I SEE HAWKS IN L.A.
''CALIFORNIA COUNTRY''
MAY 9 2006
62:14
1/Motorcycle Mama
Paul Lacques/5:30
2/Raised by Hippies
Paul Lacques/5:24
3/Midnight in Orlando
Paul Lacques/4:44
4/Slash from Guns N' Roses
Paul Lacques/4:49
5/California Country
Paul Lacques / Paul Marshall/4:02
6/Golden Girl
Paul Lacques/5:04
7/Byrd from West Virginia
Paul Lacques/5:02
8/Jackpot!
Paul Lacques/4:15
9/The Donkey Song
Anthony Lacques / Paul Lacques/3:58
10/Houston Romance
Anthony Lacques / Paul Lacques/4:38
11/Hard Times (Are Here Again)
Paul Lacques/4:29
12/Barrier Reef
Anthony Lacques / Paul Lacques/5:34
13/Take My Rest /4:45
Cody Bryant /Banjo
Tommy Funderburk /Vocals (Background)
Chris Hillman /Mandolin
Brantley Kearns /Fiddle
Paul Lacques /Dobro, Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Producer, Vocals
Paul Marshall /Bass, Composer, Editing, Vocals
Danny McGough /Celeste, Harmonium, Organ
Shawn Nourse /Drums
Rick Shea /Drums (Electric), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Mandolin
Rob Waller /Guitar (Acoustic), Producer, Vocals
Marcus Watkins /Guitar
Dave Zirbel /Pedal Steel
REVIEW
by Tammy La Gorce
Connoisseurs of surreal country in the grand Gram Parsons/Flying Burrito Brothers/Byrds tradition will find much to love on California Country, a collection of shrewd, witty songs custom-fitted -- big beats and all -- for the beards'n'boots crowd. Here's a disc that suggests its creators have their ears in the '70s and their minds in a modern protest rally: "Byrd from West Virginia" praises the titular senator for his outspokenness on the Iraq War, and "Barrier Reef," with its hilarious refrain that "The keeper of the leaf/Is the barrier reef to my sanity," hints at the backwardness of the national ban on marijuana. Elsewhere, the ever-evolving lineup of I See Hawks in L.A. sees fit to cut loose. "Slash from Guns N' Roses," which hooks up those accustomed to trafficking purely in twang with some excellent rock guitar licks, is a prime example; in it, a Slash impersonator is confronted by the real deal at an L.A. party. "Motorcycle Mama," meanwhile, revisits a beloved character from a same-named Neil Young song -- here, she's still laying her big spike down, only she sounds more inclined to a saddle up when she's off the hog. Musically, I See Hawks in L.A.'s heavenly three-part harmonies are tight as ever, and frontman Rob Waller sounds by turns broken, brainy, and borrowed from a different, cooler planet. Should NASA ever find an outer-space mission for a whiskey-shooting country singer, he's their man.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Leggett
California-based I See Hawks in L.A. pursue a kind of cerebral, witty, and at times refreshingly silly alt-country path along the lines of earlier California country-rock bands like the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, and the Byrds, following the template of what Gram Parsons once called "cosmic American music." Formed in 1999 by Robert Rex Waller, Jr. and brothers Paul Lacques and Anthony Lacques, at first I See Hawks in L.A. were strictly a loose recording outfit, but after their self-titled debut album was released on the now defunct Ethic Records imprint in 2001, the positive critical reaction convinced them to start doing shows. A second album, Grapevine, appeared in 2004 from Western Seeds Records, followed by California Country, also on Western Seeds, in 2006, and both releases received well-deserved praise for the band's clever, fun, and often politically and environmentally charged songs (most of them written by Waller and Paul Lacques) and impressive three-part harmonies (sung by Waller, Lacques, and bassist Paul Marshall). The band's lineup has been an ever evolving thing, but has generally included Rob Waller on lead vocals, guitar, and Dobro, Paul Lacques on vocals, guitar, and Dobro, Paul Marshall on bass and vocals, Dave Zirbel on steel guitar, Cody Bryant on banjo, Rick Shea on mandolin, Brantley Kearns on fiddle, and Shawn Nourse on drums, with numerous names from California's alt-country scene contributing frequent guest spots. A fourth album, Hallowed Ground, was released early in 2008.
