I just found this...It's new (Oct. 9) I don't see it posted anywhere else. http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musicNews/view.bg?articleid=106160&format=&page=1 Mayer of bluestown: Pop star finds his soul at a crossroads By Sarah Rodman Sunday, October 9, 2005 John Mayer doesn't sing in the shower. He listens to other people sing. While lathering up not long ago, the husky voiced, Grammy winning pop star had an epiphany listening to the radio. ``You know that moment when you finally have enough of something and you instantly jump from not having enough to having way too much? And you go `stop!'? he asks on the phone from a Toronto tour stop. ``It wasn't my song on the radio, but it had the same quality, that same sonic palette, the wood guitar, drums, velvety vocals, interesting little computer blippy-bleepy note patterns on top of it, and I just said, ``I'm done.'' It was one of the most liberating feelings of my life to go, `You know what? I quit. I'm out. Everyone else, you can take it, God bless you. I'm going to go start a whole new league of sports now because I don't want to play in this league anymore.' What I'm after now is that high of people doubting me and then coming through.'' If doubt is what he was after, he has found it with his new band, the John Mayer Trio, which plays Tuesday at a sold-out Avalon. The singer-songwriter with the matinee idol looks and the co-ed catnip hooks of ``Your Body Is a Wonderland'' and ``Daughters'' has decided to explore the music that always has held the most allure for him: the blues. But there are those questioning whether this multiplatinum youngster even has a right to sing the blues with his new, high-endbandmates, drummer Steve Jordan (the Rolling Stones, the Blues Brothers) and bassist Pino Palladino (the Who, Jeff Beck). Luckily for the Connecticut native, who turns 28 this week, some bona fide legends named Clapton, King and Guy are praising his blues excursion. ``And the truth about that,'' Mayer says, ``is the same people who've embraced me have themselves gone through that same turbulent period ofpeople protecting that blues altar. It's the most sacred music, and fans and artists alike will defend that turf. I don't know for sure, but I get the sense that it's a rite of passage and I'm not going to kick and scream about it. In fact it's kind of a landmark. The `why is this white boy playing the blues?' is about right in terms where I want to be in my career. And I also think in the case of Eric and Buddy, their acceptance of me is primarily supposed to be a confidence booster, because they know I'm going to take some crap.'' Mayer, a Berklee dropout who's been playing guitar since childhood, will gladly take the knocks because he's having such a good time. ``It's as intense as it is loud as it is frustrating as it is the most amazing payoff musically of my life,'' he says of the tour and a live Trio CD due out Nov. 22. ``Not to disparage any of the stuff that I've done in the past,'' says Mayer, who plans to release another pop-oriented album next year, ``but my only point of reference was the stuff that I did up till now. I'm learning in retrospect what I'm capable of as a musician. I always thought I had a short attention span. I thought I just didn't like playing onstage for two hours. I just wanted to be somewhere else. But when I went out with this band, I would get off the stage and wonder if we'd given the fans enough music. I thought we were on for an hour, but it would turn out that we were on for two hours sometimes. This band is the first time I've ever gotten lost in music.'' The music includes originals the band has written in the blues rock idiom and covers of Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles and the Meters - but only one or two tunes from Mayer's pop catalog. As far as he can tell, the majority of ticket buyers haven't been disappointed with the set list. In fact, he says, for some it's been the vindication they were seeking to defend themselves as John Mayer fans: fans who saw beyond the ``bubblegum tongue'' fluffiness of ``Wonderland'' to the Stevie Ray Vaughn-inspired guitarist finding his footing. ``It's like if you said your dog could talk and it never spoke,'' he says. ``Now it's speaking.'' And this dog's got the blues and he's not afraid to howl - just not in the shower.

Boston Globe 10/12/05 Show Review.
Just found this. Mayer ditches light pop to play some heavy blues By Steve Morse, Globe Staff | October 12, 2005 Grammy darling John Mayer could have become the next James Taylor or Jackson Browne of his generation -- a sweet singing balladeer with timeless appeal to the ladies. Instead, he shocked the pop world this year by switching to the blues and seemingly trying to become the next Stevie Ray Vaughan, with a little Jimi Hendrix and Ray Charles thrown in for good measure. Mayer held his blues coming-out party before a sold-out crowd at Avalon last night. He proved to be more competent than expected at his new role. And after covering songs by the likes of Hendrix, Charles, and B.B. King, he received a blessing from Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, who jumped up for an encore and said, ''God bless you for loving the way you do!" Tyler hung around to wail Sonny Boy Williamson's ''Eyesight to the Blind," which was on Aerosmith's ''Honkin' on Bobo" CD last year. He didn't duet with Mayer, but the crowd had already gotten a fill of Mayer doing such classics as King's ''Everyday I Have the Blues" (which opened night), Hendrix's ''Wait Until Tomorrow," and Charles's ''I Got a Woman" and ''I Don't Need No Doctor." These joined a number of new, blues-drenched Mayer originals such as ''Vultures" (an apparent commentary on the music business) and the uptempo closer, ''Try." Mayer seemed too gentlemanly to handle some of the bawdier aspects of the blues covers, but he played guitar with a fine disciple's touch. I saw him perform with Bonnie Raitt at the Orpheum two years ago and he came off as a novice bluesman then, but he has since played and/or recorded with King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton and has schooled himself appropriately. He attacked the music with an impressive rhythmic groove this time, though his solos do not yet rival Stevie Ray's. Mayer advised last night to ''ditch your pop sensibilities." He ditched his until the end when he performed his gushy hit ''Daughters," but he never did his mega-hit, ''Your Body is a Wonderland." He instead exulted in reviving a roadhouse spirit with his new trio (bassist Pino Palladino has played with the Who and Jeff Beck, while drummer Steve Jordan has been with Keith Richards' X-Pensive Winos). These are big-league players and Mayer, while not yet a blues savior, showed that he at least belonged on the same stage with them. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2005/10/12/mayer_ditches_light_pop_to_play_some_heavy_blues/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Living+/+Arts+News

The two Boston articles, from different papers and by diff. writers, go well together. From the first: But there are those questioning whether this multiplatinum youngster even has a right to sing the blues with his new, high-endbandmates, drummer Steve Jordan (the Rolling Stones, the Blues Brothers) and bassist Pino Palladino (the Who, Jeff Beck). Today's article has the answer: These are big-league players and Mayer, while not yet a blues savior, showed that he at least belonged on the same stage with them. Thanks for finding those Alisha!

Charlie Sexton's comments on John (found at MSM): I saw an interview on boston.com with Charlie Sexton. He briefly mentioned JM: Q. You've played with Stevie Ray Vaughan and all these blues guys. Now John Mayer's playing the blues. Is he serious? A. The thing about John I didn't realize is what a fan of Stevie he was. He's also a great player, a killer guitar player. There's not one inch of hack in him. There's a lot of people doing it that have one-sixteenth the talent that John has. Q. He's not playing a lot of his hits, right? And you won't do ''Beats So Lonely." So why don't you try ''Your Body Is a Wonderland"? A. I'm going to do it. As a polka.