John Mayer

[theGOOCH]

I've seen him bashed here (more on the electric forum) and I was totally unfamiliar with him until yesterday. I watched his concert on that free concert channel on DirecTV.

 

He sounds pretty damn good to me. It was kinda cheesy and theatrical how he played a different guitar for every single song, but again he sounded great....and his rhythm guy played a Taylor dread for a couple songs so he can't be all bad.

[mpquin]

A lot of people here like to bash him because of his bubble gum lyrics and awful stage persona. I too can't stand the whole"teen aged girls" screaming thing.

 

However, if you truly look at his music stripped down, it is very impressive. His use of inverted chords and various picking styles are very interesting. I have a bunch of stuff on mp3 from before he became popular with just him and a bass player and that is the real John Mayer as a musician.

 

 

Check out some of his tabs at "http://www3.sympatico.ca/g403z/".

[WaveRay]

I just can't take his voice. Other than that, I have no opinion of him whatsoever.

[Queequeg]

oh geeze; the guy's from Connecticut, for crying out loud. which, for those of you who went to Montessori school, is right next to NEW YORK!

[ziganaut]

If someone told me a couple of years ago that I would be buying a JM cd, I would have laughed. But here I am trying to learn a few tunes off his new album. My point is that real talent only grows with time, and I expect JM to have a long career reinventing himself many times, not unlike Clapton. I think eventually (and you can already see it starting to happen) his lyrics will mature and his vocals will "grow some balls". Just hope it happens sooner than later

[kwakatak]

I gotta hand it to him, he does have some chops though I do find his feaux husky voice and facial contortions to be a bit too much to stomach at times. Other than that he seems to have the Yngwie disease of taking himself too seriously and overestimating the worth of his contribution to his chosen craft.

 

That being said, I'm currently trying to learn "Gravity" which has a strange similarity to SRV's "Life Without You" and "Riviera Paradise".

 

[sufidancer]

Originally posted by kwakatak I gotta hand it to him, he does have some chops though I do find his feaux husky voice and facial contortions to be a bit too much to stomach at times. Other than that he seems to have the Yngwie disease of taking himself too seriously and overestimating the worth of his contribution to his chosen craft. That being said, I'm currently trying to learn "Gravity" which has a strange similarity to SRV's "Life Without You" and "Riviera Paradise".

+1 He makes to many faces per note.

[theGOOCH]

 

Originally posted by sufidancer +1 He makes to many faces per note.

 

 

 

Yeah, come to think of it I noticed that too....but hey aren't most professional entertainers weirdos?

[guitarist21]

Originally posted by theGOOCH He sounds pretty damn good to me. It was kinda cheesy and theatrical how he played a different guitar for every single song, but again he sounded great....and his rhythm guy played a Taylor dread for a couple songs so he can't be all bad.

 

He IS pretty damn good, IMO!

 

Being a female, saying I like John Mayer is usually interpreted as "John Mayer is easy on the eyes." However, he really is a great guitar player and a FANTASTIC songwriter. I find almost all of his work enjoyable. He is second, in my book, only to Nickel Creek.

 

Ellen

[Whalebot]

After buying Contiuum I want to sleep with him. Just kidding, but my wife did say:

"How do I know my Husband is Gay? I had to ask him to turn down his John Mayer CD."

[Sweb]

Hey, he's doing okay for himself but I personally think his music( :bor: ), excuse me...

[Hudman]

Originally posted by kwakatak Other than that he seems to have the Yngwie disease of taking himself too seriously and overestimating the worth of his contribution to his chosen craft. That being said, I'm currently trying to learn "Gravity" which has a strange similarity to SRV's "Life Without You" and "Riviera Paradise".

 

Actually, John Mayer rarely takes himself seriously. The guy has a great sense of humor. He constantly makes fun of himself on his MySpace page. Hell, he went on stage a played guitar in a bear suit a few weeks ago.

 

I started listening to his stuff 2 years ago. I read many interviews with JM. He's a pretty laid back guy. SRV is his biggest influence (guitar playing AND singing). Mayer is highly respected by Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Jimmie Vaughan and SRV's band Double Trouble. If he was a hack, those guys wouldn't constantly invite him to come on stage with them.

 

The thing that hurts him is the fact that he is popular. Young girls and women love him. I don't see how that makes him less of a musician.