''CALIFORNIA COUNTRY''
MAY 9 2006
62:14
1/Motorcycle Mama
Paul Lacques/5:30
2/Raised by Hippies
Paul Lacques/5:24
3/Midnight in Orlando
Paul Lacques/4:44
4/Slash from Guns N' Roses
Paul Lacques/4:49
5/California Country
Paul Lacques / Paul Marshall/4:02
6/Golden Girl
Paul Lacques/5:04
7/Byrd from West Virginia
Paul Lacques/5:02
8/Jackpot!
Paul Lacques/4:15
9/The Donkey Song
Anthony Lacques / Paul Lacques/3:58
10/Houston Romance
Anthony Lacques / Paul Lacques/4:38
11/Hard Times (Are Here Again)
Paul Lacques/4:29
12/Barrier Reef
Anthony Lacques / Paul Lacques/5:34
13/Take My Rest /4:45
Cody Bryant /Banjo
Tommy Funderburk /Vocals (Background)
Chris Hillman /Mandolin
Brantley Kearns /Fiddle
Paul Lacques /Dobro, Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Producer, Vocals
Paul Marshall /Bass, Composer, Editing, Vocals
Danny McGough /Celeste, Harmonium, Organ
Shawn Nourse /Drums
Rick Shea /Drums (Electric), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Mandolin
Rob Waller /Guitar (Acoustic), Producer, Vocals
Marcus Watkins /Guitar
Dave Zirbel /Pedal Steel
REVIEW
by Tammy La Gorce
Connoisseurs of surreal country in the grand Gram Parsons/Flying Burrito Brothers/Byrds tradition will find much to love on California Country, a collection of shrewd, witty songs custom-fitted -- big beats and all -- for the beards'n'boots crowd. Here's a disc that suggests its creators have their ears in the '70s and their minds in a modern protest rally: "Byrd from West Virginia" praises the titular senator for his outspokenness on the Iraq War, and "Barrier Reef," with its hilarious refrain that "The keeper of the leaf/Is the barrier reef to my sanity," hints at the backwardness of the national ban on marijuana. Elsewhere, the ever-evolving lineup of I See Hawks in L.A. sees fit to cut loose. "Slash from Guns N' Roses," which hooks up those accustomed to trafficking purely in twang with some excellent rock guitar licks, is a prime example; in it, a Slash impersonator is confronted by the real deal at an L.A. party. "Motorcycle Mama," meanwhile, revisits a beloved character from a same-named Neil Young song -- here, she's still laying her big spike down, only she sounds more inclined to a saddle up when she's off the hog. Musically, I See Hawks in L.A.'s heavenly three-part harmonies are tight as ever, and frontman Rob Waller sounds by turns broken, brainy, and borrowed from a different, cooler planet. Should NASA ever find an outer-space mission for a whiskey-shooting country singer, he's their man.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Leggett
California-based I See Hawks in L.A. pursue a kind of cerebral, witty, and at times refreshingly silly alt-country path along the lines of earlier California country-rock bands like the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, and the Byrds, following the template of what Gram Parsons once called "cosmic American music." Formed in 1999 by Robert Rex Waller, Jr. and brothers Paul Lacques and Anthony Lacques, at first I See Hawks in L.A. were strictly a loose recording outfit, but after their self-titled debut album was released on the now defunct Ethic Records imprint in 2001, the positive critical reaction convinced them to start doing shows. A second album, Grapevine, appeared in 2004 from Western Seeds Records, followed by California Country, also on Western Seeds, in 2006, and both releases received well-deserved praise for the band's clever, fun, and often politically and environmentally charged songs (most of them written by Waller and Paul Lacques) and impressive three-part harmonies (sung by Waller, Lacques, and bassist Paul Marshall). The band's lineup has been an ever evolving thing, but has generally included Rob Waller on lead vocals, guitar, and Dobro, Paul Lacques on vocals, guitar, and Dobro, Paul Marshall on bass and vocals, Dave Zirbel on steel guitar, Cody Bryant on banjo, Rick Shea on mandolin, Brantley Kearns on fiddle, and Shawn Nourse on drums, with numerous names from California's alt-country scene contributing frequent guest spots. A fourth album, Hallowed Ground, was released early in 2008.
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