Hawk Nelson
is a Christian rock band hailing from Peterborough, Ontario. The band has become popular in the Christian music scene and was voted "Favorite New Artist" by CCM Magazine in their February 2006 Reader's Choice Awards
. In 2006 Hawk Nelson won a #1 spot on VH1's top 20 video countdown with "The One Thing I Have Left" music video.
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HAWK NELSON TICKETS
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Biography
The band played independently in Peterborough, Ontario under the name SWISH for a few years before they signed with
Tooth & Nail Records, largely on the recommendation of
Trevor McNevan, the lead singer of fellow Tooth & Nail band
Thousand Foot Krutch. McNevan, also from
Peterborough, Ontario, is credited with discovering the band. In July 2004, Hawk Nelson released their major label debut
Letters to the President
. It was produced by
Aaron Sprinkle and McNevan, who also co-wrote the album's fourteen songs. He has also appeared on some of the band's songs, as well as in their video for the song "California".
The band has achieved some success in the mainstream as well. They portrayed
The Who on an episode of the
NBC drama
American Dreams
, and they recorded a song named "Bring 'Em Out" for the 2005 motion picture
Yours, Mine and Ours
. This song and another hit song "The Show" were both used on Sunday Night Football commercials. "Things We Go Through" from
Letters to the President
was also featured in
Yours, Mine and Ours
.
In October 2005, the band re-released
Letters to the President
, with new material including their cover of
The Who's "My Generation", three acoustic versions of some of their hits, and a limited edition cover.
The band released their second studio album,
Smile, It's the End of the World
, on
April 4,
2006. The album was also co-written by Trevor McNevan of
Thousand Foot Krutch. The album won a GMA Canada
Covenant Award for "Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year" in 2006..
[1] The album's first single, "Everything You Ever Wanted", went on to hit #1 for 9 weeks on the
R&R
Christian CHR chart, and was the fourth most played song of 2006.
[2] The band spent the summer of 2006 touring the major Christian music festivals, and also took part in
Jeremy Camp's
Beyond Measure
tour. Hawk Nelson released a three-track
Christmas EP titled
Gloria
on
November 21,
2006, and in winter of that year they toured with
TobyMac's
Winter Wonder Slam tour along with
The Afters,
Family Force 5, and
Ayiesha Woods.
Bulletproof Records and producer Ralph Sall have assembled the compilation
Charlotte's Web: Music Inspired By The Motion Picture
featuring music by Christian artists including Hawk Nelson,
Amy Grant, and
Billy Ray Cyrus, which was released
December 12,
2006. In addition,
Bob Carlisle,
Leigh Nash (Sixpence None The Richer), and
The Send have all contributed exclusive tracks.
Hawk Nelson performed in 2006 on the Fringe Stage at
Creation Festival Northwest, then again on the main stage at Creation in 2007. They performed sometime between
July 25-
July 28 2007 at
Creation Festival Northwest on the Main Stage, and they played again on the Fringe Stage at
Creation Festival Northeast sometime between
June 27-
June 30 2007. In 2007 (and again in 2009), Hawk Nelson performed at Winter Jam with a wide variety of other
Christian bands, which were
Newsong,
Jeremy Camp,
Steven Curtis Chapman,
Sanctus Real, and
Britt Nicole. Also, Hawk Nelson toured with
MxPx,
Run Kid Run,
Project 86,
The Fold, and
The Classic Crime on the Tooth and Nail Tour (.
Aaron Tosti left the band to pursue other musical ventures and Justin Benner replaced him on the drums. Justin had toured with Hawk Nelson before with The Send.
Hawk Nelson's newest album,
Hawk Nelson Is My Friend
was released on
April 1 2008, and was co-written by Trevor McNevan of
Thousand Foot Krutch,
Raine Maida of
Our Lady Peace and
Richard Marx
The band also contributed in 2008 a cover of "
Don't You (Forget About Me)", originally by
Simple Minds, off the
Don't You Forget About Me: The Covers
EP.
The band has recently finished their headlining Green T Tour, which also featured
Capital Lights and
Run Kid Run (). They headed out for another Faith Nights Baseball Tour this Summer.
