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" 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. "

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" I didn't appreciate Mick Jagger until I got older, and mainly because of the Mick Jagger swagger. He defined that for the world. He was bold and adventurous with it, too - just the ultimate rock star. "

Mayer Hawthorne

Bold

Rock

Appreciate

" I don't want kids listening to my music thinking it's for their parents. I want them to feel it's theirs. "

" Nowhere on earth has more soul than Detroit. "

" 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. "

Mayer Hawthorne

Band

Him

" 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. "

" Even when I was a hip-hop DJ I always kept it classy. The motto is always 'flashy but classy.' You've got to be original and stand out from the crowd and take some chances. But you've always got to keep it classy. "

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

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

Mayer Hawthorne

Expecting

Always

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

" I learn the most from trial and error. I learn about what I'd like to be able to do from people like Barbara Mason. Saying I want to sing like Barbara Mason and doing it, it's two very different scenarios. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

Mayer Hawthorne

Day

Line

" I'm a serious student of music, a perfectionist in the studio, and I take the arrangement and production of it very seriously, down to the mixing and mastering even. But at the same time I'm having so much fun with it. I try not to take myself so seriously. "

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

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

" People will send me tweets or texts, 'Yo, I'm at Red Lobster now and they're playing Mayer Hawthorne,' more of that kind of stuff, which is hilarious. "

" Marvin Gaye was the ultimate ladies' man and a big part of that was the way he dressed. If you're having trouble getting ladies, step your suit game up and see the difference. Walk into a bar in a tailored suit and I guarantee every girl will check you out. "

" 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. "

Mayer Hawthorne

Grow

You

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

" 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. "

" Gary Numan had a huge influence on both my music and my style. He had his own unique fashion sense - that futuristic space style. It was out there. "

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

" 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. "

Mayer Hawthorne

Think

Say

" I love doing things that people don't expect. "

" When you're a soul singer, I'm singing a lot of songs about love and relationships that I think a lot of girls really relate to. For whatever reason, that seems to get 'em excited. The DJ, everyone always says the DJ gets all the chicks, but that's never been my experience. "

" I really don't care at all what people call me as long as they're listening to the music and talking about it. They can call me a space-jazz flautist. I don't care at all. "

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

" 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? "

Mayer Hawthorne

Hometown

You

" 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. "

" 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. "