Interview with John Mayer

John Mayer has emerged into the music scene at the tender age of twenty-four to an overwhelming fan base. His first album, "Inside Wants Out," was released in 1999 and consisted of mainly solo-acoustic songs as well as ones recorded with a full band. His most recent release, "Room for Squares," has positioned Mayer directly in the spotlight. Rolling Stone recently gave his new album four stars. Every song on the album is written with brutal honesty and catchy harmonics. His voice sounding like a younger Dave Matthews, Mayer's recent album is the kind you will want to listen to all the way through. The only thing better than listening to Mayer's "Room for Squares" is seeing him live. He puts his heart and soul into a show, instantly capturing the crowd with his charismatic and often humorous explanations of his songs. Songs such as "Back to You," "Your Body is a Wonderland," "Love Song for No One" and "My Stupid Mouth" give off a fresh vibe that anyone who values quality music can appreciate.

DC: You're still a baby in the music industry. What advantages have you been able to take a hold of being so young and how do you think they've helped you in the industry? JM: I think that being young - and not only being young, but being young in terms of how long I've been in the industry for, I think the advantages are I have the freedom to choose however I want to go about making music; there's no real protocol. We're sort of in a new time. Anytime you hear new time you think September but if you think before then, we're not in the 80's, we're not in the 90's and I think there's probably more freedom that an artist can have especially with technology, it's all a choice with how one wants to approach they're career, I feel like being young - and being young at a time when it's cool to be young - I feel like I can do pretty much whatever I want to do in terms of artistry.

DC: You've been tirelessly compared to the likes of Dave Matthews, Jakob Dylan, even Sting. Did you grow up listening to any of these artists, and if so, what style did you draw on the most for your own musical and lyrical ability?

JM: Yeah, Sting the most, absolutely, and not just because of vocals but also harmonics. Dave Matthews inspired me in a huge way, I think, mostly in terms of his artistry of sort of everything and the kitchen sink approach to songwriting; and it works, it totally works for him. I'm really impressed with that and it kind of inspired me to put the music that I learned for so many years as a kid into pop music and show that pop music can be a little more ambitious.

DC: How would you classify your kind of music?

JM: Smooth with a V, not Kenny G smooth.

DC: You've received much acclaim for your beautifully written and brutally honest lyrics, which provide strong universal appeal to your fans. Do you believe this to be the strongest and most important element of your songs? JM: Nope. I think it is at some points, I think most people - when they listen to a song - they don't hear the words first, at least I don't think so. I approach the lyrics like it's there when people are ready to hear it. The first five times you hear a song your sort of almost approaching it like it's another language, you're just singing along with the words. Then someday, somewhere, assuming you haven't heard it before - because I think once you do you begin to trust the lyrics - but somewhere somebody is going, "oh wait a minute, these lyrics aren't throw-away, hold on." So I've always approached lyrics like you don't have to have great lyrics to have a great song but damn it helps.

DC: How would you want your fans to walk away feeling after one of your shows?

JM: I want them to feel like they all took part in something very specific in one room of people. It doesn't matter how many shows I've done in a row, [as long as they've left] with the sound of my voice still bouncing around in their head. Not necessarily singing a song but just sort of still feeling the buzz and then having them feel like they saw something that happened just for them on that day.

DC: You're success has continued at a rapid pace since you began performing and recording. Do you attribute any specific thing that has made you stand out from other musicians?

JM: Well I think we were lucky enough to sort of catch the whole Napster wave when it was at it's highest crest. I think that we kind of benefited from Napster more than most anyone else.

DC: Do you hope to collaborate with any artists in the future and, if so, who would you like to work with? JM: Justin Timberlake, I'm serious, the kid can sing and I think he's going to be a lifetime artist. I think he was the way Michael Jackson was with the Jackson 5.

DC: Can we expect to see you at UConn anytime soon?

JM: I hope so, I hope so. Hopefully by sometime next year.