“I have so much more connection with my guitar now than I think I ever had”: John Mayer on playing with Dead & Company
In light of Bob Weir’s death last month, artists have posted tributes praising the late Grateful Dead guitarist. From guitar legends like Joe Satriani to contemporary stars like Maggie Rogers, Weir’s influence spanned far and wide – but his collaborative work with John Mayer was particularly impactful.
In an archival 2016 interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Mayer and Weir reflect on how they came to form Dead & Company in 2010. Throughout, Mayer’s respect for Weir is evident. “There has to come a moment where it’s time to play a guitar solo, and I’m just playing the solo [without] wondering what Bob thinks about it!” Mayer joked at the time.
READ MORE: Paul McCartney reveals he nearly played on a Bob Weir record before his death: “Unfortunately it never came to pass”
Mayer went on to describe his first experience performing with Weir as “the only time [he’d] ever got nauseous with excitement”. However, instead of succumbing to his fanboy nerves, Weir deemed Mayer a worthy collaborator. “The first time I played with John-boy here, I ascertained that this guy can handle the chores,” he praised.
Of course, that first collaboration would be the beginning of a beautiful musical friendship. In fact, Mayer wilfully put his solo career on hold to tour with Dead & Co – and its an experience that utterly transformed his relationship with live music and guitar. “I have so much more connection with my guitar now than I think I ever had,” the younger guitarist explained.
He went on to explain how touring with Weir in Dead & Co “solidifies ‘musician’ over ‘celebrity,’” once again reminding him why he first started learning guitar. “[Performing with Weir] roots me in the thing I love the most… it’s the reason I wanted to be in this band,” he said. “It would be [similar to] an actor saying, ‘I really want to be in a scene with Al Pacino.’”
Rather than stopping there, Mayer also admired how Weir’s work with Grateful Dead created its own “style of music” by combining a slew of different technical styles and sounds. It was a musical collage that pushed him, as he had to “learn the accompanying styles”, which saw him having to learn “another style, and another style, and so on”.
Despite the intimidating amount of learning, Mayer notes that the experience was like being offered a “scholarship” to becoming a master guitarist and well-rounded musician. “If you were a guitar player and you could only learn music from one band, if you learned the Grateful Dead’s music, you would be a far better guitar player than if you picked any other band to learn from,” he insisted.
Alongside the diversity of the music, Weir’s passion for his sound was also surely a massive influence on Mayer. Elsewhere in the interview, Weir described his music is “alive”.
“Grateful Dead songs need to live – they need to live, and breathe, and grow, because they they’re they’re living critters, if I may wax hippie-metaphysical for you…” he said. “The characters in those songs are real. They live in some other world, and they come and visit us through the through the musicians, through the artists, who have dedicated their lives to that medium.”
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