Attn: John Mayer & DMB Fans - Page 4

ME@VT · #46 03-08-2003, 12:30 PM

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones is a must see show for ANYONE! I saw them here in Salem, FRONT and CENTER, with Bela and Wooten looking down on my the entire show. Definitely one I will not forget.

IMHO this is one of the most talented bands out there.

Devon

ziggy · #47 03-08-2003, 04:31 PM

John Mayer and DMB = CHEESY GARBAGE!

Muggy · #48 03-08-2003, 05:21 PM

Ziggy=Bard

kcollins · #49 03-09-2003, 12:32 AM

These comparisons seem inevitable. Dave Mathews must be the most influential guitarist of the last decade. And now anyone who comes along who has been inspired by DM will be compared to him. I guess it's the way of the world. My take is as follows:

Mayer = better guitarist, better voice
DM = far superior songwriter and more mature musician - I can't see Mayer leading a band at this point

The next to go through this process will be Jason Mraz. I heard him for the first time this past week on the NYC NPR outlet. It wa a live interview / studio performance. This kid can play and his songwriting skills are very well-developed as well. I think he will be a big hit.

fooshkee · #50 03-09-2003, 10:39 PM

jason mraz rocks... i've been a fan since late summer last year... he puts on an awesome live show... saw him in a 150 person club in philly in jan... really fun... he's gonna blow up

ME@VT · #51 03-10-2003, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Ziggy=Bard

Well said.

Jason Mraz... I have heard about this guy a lot lately. I think there was an article about him in the last issue of Acoustic Guitar World that covered his influences and how he got started playing... if it is the same guy, he has an cool story. Coffee shop acoustic sets for a few years, finally got some recognition, and a little later he was opening for Matthews. Makes me want to get over my stage fright so I can follow in his foot steps!

Devon

land_b · #52 03-10-2003, 10:11 AM

Personally I like both John Mayer and DMB, but I don't see how DMB is a major influence on John Mayer's music.

I really don't see how Dave Mathews is seen as an influental guitarist either. Who did he influence that is now popular? Frankly I like his music, but the guitar playing is not exactly amazing. I don't think his playing ever broke new ground or even pushed the limits of his own ability.

Being a great songwriter is totally different from being a great guitarist. You can't say that one makes you the other. DMB has a unique sound as a band, but that doesn't make him a modern day Eddie Van Halen.

ME@VT · #53 03-10-2003, 11:42 AM

Quote:

I really don't see how Dave Mathews is seen as an influental guitarist either.

At the time that Dave came out there was not many bands out there that you could remove everyone in the band but the guitarist/vocalist and have him get a huge crowd going nuts with just a voice, an acoustic, and some good lyrics. Furthermore, his music wasn't just strumming chords. He started using some unique chords that weren't being used in the main stream G-D-C chord progressions songs, and though his earlier guitar work was definitely not as speedy as Eddie Van Halen's, it is still really good stuff.

U2 is to the 80's as Dave is to the 90's.

Devon

Cat Daddy · #54 03-10-2003, 11:48 AM

I like John Mayer, DMB, and corndogs.

land_b · #55 03-10-2003, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ME@VT

U2 is to the 80's as Dave is to the 90's.

Agreed, but U2 isn't a guitarist. My point is not about if DMB had any influence on other bands or the sounds that new bands would produce. My point is that as a "guitarist" I don't think you could really point to other "guitarists" and say, "that guy's style is just like Dave Mathews. Dave must be the biggest influence that he had when learning."

That is what makes someone and influential guitarist in my mind. There are lots of great bands from every genre and every decade in recent history, but that is not a qualifier to make them all influential in a particular instrument for an entire movement in music.

chet · #56 03-10-2003, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by land_b
Personally I like both John Mayer and DMB, but I don't see how DMB is a major influence on John Mayer's music.

John Mayer has said that DMB is a big influence, and when he heard Satellite, he freaked out and had to figure out how to play it. He was interviewed in Accoustic Guitar World in the last year.

DaveM · #57 03-10-2003, 02:20 PM

Quote:

John Mayer and DMB = CHEESY GARBAGE!

You, sir, are an idiot!

- Dave

Cat Daddy · #58 03-10-2003, 03:44 PM

His head is round,
and his nose is big
You can find Sunday mornings
where the other comics is

And when he listens to
a guitar man play
something too hard for him
he likes to say....

Cheesy garbage, Cheesy garbage, hey hey hey
Cheesy garbage, Cheesy garbage what d'ya say
next time please make your songs kinda' easy
Your hands move so fast, It makes me really queasy

(feel free to add a verse or two, may be a bridge)

ME@VT · #59 03-10-2003, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Agreed, but U2 isn't a guitarist. My point is not about if DMB had any influence on other bands or the sounds that new bands would produce. My point is that as a "guitarist" I don't think you could really point to other "guitarists" and say, "that guy's style is just like Dave Mathews. Dave must be the biggest influence that he had when learning."

I gotcha now.

I wasn't arguing that Dave was Johns biggest influence. If I had choose who that was I would definitely say SRV. John was influenced by Dave... he isn't trying to copy him, but he was influenced.

I am saying that Dave, though he may not be the biggest influences on all of the musicians in the last decade, his style of playing has been extremely influential on the direction of music made by acoustic based groups since he has been around.

Devon

cpmusic · #60 03-10-2003, 04:40 PM

I recently saw about 15-20 minutes of the Mayer DVD, and I was unimpressed. Mayer jumps around and sweats up one heck of a storm, but I found his songs to be forgettable stream-of-consciousness riffs, and his singing and guitar playing about 90% style and 10% substance.

If you want energy and talent, there are dozens of names to choose from just among flatpickers, like Doyle Dykes, Dan Crary, Beppe Gambetta, etc. Go to http://www.thunderation.com/artists/Gambetta&Crary/ and check out the sound sample for "Mozart in Hell," and you'll see what I mean.

Among singer-songriters, my favorite still is Steve Goodman, who could tear up the joint in folk, rock, country, blues and jazz, all within a single set. There's also Martin Simpson, Leo Kottke (not always a singer, but what the heck), Pat Donohue, David Wilcox, Patty Larkin, Bruce Cockburn, Paul Simon (often overlooked as a guitarist), Rory Block, Ricky Skaggs, and many others who aren't coming to mind right now. The list is very long.