Someday I'll Fly
Someday I'll Fly tells the story of singer/songwriter John Mayer as told in Mayer's own words. Through fan footage, archived interviews, and personal photographs, the Connecticut native recounts his journey to stardom, including his successes and setbacks, in this autobiographical rock documentary.
Significantly influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mayer developed a love of blues and rock music at an early age. He began taking guitar lessons and formed his first band as a teenager. Using the Internet as a distribution tool, Mayer self-released his debut EP "Inside Wants Out" in 1999. While many musicians at the time were decrying websites like Napster, Mayer saw file-sharing technology as an opportunity and chose to embrace it as a means of building his fan base.
In 2000 he moved to New York City and recorded the album "Room for Squares" which was initially released online before getting a traditional release. "Room for Squares" included his hit single "Your Body Is a Wonderland" and went on to sell over one billion copies, propelling Mayer to stardom and earning him his first Grammy win in the "Male Pop Vocalist" category.
Eager to defy being confined to a specific genre, Mayer wanted to steer away from pop and lean more heavily on his blues and rock influences. He formed the John Mayer Trio in 2005 with Pino Palladino and Steve Jordan, two sessions musicians he'd worked with previously. Jordan produced Mayer's album "Continuum" which was an effort to combine his pop style with a more traditional blues sound.
While the film doesn't dwell too much on the gossip column aspect of Mayer's career, he does address the fact that his celebrity status placed him at the center of a controversy over racially charged comments made in interviews with Playboy and Rolling Stone magazines. The fallout from the negative publicity made him a tabloid favorite and caused him to retreat from the limelight to focus on new recordings. Mayer continued to face obstacles in the form of health problems that threatened his ability to sing, forcing a two-year hiatus in which he focused on his writing and guitar-playing before returning to the stage as a vocalist.
Centered mostly on his career and professional accomplishments, Someday I'll Fly strips away the typical gossip surrounding Mayer to provide an intimate look at the life and career of a lauded musician.
Mayer is the same age as my daughter and I am 3 months older than SRV so my view and opinion can be better understood. John Mayer is a guitar technician, nothing wrong with his skill. He is bland in his speaking here. Most valuable information younger persons can glean here is the many Jimi Hendrix riffs he copies. I saw Jimi 6/29/1969 and already a fan I was completely in awe of him. Many guitar players have been compared and many have claimed a superiority to Hendrix but that cannot ever be true. Jimi Hendrix was the master of electric rock guitar. Stevie was very good and had some of Jimi's work nailed ...almost but I can hear the difference in a couple seconds. My main point is that Jimi cannot be surpassed or equaled due to the fact he created the sound that one must copy to succeed, must copy is the key. I speak of rock music which features many skilled players all of which have tried once at least to get one of Jimi's compositions down. The sound and style did not exist prior to Jimi. Listen to music that was aired prior to Jimi's first release and nothing was even similar.
Sadly Jimi's legacy is being ruined by the woman who lies about her relationship to Jimi which is none but she managed to con Jimi's drunken fool of a father and the courts and now controls his estate. She is ignorant as can be about Jimi so steer clear. If you are a fan of John Mayer remember most of his stuff is ordinary and his electric rock/blues is inspired by the greatest Fender Stratocaster playing force named Jimi. Jimi created the world of rock music you live in, nobody else can claim that fact. Never forget Jimi.
'Your Body Is A Wonderland' sold a billion copies? Uh, I don't think so! It went platinum in the U.S. (certified two million copies sold for singles) and half of that in the rest of the world, so three million tops. John Mayer - great guitar player (though he's rarely mentioned as such). His peers know it and consider him one of the most underrated players in today's music scene.
by far the best of this time in space, truly an artist of music.
Eastwood Allen's talent is amazing. Oh, yeah, and John Mayer is pretty cool, too. I never really listened to his music, but this documentary changed that.
can I have the transcript of the movie ?
Not a Fan; not going to be. A self-absorbed suburban Poser, and a Total Tool. No thanks.
Agree
It's obvious you've never played, produced or written music have you? If you had then you would know what an unbelievably talented man John Mayer is. Legends like Eric Clapton, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy and many more don't heap praise on people with no talent. I've been playing music for over forty years and I can only wish that I had one fifth the talent this man has.
John is so misunderstood by the public views. Im in love with his music and this documentary just proven how great John Mayer is.
I thoroughly enjoyed this doc immensely! Watching someone's creative process is fascinating to me, and John Mayer's process was ever evolving, always with such a drive to write the words that expressed him at a time and place. I'm gonna look up his latest 'Paradise Valley' as I like where he seems to be going lately. IMHO, he really is a great talent of our times. Cheers!
I love John Mayer's music. Having said that this doc gave me a picture that the guy is a sweetheart but it's all about "me, me, me, me, me..." to infinity".
Phenomenal doc. Allen has put together the fine stitches of an amazing story that was left untold until this release. The detail is incredible, what a testament to documentary making.
he's so talented it's really incredible.
Even if you are not a fan of JM, you gotta watch this doc just to check out the talent that is Eastwood Allen! Amazing work!
Watching this and I'm like damn, can't sing, why not do an instrumental project and not name it after yourself?
yea, i kinda feel the same as the guys below. not my kind of guy. i liked a couple of his songs early on, but the rest i can do with out, to each his own huh///
I have listened to John Mayer for a while and liked his music, but after watching some of this documentary, I went out and bought a couple of his albums. Really great music.
Great doc !!
John Mayer is a heckuva talent and I enjoy the music from his earlier albums, Continuum being a favorite. I like the blues, but he does pop in an interesting way. I'm not familiar with his work after that, and based on what I heard on this video, I probably won't be.
John is an interesting fellow, but he seems to be a bit too much into himself. I know he will be heartbroken to hear this, but I don't think I'd want to hang with him. (Look, let's keep it between us.)
Well said. I am in full agreement about his talent & most definitely your second paragraph. Mind you, I'm a wee bit older than John Mayer so I doubt he would be as heart broken about me not hanging with him as you. (No worries, I'll keep this confidence between us.)
When i first heard Mayer I was told he was a tool but I've spent enough time searching youtube to see the side of Mayer that isn't presented in the media to know he's actually a really nice misunderstood guy. Would love to chill with him.
i just learned so much about soft rock!