Hawk Nelson was nominated for a Grammy for Best Recording Package, for their
Hawk Nelson Is My Friend
album, but lost to
Metallica.
Hawk Nelson has started a new campaign called the One Little Miracle Campaign pairing with
Toms Shoes and the
Ronald McDonald House.
They have finished up the Winterjam tour and are currently traveling with the Rock and Worship Road Show [Spring 2009].
Hawk Nelson released their new single
Live Life Loud
for their upcoming album. The song can be bought on Amazon or iTunes.
The band will be touring with
Skillet from October through December on their Awake and Alive Tour later this year along with
Decyfer Down and The Letter Black.
In July 21 Hawk Nelson released their next single from
Live Life Loud
called
Meaning Of Life
. And in August 8 have their song
Alive
been played on Christian Radio.
[3]
Members
Current members
- Jason Dunn - lead vocals, piano (since 2003)
- Daniel Biro - bass, backing vocals (since 2003)
- Jonathan Steingard - guitar, backing vocals (since 2004)
- Justin Benner - drums (since 2008)
Past members
- Dave 'Davin' Clark - guitar (2003-2004)
- Matt 'Matty' Paige - drums (2003-2005)
- Aaron 'Skwid' Tosti - drums (2005-2007)
Discography
Albums
Release Date
| Album Title
| Record Label
| RIAA Certification
|
July 13, 2004
| Letters to the President
| Tooth & Nail Records
| Copies sold ca: 750,000
|
April 4, 2006
| Smile, It's the End of the World
| Tooth & Nail Records
| Copies sold ca: 450,000
|
April 1, 2008
| Hawk Nelson Is My Friend
| Tooth & Nail Records/BEC Recordings
| Copies sold ca: 400,001
|
September 22, 2009
| ''Live Life Loud
| Tooth & Nail Records/BEC Recordings
|
|
EPs
Year
| EP Title
| Record Label
| Details
|
2003
| Saturday Rock Action
| none
| Band's debut EP
|
2004
| California EP
| Tooth & Nail Records
| Second EP leading up to debut album
|
2005
| Bring 'Em Out
| Tooth & Nail Records
| Third EP bridging first and second album, Digital EP only available on iTunes Store
|
November 21, 2006
| Gloria EP
| Tooth & Nail Records
| Fourth EP, featuring Christmas songs
|
October 21, 2008
| One Little Miracle EP
| BEC Recordings
| Fifth EP, featuring Amy Grant as part of their One Little Miracle Campaign iTunes Store
|
December, 2008
| Let's Dance: The Remixes
| Tooth & Nail Records
| Remix EP featuring a remix by each member of the band, of the song Let's Dance
|
June 16, 2009
| Summer EP
| Tooth & Nail Records
| EP for summer
|
Singles
Release Date
| Single Title
| Record Label
|
2004
| Letters to the President
| Tooth & Nail Records
|
April 4, 2006
| Zero
| Tooth & Nail Records
|
December 24, 2007
| Friend Like That
| Tooth & Nail Records
|
June 23, 2009
| Live Life Loud
| BEC Recordings
|
July 21, 2009
| Meaning Of Life
| BEC Recordings
|
Songs on compilations
Year
| Album
| Song(s)
| Label
|
2005
| X the album
| "California"
| BEC Recordings
|
2006
| X the album
| "The One Thing I Have Left
| BEC Recordings
|
2006
| 27th Annual Covenant Hits
| "Every Little Thing"
| CMC Distribution
|
2007
| X the album
| "Is Forever Enough"
| BEC Recordings
|
2007
| ''X Worship
| "Everything You Ever Wanted"
| BEC Recordings
|
2007
| ''Charlotte's Web
| "Everything You Ever Wanted"
| Sony Classical
|
2008
| Canada Rocks
| "Friend Like That"
| CMC Distribution
|
2008
| GMA Canada presents 30th Anniversary Collection
| "Every Little Thing"
| CMC Distribution
|
2008
| X the album
| "The Show"
| BEC Recordings
|
2008
| Wow Hits 2008
| "The Show"
| Sparrow Records
|
2008
| X Christmas
| "Gloria"
| BEC Recordings
|
2009
| X the album
| "Friend Like That"
| BEC Recordings
|
Videos
- "California" (Letters to the President
, 2004) [4]
- "Every Little Thing" (Letters to the President
, 2004) [5]
