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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 1:30 pm
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People are mistakenly putting Mayer in the same league as innovators and icons because there is no current equivalent. Musical quality has dropped so much, that Mayer is the closest thing to bridge the gap right now. And I say this being a self-admitted total Mayer fan.

It'd be naive to say that Mayer is already on the level of Hendrix and SRV. However, there is a middle ground. It is not either that Mayer is a god, or that he doesn't deserve to play a guitar; both views show a little ignorance in my personal opinion. I give the man some credit for keeping at least a little bit of the spirit alive by channeling his influences in his playing. There aren't too many guitar slingers on the main stage these days, and Mayer puts on a live show that helps bring what all that is about to an audience that might not have otherwise experienced it. Every day he is progressing and growing into his own style a bit more. He's not a full blown guitar god, and he has a lot of hype and gossip following him. But give him time, by no means is he old.

Another problem is that Mayer happens to be an artist whose skill on the guitar cannot be judged by his studio albums. Many people hear all his studio work where he practices restraint, and simply shrug, never hearing him live to know what people are buzzing about. He's much more of a live artist with extended jams, solos, improv, etc.

I think one day he'll be great. Not "changing music forever" great, but great.


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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 3:38 pm
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CAFeathers wrote:
I don't understand how so many people can put John Mayer in the same league as Jimi and SRV. Mayer will soon be forgotten, Jimi and SRV will be remembered forever.

Personally I really don't think there are too many guitarists that are in the same league with Jimi and SRV.



Yes, Mayer will be forgotten in a few years, unless he dies sooner than we think.


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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:37 pm
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What I don't understand is why everyone thinks Jimi and SRV own or created the classic Fender-y blues tone. Anyone in 1964 with a Strat and a '58 Deluxe cranked wide open could have had that tone. Mayer isn't a thief. That tone has been around since the 50's and it's there for anyone into the blues to use.

I'm wondering how many of you out there have a totally original tone, completely free of any previous influences? None of you. I say quit comparing him to others. He sounds the way he likes to sound. If you like it, cool. If not, buy someone elses music.

No, I'm not a Mayer fan. Don't have any of his cd's. Never went to a show of his. To me he's just another in a long line of guitar players with a strat and a tube amp. We're a dime a dozen.

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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:53 pm
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nkb2575 wrote:
Im at work here but I just wanted to kinda throw somthing out there... do you think that SRV and Jimmi Hendrix popularity may be somewhat contributed to their deaths early in thier career?


Of course their early deaths have contributed to their legend. It's entirely probable that Jimi would have faded into obscurity if he hadn't died. Alvin Lee anyone? He was a god in 1969, now who knows who he is? Leslie West? He was considered one of the greats in 1969, no one knows who he is now. The same could have easily happened to Jimi also. Times and tastes change and very rarely do artist make the transition. They become icons of their era and fall by the wayside as a new generation finds their own heros.

Jimi was leaning towards jazz anyway. He may have ended up in one of those fusion rock bands of the 70's. Up against the likes of Al Dimeola, John McLaughlin or Pat Metheny, he wouldn't have measured up for long.

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Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 12:15 pm
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I am and have been a John Mayer fan for a long time now. I Love his music his Lyrics are great and Guitar playing live is amazing. He is not the first one to play his style of music or the last but his music today is different from what every other artist is putting out right now. There are very few bands or artists out there right now that are writing their own music and playing their own guitar solos. I dont know how many concerts I have been to where the front man is just strumming along while the guitarist is off to the side shredding away. Artists like Mayer are few and far between these days and I think it is great that he is getting the following that he is.


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Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 12:57 pm
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I tend to agree that Mayer is not a Hendrix or a SRV. I do want to point out that if Mayer gets somebody into the guitar and gets people turned on to Hendrix and SRV, then it is worth it. People have to start somewhere. Mayer is a good starting point.


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Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:40 pm
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Some guitar players are great guitar players. They're just flat out awesome, note-perfect musicians, who create in their humble blues guitar picking truly beautiful, always perfect music. BB King, Cray, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Beck, Santana, SRV are these types of artists. They record almost live and sound better than a thousand overdubs. They play extremely well live, always perform exceptionally well, and compose notable songs. I've got to defend Clapton. I disagree with the view Clapton went soft. He always produced a variety of songs, from hard to ballad. Arguably the best song he ever wrote is Tear In Heaven in the 1990s. His Riding With The King with BB King is a tremendous treat of virtuoso guitar from both men. He's just come out with a collaboration with JJ Cale that's very good. Another live album is coming. Is his composing Lennon-McCartney level? It's slower. Great songs come from EC but not every day. On the other hand, Lennon-McCartney was too unstable to last and EC is still doing it.

