John Mayer

Oh, God: John Mayer Playing Woodlands Pavilion July 12

Lock up your "Daughters": John Mayer, the soft-rock singer-songwriter and self-styled bluesman, has reportedly split with squeeze Katy Perry, and now -- surely not by coincidence -- he'll be on tour this summer. This morning Live Nation announced that Mr. Room for Squares will stop by the Cynthia W ... More >>

Jazz Fest Scores With Willie, John Mayer, Frank Ocean, Fleetwood Mac, Patti Smith, etc.

Well, I never thought that I would have John Mayer and Patti Smith together in the same headline with Willie Nelson and Frank Ocean, but that's why I kinda love New Orleans Jazz Fest 2013, whose lineup was released earlier this morning. Rewind: A Texican in New Orleans: Lessons Learned from Jazz F ... More >>

Top 5 People Who Should Be Judging American Idol

Over the weekend American Idol, struggling to remain relevant in the face of the televised singing-competition series it spawned like The Voice and X Factor, announced its final judges' panel for the upcoming 12th season that begins in January. According to Entertainment Weekly, joining the previous ... More >>

30 Seconds With Ryan Beatty

When the opportunity to interview a fast-rising 16-year-old pop star named Ryan Beatty, I initially wrote him off as a Bieber clone, which would be like aural equivalent of Xeroxing the act of stepping on a LEGO. When I did finally sit down and give a listen to Beatty though, I have to admit there r ... More >>

Sail To The Bahamas With Anthrax & Hatebreed On The Mayhem Cruise

What do younger people have against cruises? You can (sometimes) gamble, drink, eat all you want, and there is always tons of grim people watching to do. You don't have to drive anywhere, and if you want you can just hole yourself up in your cabin and not do a damned thing. Rocks Off has detailed ... More >>

SXSW 2012: Our Inner Monologue (Day One)

Rocks Off has only been here in Austin for SXSW for a little more than a day, and our brains are already swimming in confusion. Taco Bell hotels, gigantic Doritos stages, girls dressed like Roseanne, everyone wearing ill-fitting cold-weather clothing, and somewhere in the din of it all, your new fav ... More >>

Support Staff: 10 Of Pop History's Greatest Backing Bands

Being behind the scenes is what most musicians who don't write songs or sing expect of their lives once they start seriously playing. A career backing someone up can be extremely rewarding, particularly if you are part of a transcendent group of musicians that goes from simply backing up an artist i ... More >>

Top 5 Musician Twitter Quitters

​Most of us would be happy to have 1,000 Twitter followers. A million is pretty much unattainable, even for some big enchiladas. Yet we see celebs erasing their Twitter pages as if it isn't the best thing since some 5'3" guy in Iowa took a knife to a loaf of bread. What's driving the Twitter ... More >>

Iggy Pop, the Bordeaux Connoisseur: The Funniest Food Requests on Riders

ITO EN, you're all that I wanted in a tea.​The next time someone calls you a picky eater, direct them to Weezer's backstage rider for their 2010 tour. Weezer demands that both regular and Canadian bacon be available for breakfast, that there be almond butter but no peanut butter, that there m ... More >>

Top 10 Songs To Leave Out Of Your Wedding Reception

​'Tis the summer season for tying the knot. But curse the occasion for creating the ultimate breeding ground for bad music - wedding receptions. It's one thing to unplug the jukebox in an act of defiance or flee a venue playing bad songs (I've done all of the above), but one doesn't exactly h ... More >>

Pre-Bieber, Five Memorable Musician Interview Gaffes

​Remember in the days before "Bi-winning," when Twitter was all up in arms about Justin Beiber's interview with Rolling Stone? Was it really a surprise that some of the pop star's opinions, as told to the magazine last month, would be half-baked and maybe even a bit ignorant? Put aside for a ... More >>

The Worst Concert Rip-Offs We've Ever Seen

jackslackofrestraint.blogspot.com​On this day in 1978, the rapidly disintegrating Sex Pistols finally fell apart for good. Conveniently enough, they did it onstage at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom, on the final night of the ill-fated U.S. tour that also lurched its way through San Antoni ... More >>

