The charmingly virtuosic guitar tandem of John Mayer and Isaiah Sharkey is back out on the road, and it appears that Sharkey has taken one of his in-the-works Ibanez signature guitars for a test drive at a record-breaking show.
Sharkey joined Mayer's solo band in 2016 after Mayer had sat in for a show with The Roots, and soon persuaded him to make the jump from the Roots to blues rock. Their tandem has become hugely celebrated in the intervening years, with Sharkey’s gospel-rooted playing style a fine match for Mayer’s silky blues.
Mayer was pulling a double shift that night, opening for and performing with Zach Bryan in front of an audience of 112,000 people at Michigan Stadium, making it the biggest ticketed single concert in U.S. history. Not a bad turnout, then.
Mayer played his PRS Silver Sky signature, locking into some sweet harmonies with Sharkey during Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, who looks to be playing a prototype of his in-the-works Ibanez signature.
It's based on its AZS Telecaster copy, having employed a double humbucker Crews Maniac Sound T-type during his recent residency at the Blue Note jazz club in New York City.
Speaking to Guitar World in early September, Sharkey lifted the lid on what will be a double whammy of namesake Ibanez axes.
“One is a solidbody and the other is a semi-hollow,” he said of the in-development instruments. “We want to create something so that guitarists can bring two guitars, and not a million, to a session or on a tour. So it’s two guitars that cover the spectrum.”
From limited video footage – most camera phones are locked ardently onto John Mayer – it looks to be black, with a pickguard, maple neck and fretboard, and chrome-covered pickups. It could be a while until it hits the shelves, but at first glimpse, the electric guitar is packed full of promise.
“Playing with John is awesome,” the 36-year-old says of his partner in shred. “It’s always fun, and it’s always a university of learning and experimenting with tones.”
Having played with Mayer, as well as D'Angelo and Paul Simon, Sharkey says he's learned a lot about soloing, and stressed the importance of removing ego from the performance.
Back in August, he received a one-of-a-kind prototype guitar originally crafted for a jazz great, so he's amassed a powerful arsenal of axes.
Mayer, meanwhile, recently said that, while he has enough material for a new album, he isn't in a rush to finish it.
