On a sunny Monday afternoon, John Mayer, the iconic guitar player, prolific songwriter, and seven-time GRAMMY award-winning artist, attracted lines of people wrapping around each corner of USC’s Bovard Auditorium.
The event was moderated by the newest faculty member of the USC Thornton School of Music, Greg Phillinganes, who is one of the world’s most legendary keyboard artists. The Detroit native began his professional career as part of the backing band Wonderlove, with the legendary Stevie Wonder, and since then, played with the greatest musical legends, including Quincy Jones, Dionne Warwick, Herbie Hancock and Michael Jackson.
In collaboration with USC’s Visions and Voices, the event provided an opportunity for students and faculty members to listen to an intimate conversation between both musicians, discussing stories from their careers, followed by a musical master class that revealed Mayer’s creative process.
Mayer revealed that he freely takes inspiration from genres such as the blues and country, then blends them all together.
When Mayer asked Greg Phillinganes about missed opportunities, Phillinganes revealed that he always wanted to meet the Motown icon Marvin Gaye, and had the opportunity to play with the jazz legend Miles Davis but declined out of fear of failure. While Mayer doesn’t cite a specific regret of his own, they both reflected on how fear can stop artists from taking chances.
When Phillinganes asked Mayer about his first record, Mayer said he was never thinking about making a “hit song.” Labels told him his style wasn’t “hot right now” and suggested putting him on Windham Hill Records (which he jokingly described as “the Yankee Candle” of record labels). Mayer wasn’t driven by money or fame, but rather from his need to make a statement and desire to be understood. Mayer recalls ghosting credit card company calls and trying to buy equipment like an SP-202 sampler and a Roland VS-840 on credit to build a makeshift studio in his bedroom.
Mayer argued that the industry needs to redefine what a “hit” song means. Addressing all musicians in the auditorium, Mayer urged them to not chase a “hit,” and instead make important songs, or songs that’ll last over 50 years.
Mayer doesn’t chase what’s cool because trends shift instantly, and instead focuses on his craft. Even when they make a song that becomes a hit, Mayer and Phillinganes shared that it’s nearly impossible to predict which song will be popular when you’re constantly focused on making music that feels authentic.
Mayer shared that now, with the onset of social media and streaming, trends make it hard to carve out creative spaces to settle in and stressed the importance of craft.
After making hits “Your Body Is a Wonderland” and “Daughters” early in his career, he felt trapped (“triangulated” in his own words) as record labels and the public started to define his artistry as coffee shop pop or a similar degrading label.
Rather than give in to that identity, Mayer assembled a blues trio with Steve Jordan and Pino Paladino. Mayer recalls his label telling him it would end his career, but he disagreed and trusted himself, again driven by his underlying yearning to be understood. In his experience, playing with Jordan and Pino gave him what he described as being lifted from “gen pop” into “advanced placement.”
Going out on the road, writing songs like “Vultures” led directly to his acclaimed album “Continuum,” an album that Mayer thinks finally started to make people understand who he was.
Mayer’s point is that no single song will ever fully communicate who you are as an artist. He’s constantly chasing the high of songwriting, steering toward a more honest version of himself.
Mayer gave students a look into two songwriting approaches. One is reference-based writing, where you “chop” existing tracks and sounds finely enough so your references are transformed beyond obvious inspiration, giving emotional safety because you already know that structure works. The other is creative gambling, which is writing without a pre-existing “safety net.” He prefers the gamble, accepting the risk of failure in exchange for originality and the chance to feel a musical high. To Mayer, unpredictability is the point.
After the long conversation, Mayer and Phillinganes showcased their technical expertise, playing on the piano and guitars set up on stage. They invited Thornton student Jaden Lehman, a performance in popular music major, to play Mayer’s “Slow Dancing In a Burning Room” alongside them, and continued playing to close out the night with lessons on song structure, speaking about musical structures like asymmetry.
Mayer referenced Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” 4 (f major) to 5 (g major) chord progression and never goes to the 1 (c major), keeping the listener’s ear constantly anticipating resolution. Both Mayer and Phillinganes encouraged students to listen actively and count every choice a songwriter makes.
Mayer closed with a reflection on pianist Bill Evans, whom he called “one of the greatest musicians who ever lived” because of his intentionality. Mayer and Phillinganes left the afternoon on a high note by playing the intro to Mayer’s “Gravity,” giving USC students an evening to remember.