chicago.07/18 by JM
1 hour, 12 minutes post-show.
Chicago...
This has become more than just ticket sales and career advancement.
In fact, this has nothing to do with it.
These shows have transcended.
This is about making 20,000 people feel okay in the world.
Not alone.
Full.
Hopeful.
JOYFUL.
To the magazines, blogs, entertainment shows, et al...
I say to you with my chest out and a big part of Chicago to stand behind me and back me up:
You may have my image, but you cannot take my sound.
Thank you Chicago.
With love for music...
and my band,
David Ryan Harris - Guitar/vocals
J.J. Johnson - Drums
Sean Hurley - Bass/Vocals
Tim Bradshaw - Keys
Brad Mason - Trumpet
Bob Reynolds - Saxaphone
Robbie McIntosh - Guitars/Vocals
john
Contact
meet isaac07/08 by JM
This is my new friend Isaac. He's 4. We met before my show in Toronto. He's one of the coolest kids I've ever met. Isaac has what's called MPS. But that's not what makes him special. You'd just have to spend 30 seconds with him to know what I'm talking about. Isaac's a huge fan and loves the Where The Light is DVD. His favorite parts are the backstage scenes of the band walking through the hallway. He loves them so much he asked me if the venue we were playing had a hallway. (it does.)
I thought Isaac was so cool that I asked him if he'd help lead the nightly "hands in" and walk the
hallway to the stage, and he said yes.
Here's the walk to stage. Isaac loved every second, and so did everyone else in the band. Look at that guy! He's a tour manager in the making. We opened with his favorite song, Vultures.
Isaac has a web site his parents set up to help cure his disease.
Check out The Isaac Foundation.
I just found out Isaac went into another (planned) operation this morning. I'm cheering for him and I hope he spends less time in a hospital bed and more time hanging out at rock concerts from now on.
This is my new friend Isaac. He's 4. We met before my show in Toronto. He's one of the coolest kids I've ever met. Isaac has what's called MPS. But that's not what makes him special. You'd just have to spend 30 seconds with him to know what I'm talking about. Isaac's a huge fan and loves the Where The Light is DVD. His favorite parts are the backstage scenes of the band walking through the hallway. He loves them so much he asked me if the venue we were playing had a hallway. (it does.)
I thought Isaac was so cool that I asked him if he'd help lead the nightly "hands in" and walk the
hallway to the stage, and he said yes.
Here's the walk to stage. Isaac loved every second, and so did everyone else in the band. Look at that guy! He's a tour manager in the making. We opened with his favorite song, Vultures.
Isaac has a web site his parents set up to help cure his disease.
Check out The Isaac Foundation.
I just found out Isaac went into another (planned) operation this morning. I'm cheering for him and I hope he spends less time in a hospital bed and more time hanging out at rock concerts from now on.
apologies/humiliated07/06 by JM
Photo Courtesy: TMZ
I want all my fans to know that it is with great humility and embarrassment that I have to inform you that I was arrested tonight.
I hope that my forthrightness and honesty will help to ease some of your hurt. Here are the facts.
After my show in Mansfield, MA, I decided to try my hand at mixing the perfect watermelon margarita. Having served more than two dozen, and sipping from each drink as it was delivered, I became very inebriated. The rest makes me sick to my stomach, but here goes:
I thought in my impaired state that it would be a good idea to play Grand Theft Auto 4: Liberty City. It was not. As I left my cousin Roman's apartment with the afternoon to spare, the alcohol (and the loneliness) got to me. The combination of Patron, Triple Sec, Watermelon Pucker and my cousin Roman's misleading promise of the American Dream brought out the darkest side of me.
I decided to walk into traffic and stop a cab. When the driver came to a halt, I opened his door and ripped him from his seat. This is when I began to pummel him without mercy. When he fell to the ground covered in his own bright red blood, I slid into the driver's seat and drove through a busy park with reckless abandon.
I won't lie to you. I hit many, many people. While I can't say how many it was exactly, I garnered 4 white stars and a large police search canvas area. I know I should have surrendered, but I just don't know what got into me. While listening to my favorite hip-hop station, I led police on a three-mile chase through areas dense with innocent people. I was eventually shot, leading my vision to become monochromatic.
I want all my fans to know that I will do my best to redeem myself in your eyes. Though I came-to outside of the Liberty City Police Station two hours later after my arrest, I know that the damage has been done. I have decided from this point on to obey the plot's directive; to figure out just what the hell I'm supposed to do in this game while hitting fewer people and lampposts.
I hope those who hold tickets for the upcoming dates on my tour will still come to enjoy the shows to come.
