Hawks Facts
Formed in 1999 by Rob Waller and brothers Paul and Anthony Lacques during a philosophical discussion and rock throwing session on an East Mojave desert trek, I See Hawks In L.A. first gathered on the front porch in Echo Park with beers, wrote their first batch of songs and then sought advice from local country rock guru David Jackson, bassist with John Denver, Dillard and Clark, and EmmyLou Harris.
Jackson set up a few mics and recorded Rob and Paul, adding his own melodic bass lines. This demo turned into featured songs on the Hawks eponymous debut, featuring legendary fiddler Brantley Kearns (Dwight Yoakam, Dave Alvin, Hazel Dickens). The CD established the Hawks signature sound: high lonesome three part harmonies, twang guitar and unadorned acoustic arrangements, with lyrics musing on mortality, whales, and the geography of pre-apocalyptic L.A.
ISHILA received rave reviews, made the F.A.R. Alternative Country Chart, and continues to get regular airplay. With its experimental spirit and wide ranging musical influences, the record tweaked some traditionalists. But most agree that the Hawks have broken new ground.
The Hawks hadn't planned on leaving the porch, but the CD buzz prompted them into live performing, and they quickly rose to the top of heap in the brand new Los Angeles alternative country scene. Shows all over SoCal garnered the Hawks L.A. Weekly Best Country Artist awards in 2002 and 2003.
Bassist/vocalist Paul Marshall (Strawberry Alarm Clock, Hank Thompson, Rose Maddox) threw in with the Hawks after sitting in at Ronnie Mack's Barndance in Burbank. When brother Anthony left to pursue documentary film making, drummer Shawn Nourse (Dwight Yoakam, James Intveld) signed on for a trip to SXSW and never left.
The Hawks' second CD, "Grapevine," was released on the summer solstice 2004, and immediately went to #1 on the F.A.R. Chart, lingered in the Americana Chart's top 100 for months, and hit #2 on XM Radio's X Country station. Stellar reviews and a national audience followed the Hawks 28 city Summer '04 tour, from a state prison in Vermont to a Mississippi roadhouse to the Cactus Cafe and KUT's Eklektikos in Austin, to Hempfest in Seattle.
Summer of '05 West Coast and Rockies tours brought the Hawks to the woods, and the woods to the Hawks. A strange beer commercial airing in Spain made the Hawks a big Euro presence for 15 minutes.
The Hawks released their third CD, "California Country," in June '06, with guest spots from Chris Hillman, Rick Shea, Cody Bryant, Danny McGough, Tommy Funderburk, and other SoCal roots brethren. Tackling subjects like despair in Disney World, blackjack in Jackpot, hippie parenting, donkeys, and Senator Robert Byrd from West Virginia, "California Country" brought more bluegrass, Phase 90 country psychedelia, and steel driven honky tonk to the Hawks sonic empire (See reviews page).
That summer the Hawks hit the road with Tony Gilkyson and Kip Boardman for a 57 show tour of the U.S., England, and Scotland. Thirty states, two currencies, many varieties of local whiskey, including highlands single malts and North Carolina moonshine, not a lot of sleep, and too much fun. Highlights include the Belladrum Festival with peat smoking teepees near Inverness, Scotland; a Vermont barn dance; an outdoor festival near Yellowstone and Seattle's Hempfest; and Joe's Pub in NYC.
The Hawks have made good friends over the years, and have been requested openers for Lucinda Williams, Chris Hillman, Dave Alvin, and Ray Wylie Hubbard.
In March '08 the Hawks' 4th CD "Hallowed Ground," recorded in drummer Shawn Nourse's studio and Paul Lacques's Echo Park flat, was mixed by Ethan Allen (The 88, Patti Griffin, Daniel Lanois), with stellar guest spots from fiddlers Gabe Witcher and Dave Markowitz, pedal steeler Dave Zirbel, acoustic guitar from Rick Shea, and accordionist/pianist Richie Lawrence. Folkier and more experimental than previous Hawks outings, "Hallowed Ground" was released in May to rave reviews, and hit #1 on the Freeform American Roots radio chart, hovering in the top 10 for four months, and hitting #4 on the Euro Americana Chart.
The Hawks had a green and grand tour of Northern Ireland and Norway in August '08, will return for a longer Euro/UK tour with the release of their next CD. In fall '08 the Hawks' upbeat paean to married life "Hallowed Ground" was music in a particularly morbid and bloody scene in "True Blood" on HBO. We're still not sure how we feel about this.
Check out Hawks live and stony home made videos: iseehawks.com/hawkslog and our YouTube page
The Hawks can be frequently spotted in their SoCal native habitats: The Grand Old Echo in our own Echo Park, McCabes, outdoor Grand Performances in downtown Los Angeles, The Cinema Bar in Culver City, Ronnie Mack's Barn Dance, Pappy and Harriets and Gramfest in the high desert, and Ben Vaughn's Wonder Valley Music Fest at the Palms bar, even further east of nowhere; and at acoustic house concerts, and any dive that will take them, from Seattle to San Diego, and all the Sans and Santas in between.
The Hawks are working on a new CD and also a children's CD spearheaded by drummer Shawn Nourse, featuring the Hawks, the Chapin Sisters, Mike Stinson, and Hawks alumnus David Jackson, due out in later '09.
In their past musical lives, from Strawberry Alarm Clock to The Bonedaddys, avante garde polkameisters Rotondi, twang noir instrumentalists Double Naught Spy Car, the Aman Folk Ensemble, and many others, the Hawks members have logged many miles, recorded many an album, scored feature films and documentaries, and provided songs and appeared in countless movies and television shows.