Artist Spotlight is a segment that we started to introduce our readers to some deserving up and coming artists/bands. They have made an impact on us for all of the right reasons. We think they kick ass, and we hope you do too! Today we’d like to shine the spotlight on emo Muppet Ray Hawthorne.

Ray Hawthorne is basically an emo Muppet. His life revolves around pop culture references, Ninja Turtles action figures, and his dog named Oliver. Oliver laid on Ray’s feet during the recording of every song on his forthcoming album Ray Hawthorne Sucks. This was mostly a positive experience, but there’s a particular section during the song “Panic Mode” where Ray had to yell “HEY HEY HEY HEY” over and over again. This made Oliver very tense, and he thought he was being scolded. Ray felt really bad for confusing Oliver in such a way. After the recording was done, treats were had by all, and all was well.

We sat down with Ray and his dog Oliver for a short, but fun Q&A session.

Every superhero and villain have an origin and an artist or band is no different minus getting bitten by a radioactive spider or secret government experiments. So what is the origin of Ray Hawthorne?

Ray Hawthorne: Who said I wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider? But the first thing that got me interested in making music was seeing School of Rock with Jack Black. At that time I didn’t know a damn thing about music. I couldn’t even tell you what a guitar sounded like relative to other instruments, but something about the kid playing guitar in that movie seemed so cool. And I was (and still am) ANYTHING but cool. So at that moment I began my eternal quest to seem cooler than I actually am. I started taking guitar lessons and everything branched out from there. Music became my whole identity throughout high school, and I was basically a fucking pro at gatekeeping bands. Oh? You like Panic at the Disco? Yeah. I saw them with a crowd of like 20 people back when they were the very first opener at the Nintendo Fusion tour. Oh? You like MCR? Guess I have to stop listening to them now because that shits too mainstream. Basically I was that asshole. I try not to do that anymore, but old habits die hard.

Sometimes a band’s or artist’s name has a story behind it and other times it was something just drawn out of a hat. What about Raw Hawthorne?

Ray Hawthorne: My band name was given to me at birth. BUT I have had some super shitty band names in the past, some would probably even get me cancelled. I think the first band name I ever came up with in high school was “13 Days.” That sounds reeeeeeeally badass when you’re like 14 years old. We were a three piece, me on guitar and vocals, my best friend Joe on drums, and my friend Andy on bass. Andy didn’t know how to play bass at the time and bought one specifically to be in the band. We practiced like 3 times before we broke up. And we never practiced with a drum kit in the room because the drums were at Joe’s house, and we jammed at Andy’s house. So basically I would play the songs and sing them, Andy would riff around that, and Joe would sit with drumsticks and pretend to be drumming the parts he was imagining. In retrospect, that’s real fucking punk.

Are you currently working on anything?

Ray Hawthorne: I’m currently working on getting my dog not to bark at strangers. Its fucking brutal. He’s like the sweetest dog in the world but he’s scared of everything so everything and everyone he encounters is a perceived threat. He got scared of his own fart the other day and started barking at it. It was awesome. Also, I record a ton of songs and release one every week. So that too I guess.

What’s your most useless talent?

Raw Hawthorne: I can semi-skillfully twirl a batton.

If music was over today and you had to go into professional wrestling, what would your wrestling name be?

Ray Hawthorne: The arena goes dark. People are speaking in hushed tones and whispers, “Could it be him?” “No way”. Suddenly a lightning bolt flashes across the jumbotron and the music blares. I GET KNOCKED DOWN BUT I GET UP AGAIN YOU’RE NEVER GONNA KEEP ME DOWN. The crowd goes wild. RASTLIN’ RAY is making his Summer Slam debut in a ladder match against Rey Mysterio. THERE CAN BE ONLY RAY IN THIS TOWN, AND ONLY ONE WAY TO SPELL IT. Rastlin’ Ray wears a feather boa sort of like Hulk Hogan, but carries himself more like The Undertaker (classic Undertaker, not his American Badass persona). He promptly loses the match against Rey Mysterio due to a complete lack of experience.

Connect with Ray Hawthorne online:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rayhawthorne_/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rhofficial24

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rayhawthorne_

Ray Hawthorne is basically an emo Muppet. His life revolves around pop culturereferences, Ninja Turtles action figures, and his dog named Oliver. Oliver laid on Ray’sfeet during the recording of every song on his forthcoming album “Ray HawthorneSucks”. This was mostly a positive experience, but there’s a particular section duringthe song “Panic Mode” where Ray had to yell “HEY HEY HEY HEY” over and overagain. This made Oliver very tense, and he thought he was being scolded. Ray feltreally bad for confusing Oliver in such a way. After the recording was done treats werehad by all, and all was well