There's another kind of great guiltar player. It's the creativity. Hendrix is there, with Jimmy Page, select Buckingham and others. The performance is not always spot-on. The precision in playing isn't the same. A lot of production is used. These players are equally as great; you can't rank. It's music.


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Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 1:31 pm
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CAFeathers wrote:
I don't understand how so many people can put John Mayer in the same league as Jimi and SRV. Mayer will soon be forgotten, Jimi and SRV will be remembered forever.

Personally I really don't think there are too many guitarists that are in the same league with Jimi and SRV.


Thank you Chet, finally some-one that agrees with me :p

Wooohhoooooo finally reached two-hundred :p

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Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 2:30 pm
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Telenelly wrote:
CAFeathers wrote:
I don't understand how so many people can put John Mayer in the same league as Jimi and SRV. Mayer will soon be forgotten, Jimi and SRV will be remembered forever.

Personally I really don't think there are too many guitarists that are in the same league with Jimi and SRV.


Thank you Chet, finally some-one that agrees with me :p

Wooohhoooooo finally reached two-hundred :p
Make that 2 people that agree with you.


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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:00 pm
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Man o man, John Mayer couldn't pack Jimi's lunch. Same for SRV. I think we are trying hard to invent a modern day guitar god, and for some reason Mayer is the choice. Guitar gods happen from god given talent and lots of hard work. I'm not saying Mayer hasn't worked hard, but he's also a packaged and promoted entity. In my humble opinion, he's a good enough guitar player (and a better songwriter), but not in the league of SRV, Jimi, Knopfler, Eddie, Buchanan, Gibbons. When Mayer makes you cry tears of joy at a live show, then he can enter the house of guitar gods.

Now, you young 'uns, don't get upset. This is just my opinion!

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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:03 pm
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CAFeathers wrote:
I don't understand how so many people can put John Mayer in the same league as Jimi and SRV. Mayer will soon be forgotten, Jimi and SRV will be remembered forever.

Personally I really don't think there are too many guitarists that are in the same league with Jimi and SRV.


I doubt he'll "soon be forgotten", but will anyone be listening to him in a hundred years? I doubt it. Will people still listen to SRV, Jimi and EC? Definitely.


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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 1:06 pm
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Well I have to say that even as a huge John Mayer fan I will admit he is not on the same level as all the "Guitar Gods" but as far as main stream artists there is no one closer to them than Mayer out right now. He is not putting out the same kind of Music as everyone else out there. He is going in a different direction and bringing a great following with him.


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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 1:50 pm
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stevestrat wrote:
Well I have to say that even as a huge John Mayer fan I will admit he is not on the same level as all the "Guitar Gods" but as far as main stream artists there is no one closer to them than Mayer out right now. He is not putting out the same kind of Music as everyone else out there. He is going in a different direction and bringing a great following with him.


Yup. I'm a big JM fan but he's not a legend and likely never will be. If he had been making music in the 60's and 70's, then definitely. Clapton and Jimi are legends because they introduced a unique style to the mainstream.


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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 2:14 pm
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I like John Mayer. I like his songs and I like his guitar playing. I think it's awesome that Clapton had some lunch or something with him and told him BB had a meal with Eric and told him he was in line to carry it on and now Eric was having that meal with John. One thing I really like about that is John Mayer mentioned it, honoring both BB and Eric Clapton. Sure, John Mayer's not SRV, or Hendrix. He's not BB. He's not Eric Clapton. He's John Mayer. He's the best blues guitar player in mainstream popular music now, he's becoming an ambassador to the blues, and he's continuing to grow as a musician and a writer. Since I'm not young and have had plenty of setbacks including the chemosuite relic treatment a few years ago, BB, Cray, Buddy Guy and Eric Clapton are inspirations because they're survivors. They don't quit. They keep going and getting better as blues artists even if they slow down a bit. Mayer, by far the youngest, has chosen to go that road and if he'll stay with it and make it his own he can do a lot. SRV was a blues guitar player in Texas for many, many years in his brother's shadow before he burst on the scene. Hendrix was a blues guitar player all around the south for many years before The Experience hit Monterey in 1967. Mayer's early in his career, playing hard, writing well, emphasizing the blues, moving in the right direction. Nobody knows what he'll do or how far he can go. With all we've learned since 1970, he'll be with us for a while and he'll be able to create and play through a long career. I hope he'll hit the heights.

Sure, he's gotten plenty of hype because nobody can play anymore. At least he can play.


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Post subject: Re: Hendrix to SRV to Mayer
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 2:22 pm
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Dude I completely agree with you; although I do prefer Hendrix over SRV a little bit. But I do agree that John Mayer is an extremely creative and talented musician. And I also agree with you that John Mayer and SRV did create their own genre of rock without taking things from Hendrix.


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