Hawk Nelson

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Hawk Nelson

Background information
Origin Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Genre(s) Pop Punk
Christian Punk
Alternative Rock
Years active 2003 - present
Label(s) Tooth & Nail Records
BEC Records
Website http://www.hawknelson.com/
Members
Jason Dunn
Jonathan Steingard
Daniel Biro
Justin Benner
Former members
Davin Clark
Matt "Matty" Paige
Aaron "Skwid" Tosti

Hawk Nelson is a 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.

Contents

[edit] Biography

The band played independently in Peterborough, Ontario 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, is credited with discovering the band. In July of 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 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 of 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. This album was also co-written by Trevor McNevan (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, 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 (Green Tee Show Photos.

They also performed this year at the Rock the Desert concert in Midland, Texas, Rock the Light on September 1, 2007 in Kansas City, Missouri, as well as Rock the Universe in Universal Studios Florida on September 7, 2007.

In 2007 Hawk Nelson also performed with Natalie Grant, Ayiesha Woods, KJ-52, Chad Eastham, Max and Jenna Lucado, Laura Wilkinson and the rest of the team on The Revolve Tour 2007: Inside Out!they are scheduled to be at the Revolve Tour 2008.

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, debuted on April 1, 2008. Co-written by Trevor McNevan (Thousand Foot Krutch) and others such as Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace) and Richard Marx.

The band has recently finished their headlining Green T Tour, which also featured Capital Lights and Run Kid Run (Green Tee Stage Show Photos). They will be heading out for another Faith Nights Baseball Tour this Summer.

[edit] Members

[edit] Current members

He was born in Peterborough, Ontario, and now lives in Minneapolis, MN.
He hails from Barrie, Ontario, and now lives in Franklin, TN.
Jonathan released a solo album called Fox Run.
  • Justin Benner - drums (2008-present)

[edit] Past members

  • Davin 'Dave' Clark - guitar (2003-2004)
  • Matt 'Matty' Paige - drums (2003-2005)
  • Aaron 'Skwid' Tosti - drums (2005-2007)
  • Jordan 'JD' Dean - additional guitar (2007)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Release Date Album Title Record Label RIAA Certification
July 13, 2004 Letters to the President Tooth & Nail Records
April 4, 2006 Smile, It's the End of the World Tooth & Nail Records
April 1, 2008 Hawk Nelson Is My Friend BEC Records

[edit] EPs

Year EP Title Record Label Details
2003 Saturday Rock Action Tooth & Nail Records 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

[edit] Videos

  • "The Grand Introduction" (Saturday Rock Action, 2003)
  • "California" (Letters to the President, 2004) [1]
  • "Every Little Thing" (Letters to the President, 2004) [2]
  • "From Underneath" (Letters to the President, 2004) [3]
  • "Letters to the President" (Letters to the President, 2005) [4]
  • "Bring 'Em Out (live, featuring Drake Bell)" (Soundtrack: Yours, Mine and Ours, 2005) [5]
  • "The One Thing I Have Left" (Smile, It's the End of the World, 2006) [6]
  • "Zero" (Smile, It's the End of the World, 2007) [7]
  • "Friend Like That" (Hawk Nelson Is My Friend, 2008) [8]

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • In an interview [9], 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, 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. [10]
  • Hawk Nelson plays the party band for the film Yours, Mine and Ours (2005).
  • Jason's dad and David's dad were in a band together in high school.
  • Former guitarist David Clark went on to become a cop.
  • Jason and Trevor McNevan (lead singer of both Thousand Foot Krutch as well as FM Static) grew up in the same church.

[edit] Awards

GMA Canada Covenant Awards

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b GMACanada.com - 28th Annual Covenant Award Winners.
  2. ^ As played on the January 7, 2007 Weekend 22

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Hawk Nelson
Jason Dunn • Jonathan Steingard • Daniel Biro • Justin Benner
Former members
Davin Clark • Matt Paige • Aaron Tosti
Studio albums
EP's
Saturday Rock Action • California EP • Bring 'Em Out • Gloria EP