Fans head out west with John Mayer for his “Queen of California” music video. Headphones are optional.

For Mayer’s latest video, directed by Sam Jones, the idea is simple, “John takes a stroll.” But the singer didn’t want it to look cheesy; he wanted to capture a natural look as he made his way from his hotel room to a homecoming parade in the Sunshine State.

Though this meant there would be no green screen or as Mayer called it, “cheating,” there was a little movie magic involved when it came to creating the streets he travelled along with the team going old school. Each realistic looking cityscape was a painted backdrop that was built at Downey Studios in California, which is not only bigger than a football field but is also where the Space Shuttle was built.

Jones chose to shoot the video as one long take with a lot of things going on. In fact, take a minute to spot some of the more obscure extras (i.e. the unicyclist.) The director even gives fans a behind the scenes look at what it took to make this all come together at the very end of the video.

The clip, like the song off of Mayer’s latest album, Born and Raised, is about “being able to have a hopeful vibe about something again,” the singer told NPR.

This mantra is even more important for the singer who is currently unable to tour due to vocal trouble. But he’s managed to stay busy.

“The only thing that stops me from devolving into a puddle of tears is knowing that it’s a long life, and the greatest gift in the world is being able to create music no matter what the circumstances,” he wrote on his blog. “I feel really vibrant as a writer at the moment and there’s no reason not to begin the next album project in the time I would have been touring.”

Watch the video for “Queen of California” below.

-Shannon Carlin, CBS Local