John Mayer has been shamed lately for his explicit logorrhea, and perhaps rightly so, but when he played Little Brother’s on the eve of success, he was quite polite and gracious.
I had one brief conversation with John in the parking lot after the show. But in that short talk he thanked me and my staff for our genuine hospitality, said that it was one of the best places he had played and that everyone working there had treated him and his band with respect.
I was speechless that a guy on the verge of real success in this crazy music business would take the time to show such gratitude, and speechless is something I rarely am.
He may have overshared about some big-league starlets, but when he was in the bush leagues, about to get the call up to the majors, he showed real class.
I met him too early on. I was actually the first DJ in America to put him on the air to perform “Live.” THis was 2001 and he was touring as warm up for Glenn Phillips of TOAD THE WET SPROCKET.
I then met him again two months later in Boulder at a radio conference and sat next to him. He was asking me about the greatest rock records of all time, and I told him about PET SOUNDS, QUADROPHENIA, NICO & THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, etc… all of which he wrote down into his little pocket notebook!
The other thing I remember was how inventive he was about marketing and self promotion. He told me that he would go into Dave Matthews Message Boards and Chat Rooms, and say “I just saw this new guy named John Mayer who is really great and reminds me about Dave’s playing and style… check him out!”
All and all.. I was impressed!!! Very nice, open and soft spoken. But I could see how (his openess) could get him in trouble!!