I SEE HAWKS IN L.A. to release eighth studio album, LIVE AND NEVER LEARN, UK Dates

First effort since 2013 due in stores and digital outlets June 29, as band members cling to music and one another to overcome family loss, wildfires, and other travails.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — I See Hawks in L.A. soared relatively trouble free for the first decade of their existence, but in 2018 they’re emerging from a string of confrontations with mortality, life choices, and the slow leakage of youthful possibility. It’s been almost 17 years since the release of their eponymous debut — on September 11, 2001. They didn’t get rich, they didn’t get famous, and yet they’re still here, perhaps benefitting artistically from the rocky passage.

The rich flavor of battered soul. It’s clear these Hawks are in it for the music, for each other, and for the adventure of it all.

LIVE AND NEVER LEARN is the first new Hawks album since 2013’s Mystery Drug. It’s been five hard years.

In March of 2015, member Rob Waller lost his mother suddenly to pancreatic cancer, and Paul Lacques lost both his parents this past year. Most of the songs on LIVE AND NEVER LEARN were written and recorded while they were dealing with these primal griefs, as well as other personal battles dire but with better outcomes. From the Hawks to those who have lost parents:

“Now we understand.”

Loving families, good friends, and making music helped get the band through those times, personally and artistically. The Waller/Lacques songwriting is augmented here with contributions from Hawks bassist Paul Marshall and drummer Victoria Jacobs. One song, the rocking “King of the Rosemead Boogie,” features twisted lyrical and spiritual contributions by members of Old Californio.

Two songs, “White Cross” and “Singing in the Wind,” were co-written via email with Peter Davies of the U.K.’s Good Intentions, and feature the Hawks’ signature electric sounds of reverby Telecaster, thumping Fender bass, and tight harmonies, while the lyrics take listeners from the backstreets of Memphis to the windswept moors of Northern Ireland.

“Last Man in Tujunga” brings us back home to the more familiar geography of smoky Southern California hills. The song, written by the Hawks some years back, tells the story of a breakup unfolding over a cell phone call as the flames get closer. Its appearance here is all the more appropriate and timely, as Marshall was forced to evacuate his Tujunga home twice in the fall of

2017. He was “almost out of minutes” as the “flames were licking at the gates.”

Many of the tracks on Live and Never Learn directly address the band’s personal struggles.

“Pour Me” explores the dead-serious theme of a drunk’s self-pity but it’s wrapped up in a lighthearted and humorous approach familiar to any Hawks fan. Dave Zirbel adds classic country pedal steel for this regretful farewell to drinking, as Waller calls out, “I guess I better not have no more.” Zirbel hit the emotional core of many songs on this record, subtle and surprising as always.

Drummer Victoria Jacobs, also an accomplished songwriter, contributes a wistful meditation on the passing of time with her psychedelic folk masterpiece “Spinning.” Night worries and fantastical images illuminate this hauntingly beautiful tune. Jacobs also narrates another touching fable in “My Parka Saved Me,” recounting her real life head-on collision as a teenager on a winter

afternoon by Lake Michigan. The Hawks’ doo-wop vocals, ’50s chords, and Danny McGough's sweet B3 give the terrifying tale a soft landing.

Some classic Hawks themes also appear on this album. “Planet Earth” and “Ballad for the Trees” reflect the band’s longtime interest in ecology and conservation. “Stoned With Melissa” appears to be another Hawks weed anthem, but with a sad and realistic twist. “King of the Rosemead Boogie” introduces an imagined hero of the San Gabriel Valley in all her (his?) glory. Regret and earth/spirit duality return in “Isolation Mountains” and “Tearing Me in Two,” both brought to fruition by the deep fiddle of longtime collaborator Dave Markowitz, and broke-the-mold accordionist Richie Lawrence.

This spring, good news has returned for the Hawks and their families. The band finished tracking and sent the files off to four-time Grammy-winning mixer Alfonso Rodenas (Los Tigres del Norte), who mixed Mystery Drug as well as several other Lacques-produced projects. The mixes came back sounding great, and the Hawks felt a surge of optimism, perhaps irrational, perhaps a

crucial tonic to these gloomy times. Now Live and Never Learn is here and the Hawks sound better than ever. With shows in California and the U.K. coming up this summer they’re feeling good and can’t wait to hit the stage and sing, together again, together as always.

Live and Never Learn is available now to fans through a crowdfund Kickstarter campaign and will be released in stores and all digital outlets on June 29, 2018.
Launched on April 30, so far £1,243 has been pledged by 21 backers of a £6,540 goal with 27 days to go. All or nothing. This project will only be funded if it reaches its goal by Wed, May 30, 2018 5:00 AM BST.

Brand new on @Kickstarter: "Live and Never Learn" by I SEE HAWKS IN L.A. by @ISeeHawksInLA . https://t.co/GBRwplBnpq

— Jumpin Hot Club (@JumpinHotClub) 1 May 2018

Album Of The Week it’s a cracker! The first track is a lovely track My Parka Saved Me…Such a great album – Joe Singleton Red Rose Country Mixcloud 

I See Hawks In L.A. Live Dates

Semi acoustic format

Thu 19th July 2018 – The Green Note, London (106 Parkway, London NW1 7AN) £11 Event

Tuesday 24 July 2018 - Grateful Fred's House Concerts, Southport (Website) Tickets are just £10 and available from Colin Maddocks Facebook | EMAIL: gratefulfreddie@gmail.com |

Thu 26th July 2018 - High Wycombe, Secret venue £13.20 (Kingsmead House Concert, Fennels Road, High Wycombe HP11 1SL) Event - Event

Fri 27th July 2018 - Dinton Parish Church (Dinton Nr Aylesbury Bucks HP17 8UG) £13.75 Event

Thurs 9 August 2018 - The Maze, Nottingham (257 Mansfield Road, NG1 3FT) 19:30–22:30 Event

Sunday 12 August 2018 - The Square & Compass, Worth Matravers (Swanage, Dorset, BH19 3LF)

CONNECT with I See Hawks in L.A.:

BIO

“The finest country rock band on the planet” – MOJO
“One of California’s unique treasures” – Dave Alvin

2018 will bring two new releases from Southern California’s leading country-folk-rock band I See Hawks In L.A.: their 8th CD, with new twists on their cosmic roots sound; and also a very old timey acoustic collaboration with UK's Good Intentions, sharing songwriting and vocals with the award winning duo.

The Hawks are noted for their lyrical celebrations and lamentations of earth and ecosphere, odes to the endless highway, and withering social commentary—not exactly the trucks and tight jeans fare of mainstream country. They've built a loyal following around the globe from many U.S. and Europe/UK tours, consistently rave reviews from critics, and a serious presence in the top 10 of the Freeform American Roots chart (#1 three times) and the Euro Americana chart.

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, Los Angeles, drank whiskey and wrote their first batch of songs. They then sought advice from local country rock guru David Jackson, bassist with John Denver, Dillard and Clark, and EmmyLou Harris. Jackson promptly joined the Hawks for their eponymous recording, featuring legendary fiddler Brantley Kearns (Dwight Yoakam, Dave Alvin, Hazel Dickens). The CD established the Hawks signature sound: high lonesome three-part harmonies, innovative telecaster and steel or unadorned acoustic arrangements, with lyrics musing on mortality, whales, and the geography of pre-apocalyptic L.A.

"To say that I See Hawks in L.A. traipse down a going-their-own-way path through that old folky Americana and classic California country rock thing doesn’t quite begin to describe the sheer scope of this band’s wide-open vision. 

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