Regretfully,
John,
proprietor,
Niko Bellic
Photo Courtesy: TMZ
I want all my fans to know that it is with great humility and embarrassment that I have to inform you that I was arrested tonight.
I hope that my forthrightness and honesty will help to ease some of your hurt. Here are the facts.
After my show in Mansfield, MA, I decided to try my hand at mixing the perfect watermelon margarita. Having served more than two dozen, and sipping from each drink as it was delivered, I became very inebriated. The rest makes me sick to my stomach, but here goes:
I thought in my impaired state that it would be a good idea to play Grand Theft Auto 4: Liberty City. It was not. As I left my cousin Roman's apartment with the afternoon to spare, the alcohol (and the loneliness) got to me. The combination of Patron, Triple Sec, Watermelon Pucker and my cousin Roman's misleading promise of the American Dream brought out the darkest side of me.
I decided to walk into traffic and stop a cab. When the driver came to a halt, I opened his door and ripped him from his seat. This is when I began to pummel him without mercy. When he fell to the ground covered in his own bright red blood, I slid into the driver's seat and drove through a busy park with reckless abandon.
I won't lie to you. I hit many, many people. While I can't say how many it was exactly, I garnered 4 white stars and a large police search canvas area. I know I should have surrendered, but I just don't know what got into me. While listening to my favorite hip-hop station, I led police on a three-mile chase through areas dense with innocent people. I was eventually shot, leading my vision to become monochromatic.
I want all my fans to know that I will do my best to redeem myself in your eyes. Though I came-to outside of the Liberty City Police Station two hours later after my arrest, I know that the damage has been done. I have decided from this point on to obey the plot's directive; to figure out just what the hell I'm supposed to do in this game while hitting fewer people and lampposts.
I hope those who hold tickets for the upcoming dates on my tour will still come to enjoy the shows to come.
Regretfully,
John,
proprietor,
Niko Bellic
summer 2008 is here06/29 by JM
I'm laying in my London hotel room in one of my least favorite scenarios: the job is done today but the plane takes off tomorrow. The European tour was an absolute blast and I think I speak for the band and crew when I say that all sights are set firmly on the US tour and making it the best ever.
As a 30-year old with an eight-year mainstream professional music career, I couldn't be happier (and more thankful) to still have a gig. All I can think about when I'm on stage these days is how terrible it would feel to have learned how to make the most out of each and every show after the gig was up.
It's a funny time to be alive right now, in that I'm not quite sure we're celebrating like we should. I don't mean the "Hand me your keys, Dan! " celebrating. I mean the very innate act of celebration; human appreciation. Group reveling. A general sense of "This is my tribe and this is our fellowship. " Like a concert.
I know I've written along these lines before, but do you know why it matters? Because someday you're going to be old, and things are going to change. Your body is going to turn on you. I already know where the L-5 and L-6 discs in my back are, because they're wearing down a little, and when I ask the doc how we lick this, he says "It is what it is. You're not 18 anymore. " I have 3 gray hairs that I insist are "mutant clear hairs " but they're not. They're just gray. And right on time.
Chances are you won't get hit by that proverbial bus people always talk about when they're smoking a Lucky Strike and tipping back on their chair. Odds are also on your side (thank God) that you won't ever get the news from your doctor that you have only months left to live. But you know what he may very well tell you? That you need a new hip. Nobody ever says "live it up because someday you might need a new hip" but it's the truth. They don't say "Be good to one another because in time we'll all know a medical lab technician on a first name basis" but it happens every day.
My point is that whenever that someday comes, when I slide into the MRI scanner and the thing starts spinning up, spitting lasers and screaming into my ears, I may very well say to myself "I wish I had just one more of those summers. "
Being a young man is kick-ass. Being a young man who knows that being a young man is kick-ass is what it's really all about. And as a musician, I'm finally learning to distinguish the notes that matter from the ones that don't. I'm also getting better at knowing those notes as a person, too. I'm excited to bring it all on stage, and even more excited to see you all out there.
Thank you for another one of those summers.
John
I'm laying in my London hotel room in one of my least favorite scenarios: the job is done today but the plane takes off tomorrow. The European tour was an absolute blast and I think I speak for the band and crew when I say that all sights are set firmly on the US tour and making it the best ever.
As a 30-year old with an eight-year mainstream professional music career, I couldn't be happier (and more thankful) to still have a gig. All I can think about when I'm on stage these days is how terrible it would feel to have learned how to make the most out of each and every show after the gig was up.
