By CFJCToday

John Mayer: Early fame “made a monster out of me.”

Nov 9, 2018 | 5:30 AM

John Mayer is moving on and getting over his old reputation and he hopes his fans do as well. In a new cover story with Billboard, the singer reveals he and his pals blew up a Winnebago in Montana last year to celebrate his 40th birthday.

It was all part of a “dinner theater-type excursion” in which the group of friends armed with paintball guns pretended to chase some “bad guys” to their hideout. The vintage Winnebago “hideout” was loaded with real explosives, and John fired an actual 50-caliber rifle into it for the fiery grand finale.

It was John’s rebellious way of entering a new decade, but the now 41-year-old tells says he’s finally coming to terms with his age. “I probably had a run in my life where I wasn’t aware that there was anything I couldn’t have. And it made a monster out of me,” he says. “And there’s something very freeing about you can’t. And that’s about the right age in your life where you go, ‘Yeah, you can’t.’”

Acknowledging his controversial reputation, the musician says he has changed over the years – even though not everyone has necessarily adjusted their opinions of him yet.

“Some people still say, ‘That guy’s a dick,’ ” Mayer said. “And I go, ‘Well, any of that data you’re working off of is really old.’ I mean, I can tell you for sure that I haven’t been a dick in many years. That’s a really outdated take.”

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: A healthier Kamloops starts with financial empowerment

15h ago

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Strengthening primary care access for a growing British Columbia

20h ago

Question of the Week

After next Monday's by-elections, do you believe the federal Liberals will have a majority government?

Apr 06, 2026

“I get rejected a lot since I became PR poison for people,” he admitted, explaining why he’s been single since splitting from Katy Perry four years ago. “I really have to make a direct connection with somebody … I don’t think that people are into the idea of, ‘Hey, I snagged Mayer.’ “

Mayer, who also tours with Dead & Company and collaborates with comedian Dave Chappelle for their Controlled Danger shows, went on to say that it’s actually “very freeing” to be in a more mature place in his life.

Meanwhile, John is about to release a new single, “I Guess I Just Feel Like,” but don’t expect a full-length album any time soon – mainly because the world is changing too fast, he says. “The world is changing every four weeks. Three weeks, probably,” he says. “So if you’re not putting a song out within a month of you writing it, you’re probably late to your own party of how you saw the world.”

Mayer debuted “I Guess I Just Feel Like” on the iHeartRadio Theater Stage in Los Angeles last month. He had only finished writing backstage at the venue.

CHECK IT OUT

Full Story: Billboard

Mayer’s “I Guess I Just Feel Like”:

by CFJCToday

Click here to report an error or typo in this article

John Mayer: Early fame “made a monster out of me.”

Our Community