In a new interview with The Associated Press, John Mayer discussed plans for the upcoming Dead & Company tour. The guitarist has been in rehearsals in California with Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart as well as Jeff Chimenti and Oteil Burbridge, who will also join the fold.

Speaking on the purpose of the tour, Mayer referenced the Fare Thee Well shows saying, “I don’t know of any Deadhead in the world who said, ‘When I paid my money, I paid to see these guys finish this.’” Weir also offered an update on the rehearsals, saying he noticed Mayer “was answering back, and it was fun, and more fun than I was really going to be happy about just walking away from.”

Mayer also spoke to Mashable, further detailing his Grateful Dead fandom. “I heard the opening riff to ‘Althea,’ and it was just directly injected into my vein,” Mayer told Mashable. “And from that moment on I had this thing in my blood. I just went down the wormhole.” Weir also added, “Everything’s good. We’re not concentrating on when he’s soloing; concentrate on when nobody’s soloing. That’s where you’re gonna hear where he fits in this little assemblage.”

Mickey Hart also had praise for the guitarist, saying, “You’ll just have to wait to see what he does,” Hart said. “This band is mostly — this is a group feeling, and he not necessarily just a soloist, but a real good groupist. We like this band. We like this group. That’s the real payoff for us.”

The Dead & Company tour will kick off October 29 in Albany, NY.