John Mayer stopped by SiriusXM’s Grateful Dead channel, which is available for free all month, to share some of his favorite tracks and stories during a break in Dead & Company‘s ongoing Dead Forever residency at Las Vegas, NV’s Sphere.
“As you probably know, Grateful Dead Channel is free this month, and so to celebrate, because I know you love free stuff, I thought that I would run down nine of my favorite Grateful Dead tracks and in some cases a Grateful Dead Universe tracks by one of the band members,” Mayer said. “These are the songs that got me into the music, kept me into the music, and keep me really straight down the road of trying to play this music correctly night after night before I hit the stage, so you don’t know this, but now you do. There isn’t a night that goes by that I don’t listen to at least one of these tracks before I take the stage so that I can do my best at bringing you to your happy place.”
Introducing a “China/Rider” from 5/19/74, Mayer mused, “It’s one of these tracks where you can just move your attention around from instrument to instrument player to player and just discover something great if you kind of solo their part in your mind. It’s also one of these tracks that I play in the dressing room before I go on stage. You may see me in the final minutes before I go on stage walking around with my iPhone playing music. It’s probably gonna be this song because I get to center up with the exact spirit of the band and it’s recorded so well. Before I take the stage, I just like to last minute hear one more impression of Jerry’s playing and the bands playing before I go on stage so I can just get in that spirit, and this is one of those songs that will absolutely do it.”
John Mayer is Playing His Favorite Grateful Dead Tracks
[Video: SiriusXM’s Grateful Dead Channel]
Also among his selections was a memorable performance of “Scarlet/Fire” from 6/16/85, which he found to be “so moving and affecting” that he recalls exactly where he was when he first heard it.
“I was on the way to a girlfriend’s house on the corner of Outpost and Franklin,” he recounted. “I’m now moving my hands to draw the streets. That’s how important and impactful this song was. I remember exactly where I was, and it is a one-of-a-kind rendition of ‘Scarlet Begonias’ into ‘Fire on the Mountain’ because it’s almost a reggae dub version. It feels very DI, this recording, which means it feels like direct from the board and Jerry and the boys, if I may, sound as if they’re playing in tempo with Jerry’s delay pedal on his guitar, which is kind of the basis of dub music is that it’s playing off of a delay pedal. This is Space Age. I love this version. It is from 6/16/85 in Berkeley, I believe the Greek Theater. It’s ‘Scarlet’ into ‘Fire on the Mountain.'”
John Mayer Remembers Exactly Where He Was Listening to This Grateful Dead Track
[Video: SiriusXM’s Grateful Dead Channel]
Fans can tune in to hear John Mayer’s guest DJ session on SiriusXM’s Grateful Dead Channel (ch. 23) now through Sunday, April 13th. Click below to view the broadcast schedule, which also includes fan-picked performances spanning the Dead’s entire 60-year career, popular programs like Tales from the Golden Road (hosted by Gary Lambert and David Gans) and The Big Steve Hour (hosted by Big Steve Parish), exclusive content including a new Luke Wilson Guest DJ special, an encore broadcast of Grahame Lesh & Friends‘ recent Unbroken Chain Phil Lesh tribute at The Capitol Theatre, and more.
Free listening is available on inactive satellite radios (some older Sirius satellite radios may not be capable of receiving the free listening channels) as well as in the SiriusXM app and web player—no subscription needed.
Dead & Company are set to resume their 2025 Sphere residency with a three-night run on April 17th, 18th, and 19th. Find a list of upcoming dates at Dead Forever ticketing information here.
