Singer/Songwriter John Mayer to Visit CBS SUNDAY MORNING, 6/12

John Mayer, a singer-songwriter with a catalog of major solo hits, says in an interview with CBS SUNDAY MORNING that playing in the band Dead & Company is like being an actor working alongside a legend like Al Pacino.

"The reason I wanted to be in this band was to be able to interact with it live," Mayer tells Anthony Mason in an interview about the band to be broadcast June 12 (9:00 AM, ET/PT) on The CBS Television Network. "It would be what I imagine an actor saying, 'I really want to be in a scene with Pacino.' "

In Mayer's case, the legends he plays alongside are three of the four surviving core members of the Grateful Dead, who together make up Dead & Company. Mayer has joined them for a summer tour. The band was formed after the four surviving core members toured for the last time to mark the Grateful Dead's 50th anniversary, which ended in Chicago in 2015.

"Well, this is a different venture," says Bob Weir, comparing the new band to the legendary act. "But, Christ, I'm nowhere done playing. And you know, there were some folks who were expecting, okay, after the Chicago shows, I was going to work on my golf game or something."

Weir isn't retiring just yet. Weir and Mayer met last year when they played together on a TV show. "I knew we were going to have something to say," Weir says of the gig.

"It was the only time I ever got nauseous with excitement," Mayer says.

That moment led to Mayer's joining Dead & Company. What does being in Dead & Company mean to Mayer?

"Oh man, I have so much more connection with my guitar now than I ever think I had," Mayer tells Mason. "This solidifies musician over celebrity."

CBS SUNDAY MORNING is broadcast Sundays (9:00-10:30 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Rand Morrison is the executive producer.

Image courtesy of CBS