JOHN Mayer's backstage rider reads like a dentist's dream.
Sure, he wants thinly sliced meat, soy milk and an organic fruit platter.
But Mayer's fresh-breath demands are more specific. Each show, he asks promoters for four toothbrushes, toothpaste (for sensitive teeth), mouthwash and two packets of breath mints.
"I am a big oral hygiene fan -- as everyone should be," Mayer says.
Audio: Listen to John's live performance of Gravity
Audio: Listen to John Mayer's Waiting for the World to Change
"But I am not a fan of putting a toothbrush in an overnight bag where a cologne bottle might break.
"So I go for a new toothbrush every night. Wasteful? Maybe. But it's my biggest rock star excess.
"I ask, 'Why would there be a dissenting viewpoint on this?' " Mayer says, laughing.
"There should be excitement that, if we ever meet, the first thing you'll get from me is a radiant ring of minty freshness."
Aptly, Mayer's new live album, Where The Light Is, was recorded in the perfect teeth capital, Los Angeles.
The real bite, however, is Mayer's virtuosity across acoustic, blues trio and full-band set-ups.
"It's human nature and the way of the world that people make up their mind about you," he says. "It's based on that song on the radio or what they read in magazines.
"So, for me, it's about pulling everything into that moment on stage to say, 'This is what I do. This is my business card. I am John Mayer and this is what I do for a living'."
Lately, Mayer, who is dating Jennifer Aniston, is a target over what he does for a loving.
Mayer and Aniston have been photographed, looking good and loved up, in exotic spots between Malibu and Miami.
He is zen about being hunted by paparazzi.
"I've always been a roll-with-the-punches guy," he says. "I may not like it, but I'm not going to complain about it.
"I almost feel like I want to assist my fans and say, 'Don't worry about this. I got it'.
"It's an incredibly unique situation, but I can handle it. This is something they don't teach in school and it's very difficult to empathise with, so I don't ask."
He was bemused by singer Josh Groban's blog, which suggested Mayer's swagger and aloofness was a chick magnet.
"Mayer's got an attitude that I have to try to learn how to get," Groban said. "It's that, 'I may talk to you, I may not talk to you', kind of thing."
Mayer says Groban is mistaking shyness for cockiness.
"If you know me, I'm the one who is the shy guy," Mayer says. "I'm the one who doesn't know how to approach other people.
"I do like the idea it gets misconstrued as being incredibly confident and in control, but that's just me not knowing how to sail the waters socially."
Mayer bristles, though, at Groban's theories he has a secret to landing A-list women.
Mayer's priors include Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jessica Simpson and Minka Kelly.
"The minute I think I have a secret . . . it's too smarmy to even think about," Mayer shudders.
"I understand how it all reads. But to be asked to comment on (my secret), it's such a feedback loop for me. I don't think like that.
"All I've ever done in my life is try to be a nice person, try not to hurt other people, try to benefit from other people, try to give to other people so they might benefit from me.
"I try to have fun, I try to learn things. That sounds like the secret -- to living happily.
"No matter who you are, be nice to people. Surround yourself with the best people. Learn to listen."
Mayer says lessons in good conversation should be in the school curriculum.
"There should be a class on how to have a good conversation," he says.
"Kids are growing up with Blackberrys and texting. That's one-line communication. I like conversation."
Mayer is articulate and open about the pros and cons of public life. But he would never write about it in a song a la Lindsay Lohan (Rumours) or Britney Spears (Piece Of Me).
"The most ironic thing is a lot of those songs aren't written by the people saying, 'Get away from me!'
"There is nothing that you don't understand about my life that you need to understand, except I'm a guitar player who writes songs.
"I try to be an authentic person, but really, that's not even your business.
"There is nothing about my life you need to know in terms of me setting the record straight.
"That is a Pandora's Box of trying to get each person spinning their head in a direction I think they should be looking."
For Mayer, that line of sight is the music. The live set, Where the Light Is, shows all sides of that musicality.
It includes hits Waiting on the World to Change, Daughters and Why Georgia and covers Free Fallen and Bold As Love.
"Playing acoustic gives me turn-on-a-dime mobility," Mayer says. "I can spin around, pivot and go somewhere else without causing a train wreck."
His trio (Mayer, Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino) has a different energy.
"To be working with all that negative space and learn how to fill it, and be aggressive, it's a real range booster," Mayer says.
The full band, he says, is a universal expression.
"I want this set to inform people about who I am," Mayer says.
"Love it or hate it, make your decision, because this -- the music -- is the main idea. We live in a world where, sometimes, the main idea is difficult to pick out."
Where The Light Is double CD will be released on Saturday; DVD will be released on July 19.