It's a funny time to be alive right now, in that I'm not quite sure we're celebrating like we should. I don't mean the "Hand me your keys, Dan! " celebrating. I mean the very innate act of celebration; human appreciation. Group reveling. A general sense of "This is my tribe and this is our fellowship. " Like a concert.
I know I've written along these lines before, but do you know why it matters? Because someday you're going to be old, and things are going to change. Your body is going to turn on you. I already know where the L-5 and L-6 discs in my back are, because they're wearing down a little, and when I ask the doc how we lick this, he says "It is what it is. You're not 18 anymore. " I have 3 gray hairs that I insist are "mutant clear hairs " but they're not. They're just gray. And right on time.
Chances are you won't get hit by that proverbial bus people always talk about when they're smoking a Lucky Strike and tipping back on their chair. Odds are also on your side (thank God) that you won't ever get the news from your doctor that you have only months left to live. But you know what he may very well tell you? That you need a new hip. Nobody ever says "live it up because someday you might need a new hip" but it's the truth. They don't say "Be good to one another because in time we'll all know a medical lab technician on a first name basis" but it happens every day.
My point is that whenever that someday comes, when I slide into the MRI scanner and the thing starts spinning up, spitting lasers and screaming into my ears, I may very well say to myself "I wish I had just one more of those summers. "
Being a young man is kick-ass. Being a young man who knows that being a young man is kick-ass is what it's really all about. And as a musician, I'm finally learning to distinguish the notes that matter from the ones that don't. I'm also getting better at knowing those notes as a person, too. I'm excited to bring it all on stage, and even more excited to see you all out there.
Thank you for another one of those summers.
John
desktop picture 106/16 by JM
Thought it might be cool to start sharing some photos I've taken by way of desktop pictures.
Optimized for a 15" MacBook Pro.
Number 1 - road case...
(make sure to "save picture as")
Enjoy.
JM
Thought it might be cool to start sharing some photos I've taken by way of desktop pictures.
Optimized for a 15" MacBook Pro.
Number 1 - road case...
(make sure to "save picture as")
Enjoy.
JM
the goonies switcheroo05/31 by JM
Go back into the annals of beloved '80s films, and you'd be hard pressed to find a movie closer to the hearts of thirty-somethings than The Goonies. I'll spare you the synopsis, as you most likely already know it, but if you don't, no need to worry - you've seen 20 other movies like it in its time. The template: nerdy but affable underdog(s) suffer unrelenting ridicule by jocks in varsity letter jackets but ultimately have their comeuppance, usually stealing a smoking hot girlfriend or two in the process.
In the case of The Goonies, a band of awkward, socially outcast kids set off to find a buried treasure, narrowly averting almost certain death and outrunning, among others, a popular high school jock named Troy. Troy is one of the classic cinematic archetypes of the 1980s; the jock. He's good looking, rocks a period-relative badass Mustang convertible, and he's a total prick. All we can do from the moment Troy enters the frame is to wait with baited breath to see Troy lose and the Goonies win.
And in that end, back in 1985 when the underdogs had their day, (and their bag of jewels), and the final credits rolled and we called our parents for a ride home, we realized something fantastic: It's true, we weren't Troy. But for the first time, thanks to The Goonies, we no longer wanted to be Troy. It was okay to be us, thank you very much.
Cut to present day.
What happened to the better part of a generation that once walked out of their local theater rooting for the Mikeys and Chunks and Datas of the world? They've turned into Troys. Troys who can't accept the differences in others and condemn the things they don't understand. Finger-pointing, shit-talking Troys.
Ask yourself: with whom do you identify more these days, Troy or the Goonies? And if you're reading this and you happen to be an Internet shit-talker, could it be because you think I'm Troy? Because honest to God, I've always fancied myself a Goonie; the underdog who toppled over the narrow-minded naysayers and walked away with a treasure.
So maybe this whole thing is one big misunderstanding and it turns out we don't need to go down as a generation remembered as having spent the '00s wearing our asses like hats after all. Maybe it will turn out that we needed a little time to figure out that in the end we're all just a bunch of Goonies.
JM
Go back into the annals of beloved '80s films, and you'd be hard pressed to find a movie closer to the hearts of thirty-somethings than The Goonies. I'll spare you the synopsis, as you most likely already know it, but if you don't, no need to worry - you've seen 20 other movies like it in its time. The template: nerdy but affable underdog(s) suffer unrelenting ridicule by jocks in varsity letter jackets but ultimately have their comeuppance, usually stealing a smoking hot girlfriend or two in the process.