- "From Underneath" (Letters to the President
, 2004) [6]
- "Letters to the President" (Letters to the President
, 2005) [7]
- "Bring 'Em Out (live, featuring Drake Bell)" (Soundtrack: Yours, Mine and Ours
, 2005) [8]
- "The One Thing I Have Left" (Smile, It's the End of the World
, 2006) [9]
- "Zero" (Smile, It's the End of the World
, 2007) [10]
- "Friend Like That" (Hawk Nelson Is My Friend
, 2008) [11]
- "Live Life Loud" (Live Life Loud
, 2009)
Trivia
- In an interview, [12] Jason Dunn, the band's frontman, revealed the meaning of the band's name. He said that when he was about 14 years old, he played the video game 2 Xtreme on the Sony PlayStation. It required the player to create a name for the character. He got the first name from Tony Hawk. "Nelson" he got from a boot repair store in his hometown: Nelson Boot Repair
.
- Prior to the formation of Hawk Nelson, Dunn, Clark, and Paige had formed the Peterborough-based group called Swish
(they also used the name Reason Being
briefly), while Biro sang lead vocals in a four-piece group called the Cheese Monkeys from Planet Nine
from Barrie, Ontario.
- In 2006, Hawk Nelson won Best Artist in Ignite Your Faith
Magazine's Golden Ear Awards
. Jason Dunn also won best male vocalist, and "Letters to the President" won the #3 spot in the Best Song category. [13]
- Hawk Nelson's songs "The Show" and "Something on my Mind" were featured in the game Thrillville in 2006.
- Hawk Nelson plays the party band for the film Yours, Mine and Ours (2005).
- Jason's dad and Davin's dad were in a band together in high school.
- Jason and Trevor McNevan (lead singer of Thousand Foot Krutch as well as FM Static) grew up in the same church.
- Jason's middle name is Michael. His middle name being Kevin is just a joke.
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Awards
GMA Canada Covenant Awards
- 2006 Modern Rock/Alternative Album Of The Year: Smile, It's the End of the World
[14]
- 2007 nominee, Modern Rock/Alternative Song Of The Year: "The One Thing I Have Left"
- 2007 nominee, Recorded Song Of The Year: "Everything You Ever Wanted"
- 2008 nominee, Group Of The Year
- 2008 nominee, Modern Rock/Alternative Album Of The Year: Hawk Nelson Is My Friend
GMA Dove Awards
- 2009 nominee, Recorded Music Packaging: Hawk Nelson Is My Friend
Golden Ear Music Awards
- 2006 nominee, Best Band: 1#
- 2006 nominee, Best Male Vocalist: 1# Jason Dunn
- 2006 nominne, Best Song Of The Year: 3# Letters to the President
Grammy Awards
- 2009 nominee, Best Recording Package: Hawk Nelson Is My Friend
Juno Awards
- 2007 nominee, Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album Of The Year: Smile, It's the End of the World
VH1
- 2006 #1 spot on VH1's top 20 video countdown with "The One Thing I Have Left" music video.
References
- Title Unavailable
- R&R – Top Christian CHR Songs
- http://www.christianrock.net/whatsnew.asp
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InF88gd0JA8
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rGk1Km-M5M
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqvWcK-8Mxw
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N8Btb5X85g
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDlvMoT5m4U
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B17_-keEtRE
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geurpRYXqoA
- http://youtube.com/watch?v=P3aafwKFjUw
- http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/interviews/HawkNelson2005.asp
- http://www.christianitytoday.com/cl/2006/002/19.38.html
- Hawk Nelson also received nominations for Group Of The Year and Album Of The Year: ''Smile, It's the End of the World''. GMAC 2006 Covenant Award Nominees. Retrieved on 2008-11-11.