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Ron Hawkins - Chemical Sounds CD
A few months ago an old friend invited me to meet up at The Horseshoe for Ron Hawkins Chemical Sounds CD release. Ron Hawkins had been in a successful and somewhat ironically named band called The Lowest of the Low from Toronto. I should confess that I had never before seen Ron Hawkins or his band The Lowest of the Low when they were together. My excuse is that I was living in other cities and countries and stuff. My old friend was ill so he stood me up on the night. Unexpectedly on my own I had a few adventures.
The opening band finished their set and Ron Hawkins band set up. I noticed a woman setting up her cello. The stage and the room darkened. The cellist approached me and looked in my direction. She stopped beside me then turned her face up to mine. I looked back into her eyes. She took a long look then she said "Oh" and walked away. Mystified, I smiled weakly and wondered if there was something in the air.
Ron Hawkins appeared on the stage and began his set solo. My mystery was solved pretty quickly. In the dark a near-sighted cellist could mistake me for him. Or that is one explanation.
Not knowing what to expect I was apprehensive at first when a guy with an acoustic guitar jumped on the stage. I was preparing inwardly for some potentially dreary folk-rock experience but I was more than pleasantly surprised. This man seemed possessed by the spirit of Joe Strummer. He attacked his instrument with ferocity but sang and played a very dynamic set. When he picked up his battered telecaster and the band came on I liked them all even more.
I was impressed by the songs and by the arrangements on the CD. Yes I can hear the influences in his music - name the famous etc. But I also feel like this guy is writing about people I have known. It turns out that Ron Hawkins once played in a band with another old friend of mine. So my intuiton or whatever was pretty close.
It is not merely the local references to Kensington Market and the alleyways of Queen West, but also the stylistic references to certain traditions in Canadian rock music. There is seriousness masked with humour, longing with a healthy dose of sadness, unglamourous depictions of the unglamourous aspects of life in the fast lane. He keeps it real. There are some hard rock tunes, some ballads and some more alternative tunes. It seems an eclectic mix but it makes sense and it works.
Not surprisingly Ron Hawkins has won or been nominated for various songwriting awards. If you want to hear something reasonably new and good with a healthy connection to the past, you might like Ron Hawkins - Chemical Sounds.
You can check out his website at http://www.ronhawkins.com
The opening band finished their set and Ron Hawkins band set up. I noticed a woman setting up her cello. The stage and the room darkened. The cellist approached me and looked in my direction. She stopped beside me then turned her face up to mine. I looked back into her eyes. She took a long look then she said "Oh" and walked away. Mystified, I smiled weakly and wondered if there was something in the air.
Ron Hawkins appeared on the stage and began his set solo. My mystery was solved pretty quickly. In the dark a near-sighted cellist could mistake me for him. Or that is one explanation.
Not knowing what to expect I was apprehensive at first when a guy with an acoustic guitar jumped on the stage. I was preparing inwardly for some potentially dreary folk-rock experience but I was more than pleasantly surprised. This man seemed possessed by the spirit of Joe Strummer. He attacked his instrument with ferocity but sang and played a very dynamic set. When he picked up his battered telecaster and the band came on I liked them all even more.
I was impressed by the songs and by the arrangements on the CD. Yes I can hear the influences in his music - name the famous etc. But I also feel like this guy is writing about people I have known. It turns out that Ron Hawkins once played in a band with another old friend of mine. So my intuiton or whatever was pretty close.
It is not merely the local references to Kensington Market and the alleyways of Queen West, but also the stylistic references to certain traditions in Canadian rock music. There is seriousness masked with humour, longing with a healthy dose of sadness, unglamourous depictions of the unglamourous aspects of life in the fast lane. He keeps it real. There are some hard rock tunes, some ballads and some more alternative tunes. It seems an eclectic mix but it makes sense and it works.
Not surprisingly Ron Hawkins has won or been nominated for various songwriting awards. If you want to hear something reasonably new and good with a healthy connection to the past, you might like Ron Hawkins - Chemical Sounds.
You can check out his website at http://www.ronhawkins.com
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