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By Rhiannon Brewer Patrick
rpatrick@onlineathens.com

John Mayer is preparing for what could be his biggest year. He'll play two shows in Athens next week. Josh Kessler/Special

   Next week, Atlanta-based singer-songwriter John Mayer will accomplish a rare feat.
   The 24-year-old is poised to play back-to-back shows in Athens -- two nights, two clubs.
   ''Apparently it's a rare thing,'' Mayer says during a phone interview from his Atlanta apartment. ''We were always going to do some shows there for this run, and they were going to be at the Georgia Theatre. I just feel like the 40 Watt was so good to me starting out that I didn't want to exactly close that window completely. I think it's sort of a compliment that (playing back-to back shows is) a rare thing.''
   Last year was a big year for Mayer. He was signed to Columbia Records, and his release ''Room for Squares'' has gotten positive nods from fans and music critics alike. On the album, Mayer's smoky vocals and nimble guitar work chronicle the uncertainties and small wonders that young twenty-somethings can relate to.
   He and band mates David LaBruyere on bass and Nir Zidkiyahu performed on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' in November. Even without having a video, Mayer has built a solid fan base on the strength of live shows.
   The highlight of Mayer's year, however, was touring with Glen Phillips, former lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket. Mayer says he learned a lot by watching Phillips interact with fans.
   ''It was a great lesson for me. I'm thankful that I toured with him before anybody else,'' Mayer says. ''I was really impressionable when I first went out. Thank God there was someone who was a real sweetheart to make an impression on me.''
   

John Mayer When: 10 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6 Where: 40 Watt Club Cost: $15 Call: (706) 549-7871 When: Doors open at 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7 Where: Georgia Theatre Cost: $15 Call: (706) 549-9918

This year could be even bigger, he says.
    ''I know this might be my biggest year of all time. You never know,'' he says. ''If this is the year I'm going to remember 10 years from now as that one amazing year in my life, I'd better invest every moment I can into making it huge.''
   Mayer plans to tour with his band even more vigorously than last year. The group recently obtained a tour bus and will be traveling the country in style.
   ''We've got our own bus now, which is kind of the conduit for rock 'n' roll mayhem,'' Mayer laughs. ''That will be the real test to see if anyone in the band is a hard-core rocker.''
   Mayer says he always thought if he worked hard enough, he could make it in the music world. He began playing guitar at age 13 and briefly enrolled at Berklee College of Music in Boston before moving to Atlanta.
   ''I'd be lying if I said I didn't expect this. The real difference is that it's happening now, and that's really the joy of it, that it's happening this early,'' he says. ''I just didn't think it would be this soon.''
    Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Thursday, January 31, 2002.