Honored for receiving four nominations in the 5th Annual Indie Music Channel Awards, for over four decades, Stevie Hawkins has been one of the pioneers and innovators of music and audio recording. When it comes to Blues music, Stevie Hawkins has learned from and performed with many masters of the genre. Beginning in his late teens, carrying forward into his life, Stevie has seized the opportunity of touring and/or recording on drums for many Blues legends. Impressed by his drumming skills, technique, groove, backbeat, and ability to listen on stage and off, among the stars who hired Stevie to provide their musical foundation are, Albert King, John Lee Hooker, Rufus Thomas, Gregg Allman, Johnny and Edgar Winter, Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, Sammy Blue - Crowned Prince of the Blues, Harvey Scales, and Willie Hill. Stevie cites Albert King, John Lee Hooker and Rufus Thomas as being the most influential mentors and teachers. Much of the way Stevie writes and performs today, stems the valuable lessons he learned from them.

Hawkins has also had the opportunity to learn one-on-one from several drummers who were the original innovators of Blues drumming. Among them are, Willie Steele (Howlin' Wolf's original drummer), Al Jackson (Booker T. & The MGs - Stax Records session drummer), and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (Muddy Waters - Chess Records session drummer).

When asked about things he has carried forward with him from his mentors, Stevie shared, "As an example of one of the things I learned from Albert King about remaining visually calm and professional during a show, he used this simple trick. Here's the scenario, every once in a while a band will be performing, then one or more of the band members commence to make physical gestures, facial expressions or aggressively bouncing a guitar neck up and down toward another band member to lower or raise the tempo if they are rushing or dragging. That sort of visual display is both unprofessional, and unnecessary. Mr. King had a real simple solution for the problem if it ever happened. If one of us were slightly out of the pocket during any song, he would turn toward the culprit in the band, reach around and stick his thumb in back pocket as an indicator the put the groove back in the pocket! He would remind all of us before (and sometimes after) every show about keeping it in the pocket, and to watch him at all times. So, instead of pitching a hissy fit on stage, one could simply stick their tub in their back pocket to get the message across."

Here are a few quotes Stevie shares and adheres to that were personally conveyed to him by his mentors, and apply to any singer or musician to this day:
"If you're gonna learn, you gotta listen and learn from the best. If you're gonna steal licks and ideas, you gotta steal from the best, then make em your own." - Albert King
"It's all the same, just a different groove, but it all comes from the blues. Remember that and play the feel when or wherever." - John Lee Hooker.
"When you sing and play the feel or groove smack-dab from heart, that's when you and your audience knows you are at your doggone best." - Rufus Thomas
"Playing perfect? Perfection is for scholars. Too many players are focused upon playing perfect. When a musician plays to achieve making every note and nuance perfect, that's when they are thinking about what they're playing. When a person thinks about what they're playing, they become mechanical and lose the human sense, touch and feel. So, stay human, play what you feel, play what's inside of you, that's when you'll actually grasp playing on the perfected levels of which you wish to achieve, without being perfect." - Stevie Hawkins