Mayer Hawthorne is not afraid to wear his influences on his sleeve. The writer/producer/multi-instrumentalist/DJ/rapper and possessor of the smoothest tenor this side of Smokey Robinson strutted onto the music scene with 2009’s A Strange Arrangement, a collection of seductively soulful tracks that payed tribute to his Detroit roots. The Motown-esque arrangements and masterfully crafted pop hooks (not to mention his perfectly tailored suits) saw him labeled as something of a retro ’60s throwback, although one with serious cred. But his latest long-player Where Does This Door Go sees Hawthorne take a great leap forward…one decade, to be exact.
The new record moves away from the Motor City melodies of past work, and towards the champagne shimmer of slickly produced late-’70s “yacht rock” popularized by acts like Steely Dan, Hall & Oates, and Off The Wall-era Michael Jackson. But don’t start thinking it’s just an oldies retread. On this album he gets production help from modern day hit-making maestros like Pharrell Williams, Greg Wells and Jack Splash, as well as vocal appearances from Kendrick Lamar and VH1 You Oughta Know artist Jessie Ware. With this blend of cutting edge and loving nods to past musical greats, it makes perfect sense that Mayer Hawthorne would be named Hard Rock’s very first Artist of the Month.
[Photo by Ralph Notaro/Seminole Hard Rock]
Speaking of “stuff”, sheer amount of stuff is overwhelming as you enter, and it’s impossible to decide where to look. But Mayer knows what he likes. He zeros in on a slender red velour track jacket. The distinctive Neverland Ranch patches point to the original owner, the King of Pop himself. “That might be my favorite thing in here. Michael Jackson is my whole childhood,” he gushes.
Mayer checking out MJ’s jacket. [Photo: VH1]
Hard Rock historian Jeff Nolan shows off Geddy Lee’s double-necked bass. [Photo: VH1]
Jeff steers us over to a table with battered case resting on top. We swear we hear angles sing as he cracks it open to reveal the holy grail of electric guitars: a 1959 sunburst Gibson Les Paul. As if that’s not good enough, this particular Les was used by the Rolling Stone’s Mick Taylor on the tour to promote their landmark 1972 album Exile on Main Street. And it ain’t just pretty to look at. “It sounds pretty good when it’s plugged in…Or so I’ve been told!” Jeff says with a wink in his voice.
Nolan with the ’59 Les Paul used my Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones on the ’Exile on Main Street’ tour. [Photo: VH1]
Mayer inspecting Lady Gaga’s flying head-dress. [Photo: VH1]
Mayer autographing his Hard Rock donation [Photo by Ralph Notaro/Seminole Hard Rock]
[Photo by Tina Craig/Seminole Hard Rock]
A music buff even in his early years, Mayer is no stranger to the Hard Rock Cafes. “I remember going there with my parents and having some chicken tenders and checking out all of the guitars in the cases. I wouldn’t even get to the table, I’d just be running around looking at James Brown’s cape, Mick Jagger’s shoes and Keith Richard’s guitars. It was like heaven to me.” And as every kid knows, you couldn’t leave without getting some swag to show to your classmates. “We always wanted a Hard Rock t-shirt. Man, you weren’t s–t if you didn’t have a Hard Rock shirt!”
The Hard Rock franchise, famous world-wide for preserving rock ’n’ roll relics for all to enjoy, is becoming a friend to more and more contemporary musicians. They’ve recently launched their own record label to break up-and-coming bands into the mainstream, and now the new Artist of the Month program will give musicians exposure by playing the video for their latest single every 90 minutes in each of their 138 restaurants worldwide. All totaled, that’s over 1,000 times a day! Not a bad deal.
The video currently taking the cafes by storm is for Mayer’s single “Her Favorite Song,” a track that funks you up before lulling you down with a rhapsodic chorus that hits you like whiff of perfume on a summer sea-breeze. Our prediction? This silky smooth cut will take on the ubiquitous “Blurred Lines” for chart topping ’70s-tinged pop supremacy. The video is just as memorable, giving a hilarious take on the popular truism that all men are dogs by showing a nightclub totally populated by canines.
Although it’s always risky filming with animals, Mayer had nothing but praise for his furry co-stars. “They always tell you, the number one rules of making videos or films is don’t ever work with kids and don’t ever work with pets. But these dogs are pretty incredible. There are no special effects in post! Everything you seen them doing on the screen is how it happened. These dogs were blowing me off the screen.”
But they sure as hell can’t blow him off the stage! Mayer and his musical brothers in “the County” capped the day off with a killer live performance in the front of the Hard Rock offices! He starts things off with “Backseat Lover” the opening track on his latest album, and then gets folks singing along with the anthemic “Hey, ho” chorus of the Pharrell-produced “Stars Are Ours.” He obviously does the obligatory (and sizzling) run-through of the new single, before ending the set with the track “Reach Out Richard,” written in honor of the man who made him fall in love with music: His father. Surrounded by decades of musical history, it’s a fitting personal tribute, and more than a little touching.
“We’ll be here every week, right?” he jokes as he unplugs after his set. “Mayer Mondays in the lobby.” We’d come back for that!