 

I will never understand why the guy get's so much flack from guitar players. Personally, I'm encouraged to see talented young guitar players / songwriters. I like Mayer for the same reason I like Brad Paisley: The guys respect the old time guitar legends and strive to be better players.

[drnihili]

I keep trying to buy Continuum but I always listen to it first and change my mind. While I do like the guitar playing, once he starts singing it just sounds like an insecure version of Michael Franks. Not something I'd want to listen to over and over. It's a shame because the songs are good and so is the playing. But his singing just ruins it for me.

[sufidancer]

I saw him live and he played the hell outta his strat. But his grimmacing and "whats that smell" face and all the contorting just made me think,,, is he in pain or passing a Kidney stone?

[AK47]

Originally posted by WaveRay I just can't take his voice. Other than that, I have no opinion of him whatsoever.

 

I agree his voice has that fingernail on a chalkboard effect. Sounding different kind of sets singers apart. Singers rarely make it sounding like someone else. As a guitarist he is quite good and I respect his abilities. He does make some funny faces even crossing his eyes looking at the microphone. If I were him I'd beat the cameraman for some of those close ups. Overal rating I give him a :thu: . After all he is making a good living doing what he loves.

[EvilTwin]

 

Originally posted by kwakatak I gotta hand it to him, he does have some chops though I do find his feaux husky voice and facial contortions to be a bit too much to stomach at times.

 

 

I can deal with the faces, but the wispy "trying to charm young girls out of their panties voice" kills me.

 

And the dude's gonna hurt himself singing like that. If you sing quietly, you can get away with that without straining your vocal chords too much. But I've seen him sing live, and he belts it out with that voice. And that's a recipe for long-term singing disaster.

[NiceAlex]

I like him quite a bit.

 

I don't see the big deal with his singing. I doubt he's trying to be suave and charming via a raspy voice. It's just how he sounds...

 

Nevertheless, he's deserve some respect. He has talent.

[theGOOCH]

He didn't really strike me as that handsome of guy to be a heart throb, but then I'm not a teenage girl

[Blackwatch]

I'm sure he's a very talented musician, but personally I can't stand his music. It seems void of life and feeling to me. And yes, I've actually listened to him, they used to play him continually on the station I used to listen to.

But to each his own........

[Ballfuzz]

I know you guys are going to hate the fact that he covers an Nsync song first in this video, but his acoustic version of No Such Thing is absolutely bad ass in this.

 

 

[NiceAlex]

 

Originally posted by Ballfuzz I know you guys are going to hate the fact that he covers an Nsync song first in this video, but his acoustic version of No Such Thing is absolutely bad ass in this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAS4YnWewG8

 

 

Great video! "Pop" cover included.

[DonK]

I can't stand him, and I've tried, I really have. For starters, his voice really grates on me: sounds too much like an affected Dave Matthews (whose voice I dislike almost as much as Mayer's). As far as technique, there's no denying his chops. But I find his playing to be a real snore: homogenized SRV-meets-Keith Partridge. And his lyrics...well, I won't go there. I bought Continuum a couple of weeks ago hoping I could grow to like him, but I couldn't get past a couple of listens....

[Sweb]

I was at a movie gallery waiting for my son to pick something out - usually a long wait - and Dave Matthews was on the monitors doing some concert. Having never seen him before I didn't know who he was. My son comes down the aisle and goes, "Oh, Dave Matthews". The guy just did not move me.

[guitarist21]

I'm a huge John Mayer fan, but I'm not a huge Dave Matthews fan at all. Just never really interested me. Except MAN the drummer in Dave Matthews band is great. Carter Beauford, I think. He's really something.

 

Ellen

[Hudman]

 

Originally posted by guitarist21 I'm a huge John Mayer fan, but I'm not a huge Dave Matthews fan at all. Just never really interested me. Except MAN the drummer in Dave Matthews band is great. Carter Beauford, I think. He's really something. Ellen

 

 

Dave Mathews has an awesome band. I'm not a big DM fan, but I do own two of his CD's.

 

Honestly, I don't see the John Mayer - Dave Mathews link like some people do. Yes, Mayer and Mathews both play acoustic guitars. Yes, they both tend to mumble lyrics (mush mouth - very common in rock / pop - think about the classic "Louie Louie" - no one knows what that guy was singing). However, their music is far different and Mayer is more blues influenced.

 

SRV is his biggest influence on his vocal style and guitar style.