For a band like The High Hawks, the road is a way of life. With more than 150 years of touring between them, the members of this who’s who of the Americana-bluegrass-jam band circuit are no strangers to putting on a few city miles. That’s why The High Hawks’ latest single, “Heroes & Highways”, is a much-needed reflection on the way of the road. Premiering today exclusively through Live For Live Music, the single is the first off the band’s upcoming, self-titled debut album, out on June 11th via LoHi Records.
Featuring Vince Herman (Leftover Salmon), Tim Carbone (Railroad Earth), Chad Staehly (Hard Working Americans), Adam Greuel (Horseshoes & Hand Grenades), Brian Adams (DeadPhish Orchestra), and Will Trask (Great American Taxi), The High Hawks are a well-experienced bunch. The band’s myriad tenure shine through on “Heroes & Highways”, a single that combines the Americana elements that permeates many of the members’ projects with some old-school rock and roll energy that is unique to the group.
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“Written with my good friend and poet Pete Kahn, ‘Heroes & Highways’ is a true blue rock n’ roller and a nod to the ever-present tension of the thrills and experiences of ‘the highway’ and the comfort and pleasures of home sweet home,” Greuel told Live For Live Music. “It muses on the soul-filling substances of traveling and the way that life can fly by like you’re going 90 MPH down one of the five interstates.”
Check out the official video for “Heroes & Highways” by The High Hawks below.
The High Hawks – “Heroes & Highways” (Official Video)
[Video: The High Hawks]
That same freewheeling energy of the road helped bring The High Hawks into existence. With a group of musicians so experienced in the live music scene, this bunch of guys had a habit of running into each other at festivals and out on the road.
“Over the years, we all kept bumping into one another and realizing there was a deep sense of fellowship and kindred spirit,” Greuel said. “The main impetus to form The High Hawks was really a curiosity about one another, both musically and personally. This band came out of a yearning to hang out.”
That desire became a reality two years ago when the yet-unnamed group first convened at Herman’s house in the Colorado Rockies. There was no road map for where the sessions would go but, like the explorers who settled the West before them, the band set out and made their own maps.
“We went in with zero expectations,” Carbone said. “Once we got together and played the songs we had in mind, it was like, ‘Wow, there’s something going on here! This is not just a bunch of guys playing some songs. This is a band.’”
The resulting baker’s dozen songs went on to form the basis of The High Hawks’ first shows together in fall 2019. Now, the band is ready to release studio-quality tracks as The High Hawks on June 11th. What originally began as a live endeavor has since moved into the studio and, just like every other artist experiencing the pandemic, has forced The High Hawks to reexamine the mission of the group. While each member of the band built their sterling reputation on their quality as a live act, the band has collectively turned its energy toward packaging some of that same energy for a studio album for fans to enjoy from the safety of home.
“We all came together at a time when we needed one another,” Greuel said. “I don’t know that we all knew that initially, but it slowly became apparent that the closeness that occurs from being in a band really ended up being good medicine for us all. We have a never-ending text message thread that keeps us all laughing and communicating and sharing songs and discussing trials and tribulations. Being an ear for one another and giving each other a sense of fellowship has really been awesome. I might hope that that sort of vibration can extend from the band to the folks who listen to the record. Maybe they can find a feeling of togetherness from the music. Maybe in some ways know that that they’re not alone in some of their struggles. Maybe some of the songs can make the good times better and the bad times bearable. To me, that’s the greatest gift of music.”
Follow LoHi Records for pre-order information coming on Friday. Scroll down for a full tracklist and album art for The High Hawks.
