‘Unusualist’ John Mayer Does Details Magazine

John Mayer is such a loud mouth and makes such an obvious point of always speaking his mind that it’s almost understandable if someone less in contact with his music would forget that he’s also a very accomplished musician. In the latest issue of Details magazine, Mayer, the “unsualist” as he likes to call himself, talks of what it’s like for him to make music and the need for compromise in order to do so.

Even if detractors often say of Mayer that he’s the type that likes to impose himself on others by expressing his opinion even when he’s not required to do so, in real life, the singer is quite a pleasure to be around, the Details interviewer begins by saying. For starters, he, the musician, the artist and the poet, arrives one hour earlier than the appointed time, which is highly unusual in showbiz. Then again, it’s not like Mayer likes to play by the rules.

There is little to make Mayer like the rest of other singers on the scene right now. For instance, his modesty in saying that he’s no Bob Dylan, which forces him to make compromises to have his music out there – this coming from a singer known for his talent, is quite a lot. “I don’t know if you know, but I’m not exactly Bob Dylan – I’m already a pop musician… I want to reach as many people as possible… I don’t mind compromising,” he says for the mag.

As for the kind of negative response he sometimes generates for the things he says and the music he makes, Mayer would even dare call the haters out, he reveals in the same interview. At the same time, though, he also believes no one would actually acknowledge his challenge in any way, which goes to say something about how criticism has become an integrant part of music business these days, even in those cases when it’s unfounded and far from constructive.

“What if I had a booth on the street and I said, ‘Attention everybody who hates me: If you have a problem with me, I’m ready to hear your gripes! I will be outside the Barneys store on 60th Street from two to four this afternoon…I will only be speaking to people who do not like me. Come out and let me have it.’ How many people do you think would be standing there?… Ze-ro,” Mayer says smiling.

For the full interview, see the Details piece here.