In the case of The Goonies, a band of awkward, socially outcast kids set off to find a buried treasure, narrowly averting almost certain death and outrunning, among others, a popular high school jock named Troy. Troy is one of the classic cinematic archetypes of the 1980s; the jock. He's good looking, rocks a period-relative badass Mustang convertible, and he's a total prick. All we can do from the moment Troy enters the frame is to wait with baited breath to see Troy lose and the Goonies win.
And in that end, back in 1985 when the underdogs had their day, (and their bag of jewels), and the final credits rolled and we called our parents for a ride home, we realized something fantastic: It's true, we weren't Troy. But for the first time, thanks to The Goonies, we no longer wanted to be Troy. It was okay to be us, thank you very much.
Cut to present day.
What happened to the better part of a generation that once walked out of their local theater rooting for the Mikeys and Chunks and Datas of the world? They've turned into Troys. Troys who can't accept the differences in others and condemn the things they don't understand. Finger-pointing, shit-talking Troys.
Ask yourself: with whom do you identify more these days, Troy or the Goonies? And if you're reading this and you happen to be an Internet shit-talker, could it be because you think I'm Troy? Because honest to God, I've always fancied myself a Goonie; the underdog who toppled over the narrow-minded naysayers and walked away with a treasure.
So maybe this whole thing is one big misunderstanding and it turns out we don't need to go down as a generation remembered as having spent the '00s wearing our asses like hats after all. Maybe it will turn out that we needed a little time to figure out that in the end we're all just a bunch of Goonies.
JM
crush request accepted05/29 by JM
Yo Pete-
I could have easily written this to you in an email, but you've been so cool to write positive things about me on your blog(s) that I want to respond in kind.
Here's using blogs for something other than pointing out boob jobs and slight limps.
-Ting, ting, ting-
You're one of the best eggs in the music industry, hands down. With as much talent as you have, I'd expect you'd have some eccentric ego, but from what I can tell you seem to have none. (That actually makes you more talented, by way of some crazy cosmic arithmetic.) Every time we get the chance to hang I'm inspired by your creativity. Your mind is like a stadium with the dome open... you have ZERO judgment when it comes to things that move you. When most people get the feeling they might like an idea, or a shirt, they run it through a series of filters; 'what should I think, given my personal attributes?' 'How does this read?' 'What would Kanye do?' You have what makes talented people successful for years and years - a brave sense of self and a completely authentic relationship with your tastes.
That's why I'll throw a guitar in the car and be there anytime you need me. It's a short list. (I'm lazy.)
Isn't it weird when you're alone in your hotel room and the ice in that bucket melts, shifting it all and making it sound like someone's hiding in your closet? That always gets me.
Sorry.
Point is, I think the world of you. And wish you all the happiness your artsy head will accept. Fame is just one big lesson in being a man, and you're doing a bang up job...
Best to you and your lovely wife...
Oh, and what's up, blogosphere. Have at it.
JM
Yo Pete-
I could have easily written this to you in an email, but you've been so cool to write positive things about me on your blog(s) that I want to respond in kind.
Here's using blogs for something other than pointing out boob jobs and slight limps.
-Ting, ting, ting-
You're one of the best eggs in the music industry, hands down. With as much talent as you have, I'd expect you'd have some eccentric ego, but from what I can tell you seem to have none. (That actually makes you more talented, by way of some crazy cosmic arithmetic.) Every time we get the chance to hang I'm inspired by your creativity. Your mind is like a stadium with the dome open... you have ZERO judgment when it comes to things that move you. When most people get the feeling they might like an idea, or a shirt, they run it through a series of filters; 'what should I think, given my personal attributes?' 'How does this read?' 'What would Kanye do?' You have what makes talented people successful for years and years - a brave sense of self and a completely authentic relationship with your tastes.
That's why I'll throw a guitar in the car and be there anytime you need me. It's a short list. (I'm lazy.)
Isn't it weird when you're alone in your hotel room and the ice in that bucket melts, shifting it all and making it sound like someone's hiding in your closet? That always gets me.
Sorry.
Point is, I think the world of you. And wish you all the happiness your artsy head will accept. Fame is just one big lesson in being a man, and you're doing a bang up job...
Best to you and your lovely wife...
Oh, and what's up, blogosphere. Have at it.
JM
happy birthday richard young05/17 by JM
To Richard Young, the creator and webmaster of mystupidmouth.com, the longest running JM fan-centric message board,
Happy Birthday, my friend. Allow me to both embarrass you and explain to the public at large as to why you're the topic of this blog.
In about the year 2000, (that's the past, you know,) Richard Young started a web site called mystupidmouth.com. He designed it to be a forum for fans to discuss all the goings on of a young upstart named John Mayer. (That's a fancy third-person way of saying ME.) Users could share pictures, links, concert reviews, musical esoterica, and anything JM related. It began as a way for Richard to spread the word about my music and allow other burgeoning listeners to communicate with one another.
