Quotes from Mayer Hawthorne

I think that Detroiters are some of the most resilient people in the world.

It's important that when kids are listening to my music they don't think of it as their parent's music.

I couldn't live in L.A. and not be close to the beach, you know, that's like the whole thing. I don't understand people who don't live by the beach. Why would you not?

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

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

Shout out to Daryl Hall. He is the best. One of my true musical heroes. He comes from the Philly area so when it comes to true soul, the guy obviously is the expert.

James Brown is the perfect example of flashy but classy. Classy doesn't have to mean boring. His gear was flamboyant but without being so over the top. The cape was probably the biggest part of his persona. He looked like Superman.

Everybody comments that I'm white. I'm surprised I haven't gotten more criticism for it. I'm always expecting any day now it's gonna come. I guess I just attribute the lack of hate to people hearing the music and hearing how much I genuinely love it.

A big part of the Motown formula was, they took music and turned it into this sort of automotive assembly line. They were cranking out 10 songs a day in that studio, or more.

My singing really seemed to connect with people, and it ended up as my main career, which I love.

I grew up in Ann Arbor, about 25 miles west of Detroit. And when you grow up in that area, you get a healthy dose of Motown automatically.

My dad taught me to play bass. He's a bass player; he still plays in a band in Michigan to this day. He taught me to play bass when I was about 6. I used to just go to band practice with him, and whoever didn't show up for rehearsal that day, I would take their spot.

Barry White, Smokey Robinson and Curtis Mayfield are big influences for me. But I'm also a metal head. I was in a bunch of punk rock bands. The Bee Gees, hip-hop and the Beach Boys are just as much of an influence on me as Smokey.

I consider myself to have a decent sense of humor. What's life without a sense of humor?

I don't think I've ever had more fun doing anything in my life than trading verses with Daryl Hall on 'Private Eyes.' That's as fun as it gets.

I just want to have fun and party with everyone around the world. That's the only rule, to have fun.

Music is timeless, so I want to give people shows they'll never forget so that I can do this forever.

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

I really love rap music. I grew up in the '80s and '90s with Public Enemy, N.W.A., LL Cool J - I'm a hip-hop encyclopedia. But I got kind of frustrated with the chauvinistic side of rap music, the one that makes it hard to write songs about love and relationships.

I've been really lucky to have had my fair share of relationships over the years and experiences to draw from. But I would say that I generally am not the one doing the heartbreaking.

That's one of the most important things to me is that Detroit and Ann Arbor got my back. If you don't have hometown love, then what's the point?

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

I've always loved records, even when I was a kid, my parents would buy me records instead of a lot of the other toys kids got. That's what I wanted. I've been collecting records and DJing my whole life, and I thank my parents for that. They had a big record collection and really imparted the magic of it on me.

I've always been the DJ or the bass player or the drummer, somebody in the background. I don't think anybody who knows me personally would say that I'm particularly shy or introverted, but I'm definitely not like Mr. Attention.