John Mayer Reveals How Bill Walton Pumped Him Up For Dead & Company Concerts

NBA Hall of Famer and longtime Grateful Dead fan Bill Walton has given John Mayer “some of the greatest compliments” he’s ever received. Mayer spoke about Walton hyping him up before Dead & Company shows during a guest appearance on Bill’s Throw It Down alternate NBA broadcast this past Monday.

“When Bill gives you advice, he looks you dead in the eye and everything stops,” Mayer recalled of Walton’s motivational speeches. “He speaks with this cadence … ‘Go out there. Give it your absolute all. Don’t be shy. They are here to watch you play. Go play to the greatest of your ability.'”

While the guitarist wouldn’t go into detail on the content of Walton’s “greatest compliments,” he added the Big Man said things “that sent me on stage with a lot of confidence.” The pair and Throw It Down co-host Jason Benetti also talked about Bill’s unmistakable presence in the crowd at Dead & Co. concerts, how Mayer dealt with success so early in his career, the guitarist’s upcoming solo tour and more.

Watch Mayer discuss his pre-show chats with Bill Walton below:

John Mayer launches his first solo tour on March 11 in Newark, New Jersey, while Dead & Company's “Final Tour” gets underway in Inglewood, California on May 19.