John Mayer said he loves '80s music.
"Whatever was on the radio and TV was what I got into," said the 25-year-old singer/songwriter during a telephone interview from New York. "That stuff was really good. I mean with music from (Michael Jackson's) 'Thriller,' Genesis, Sting and the Police, you can't go wrong.
"Those were the musical graduating class of 1983. And while there is some '90s music that sounds good, it was the '80s music that helped me develop a love for melody and arrangement."
While Mayer cut his teeth on '80s music, it was the late guitar heroes Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix that sparked his interest in playing the guitar. "I originally wanted to be an instrumentalist," Mayer said. "But then I thought about putting both of the things I liked together."
Mayer has always had his eye on making records and going on tour. "That's what I had planned for myself." He had some hard times in high school and considered dropping out to pursue his music, but he stuck with it, graduated and landed a partial scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. "My first day of class, the professor went around the room and asked what our goals were. I told him, record and tour."
Although Mayer left college, he managed to achieve his goal. "It's been about creating and reciting the creation that kept me going. And that's why I'm where I am today."
Last year, Mayer won a Grammy for male pop vocalist. It was during that broadcast that he was part of a singer/songwriter segment performance that included Vanessa Carlton, James Taylor and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. "That was fun. I liked doing that."
One of the reasons Mayer has connected with his fans is because his songs are written from the heart. "I think of albums being learning experiences. The songs on them are emotional autobiographies. They are my thoughts coming to life. I'm not saying I've experienced everything I write about. I'm just saying that I write about what I think about."
When he was making his most recent album, "Heavier Things," Mayer knew what he wanted, thanks to his experience during the creation of his 2001 breakthrough album "Room for Squares" (which featured the hit "Your Body's a Wonderland.") "Heavier Things" hit No. 1 and has been on the Billboard Top 200 for 20 weeks.
Shortly afterward, Mayer's record company, Columbia, released a live album, "Any Given Thursday." "Room for Squares" sold more than 3 million copies, making it a triple-platinum album. "Any Given Thursday," which featured a live version of "Your Body's a Wonderland," ranked in at platinum. And "Heavier Things" has also been certified a platinum album.
Mayer doesn't believe he will stop recording any time soon. "I know what my next album is going to sound like," he said with a laugh. "Each time I make albums, I learn so much. It's like an album equals a chapter in the recording book. I know what the routine is, and I know how to weather the storm when approaching a new project but still stay the same.
"I think the thing that would throw the new project in disarray would be if I changed my mind-set of what I'm doing. And changed who I am. But I don't think that will happen."
If you go
What: John Mayer, Maroon 5
Where: USANA Amphitheatre
When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
How much: $30.50-$42.50
Phone: 467-8499 or 1-800-888-8499
E-mail: scott@desnews.com