*I’m a little late this week.

So…um….this happened:

Here’s what John put on his blog:

Because this blog is meant to be an archive of sorts, here’s what the press had to say (I’ve posted a small sample of this before)

Hollywire — With John’s calming voice singing lyrics like “It sucks to be honest/ And it hurts to be real/ But it’s nice to make some love that I can finally feel,” it’s kind of hard not to fall in love, right? Plus, the music itself it’s pretty fantastic! It’s a big win in our book and we can’t wait to his new album to drop!

Taste of Country — Though the ‘Heartbreak Warfare’ singer hasn’t quite gone country, he just released a clip from his upcoming single ‘Shadow Days,’ and we detect a bit of a twang in there…. the more countrified feel.

KO Video — the stripped-down, country-tinged “Shadow Days.”

Bangstyle — melt-your-face-off croon…The track, called “Shadow Days,” emanates the familiar warmth of Mayer’s infamous soulful voice…Pure gold.

Hollywood Reporter — new country-infused single below.

Hollywood.com — And from the sounds of it, his voice is back and better than ever.

Opposing Views — Mayer is now back with his voice sounding as wonderful as always… it definitely references that he is ready for a comeback! The song has a slight country feel to it, but it definitely sounds like “John Mayer style.”

PopCrush — ‘Shadow Days’ deals with matters of the heart. A midtempo track with pedal steel accents befitting his cowboy makeover,

PerezHilton — It’s definitely more of this rockabilly style than his pop-y jams, but it’s got a very pretty tone to it! We like!

Huffington Post — The song sounds like typical Mayer, with a soothing vocal track over the familiar blend of guitar and drums that his fans have come to love over the course of his career.

NeonLimeLite — an almost country-leaning tune titled “Shadow Days”

Billboard — With an emphasis on acoustic guitars and lap steel, the song has a country feel, while the lyrics address a hopeful comeback

International Business News — another personal, confessional album

Entertainment Weekly — he comes across as contrite (he opens with the line, “Well I ain’t no troublemaker/ And I never meant her harm”) and ready to put his past behind him (it closes with “My shadow days are over”).

Rolling Stone — contemplative, optimistic “Shadow Days” is any indication, Mayer’s upcoming album, Born and Raised, will be a happy one.

Whew…that’s a lot!

IN OTHER NEWS…

I think the release of new tour dates is not far away. Ticketmaster had a page up for a short time that listed an onsale date (3/2) for an April 18th show in Providence, RI. I can’t find it again now, but hopefully more dates are on their way soon.

IN BLOG NEWS…

I continue to be blown away by your kind words and comments. I’ll keep trying to provide you with John Mayer content. I’m thinking soon, I’ll be swamped. Thanks!
 

I reached 150 followers today and had a post that had over 100 likes/reblogs. I know it isn’t much, but it sure made my day. Thanks to everyone who has been so positive!

I’m doing two weeks at once to make up for the fact that I didn’t do this last week. It’s just been nuts around here. I’ve had the worst sinus infection ever and my dachshund had neck surgery after he slipped a disc.

I’m looking forward to a time when these weekly roundups will be full of Mayer news. I don’t think we have that long to wait. For now, here are the few mentions…

February 1st

Mashable debuted the Tony Bennett / John Mayer music video taken from the special aired on PBS.

US Weekly reported that John was seen enjoyed a meal at Cafe Montana in Santa Monica.

Mick Management Tweeted the following to someone asking for JM news now that it is February:

February 8

There’s a concert to win tickets to one of John’s shows in Oklahoma.

February 11

In its write-up of the Paul McCartney MusicCares event, we learned this about Don Was…

” Producer Don Was, still getting adjusted to his role as the new president of Blue Note was on hand, having just finished the mix of a track for a new John Mayer album.”

FROM THE ARCHIVES

I thought that if I could, I’d provide an audio file from this week in Mayer History. 

Oklahoma City, February 3, 2007

What else would you like to see in these weekly roundup posts?

Not a lot going on this week. That’s okay, though. I get the sense that soon we’ll be drowning in John news. I can’t wait!

This Week

January 23rd

Tickets for John’s two shows in Thackerville, Oklahoma went on sale. How did you do? I’ll be attending these shows as Thackerville is only about 5 hours north of me. I’ve been to one show before at the Winstar. It isn’t the best venue in the world, but I’m excited because it appears that these two shows will serve as warm-ups for the debut of Born and Raised at South by Southwest. I’m so interested to hear these songs in their final form and to see how John’s stage show has evolved to incorporate his new musical directions.

January 24th

Martin Guitars share this amazing video of John’s appearance at NAMM last week.

In the news…John allowed himself to be bumped out of the headlining slot at Jazzfest to make way for Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen decided last minute to attend the festival and organizers had to work overtime to make this all work.

The Week in Tweets

And in response to a question about when we’d hear details on John’s new album and tour…

Blog News

I hit over 100 followers this week. Thanks to everyone who has been so encouraging.

I’ve created an archive of all of these weekly MayerMatters posts (all two of them) as well as one to my photos. They are always available on my blog’s main page.

See you next week!

My goal with this blog is to archive news/reviews and other goodies on a weeky basis. This will serve as a sort of visual calendar of all things Mayer.

On a personal note, I started this blog a week ago. I’ve been blown away at my newlist of followers and the kind words about my photography. Thank you so much for the warm welcome.

This Week

January 17th

John posted that he was “back”. Awesome good news, right?

January  18th

Appearance at NAMM Show, Anaheim, California to promote a new signature model Martin guitar.

Photos
Information from Martin about the 00-45SC John Mayer
Press
John Mayer, Brian Wilson Strum, Chat (OC Register)
John Mayer Says New Album will have ‘Organic, Cowboy Guitar Sounds’ (Rolling Stone)
John Mayer Back in the Limelite, Strumming New Guitar (Reuters)

Video

Also on January 18th

Columbia Records got everyone excited by tweeting that they’d have major artist album news on January 18th.  Turns out it was Bruce Springsteen

Quote of the Week

“What would it sound like if I wrote an album of cowboy songs on this guitar under the stars ?”

Favorite Tumblr Photo of the Week
From Charles Epting Rock Photography

Welcome to my new John Mayer Tumblr. I know there are a lot of us fans out here blogging away. I’m really appreciative of how well you have been receiving my photos.  I want to keep this blog fresh and fun without stepping on any toes.

That being said, I’m not sure exactly what you all are looking to see come across your dashboard. So far, I’ve only posted photos.

What else would you like to see? Audio files? More photos? Photo edits? News? Reviews?

Please put your suggestions in my “ASK” box. I really value your insight and feedback.

Thanks!