Mayer Hawthorne

I've always made sure that I tour with bands that people aren't expecting me to tour with.

— Mayer Hawthorne

I shopped at J. Crew in high school, I studied computer science. I was a nerd-nerd, now I'm a music-nerd.

— Mayer Hawthorne

My dad calls me 'Mac' a lot, from 'Mike Tyson's Punch Out' - Little Mac is the main character. I was obsessed.…

— Mayer Hawthorne

I never have, but I would love to pick R. Kelly's brain.

— Mayer Hawthorne

I think that what happens is that all of my modern influences blend together with the older soul influences and you get…

— Mayer Hawthorne

My dad taught me to play bass. He's a bass player; he still plays in a band in Michigan to this day.…

— Mayer Hawthorne

I really love rap music. I grew up in the '80s and '90s with Public Enemy, N.W.A., LL Cool J - I'm…

— Mayer Hawthorne

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I definitely have a hearty breakfast before I do anything.

— Mayer Hawthorne

When you're a soul singer, I'm singing a lot of songs about love and relationships that I think a lot of girls…

— Mayer Hawthorne

Barry White is my musical hero. He was the guy who you danced to in the club and then when you took…

— Mayer Hawthorne

I try to make sure that I make music that can stand the test of time.

— Mayer Hawthorne

A lot of people think I live in a soul bubble.

— Mayer Hawthorne

People will send me tweets or texts, 'Yo, I'm at Red Lobster now and they're playing Mayer Hawthorne,' more of that kind…

— Mayer Hawthorne

I make soul music for hip-hop heads. It's music I'd want to sample if I were a rapper.

— Mayer Hawthorne

My intentions with any of my music is to keep it futuristic and updated and be experimental and try new things.

— Mayer Hawthorne

Even when I was a hip-hop DJ I always kept it classy. The motto is always 'flashy but classy.' You've got to…

— Mayer Hawthorne

Barry White, Smokey Robinson and Curtis Mayfield are big influences for me. But I'm also a metal head. I was in a…

— Mayer Hawthorne

I've been DJing since before I could read the labels on the records.

— Mayer Hawthorne

Man, I have so many names that everybody calls me something different. Some people call me Drew, some people call me Mayer,…

— Mayer Hawthorne

Gary Numan had a huge influence on both my music and my style. He had his own unique fashion sense - that…

— Mayer Hawthorne

That's one of the most important things to me is that Detroit and Ann Arbor got my back. If you don't have…

— Mayer Hawthorne

Marvin Gaye was the ultimate ladies' man and a big part of that was the way he dressed. If you're having trouble…

— Mayer Hawthorne

I've always been the DJ or the bass player or the drummer, somebody in the background. I don't think anybody who knows…

— Mayer Hawthorne

I didn't appreciate Mick Jagger until I got older, and mainly because of the Mick Jagger swagger. He defined that for the…

— Mayer Hawthorne

I was really fortunate growing up to have a broad musical education. My parents listened to all kinds of music, rock, soul,…

— Mayer Hawthorne