Steve Jordan

Rolling Stone: I thought we’d start out with how you met Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino.

John Mayer: I met Steve when he came in to play drums on a couple tracks on Heavier Things, my second record, and loved the experience. I loved the idea of composing something for him to play, as soon as he came in to play drums on these songs that I’d already written. He really kind of opened my mind up, on a rhythmic level. And then we kind of lost touch. But we started to play around town, just playing collaborations with people. I would go do a record with Herbie Hancock, and I’d get there, and the band is Steve Jordan playing drums and Willie Weeks playing bass. Playing with Steve made me instantly better by the day, as a musician.

GW: You’ve been working with drummer Steve Jordan for a while, and he even functioned as co-producer on the album. Tell me a little bit about your relationship with him.

JM: Steve came in to play drums on a couple tracks on my second record, Heavier Things. To be honest, at the time I was still learning what a good drummer is, but when Steve was playing, I just knew. It was like, Wow, I feel supported. This is bringing life to my ideas.

I didn’t see him again for a couple years, until we both walked in the studio to play on this Herbie Hancock track called “Stitched Up” [on Hancock’s 2005 album, Possibilities]. Until that day, whenever I would record with a rhythm section, I’d always think of my performance as a scratch track that I would replace later. So when drums and bass were playing, I was playing guitar without any consideration for it ever being on the album. Steve, however, insisted that I play my actual take with the band, which was incredibly frightening to me. In the end, however, I discovered it was so much more fulfilling. He taught me that everybody in the same room playing really matters. Getting “the” take.

We worked together again on Continuum [2006] and had an incredible time. I should explain the way Steve and I see our roles: Steve produces the bass and percussion, and I produce the melody, harmony and vocals, and we never touch the other guy’s stuff. We used to make suggestions, but the trust level we have is insane. It’s a really binary existence. It’s to the point where Steve will come in to mix a session at 8 a.m. to get the rhythm section right, and leave. Then I’ll walk in, I won’t touch the rhythm section, and take care of my half.

I don’t believe that I’m the most muscular sort of performer on record. I like sweet sounds. I like the sound of nice sounds stacking up. And when I met Steve and started playing with Steve and Pino Palladino on bass, there was the muscular addition that just gives it the interesting sort of center of gravity. Without Steve and Pino underneath, I think most of my songs would completely float away. “Half of My Heart” would have been a complete pop disaster if it weren’t for Steve’s grit. It’s almost like Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland of the Police—someone’s doing the cracking and someone’s doing the floating.

JM: I keep thinking about it. It’s down to those two things. I don’t know yet. I would love to have a third, even more country record. It’s just like any record. I just wait and let the music tell me what’s going on. I was working out the other day and I was listening to "Family Affair" by Sly Stone and was just like, “man, I should call [Steve] Jordan.”

SJ: So I watch the audience on occasion—more than on occasion—obviously I have one eye on you and then one eye on the audience. Because like, when the audience isn't grooving or if I don't see the people moving, that means I'm not hitting the groove right, or something.

JM: Oh so you have that quick a call and response.

SJ: Oh yeah, because if the audience isn't moving, we're doing something wrong. If we're playing "Moving On and Getting Over" and everyone's not shaking their thing, we're not playing right. Something's got to give. We got to do something.