This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Tcort (talk | contribs) at 18:16, 5 September 2004 (Added Taping/Trading Section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 18:16, 5 September 2004 by Tcort (talk | contribs) (Added Taping/Trading Section)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)John Clayton Mayer (born October 16, 1977 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA) is a singer-songwriter who plays pop music.
Growing up in Fairfield, Connecticut, Mayer listened to pop music, but it was not until the age of thirteen that his inspiration for playing the guitar began. When a neighbor gave him a Stevie Ray Vaughan tape, Mayer discovered the blues and learned how to play the guitar. After two years of practice, he started playing at blues bars and other venues in the area. While in high school, he was in a band called Villanova Junction.
After playing the guitar for several years, Mayer enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts at the age of 19. He soon realized that instead of studying music, he was more interested in writing and playing it, and chose to cut his studies short in favor of moving to Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career in earnest there, quickly making a name for himself in the local coffeehouse and club circuit.
Mayer has toured with many groups, including Maroon5, Guster, the Counting Crows, and The Wallflowers. Some of his most popular and well known songs include "Clarity", "Bigger than my Body", "No Such Thing" and "Your Body Is a Wonderland". In 2003 he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the 2002 release of the latter.
John allows audio taping at most live performances, and he also allows for the non-commercial trading of those recordings. The legal details are here. He does this to give fans the opportunity to recreate the live experience. He also does this to encourage fan interaction. Trading recordings is what helped John become more well known in the early days.
Discography
- Villanova Junction Demo 1995 Indie Release
- Lo-Fi Masters Demo 1999 Indie Release
- Inside Wants Out 1999 Indie Release
- Inside Wants Out 2002 Label Release
- Room For Squares 2001 Studio Recording
- Any Given Thursday 2003 Live Album
- Heavier Things 2003 Studio Recording