Then something interesting happened; People started to know who I was as a function of common knowledge. In fact, as time went on, this knowledge became increasingly more common, sometimes dispensed by way of mass media, day-glo headlined supermarket checkout line messaging. Did Richard Young decide that his work was done?
Nope. Richard Young kept mystupidmouth.com going, all the while stressing the focus of the music over the lifestyle pieces. He still does to this day. I can't fathom why someone with as much energy and enthusiasm as Richard would continue to moderate his message board, but I think it has something to do with faith; ultimate faith that the 30 year old semi-household name he first saw as a lanky 22 year old nobody in an Atlanta folk club still has a story to tell.
So when Richard e-mailed me the bar he'd be at celebrating his 28th birthday, I had to drop by.
And Richard - when you wake up tomorrow morning and take a look at this picture of us and wish to yourself there was a better representation of how you really appear,
now you know what it feels like.
Cheers,
JM
To Richard Young, the creator and webmaster of mystupidmouth.com, the longest running JM fan-centric message board,
Happy Birthday, my friend. Allow me to both embarrass you and explain to the public at large as to why you're the topic of this blog.
In about the year 2000, (that's the past, you know,) Richard Young started a web site called mystupidmouth.com. He designed it to be a forum for fans to discuss all the goings on of a young upstart named John Mayer. (That's a fancy third-person way of saying ME.) Users could share pictures, links, concert reviews, musical esoterica, and anything JM related. It began as a way for Richard to spread the word about my music and allow other burgeoning listeners to communicate with one another.
Then something interesting happened; People started to know who I was as a function of common knowledge. In fact, as time went on, this knowledge became increasingly more common, sometimes dispensed by way of mass media, day-glo headlined supermarket checkout line messaging. Did Richard Young decide that his work was done?
Nope. Richard Young kept mystupidmouth.com going, all the while stressing the focus of the music over the lifestyle pieces. He still does to this day. I can't fathom why someone with as much energy and enthusiasm as Richard would continue to moderate his message board, but I think it has something to do with faith; ultimate faith that the 30 year old semi-household name he first saw as a lanky 22 year old nobody in an Atlanta folk club still has a story to tell.
So when Richard e-mailed me the bar he'd be at celebrating his 28th birthday, I had to drop by.
And Richard - when you wake up tomorrow morning and take a look at this picture of us and wish to yourself there was a better representation of how you really appear,
now you know what it feels like.
Cheers,
JM
tyftwd 5 - as promised!05/04 by JM
This is harder than I thought, releasing a work in progress like this. Usually these sorts of things never go further than my kitchen or my car, but it seems to me as the walls are down on all things digital and seeing as I've never gone wrong sharing music with people, I consider this an experiment. And a thank you.
I consider myself lucky for several reasons, but after walking back into my apartment after a week of writing and recording music, I'm most lucky that I have a craft to hold onto in my life. I can't fathom what it would be like to be in the public eye and not be able to pick up a guitar and remember who I am and what I do for a living. (That's not to knock anybody, silly press rabbits. I'm sure the other way is fun, too.)
And to answer the question, the record will come out when it's great. So who knows. See you around and thanks for playing.
Be Good To Each Other.
John
*NOTE - I originally posted a different song but it felt like a cop-out. This one is as unfinished a performance as I can ever post. Even the lyrics aren't set in stone. Have at it!
This is harder than I thought, releasing a work in progress like this. Usually these sorts of things never go further than my kitchen or my car, but it seems to me as the walls are down on all things digital and seeing as I've never gone wrong sharing music with people, I consider this an experiment. And a thank you.
I consider myself lucky for several reasons, but after walking back into my apartment after a week of writing and recording music, I'm most lucky that I have a craft to hold onto in my life. I can't fathom what it would be like to be in the public eye and not be able to pick up a guitar and remember who I am and what I do for a living. (That's not to knock anybody, silly press rabbits. I'm sure the other way is fun, too.)
And to answer the question, the record will come out when it's great. So who knows. See you around and thanks for playing.
Be Good To Each Other.
John
*NOTE - I originally posted a different song but it felt like a cop-out. This one is as unfinished a performance as I can ever post. Even the lyrics aren't set in stone. Have at it!
Previous Posts
- chicago.
- meet isaac
- apologies/humiliated
- summer 2008 is here
- desktop picture 1
- the goonies switcheroo
- crush request accepted
- happy birthday richard young
- "where the light is" trailer
- tyftwd 5 - as promised!
Blog Archive
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