Mayer Hawthorne was working as a DJ (nom de plume: DJ Haircut) in his hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan when he decided to record a few of his own tracks on a whim. Hawthorne’s whim was taken to a new level when Stones Throw Records head Peanut Butter Wolf signed him after hearing only two of his songs. After signing with Stones Throw, he moved to Los Angeles to fully pursue his musical career. Hawthorne has an uplifting retro-soul sound and style that is far beyond his age. Since releasing his debut album A Strange Arrangement in September of 2009, Hawthorne has been constantly on the go. “It’s non-stop right now,” he says.

“The last time I was in New Orleans it was my first time, and it definitely changed my life. It’s a magical city,” Hawthorne told me in a brief interview last week. Tonight, Hawthorne returns to The Parish at House of Blues for his second appearance in the Crescent City.

 

What is your earliest musical memory?

My father teaching me how to play bass guitar when I was six years old.

You played all the all the instruments and produced all the songs on A Strange Arrangement. Can you talk about your early development as a musician?

When I was really young, my parents were always buying me records and introducing me to all different kinds of music, not just soul music. I listened to the Beatles, the Byrds, the Hollies, the Cars, Blondie, Michael Jackson, the Police, everything. My father taught me to play bass guitar and my mom encouraged me to take piano lessons. I was blessed with a very musical family. My dad still plays in a band in Detroit today.

What’s the name of your father’s band?

The Breakers. They just do classic rock covers now. I’m having him play on a track for the next project.

What are the main influences behind the sound of A Strange Arrangement?

Obviously Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, Barry White. On the album, there’s also The Beach Boys and even the Smashing Pumpkins, one of my favorite bands. You hear all that.

What has it been like going from being a DJ to the lead singer of a band?

It’s very eye-opening. It’s a completely different world going from being the DJ, always kind of in the background, to being the lead singer. The spotlight is always in your face. It’s taken some serious adjusting, but it’s been a lot of fun too. I wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t really fun. I listen to all kinds of music, and I want to make all kinds of music. I just don’t get too comfortable.

Your music has a whimsical element to it. How serious are you?

I take the music aspect of it extremely serious. I’m a dedicated musician. I’m a studio rat. I’m a perfectionist in the studio. But, as far as myself as a person, I don’t take myself so seriously that I can’t go have a lot of fun with it. You can’t take yourself too seriously. Music I take extremely seriously. It’s a shitload of fun, that’s the magic word. The Pee Wee’s Playhouse magic word of the day is fun.

Your song “The Ills” directly references New Orleans and Katrina. Can you talk about writing this song?

I wrote that song right after Katrina had hit and I was finishing up recording my debut album. I was listening to the album, what I had, and a lot of the songs dealt with love and heartbreak and relationship issues. It was sort of melancholy, and I really felt like I needed some positivity and upliftment to balance out the album. “The Ills” was actually the last song that I wrote for the album. It was that injection of positivity and upliftment that I needed to really balance it out. The song deals with sad issues, but it’s all about overcoming those issues. It’s a very positive song. It’s a feel good song, it’s about feeling good in life, and not dwelling on the things that can get you down.

It’s true that most of the tracks on A Strange Arrangement deal with past relationships and heartbreak. Have you been burned by love?

Yeah, definitely. I don’t think you’ve really lived until you’ve had your heart broke. I feel bad for people that haven’t had that experience. I’m not saying I wanna go through it again, but I feel like everybody kind of needs that at least once in their life. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been through the numerous relationships that I’ve been through, the many experiences that I have to reflect on and grow from.

With your thick-rimmed glasses and retro suits, you have a unique signature look. Can you talk about the inspiration behind your style?

There are no real rules. It’s whatever feels good. I’m not big into brand names, I’m not a label whore. I wear designer shit sometimes, but a lot of my glasses I get at Venice Beach for five bucks, ten bucks. It’s whatever you feel comfortable wearing, because it’s all about confidence. Everything is 100 percent confidence. Whatever you can wear and feel confident in. I wear a lot of suits and sneakers, I’m a big sneaker head. My motto is always “Flashy but classy.”

Mayer Hawthorne and his band The County play The Parish at House of Blues tonight with Nikki Jean opening. Doors are at 7 p.m. and it gets soulful at 8.