Driven by a misquoted Rolling Stone interview, false rumors have been circulating that John Mayer called fans of the wildly popular videogame, Guitar Hero, “Fake Wannabes.” While some websites are using the quote as attributed to Mayer, no such quote could be found in the interview.

Here is how Mayer responded when asked about playing guitar hero:

“I don’t ever want to be the kind of guy who rails against whatever progress has taken place. But Guitar Hero was devised to bring the guitar-playing experience to the masses without them having to put anything into it. And having done both, there’s nothing like really playing guitar. I mean, what would you rather drive, a Ferrari or one of those amusement-park cars on a track?”

[From Rolling Stone.com]

Clearly Mayer recognizes the fun in playing Guitar Hero, but is pointing out that the investment in practicing real guitar leads to a whole different experience. Guitar Hero is a game, playing guitar well is an art from. Mayer’s take here seems fair enough: don’t confuse a game that simulates an experience with the real thing.

Mayer does not, like some websites are reporting, dis fans of the game by calling them posers or wannabees. But maybe he should have. While playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band can be a great party game, we all know a guy who has a few too many beers and monopolizes the TV for hours, convinced that tapping colored buttons on a plastic toy in time to a cartoon is his ticket to rock stardom. You know the guy we are talking about. And if he puts on a mask and coveralls to play Slipknot’s “Before I Forget,” Celebitchy recommends intense psychotherapy.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Here’s John Mayer getting pulled over on Tuesday for driving with expired tags on his car and no license plates, thanks to WENN.