John Mayer Thinks The Dead Will Have a Comeback

John Mayer spent most of 2012 off the road battling a serious throat condition. Though his condition prevented him from singing, Mayer has been jamming in the studio with his live band, which includes The Allman Brothers Band/Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell. He has also played guitar at a few classic rock events, including two guest spots with The Rolling Stones and a memorable appearance at the Love For Levon benefit where he soloed on The Grateful Dead’s “Tennessee Jed.”

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Mayer discusses his current infatuation with the Dead. He goes on to say

I’ve been listening to stuff and just falling in love with certain things. I’ve been listening to the Grateful Dead nonstop. Mark my words, the Grateful Dead are gonna make a comeback, because of how that music cleanses your palate. When everything is processed and quantized and gridded out – to hear “Tennessee Jed” played with that lope is a real palate-cleanser. They take their time, sometimes too much. This free expressive sort of spirit – I listen and I want to find a mix of that openness. I kind of want to go to that show, if it still existed. But I wish that there were tunes that I was more familiar with. I wish that I could be the singer. I wish I could have harmonies. And I wish that I could make it seven minutes instead of 13 minutes. Now I’ll get the opportunity to kind of try that.

Mayer has performed onstage with Phil Lesh, including at the Jammys in 2005. He also teased Phish’s “Stash” during one of his live shows.