Four Loko = Elton John: A Day In Alcoholic Energy-Drink Hell

​Last week for the Hair Balls blog, Craig's Hlist drank three cans of Four Loko to research just what has had all the kids freaking the hell out and going to the hospital in droves. It was a hellish experience, and we passed straight out after drinking three cans out of the four we originally ... More >>

Taylor Swift's Ten Best Disses On Speak Now

​Taylor Swift has just released her third, and angriest, album, Speak Now. It's an alternately aggressive and poppy turn for the country girl, who is quickly shedding any previous genre trappings and very much becoming one of the pop industry's biggest stars. She combines female conviction wit ... More >>

Eight Halloween Ideas For Today's Hottest Pop Stars

Photo Illustrations by Monica FuentesJohn Mayer as Justin Bieber​Halloween is only a little over a week away, and the spirit of the season is in the air. Rocks Off knows everyone has already picked out their costumes: Girls are starving themselves to fit into that slutty nurse or cop uniform, ... More >>

The Ultimate Sandal-Rock Mixtape

​Tonight Craig's Hlist will drive all the way out the Woodlands to see Jack Johnson, one of sandal-rock's biggest superstars. He's like the Lady the Rolling Stones of sandal-rock. He's like the McDonald's of sandal-rock. He's James Taylor for people who shop at Whole Foods. He's the Sex Pistol ... More >>

Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010

The greatest of guitar greats dazzle during a two-hour film documentary

Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge's Luxetini

Stirred and Shaken: Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge's Luxetini

Photo by Troy Fields​Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge (1201 San Jacinto, 713-343-3300) is the kind of place where Zac Efron and John Mayer bowl. At least the Lucky Strike in Los Angeles is, according to the framed PR rags mounted over the urinals at the Houston location. So you might not run into a ... More >>

What Rocks Off Is Cooking Up For Memorial Day

First of all, a bit of news: John Mayer is playing the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion with Owl City Sunday, September 5. Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Saturday, June 5 at livenation.com. Yay. Now, Rocks Off knows many of you are anxious to start your Memorial Day weekend - and many of you already hav ... More >>

DJ Eddie Deville: Mastering Turntable Artistry; Pursuing Anesthesiology; Liking John Mayer

​ Pre-med. University of Houston. John Mayer. Atheist. Anesthesiology. These are all terms that aren't associated with hip-hop. Or could that change? Acres Homes' own Edwin Penn may change all that if he stays his course... or, should we say, passes his courses. Eddie, known better to the streets ... More >>

Dierks Bentley

Sexual Napalm: Ill-Advised Rock-Star Hookups, Starring Our Boy John Mayer

Photo illustration by John Seaborn GrayLike this, John?​John Mayer: He is just fantastic. In a disastrous Playboy interview, Mayer opened up about many things. For example, we discovered that, although some white comedians have successfully worked the "N" word into their jokes, Mayer is not one of ... More >>

Idol Beat: How Low Can the Mile High City Go?

​Honestly, I found it hard to concentrate on American Idol knowing I was just an hour away from the return of Lost. Admittedly, sometimes it's hard to concentrate on the show under ordinary circumstances, so this was doubly trying. But I did my best, and I did it for you. By now, you know al ... More >>

American Idol: How Low Can the Mile High City Go?

​Honestly, I found it hard to concentrate on American Idol knowing I was just an hour away from the return of Lost. Admittedly, sometimes it's hard to concentrate on the show under ordinary circumstances, so this was doubly trying. But I did my best, and I did it for you. By now, you know al ... More >>

Self-Admitted Wanker John Mayer Is Far From Alone at the Musical Spank Bank

​ Photo illustration by John Seaborn GrayThe chicken is Photoshopped. The swimsuit, sadly, isn't.​Guess what you're missing if you haven't picked up the latest copy of Rolling Stone? Go on, guess. All right, we'll tell you: according to their website, you're missing the lowdown on John Mayer's " ... More >>

Our Five Favorite Heavy Metal Christmas Carols

​Every year the Christmas gods try to throw us the same old boring and tired holiday music. Mariah Carey, Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and Hall & Oates are just fine, but this member of Rocks Off needs the blood of the innocent and punishing power chords under his dead, decaying tree. We sought ... More >>

KISS Off

The makeup-clad rockers may be hilarious, but they're hardly metal.

