In a recent interview John Mayer speaks about living in Montana, his jam band influences and dating Katy Perry.

Yes, in his Q&A with Rolling Stone, Mayer talked about his love life. But the usually chatty singer managed to keep it short and sweet when it came to how it’s going with Katy.

“I’m quite happy,” he said. “I’m happy in all aspects of my life.”

In the piece, the singer even hints that marriage isn’t out of the realm of possibility for the future.

“I want to live a very traditional life with a very untraditional day job,” he said. “You know what I mean?”

The singer though was much more direct when it came to talking about his vocal problems. Mayer, who sang for the first time in nearly two years at a benefit show in Montana, takes full blame for his vocal strain explaining that it was a result of his hard partying past.

“You don’t realize that when you go out and have a couple drinks and you come back home and you pass out, you’re raiding your esophagus with acid from two or three whiskey sours,” he said. “If you do that night after night and then you sing eight hours a day while you’re writing a record, you’re going to start wearing away at the stuff in your throat.”

Since his surgery, Mayer’s been spending most of his recovery time “watching Westerns…and making rice bowls with chicken” in Montana, where he says he’s allowed to live a low-key life.

“It’s not just about who you’re dating, it’s about who you know who works at the place you get your coffee from, and knowing what the high school mascot is of your town,” he said. “That’s the stuff that’s been really great, is just connecting with the community.”

His western lifestyle has even made him less uptight about the paparazzi taking his picture. He doesn’t even mind if you want to critique his questionable fashion choices.

“It’s just a photograph of you and your dumb scarf that you put on because it wouldn’t fit in your suitcase,” he said. “If you want to “style police” my day off, that’s fine.”

Though he doesn’t have a follow-up planned for last year’s Born And Raised, he says things will definitely sound different explaining that the surgery has changed his voice. “I don’t have the projection,” he noted.

Mayer has also been listening to a lot of the Grateful Dead, which he says will be a big influence on whatever music he releases next. The singer also predicts everyone will be listening to the band again very soon.

“Mark my words, the Grateful Dead are gonna make a comeback,” he said. “Because of how that music cleanses your palate.”

You heard John, get your copy of The Dead’s American Beauty and be ahead of the curve.

Go here to read John Mayer’s full interview with Rolling Stone.

- Shannon Carlin, Radio.com