I came from somewhat of a musical family. I had an uncle on Broadway. My dad kind of knows how to play instruments. Although, I always find it annoying when he does play an instrument. – Nate Ruess
My dad dragged me to a Bruce Springsteen concert as a kid. It was my first concert, but I fell asleep in the middle. My second concert was Weezer on the Pinkerton tour, and Pinkerton is the reason why Im doing this. – Nate Ruess
I was in a really crummy pop-punk band. I think we did a whole bunch of Blink-182 covers, and we were on the fringe of losers and jocks. So we invited all the cool kids to come watch us play in our bass players brothers bedroom. And it was terrible, but everyone thought we were so cool. – Nate Ruess
I think any branding for me is band-related. Its really weird to get used to the exposure, because I am a naturally introverted person, and Im not exactly social. Occasionally I can get comfortable enough to talk, but I spend a lot of my days not talking, especially when Im at home and not on tour. – Nate Ruess
My dad is like a cactus – introverted and tough. Im a people person, like my mom, but I got my competitiveness from my dad. He came to this country from Belarus with nothing and built a real business. Hes my hero for giving me that need to run a business and for having enormous confidence in me. – Gary Vaynerchuk