He Said She Said: Songs That Remind Us of Our Exes

​One thing that struck He Said while we were making this list was the lack of metal and/or punk rock associated with the women in our past. It's kind of odd that someone so dirty and haggard never dated anyone with a Crass patch on her denim jacket or Misfits tramp stamp. By looking at us, you wou ... More >>

Does Anyone Care About Super Tuesdays Anymore? Besides Us?

​Time was that Tuesdays used to be the best day of the week for your average recorded-music consumer. Since Rocks Off was just a wee music nerd, Tuesdays were his favorite days of the week because it was always the universal day for all new releases to hit the stores. It started with begging our p ... More >>

Pop Rocks: I'm Shocked, Shocked To Discover Britney Spears Was Lip-Synching

​To think, I almost found myself agreeing with John Mayer.His response to the simmering Britney Spears lip-synching scandal -- mocking those who expressed outrage at the fact Spears was faking it during her concert in Perth, Australia last weekend -- would appear to be dead-on. One could even take ... More >>

It's 4:30 p.m. and Taylor Hicks, Clay Aiken, John Mayer, Nickelback and ICP Still Suck

Er... no comment. OK, maybe one or two...​In the world of rock writing, there are just some artists' fans that you can't help but fuck with. While you're alternately enamored and disgusted by their chosen obsession, they exert a near religious fanaticism for their fixation of worship, making them ... More >>

Five Artists Motel 6 Would Rather Not Give Free Rooms, Including John Mayer

canada.com​In a move sure to boost occupancy among skinny jeans-wearing hipsters while simultaneously driving regular families away by the family truckster-load, Motel 6 is running a promotion to give free rooms to up-and-coming bands: "Here's how it works: Motel 6 will give free rooms to developi ... More >>

Paolo Nutini, Moby, Pink, Lady GaGa and Other Artists Manlier Than John Mayer

​We don't always hate John Mayer. No, really. Sometimes dude seems downright likable, like when he's hanging out in the Comedy Cellar in NYC, or releasing self-effacing web videos, or popping up for cavalier, amusing chats with our XM favorites Ron & Fez. Even his Twitter account is worth read ... More >>

Jimi Hendrix Covers: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (P.S. John Mayer Still Sucks)

This week marks the 39th anniversary of the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, which is famous for a couple of reasons. First, it was such a financial disaster it put the kibosh on any further Wight fesivals for the next 32 years. Second, and more importantly, it marked the penultimate performance of one ... More >>

John Mayer Is Full of Crap

​Something about John Mayer just gets under Rocks Off's skin. We'll admit there was a time he made us believe our body was a wonderland, and yes, we've even wanted to "run through the halls of our high school and scream at the top of our lungs." But no more. The quiet little guitar player we once ... More >>

He Said She Said: Songs for Getting It On, Part 2

[Ed. Note: Here's Web Editor Katharine Shilcutt's top 10 picks for baby-makin' music. Now it's the boys' turn.] 1. Ryan Adams, "Come Pick Me Up": This has to work, because it shows vulnerability and warmth. It tells her you are the kind of guy who will be the one to get out of bed to get the Wet On ... More >>

The Last Roundup: "H-Town's Delight," Fat Tony's New LP, Something Fierce on Tour and More

Lords of the Loop have definitely out done themselves this time, with a chart explaining all the various cats in the human and animal kingdoms. It's everything you could want to know. IndieHouston features HPMA Best Male Vocals nominee Cornbreadd for his participation in DJ Dave Wrangler's "H- ... More >>

Artist of the Week: Small Sounds

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. It seems contradictory, ... More >>

Tom Petty Week, Part 2: John Mayer Covers "Free Fallin'"

Hilary York

This singer-songwriter could be Austin’s next radio sweetheart

Drenched in Blog I: John Mayer Topless

Nothing Happening Here: Protest Music, Then and Now

Drenched In Blog: Kanye vs. Fiddy vs. Black Lips

Song Title Scrabble

Mixed-up monikers

On the Marc

Curl Up with Teddy

Beautiful Music

The young and the younger flock to John Mayer and Maroon 5

Houston Music Map

Queen Norah reigns, Josh Groban pains, and lots of Natalie Maines

John Mayer

Room for Squares (Sony)