River Amphitheatre in Auburn; $33.75-$45.
John Mayer
7 p.m. Sunday, White River Amphitheatre in Auburn; $33.75-$45
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Concert on 3/28/04
John's Tour Buses
"83" taken on the way to concert
John number one on the chart
Concert ticket signed by Michael Chaves from John's band
People Magazine Review of HT
John's Trademark Picture