One of the things John Prine is so admired for is his ability to take a snippet of an ordinary person’s daily existence and turn it into a story you listen to again and again, complete with a life lesson.  Similarly, southern California’s I See Hawks In LA can take a place (frequently in California) and turn it into an experience that we’ve all lived in one fashion or another.  They’ve released a new album, Live And Never Learn, that continues to capture that spirit.
The Last Man In Tujunga embeds an all-too-frequent California event into an even-more-frequent occurrence: the break-up.  Stoned With Melissa is a tale rooted in basements all across America.  The title cut is the summary of all the stories from all the years, and admission of being human.
The Hawks musically are the progeny of the sound evolved from the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Eagles, and all the other LA bands that really invented country rock.  Those multi-part harmonies are showcased on most of the album, but I’ll call out Ballad For the Trees and Singing In the Wind.  On Poour Me (sic) they’ve done a kindler, gentler version of Take This Job And Shove It where “my boss is a freak, the 80’s was his peak” and the wish after the pity of poor, poor me is…”pour me more wine”.
I See Hawks In LA have been together for the better part of 20 years. Â You can hear it in the tight harmonies and instrumental interplay. Â There are no sizzling solos or breathtaking vocals, just tasteful layers of chords and notes that always add up to more than the sum of the parts. Â Live And Never Learn adheres to that sound and is a great introduction to the Hawks.
Finally, a quick note about the videos. Â The first one will give you a good sense of the Hawks sound, whether live or recorded. Â The second one, My Parka Saved Me (from this album), is kind of a story of the band itself in that they take Victoria’s tale of near-tradgedy and turn it into a fun, doo-wop sing-along in three part harmony. Â You have to hear it to believe it.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.