JohnMayer

Enthusiasm is contagious and that's why songwriters with a genuine, obvious passion for their craft can't help but attract an audience. John Mayer has earned a legion of devoted fans in and around his adopted hometown of Atlanta, where he moved in 1998 after a stint at Boston's Berklee College of Music. His creative songwriting and warm stage presence establish him as a formidable musical force, and the smoky swagger of his voice at once evokes Sting, Dave Matthews and Jakob Dylan. Mayer grew up in Connecticut listening to pop radio until, at age 13, he discovered blues music when a neighbor gave him a Stevie Ray Vaughan tape. Mayer picked up a guitar, and within two years he was performing at local blues bars stunning audiences with his mature playing. But he soon realized that the world of guitar virtuosity was not for him. "There's this really distracting glory in wanting to be the best guitar player because all that really is, is copying somebody, seeing who can play 'Sky Is Crying' better than the next guy," Mayer says. "I wanted to be listenable and play tunes that other people could play but not the way I play them." Mayer dedicated himself to developing his songwriting skills, toning down the guitar pyrotechnics in favor of memorable melodies and distinctive rhythmic textures. At 19 he enrolled at Berklee but realized in a matter of months that he was more interested in playing music than studying it. "It was a great learning experience, but not because of class," he laughs. A friend from Atlanta convinced him to head south, and Mayer soon became a regular at such Atlanta songwriters' nightspots as Eddie's Attic. In 1999 he released Inside Wants Out, an album consisting mostly of solo acoustic renditions of his energetic, earnest songs, as well as several tracks recorded with a full band.